to wonder how you would have handled this queue jumper?

[chocolatecremeegg]

Was queueing for a ride with the dc's at Chessington. Queues were particularly bad (park was at full capacity) and we queued for about 50 mins for one ride the dcs were desperate to go. As we got to the front of the queue a woman and her child walked all the way up the queue and barged to the front, bold as brass. Could feel my blood boiling but thought to myself, say nothing, don't get worked up, it's not worth it etc etc.

Could hear others in the queue mumbling about how unfair it was this woman had barged in, a few parents were explaining to their kids (who asked why the woman had been able to walk straight to the front rather than queue) how it wasn't acceptable to queue jump etc.

Anyway, a few minutes later another woman and 4 children climb over the barrier to stand with the woman and her child who queue jumped. They were laughing about how easy it was to get to the front of the queue and smirking to themselves.

Afraid to say I couldn't hold back. Turned to the women and said I'd been waiting for 50 mins to get on, how it wasn't acceptable to queue jump etc. Man next to me joined in and told the member of staff what had happened. The women were laughing and generally were very proud of themselves. I siad they were setting a poor example for their children. They told me if I didn't like it I should go somewhere else! Staff member said as she hadn't seen the woman and her children push in she couldn't do anything. They went straight on the ride, as there were so many of them it meant I had to wait a further 10 mins before I and the dcs could get on the ride!

AIBU to wonder what you would have done in that situation?

This has just reminded me of a queue incident I witnessed last year in, of all places, the Vatican.

DP and I, having just left St Peter's church, sit down on a little wall to rest. The public toilets are nearby, and as usual, there is a massive queue for the ladies' and only a small one for the gents. At the entrance, there is an officious looking man in a uniform who appears to be somehow responsible for the toilets, and who is telling people when they can go in (ie, when someone comes out.)

A couple with a small baby join the queue. The woman joins the long queue, the man takes the baby into the gents. By the time his wife has almost gotten to the front, he comes out and asks her for something - he's changing the baby and needs some extra wipes. She steps about 5 feet out of the line to hand them over. When she steps back in, the man in the uniform tells her she is queue jumping and must go to the back of the queue. She objects, tells him she's been there all along, which is corroborated by the rest of the queue. He's having none of it. A very outspoken German lady in the queue argues with him on the woman's behalf - and then he punched her! (the German lady, not the woman with the baby)

The outrage of the 30 women in the queue was quite a sight though. The German lady called over a passing priest (this was the Vatican, after all) and had him berate uniform man. I think by the end of it he was reconsidering the wisdom of angering a large group of women who all really needed the loo...

Gissabreak, presumably it gave the queue-jumper an opportunity to strike up a conversation with No.4, and could have allowed him to guilt No.4 into helping a compatriot? After all, when QJ said ?Tell them, man, we are together?, No.4 hesitated to deny it.

QJ would have used any point of connection e.g. if the had both been Goths, just so happened the nearest to the head of the queue he could see an opportunity with was same ethnicity. Mentioning ethnicity is not always racism, you know.

Oooooh that makes my blood boil. I would have said something sooner. The staff were pretty spineless and did not wan to deal with it

GissaBreak - the jumper tried to play the race card by asking Number Four to lie for him, and indeed turning up the accent a bit. I thought it might be obvious from the words used. That (and only that) is why I mentioned what would otherwise be irrelevant.

In my experience chessington is particularly bad for queue jumpers - my 3 year old got actually pushed out of the seastorm ride by some older teenagers. They refused to move so I went and told the attendent who shrugged and told us to get back in the queue as the ride was by then full . I took his name and reported him but they really weren't bothered.

Some kids tried to do this at Blackpool pleasure beach, whilst DH and I were queueing for Avalanche, one boy was already in the queue, and his 3 mates tried to join him - there is a 'no place saving policy' at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, they ALL got chucked to the back of the queue, when DH, myself and several other people challenged the queue jumpers!

tis best not to go to the post office at lunch time if you don't want to queue for an hour

makes mental note not to go to chessington

When it happened to us everyone was enraged and we made sure the staff moved them.They were forced to the back.

People should challenge it indeed, but be aware it can lead to this kind of tragedy

I came across a great story in a ski resort. High season, with the accompanying long queues for the lifts. Whilst everyone was waiting their turn to get on a bubble lift (one of those ones where 4-6 people get inside, leaving their skis in holders on the outside), a couple completely jumped the queue, pushed to the front and got into the next bubble. The waiting skiers were fairly vocal, but this didn't phase the queue jumpers in the slightest. They merely sat inside, avoiding eye contact with the outside world, and waiting merrily as the doors shut and the shunted forward to start the trip up the mountain.

At this stage the lift attendant, who had been looking on in silence up to this point, went up to the bubble and calmly lifted out their skis, placing them on the side. The bubble then departed, leaving the original queue jumpers no choice but to stay in the lift all the way back down again in order to reclaim their skis. Happy skiers left in the queue. :o

certainly won't be going to Chessington!

Does anyone find it worse in Spain and France?
I was heavily pg last summer and was pushed in front of for the bar,food,toilets and the lifts frequently. I noticed that spanish and German children didnt queue and were not pulled up on by their parents.
I took dd to Disney Paris in June and it was so bad that i had to change my normal huge sense of injustice and big gob or id have been scrapping the whole time.
The funniest was on the Pirates of the Caribean a spanish girl plonked herself in front of us and then her entire family attempted to push past us. I eventually skirted around them and resumed my place in front of them. They then began to call me names and mock me in Spanish-pity for them i can speak it so i answered them in Spanish.The look on their faces was priceless

Had it at Legoland one time when there was a long queue for the train up to the top of the park. Lady hopped over dividing rope and when challenged said she was just saving walking round. As soon as the gates openned she pulled the rest of her large family and buggy over the wire and got on first.

