I was picking up a few things at the market and it was fairly crowded with several people waiting in line at each of the few open registers. In front of me was a 12 or 13 year old girl with a couple of items and a friend of hers was in line at the next register. They were obviously holding both positions until one got to the front of the line at which point the other switched lanes.
I realize it’s not unexpected behavior from that demographic but it got me thinking about whether it would be reasonable behavior at any age. As far as I’m concerned it’s selfish, inconsiderate and just plain rude. Once you pick a line you stick with it or jump to the end of another. If you want to split up people and purchases in several lines that’s fine but each is on their own and doesn’t allow the others to cut back in.
On a related note, I feel the same way about people leaving their basket in line while they go back for something they forgot and expect that their purchases have the right to hold their place in line.
I had a girlfriend that used to do the “I’ll stand in this line, come over if it’s faster” routine. I felt guilty whenever I hopped over and added my items to hers. Judging from the looks I got from other people, I’d say the practice is generally frowned upon.
Obviously you don’t shop at Wally World where the lines can be 10 baskets deep at each register. If the lady in front of me, who has four people in front of her, forgot a carton of eggs and wants to leave her basket in line to go get them I have no problem with that. It doesn’t cost me time or money to watch her basket for her, perhaps nudging it forward a bit if the line moves, while she’s gone to get a dozen eggs. IMHO, it would be rude to force her to the back of the line for something so silly.
I saw a couple do that the other week and thought it was irritating since they wound up arguing across the lines over who should come to whose line. Maybe I was just being irritable but I thought they were idiots.
Happened to me at Wal-Mart. I get into line at a self-serve register with about four people in front of me. Directly in front of me was a kid of about 13 with a candy bar and some video thing. When it’s his turn, he approaches the scanner and his mother comes dashing over from her place in the next lane with an entire buggy full of crap. I was furious! Not so much about the time, but the sheer gall of this woman! After glaring at her for a while I finally said–when she tried to sneak a look to see if I was still looking daggers at her–“You’ve got a hell of a lot of nerve, lady!” The kid could see I was pissed but didn’t seem to understand why. As she was hurriedly trying to get her bags into her cart I heard her say “That man is mad because I cut in front of him.” Yeah, you got that right! I’ve also had a couple of women literally run to beat me to a register, even though I only had a couple of items. :rolleyes:
My only problem with it is that I usually base what line I pick on not only how many people are in the line but also how much stuff they have. I would be annoyed if I got into a line because it looked the person in front of me had two items and then her friend ran over last minute with a shopping cart full of stuff. I probably wouldn’t be annoyed enough to say anything, but I would definately shoot a nasty glare.
In this particular case they were separate but either way it’s like Kkrose noted in that I look at the number of people and the amount of stuff (and also the genders and ages of the customers and employees). It’s kind of a game to see if I can accurately judge which line will move fastest. As Apu said, “the shortest line is the fastest, not always”.
It’s not something I get worked up about, it just seems to be like one more nail in the coffin of what I’d consider to be considerate behavior. Oh, and get off my lawn!
Ugh. It took me almost two years to break my wife of the get-in-line-then-keep-shopping habit. I did it by obediently getting whatever item we had forgotten or suddenly wanted, and then moving to the back of another line to wait, and then paying for that/those item/s separately. She had a short relapse when our kids got to a certain age, but recovered. Now we bring two adults and three healthy kids to the grocery store, and if I wanted, some days I could get in line with an empty cart and have it filled with a hundred items by the time I got to the cashier. But I don’t. Here are the rules:
Don’t get in line until you have everything you intend to purchase, and nothing you don’t.
Do not enter any line, anywhere, except at the back.
If, once in line, you must converge, go ahead – at the spot held by the last congregant in the line.
I do this all the time and never even considered that it might irk someone behind me. Either I’ll be paying for my friend and my friend’s stuff, as one might expect since I’m standing in line, or I’ll be leaving the line to go to hers and the people behind me get to pay more quickly. It’s win-win.
The “hold the line with two items for a shopping cart” routine should be punishable by moving to the back of the longest line and enforced by the district manager so that the store staff does not have to hear about it.
That said, two people with four or five items who combine based on who got there first (single sale only) seems like nothing to get worked up over. A couple of extra items is not going to kill me and the other line gets to move up.
Cutting line for a separate sale, however, should send both parties back to the end of the longest line.
I realize that store layouts make the logisitcs difficult, but I would prefer to see the sort of lines that banks, Borders, and the post office use: a single line leading up to a “distribution point” where the next person in line uses the next open cashier. In that way, no one is ever really inconvenienced by any single confused customer or unpriced item. The roadblocks only tie up one cashier while the line keeps moving.
(This needs to be tailored at the post office and bank where two business customers both hitting the place with fifteen minutes worth of daily or weekly service needs can really tie things up when there are only two cashiers, but the general principle works.)
And alcohol sales. I pick lines based on the presumed age of the cashier if I have alcohol in my cart. I hate having to wait 5 minutes for Larry the Manager to come swipe the bottle of wine because I’ve picked an underage cashier.
I never really thought about it before, but if the lines are so long and/or your “team” is so efficient, you could stand in line with an empty cart and have it filled with your purchases by the time you reach the cashier, I don’t see a problem with doing so.
Except for the people behind her in her line, who have to wait while you get your items billed along with hers. Win-win only applies if you consider everyone’s perspective.
And I think this is smart (in the purely selfish, out-for-myself sense) *and *obnoxious. I wouldn’t do it, and I would certainly glare at anyone who did. The one-line system seems far better, but I can see how it might be difficult to implement in a large supermarket. I have seen it done, though, and I present Sainsburys just off the High Street in Winchester, England, if anyone wants a cite.
I’ve seen this a few times. When it does not bother me are those occasions when the “waiter” already has a nearly full basket and sends the kids or spouse for a couple extra items. However, showing up with one item and then filling the cart means that customers behind you who included your lack of items in their calculation for the shorter line have a right to be upset.
If someone is standing with a full cart/basket, and says to their SO/kid, “Oh, crap! I forgot the sour cream!” and sends them to get it, that’s fine. I don’t do it myself, unless the item is shelved quite close to the cash register, but I don’t mind when others do.
I let people go ahead of me, too, if they only have a few items. I usually have a full cart and no deadline. If someone is only buying toilet paper, cough drops, and orange juice, it’s likely they have a specific reason for coming and might need to get home or wherever. I have no problem letting them do that a little sooner.
However, I find the behavior described in the OP obnoxious. Pick a line, and stick with it. The difference it makes in your day is unlikely to be significant. Don’t be a jerk.
Smart. I do this and certainly don’t mind other people doing this. Which ever line moves faster wins. That being said, I wouldn’t move a cart full of purchases to the middle of a line. Usually do this for movie tickets and the like. All’s fair in love and lines.