Or more charitably, shopper gets in line and suddenly realizes he forgot something, goes off to fetch the item, and leaves his shopping cart in line. Do you think it’s acceptable to just ignore it and go around the cart, or should you dutifully wait behind the cart for the owner to return?
Oh hell yeah. He goes to the back of the line.
As long as the person ahead of him is still being checked out, and his turn hasn’t come yet, it’s polite to wait…because you may need to dash for an item someday.But if his turn comes,and he’s not back yet, and he’s nowhere to be seen, usually the checker will have you move up in the line. Of course, he should speak to you as he leaves the line to grab that can of tuna from the endcap… it’s only polite.
This is my position exactly. I don’t mind if they need to dash and get one thing, but if they’re not back before the line moves, they’re outta there.
He can go home and get money if he wants, as long as he’s back before its his turn.
Assuming though that the shopper is the last in line so there’s no one behind him to notify, does your answer change?
If the shopper is behind me, what do I care? He can go home and take a nap for all I care.
Are you asking what I would do if I got in line behind an abandoned cart? Get in front. All day long. People should not check out until they are ready to do so. I see too much line jumping, place holding, and folks waiting in two lines so that they can join their companions in the quicker line.
What if he is in front of you? That is, you’re ready to check out, but find that the last in line is an abandon shopping cart?
If the shopper is moving quickly, or if that shopper is dashing off to some place that’s within easy view, then I would advise waiting. Otherwise, I think you’d be justified in moving him to the back of the line.
In that case I’ll move ahead of it.
Yes. Actually, what I had in mind was if one customer is being checked out, then the next guy in line goes and gets something, then as long as he gets back in time.
Time to load up his cart with something completely random. He’ll thank you later for the Cosmopolitan, or the package of pigs knuckles.
If this type of behavior is happening to you frequently, make a game of picking up the most random, expensive, easily overlooked item to sneak into offenders carts. Just remember not to buy it, or you’ll be in for a surprise when you get home.
When Mrs. Danalan was heavily pregnant, we got in the habit of picking up a jar of pickles when we went into the store; so that if her water broke while shopping she could simply drop the pickles and thus avoid embarassment. We ended up with 6 jars of pickles in the fridge. Took forever to eat them.
Yup. If the person is still out of sight when his turn comes, I’m jumping in.
What I find even more annoying is this:
Wifey holds their place in line while she sends hubby off to do additional shopping. It’s never just one item but several things. Come on, get out of line already!
One time I was in line behind a woman. Her son came up to her with something she sent him to get. It wasn’t the right size, brand or flavor so off he went again. He returned only to find he still didn’t have the right size/brand/flavor so, lather, rinse, repeat.
Somehow, in my experience, these situations always manage to resolve themselves at the last moment but still, it’s aggravating to experience.
I haven’t had it happen where the cart in front’s still in a state of abandonment right up to the point where stuff gets loaded on the counter for check-out – but yes, in that situation, the place would be lost. Otherwise – I don’t mind waiting. For a wee while, anyway.
Each situation is different. If I remember an item when the person in front of me is nearly done checking out, I tell the person behind me to go ahead of me. Or if I have 40 items and the person in back of me has 5, I tell them to go ahead. I see nothing wrong with jumping out and getting back in line if the person in front of me has a full cart of stuff to check out. You can usually gauge how long it will take to get your item vs. how long it will take the guy in front of you to complete his transaction.
And if my husband isn’t back with the forgotten items in time for me to check out, I write the check for cash back and toss him the money to check out in another line.
We don’t have a lot of check-out line anger around here. People are more than happy to help each other out. In fact, just the other day, a kid and I were jockeying for the next spot in a short line. We made our moves, and rather than knocking him into the candy bar rack, I let him win.
But I coulda taken him out.
Checks? Gah! I hate people who write checks. Ever heard of debit? It does pretty much the same thing as a check, doesn’t bounce, and doesn’t annoy the people behind you near as much. Why do stores still take them?
Oh, if the guy isn’t back by my turn at the till, I move forward.
Checks don’t bounce if you don’t let them bounce. I don’t like debit cards. It’s too easy to swipe and run without recording it.
Sorry, I should have been clearer that the vendor wouldn’t have to put up with bounced checks.
Check. (heh-heh)