To think queuing means actually standing in the queue, not wandering off

[Monicavinader]

I hate queuing and will always gauge how long a queue is before I join it to make sure I can be arsed to wait that long. I was at a kids' activity the other day and I decided to wait for a ballon activity with my daughter. Joined queue, got to the front and lo and behold a couple of women pop up and say they were next. The woman doing the activity agreed. Same with an eyebrow threading line. Am I being UR to expect people to actually, you know, queue? To be fair, both times the other people let me go first (I looked murderous on both occasions - had several small children with me and time and patience limited (theirs and mine!).

When I lived in Asia, I was amazed that people sometimes used their shoes or flipflops to hold their place in the queue. They'd put them there and go and sit down. It worked well; like the numbers you used to get at the deli counter (showing my age!).

I think it's about the suffering whilst queuing. If you're sat whilst watching your shoes in the line and everyone else is doing the same then it's okay. If you were having a nice time when others stood in a line then it isn't cricket!

No I agree with you. I was queuing with my DH to catch a ferry, only a small cross-estuary boat that takes a max 40 passengers per crossing and just as the attendant came to let down the rope, suddenly a load of other halves and relatives appeared from nowhere to join the single people who were "holding their places"! We only just got because of it!!

I'm with you on this one too. Stay in the bloody queue!

Tainbri I wouldn't mind someone's other half to join them in the queue at the last minute, with a couple of children maybe. I would be annoyed if it was a group of adults joining the queue but still wouldn't say anything as long as one person of the group was queuing as is kind of a grey area in the etiquette I think...
Leaving the queue with no one holding your place means you forfeit your place though