CF at checkout Poundland, AIBU?

[strawberryharibo1]

On the way home I decided to stop by Poundland to buy a few things with DS3, I'm standing in the cashier queue, the lady before me decides to go to the self service machine, I move closer to the cashier. The woman at the self service needs assistance, and instead of calling for help she just stands there and waits. The cashier is dealing with another woman, and I'm next. And the woman at the self service machine has noticed that the cashier is nearly done with the other woman before me and decided to stand and wait at the self service machine, now the cashier is done with the other customer and I move closer to put my items down, she does the same and says 'I was before you' I tell her it's not my fault the self service machine isn't working and you should have called for help, she says it doesn't matter, I was still before you. I ignore her, and pay. She then shouts at me " what a great example you are for your child"

AIBU?

[CircleofWillis]

browneyes
But what if, in your imaginary scenario, the staff member had helped the woman AFTER she’d served the OP. The OP would’ve been served first anyway, so it would’ve made no difference to the shopper?

I meant that as the shopper was ahead of the OP whether the staff member served her at the staffed till or at the self service would have made no difference to the OP. The OP was complaining that the woman hadn't signaled the staff member for help instead she tried to nip back in front of OP.

By going to the self service she potentially reduced the OP's wait but by returning to the queue she only returned OP's wait to what it would have been originally.

Obviously by having to wait for the OP to be served the woman's wait was lengthened to longer than the OP's as she was in the queue before her. In the meantime the OP's has been shortened at the woman's expense.

[browneyes77]

So if the shopper had called the staff member over to help it would have made no difference to the OP. Instead the OP insisted on being served first.

But what if, in your imaginary scenario, the staff member had helped the woman AFTER she’d served the OP. The OP would’ve been served first anyway, so it would’ve made no difference to the shopper?

[CircleofWillis]


My closest pound land has a set up exactly like princess's excellent diagram (what is the small yellow circle next to the third circle in the queue btw?)

It is a single queue with the option of going to a self help till or the staffed till.

The staffer at the till also deals with self service issues at quiet times of day. So if the shopper had called the staff member over to help it would have made no difference to the OP. Instead the OP insisted on being served first. YABU

[ffswhatnext]

Anytime this happens in a store that overlooks the self-checkout. Cashiers call me to the till as soon as they have finished with a customer when short-staffed.
When they are manned either another self-scan till, or front of the queue at a till or customer service.
I see it all the time happen with other customers as well.

It's not like she left the queue because she had forgotten something. She just saw an empty till and made a choice to do it. Had the machine worked I bet you wouldn't be complaining about the woman using the machine, freeing up a bit of your time.

[BlackberryNettles]

it’s a shop. They want you to pay for stuff. Surely you can fathom that out for yourself without having to ask the staff what to do? I do know that, but as you can see some people would think it rude for me to cut into the self checkout and how do I know if the staff think that or not and would rather I reentered back of q instead.

[MrsBethel]

When you switch queues, you don't have an 'option' on the queue you left. You just don't. So YANBU.

If she'd asked nicely, or even just made eye contact, I suspect you'd have let her in anyway. I would. But if she tries to dart in there like a CFer? Nope.

Jesus, no one knows how to queue in this country anymore!!!

What I really hate is when there's a queue for an escalator, and some people skip the whole queue and try to start a new 'offshoot queue' right by the escalator, and then weedle their shoulders in front of the next person in the real queue. Happens all the time on public transport where I am.
They try that with me and I just pretend to have not seen them and walk straight on (possibly smashing the fuckers into the moving rail, but that's their lookout).

[AutovillaGirl]

She was in the wrong. She should have waited for assistance from the self-service staff. That's how it works in my local Poundland, there is a member of staff just overseeing the self-service. There is always a dedicated self-service staff member for all self service tills I've seen anywhere. Rudeness is everywhere, just don't let yourself sink to their level .

[57Varieties]

This thread is nuts. No one would stand in a single queue for say 5 minutes, get to the front, find the method of payment was broken, and then go and join the back of the queue again, and do another 5 minutes. No one. Absolutely bonkers.

[57Varieties]

But that’s kind of my point. It’s a shop. They want you to pay for stuff. Surely you can fathom that out for yourself without having to ask the staff what to do?

[BlackberryNettles]

Why would you need to ask though, @BlackberryNettles? Surely you’ve got enough about you to work out how to pay for a basket of shopping without having to ask the staff what to do.

Because I don't assume the rules of how the shop operates. Maybe they expect me to slip back to self check out or maybe they want me to go to the back of the Q, I don't know.

[browneyes77]

She didn't leave the queue though. Leaving the queue is when you go back into the shop, not when you walk a few steps towards a machine.

She did leave the queue. She left the queue and went to another part of the shop to use a self service machine instead. Doesn’t matter how many steps away it was. So she left the staff serviced queue and went to a machine so that she could serve herself instead so she didn’t have to queue.

She had scanned several items before the self service machine started playing up. So it wasn’t a quick step away and a quick step back. If you’re standing at a self service machine long enough to scan some of your items, then you have officially left the queue.

[57Varieties]

Why would you need to ask though, @BlackberryNettles? Surely you’ve got enough about you to work out how to pay for a basket of shopping without having to ask the staff what to do.

[Witchinaditch]

She was there before you and it would have cost you what 2mins? So I would say YABU however, why get so angry over a non issue to the extent you write about it on MN? Don’t let the little things get you down.

[jennymanara]

Christ there are some horrible people on this thread.

[Miaowing]

She left the queue - she goes to the back

But then if I’m in a queue and a new till opens - I’ll make sure I’m first in line even if I was at the back of the old queue.

As a young single shopper I’ll be much quicker than the dodderies and the people herding kids.

Alls fair in live and shopping queues

[jennymanara]

No not saints, just people with manners.

[Jellybubbamama0987]

No wonder you never see Saints on the streets, they all appear to hang out at Poundland lol

[my2bundles]

You watched her having problems but refused to let her back in. I would have asked her to come back in front of me if I saw that happen.

[Billben]

What a great example you are to your child

But you were a great example in showing them to not let CF get away with their bullhsit. 😀

[Bibijayne]

She was rude. But it's really the shop's fault. They should have had someone monitoring the self service area.

[BlackberryNettles]

Why wouldn't I ask? I'll be a mug idc, unless I have somewhere to go it's no skin off my nose, just bad luck.

[57Varieties]

Personally I would ask the staff at the manned check out whether I should jump straight onto the self check out or not

Why?

I don’t believe anyone who says they’d meekly slink back to the end of what could be a very long queue, having already queued in the same queue. If you would, you’re a mug.

[BlackberryNettles]

you OP had been at the manned till after waiting in said queue, and that broke during the transaction, would you have then gone to the back of the queue and queued again or just jumped onto the self service and scanned and paid?

Personally I would ask the staff at the manned check out whether I should jump straight onto the self check out or not

[57Varieties]

So assuming a single queue situation - to reverse the scenario - if you OP had been at the manned till after waiting in said queue, and that broke during the transaction, would you have then gone to the back of the queue and queued again or just jumped onto the self service and scanned and paid?

Sometimes these single queues that filter off into the self serve and and till can be quite long, I don’t believe anyone who says they’d happily queue again for another 5 minutes having already done so just because the till they went to was not functioning properly, which isn’t their fault

[londonrach]

Yabu. Good manners let her go before you as she was before you but had a problem with the till.