Happily it misfired on her because when it's busy the buggy carriage is full and their buggy was on first. So not only did they then have to wait for every other buggy to be removed before they could get theirs, but having annoyed everyone no one was hurrying for them and we managed a long and slow conversation in the way of the door when only they were left. Grins from the rest of the carriages. They were by far the latest off the train. I think that's probably being passive aggressive isn't it?

Yes, I would have done the same. Spoken out - to queue jumper - and the staff member. Would have probably persevered a bit longer with staff member - put pressure on them to take appropriate action - and got their name.

A good queue jumping tecnique i have witnessed is to push past the massive queue whilst staring ahead and looking as if you have lost someone.Then stop and wave and say "oh there they are" to you small child-as if small child can understand- and rush towards the front still smiling and waving like a twat.

YANBU, I would also complain.

I had someone queue jump in a restaurant when queuing for a table once, with friends. Friend took DC's to the loo and DS was about 2m from me looking at the pretty lights on a fruit machine!
When people in front asked for table (couple) usher said 'oh your lucky we only have 2 of those left'. Lady behind obviously thought 2 = the couple and me and DS. So as I turned to call DS over she sneaked in front. I did point out I had been in the queue and people behind the lady spoke out too.

I asked for a table of 5. Woman behind looks relieved. Usher says there is no tables of 5 left but theres a table of 4 + 2 person next to it we can have if we don't mind a gap between us and kids. (said whilst winking!) Did we mind!! So whilst I'm waiting for friend the QJ lady behind is being told there is a wait, and they can wait at bar and be called when a table free.

She flounced.

I have reminded q jumpers(school kids) at the bus q that theres a q. I have had someone push in front because they needed the loo ( could have gone to the loo first!! Before q'ing) they were really loud about not wanting to q etc!!

Good on chucking QJs to the back - Thorpe Park and Alton Towers.

Utter crap - Chessington.

World's worst falsley-accused-queue-jumpers story:

I'm at a very busy train station at 7am, queuing to buy a travel card to get to London for the day, along with many others. Two windows are open, the queues are long. I am finally behind one young posh guy, on the phone, having an incredibly loud row with his father. We all of us now know the exact details of this phone call. It is cringe-making. The train London is due in 3 minutes.

Posh boy gets to the counter and carries on shouting into the phone. There are at least a dozen people behind him. He does not ask for a ticket. The train is due in 2 minutes and I have to be on it. The ticket seller catches my eyes and I mouth 'Tavel card?' He nods so I step forward so I'm standing next the posh boy - who is still shouting into the his phone and paying no attention to the ticket seller - and the ticket seller starts punching buttons on the till.

Posh boy goes mad. The weird thing though is that he doesn't go mad at the ticket seller or me. He starts going mad down the phone to his father, in a deranged running commentary. 'This women's just pushed in in front of me!' 'How can I get on the train when they won't let me buy a ticket!!' Etc.

I bought the ticket right in front of him in about 15 senonds, said thank you and went on to the platform. Instead of taking the opportunity to now ask for his ticket - he still had over a minute left - he started really screaming into his phone to the point that it could be heard all over the station. It sounded like he was being murdered. People in the queues are scattering, and next thing we all know he's being restrained by station staff as he tries to struggle onto the platform and - and this is the truly weird thing - he is still screaming into the phone to his dad about his place in the queue being stolen. The station staff are shouting, 'Right that's it's mate, we've called the Police,' and he's shouting into the phone, 'God, they've called the police now!'; and then he sees me getting on the train and starts screaming, 'There she is! That's her!' To his father on the phone.

I must admit that once I was on the train and the doors were closing, I caught his eye amidst the scrum and gave him a little raised-eyebrow smile.

Now there's a guy who needs to learn to chill. And to queue properly.

One of the oddest things that ever happened to me. It was actually really horrible.

Mind boggles at the idea of queuing for nearly an hour for one ride. How can it possibly be worth it? And you have to pay handsomely for this privilige? Shan't be going to Chessington after reading this.

We had a day at Camelot theme park (near Chorley, Lancs) this summer and I was very surprised to see notices up at the rides informing customers that queue jumpers would be chucked out of the park without a refund. I thought it was an unusual notice, but after the Chessington tales on here I can now see the need for it.

It's perhaps not surprising but I didn't witness even one incident of queue jumping during our visit.

Actually, to be fair, we did days at each of Legoland, Chessington, Thorpe Park and Alton Towers for our holiday three years' ago and didn't see any queue jumping at any of them, so maybe things have just got worse since then.

standing in a que at the bank for over 20 minutes and my patience was wearing slightly thin, when in walks this women shes waltzes all the way to the front and says,"oh is it ok if i go in front of you all i need to do is pay my money in". she then just barges right to the very front of the que much to the dismay of every else who's been waiting.
i could not control myself i didn't understand why no one else had said anything. i said "errrm excuse me the back of the que is over there i don't give a toss what you have got to do Ive been waiting here 20 mins and your taking the piss now fuck off". to that everyone else in the que agreed and there were lots of "yeahs" and "go on get lost".
the women buggered off and i went much better!

I wish I'd got the staff member's name, she was actually very apologetic and kept saying she was sorry but then let the queue jumper and her kids on the ride! After the ride was over (all of 2 mins worth after queuing for an hour) she apologised to me again. Just a shame she didn't feel able to actually do something about the situation.

Sounds like Chessington Management isn't too bothered but I'm going to write and complain anyway. They need a clear policy on how to deal with it didn't see a single sign anywhere saying queue jumping wouldn't be tolerated...