Stopped at the grocery store after work today, to get one thing from the deli. A woman got there right before me and took a ticket. I took the next one, 154. After we stood there for a few moments, she put her ticket on the counter and walked away. So I picked it up - figuring that otherwise, the next person might come along and take it. I didn’t know how many people were ahead of me, as there seemed to be a lot of people milling around. But it turned out I was next. As my order was being taken a minute later, she returned with an older woman (maybe her mother?). She looked at the counter and said to the mother, “I left 153 right here.” Then she looked right at me. I kept looking straight ahead, but I could see out of the corner of my eye that she gave me a dirty look.
I didn’t say anything, just got my food and left. But I was tempted to say, “If you wanted to use the ticket, you should have kept it.” Why she would put the ticket down and leave, then get annoyed that someone else took it is beyond me.
I think taking someone else’s number is weird. If you had 154, the guy at the counter would just say, “153? 153? … 154?” and then it’d be your turn.
It’s also weird to leave one’s number on the counter and walk away, only to return. I think it would be right under these bizarre circumstances to let the woman have her ticket back. Or at least saying, “You walked away and left your number here; I assumed you weren’t coming back.” Standing there ignoring them seems the strangest course of action.
True. I guess I was thinking, since she left the number right next to the ticket machine, that the next person to come along might take it and then be ahead of me. And I was kind of in a hurry and there were a lot of people in the area, leading me to believe it was busier than it was. If I had known that I was almost “next” then I wouldn’t have taken it.
Yeah, there was no reason to take her number since you were next anyway. Her leaving the ticket then expecting it to be there when she got back was kind of weird though. But if you didn’t touch her ticket you wouldn’t have had to say anything. And she had nothing to complain about, she wasn’t there when her number was called.
What’s weird is for her to expect to be served when she returned. In my experience, the deli clerk calls your number, asks what you want, prepares it, and when you’re done, they move onto the next number/customer. When she returned, she should have drawn a new number and waited her turn.
Since she wasn’t there when 153 was called, she would have missed her turn and had to take a new ticket, anyway. When she came back, you should have told her that, and given her your 154. She then would have been next (instead of going to the back of the line) and would have you to thank for it.
Once at a store, just as my number was called, a guy who had just walked in barked out a number that was at least twenty lower than mine. When I stepped up to get service, he yelled out his number again. I asked him where he was when his number came up. He said that he was shopping at other stores, and said he shouldn’t have to wait in line to get served. I replied, “If you’re not here when they call your number, you miss your turn.” I don’t know how they handled him once I left.
I’d say this is a fundamental “take-a-number” rule - you are free to wander off and try to get something else done during the waiting time, but if you aren’t present when your number comes up, tough luck.
As everyone else has said, she has a weird idea of how taking a number works. I think she has forgotten about the “You snooze, you lose” rule. Or maybe this one should be filed under “Finders keepers;” either way, you’re absolutely right that she should have held onto the number if she wanted to come back and use it. And if it was too late when she got back, she needed to take another one.
She’s an idiot. Were you supposed to somehow know she was coming back? The ticket is not a person. You can’t leave it on the counter thinking it will hold your place in line for you.
There was nothing wrong with taking the number. If I saw someone take a number, look at it, then put it down, I’d assume they decided they didn’t want to wait for their number to come up and were abandoning their deli purchase. I’ve done that when they’re 30 customers behind and I’ve only got 2 other things to buy, though usually I look for someone to hand the number to. By taking the number, the OP made sure that someone who came after him didn’t take it and unfairly get ahead of him.
And the corollary - if you’re yakking away with one of your friends while they’re calling numbers, and completely miss your number, don’t bitch at the next person who was paying attention when they called his number and started to place his order.
I would have taken it. If she’d come back before her number was called I probably would have given it back to her, but if not, I would have used it.
If I had a taken a number but changed my mind, I would have probably given it to someone who had a higher number just to be nice. I wouldn’t have just left it on the counter. What’s the point in that?
So let’s recap. TriPolar doesn’t say there was anything wrong with taking the number. Then others repeatedly point out there wasn’t anything wrong with taking the number. I don’t suppose agreeing will do much good.
