Checkout fuss

[veritata]

I was approaching the checkouts at the supermarkets today, and saw one with two people - one, a man, was loading his trolley having paid, and there was a woman standing there who I assumed was with him. I joined that queue and started getting my stuff out when the woman said "Excuse me, I'm first". I was confused and said "Come on, you haven't got a trolley", whereupon she gestured to a lad who had come up behind me with a trolley and said "There it is". I said "Yes, and it's behind me". She got into a huff and stropped off muttering "Don't panic, it's only a queue" to which I just answered "Precisely". I was perfectly calm throughout - if anything, I was just confused - and in fact was about to move myself rather than get into a stupid stand-off.

WIBU? Has reserving your place in checkout queues become a thing that no-one's told me about?

[SistersOfPercy]

Last Christmas, I noticed a few times in shops that people would stand in the huge queue empty handed while a friend nipped round and then they would swap places and eventually pay together.

Years ago before I discovered online shopping at Christmas I'd park DH in the endless Asda queue with the trolley then do a supermarket sweep stylee dash around the store for my goods. By the time I'd done he'd be near enough to the belt to start loading.

Then I discovered Ocado and have not set foot in a supermarket again in December

[iamjustlurking]

I have noticed this saving a place in the queue more and more in Supermarkets.

It happened to me in Asda a few weeks ago, although they did end up behind me as I think I made my views perfectly clear and again in Tesco on Sunday the woman was stood at till my DP started loading empty conveyor belt with his shopping and suddenly her partner appeared from behind with his trolley load.

He however is less vocal than me so just muttered loudly giving me the Paddington Bear death stare in case I was tempted to voice my opinion.

[RahRahRasputin]

Yes I think reserving a space for a trolley is rude. If someone can't spare the time to queue to pay for their goods properly then they ought to shop online. It's not fair to skip the queue and also delay everyone else who has chosen that queue based on how many people/how many items they have. It's quite different to nipping back for something you have forgotten, although I think that is only fair if you know you will be back before your items reach the checkout, so as not to keep people waiting.

[FreeSpiritsBadAttitude]

There are many, many checkout crimes committed in the country where I live. The worst is that it's considered OK to ask the check out person to go and fetch you a forgotten item.

This is usually prompted by the person ahead of you in the queue checking out your shopping and going "oh, milk. We forgot milk!" Then they send the cashier off to fetch it. The cashier often seems to treat this as a little break and will stop and chat to a security guard or customer on the way.

It should be illegal!

[DizzyKipper]

I usually do my shopping about 8am on a Monday morning, or at least by 9. Absolute deserted supermarket bliss . I've not come across this queue jumping before but yes it sounds very cheeky!

[LottieMumofWilfJenkins]

Many moons ago i worked at a supermarket and a shopper put her credit/debit card on the conveyor belt. I didn't realise until she started squawking at me that it had vanished!!

[Dubjackeen]

Haven't seen this happen much, although I did once encounter a young teenage girl who appeared out of nowhere, as I started to unload my trolley, and told me she was ahead of me-she wasn't. She started pulling items from under stuff on display at the till, presumably she had stashed them there earlier. I just said no, it's a queue, and despite some muttering on her part, I continued with unloading my trolley.
I saw two women try the 'we're together' in a queue, thinking that the person who was next in the queue would see this as meaning that one of them should be allowed to jump the queue. It didn't happen, and again, with some muttering, the second woman had to take her place behind those of us who had actually queued.

[VelvetEmbers]

Last week we joined a queue with just an elderly man in. He was joined by a young woman with a few bits, just as he was getting to the end, and she then put down an extra divider.

We saw her at the front of the store with her DH and children. She wasn't anything to do with the old man and had just decided to push in front of us by pretending to be with him

[VivaLeBeaver]

I've seen people in our village (large) shop reserve their place in the queue with a basket. You get to the till and there's a person, then a basket on the floor, another person holding their basket, then a couple more baskets.

[JustAShopGirl]

I just don't go shopping if I'm in a hurry, or at busy times of day... makes it a much less stressful experience. 9.30pm on a Tuesday - there are usually me and the same 3 customer service assistants in our local Asda.

We have a bit of banter "Why did you choose her till this week - it's my turn!" etc.... easy life.....

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

I live in a high density OAP town and they drive me insane
Now I scan and go or self checkout and do not have to interact with anyone else. The elderly don't use them


Rude, scathing posters drive me insane. You'll be elderly one day, Madam.
I'm bordering on "elderly" and I use them, so Ner!

[Stinkle]

I had this recently in Aldi.

I was in a queue behind a man holding milk, he was just going through the till when his partner appeared with an overflowing trolley.

The checkout assistant sent them both to the back of the (massive) queue with fleas in their ears.

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

Have told this story before, but it's always worth another airing

I live near a town where a lot of the Chelsea footballers live. Anyway, a friend was in the local supermarket petrol station, standing in line to pay for his petrol. John Terry marches in, goes straight to the front of the queue. Conversation goes:

Cashier: Can I help you sir?
JT: I want to pay for my petrol
Cashier: There is a queue, sir.
JT: Do you know who I am?
Cashier: Yes, sir, your the last person in my queue.

Cue lots of sniggering from everyone else waiting their turn to pay as JT joins the end of the line!

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

you're the last person

[Hoppinggreen]

I popped to the petrol station for bread and milk yesterday and there were 2 people serving, each with 2 customers ( I was one).
A man came to the front and said " 4" and dropped a £20 on the counter and went to walk off. The assistant said I'm sorry I am serving other people you will gave to wait. So he went up to the other assistant and did the same - and got the same response .
He queued behind me and I must admit it may have taken me a little while longer than necessary to pay!!!

[Treats]

Can I just check - in plenty of time before Christmas which is the only time we normally do this - is it OK for one of you to join the back of a very long queue with a half full trolley while the other one dashes round for the last few bits? Do you then HAVE to pay when you get to the top of the queue, even if you haven't got everything, or can you let other people go ahead of you until you've finished?

Would be good to get clarity on this point......

[EvilHerbivore]

Oooh, I'm so glad there's a queuing thread! Yesterday I had to send a parcel so stood in the queue with baby DS and 3 year old DS, they were starting to get a bit fractious as the queue was long and moving slowly but we were getting to the front.

Then an older couple came in, picked a card off the display stand and then walked to the next available cashier/server, made her wait while they wrote it out and then bought a stamp to send it, completely queue jumped about 20 people and held them up while they wrote the damn card!

And nobody said anything....

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

I was in the corner shop the other day. No queue, just one lady in front of me about to pay, with a little girl, aged around 6, I'd guess.

Young lady (yes, BlanchedAlmonds - young people can also be a pain in the arse) then decides that the chocolate bar her little girl has chosen is too expensive. She then proceeds to run around the shop with child choosing something else. After ten minutes, because cashier was patiently waiting (I had been patiently waiting, but was getting a bit fed-up) I did ask (rather loudly, it has to be said) if the cashier could cancel the half-transaction of young lady to free up her till to serve me.
At that point, young lady and child managed to choose another sweet treat very quickly and paid immediately.
Hhmmmphh!

[flipchart]

I can't believe I've got to nearly 50 without any sort of checkout incident!

[FernMitten]

MFIC, people from the back of the queue rushing to be first in a newly opened checkout aaaaaargh!!!! I have to do breathing exercises when this happens and tell myself it doesn't matter.

[Madcatgirl]

I've told this before, but if was in Morrisons unloading my trolly of food, when an older couple came along behind me and started taking my stuff off and putting theirs on! When I challenged them they got really rude and shouty with me!