Slow clueless people holding up queues

[AuntyMargeAuntyFlora]

What is it with these people?

My latest experience was at a walk-in centre. Only two women ahead of me in the queue to book in. Goodness knows what they were doing, most of it seemed to be standing there looking at each other before saying a few quiet words to the receptionist who had to keep explaining the same things to them (that they had missed their appointment and needed to go immediately to another hospital if they wanted to see x department). Then they'd stare at each other again. Occasionally one would half-heartedly search in a bag or look at their phone. Absolutely no sense of urgency at all, and apparently oblivious (despite glancing in our direction several times) to the massive queue gradually building up behind them. By the time the queue had almost reached the door, another member of staff was called to come and help book everyone else in, and these two women were still slowly doing nothing.

I don't mind if someone has genuinely got a difficult query/situation that takes ages to unpick, or if they are perhaps elderly/overwhelmed/etc and these things take longer. But its usually these people who are first to apologise for holding up the queue or even suggest others go ahead!

What I'm talking about is the entitled people who don't seem to register that other people exist, and who ponder and confer at a snail's pace, oblivious to any sense of urgency of the queue building up. I can imagine someone coming in with a serious injury, and these two women glancing over periodically as the person bleeds everywhere and slowly collapses, as they carry on with their inane time wasting non-query...

I'm the same, if we're out I do the ordering because I find him so annoying. It's almost as though he's surprised to be asked to pay at the end too, I don't know if this is genuine or him trying to wind me up. I never expected my DH to turn into an irritating old man.
I'm someone who always has their cards ready to pay because I don't want to keep people waiting, even if I'm not in a hurry myself.
Incidentally I don't mind a cashier chatting to people as she puts their shopping through the till, I don't really believe it shows things down as a good cashier can work on automatic. What annoys me is the chatting to other staff or chatting to customers when the bill is waiting to be paid.

I never expected my DH to turn into an irritating old man.

Does he know that you think of him as an irritating old man?

A third of the bus had wheelie bags with them, not school children. Ever wondered why OAP bus passes are made to discourage rush-time travel?

But there's always these posts - because "I" don't do it, no one does. It's tedious. And patronising (have that one back) to doubt that I can use my own eyes properly.
Also, I really wasn't patronising towards the oldies when I was 8 years old 😅 I just wanted to get on the bus and not be late for school!

During the petrol supply crisis - pre Covid, can't remember the exact date - there were long queues at petrol stations which you just had to join and sit in patiently. (Incidentally - these places didn't always HAVE any petrol, so you grabbed your chance despite the queue).

I was just getting near to the pumps, watching the woman in front in a huge 4 X 4 (so a big tank, obvs) who was one of life's dawdlers - she did things in her own time, whatever the situation - finish putting in petrol, then open her car door and start fiddling and faffing, then saunter to the payment desk, and saunter back, get into her car, adjust seatbelts, put on lippy etc etc....and I was getting excited to finally reach the pumps when - she suddenly had second thoughts and got out and went through the whole palaver again, putting yet more fuel in and taking another 10 mins.

Oh boy, you needed to be patient but I could have cheerfuly strangled this unaware, dozy and inconsiderate woman.

Hardly any OAP's on our buses, they travel when they can use their passes unless they are working or taking children like me.

I certainly mention my irritation in the hope that he'll drop the behaviour if it is just an affectation - which is quite possible!

The receptionist was partly at fault for not saying to them ‘ There is a long queue building up. Could you think about what I’ve said/ make a decision because I can’t keep all these people waiting any longer. You could wait over there in the meantime’.
Similarly the next person in the queue to them could have said:’ Excuse me, there are a lot of us waiting. Would you mind letting someone else speak now whilst you decide what to do? There is a massive number of us waiting and I really don’t mind to be rude but……’
People need to politely announce their frustration rather than seething in silent fury.

I agree with you there. There's hardly Anyone at all on the buses here. And I haven't been on one for 15 years.

Just the old frustration I was sharing is from 30 years ago. And you would feel similar frustration if you were left behind by an overcrowded bus of retired shoppers and get your DGC late to school. I'm sure there's space for everyone and their cat now 😁

Couldn’t agree more.

Tolerance, patience and empathy have all taken a nose dive and, as a society, selfishness has gone up. People are very “WHAT ABOUT ME” lately, it makes for being anywhere in public very unpleasant.

Today in Aldi a pensioner was rummaging around in her purse at the checkout, counting money and kept getting slightly confused. You know what me and lady at the checkout did? We said it was ok and patently waited, she got there in the end and left the shop happy. What would getting irritated at her done? More than likely caused her to panic and make the confusion worse. Pensioners have just as much right to shop as anybody else just have more patience. Because if society dosent change and those who hurry and became impatient pass this down to their children what do you think will happen when those who hurry and huff became pensioners? Chances are society will be twice as bad for pensioners, is that want you really want to happen to you when you are a pensioner, are much slower and confuse a lot of things. Because these things do happen the majority of older pensioners.

Haha. I remember getting a pop up whilst booking a flight “this flight doesn’t go from terminal 5 - are you sure you still want to book” haha - about right.

Today in Aldi a pensioner was rummaging around in her purse at the checkout, counting money and kept getting slightly confused. You know what me and lady at the checkout did? We said it was ok and patently waited, she got there in the end and left the shop happy

To be honest, the constant moaning about people not having their money/purse ready bemuses me anyway, because most of us only have two hands, and if you have a basket of shopping in one hand and a bag in the other, and need to put the stuff on the conveyor belt, I am not sure how you are meant to get your purse out early. It seems quite sexist actually as it is much easier for men (something that I also used to think about ticket barriers when they were first introduced, as men had breast pockets in their suits and women had to rummage through handbags to find their tickets).

What does bug me is when people search through looking for vouchers/coupons, or want to pay with the exact money and take ages to find it but as you say, it's easier just smile outwardly. As I usually use self-service I rarely get stuck behind an old dear anyway.

I love coffee, basic coffee, but completely agree with you! We recently ordered food and then had to wait for our drinks. Our food came first because of the complicated drinks orders! Should always have 2 staff serving, with one purely making stupid coffee!

When I worked in payroll I often got people calling for info and when I gave it to them said hold on I need a pen and paper, wasted hours of my life holding for these idiots, so glad I'm retired and don't have to deal with them

Ijustdontcare
'My retired parents go shopping for the big shop at 2pm every Sunday as that's what they have always done. They then spend the next few days moaning about how busy it is and how they wish it was quieter. Any protests from me about why not go on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon instead are met with "I'm sure It's just as busy then!"'
I work weekends on a checkout, and Sundays are horrendously busy. I think it's partially because it's a much shorter shopping day, and people tend to remember stuff they need for the start of their working/school week.
We open at 10am, close at 4pm. It always seems to go crazy right as we start lunch breaks at 12 o'clock. Because of the shorter working day, breaks are scheduled between 12 and 2pm. There's not much leeway, if staff are starting work at 10 and finishing at 4.
But every week, we get the same people in doing big shops, and the same ones shouting that we need to get more tills on. We don't have the staff to 'get more tills on' - we do have staff, but some of them are on their legally required lunch breaks. Never more than two at once, for a half hour break, but when it's busy that makes a difference over the lunch period.
We also get people wandering in around half past three (usually, again, the same ones every week) doing a 'big shop', and in some cases, having to be literally chased around the store and herded to the checkouts when we've actually closed.

When changing lines at a tube station, there are always those few pains in the arse who are strolling along staring down at their phones & holding everyone else up behind them.

At least when they do it on pavements it’s usually possible to get round them.

I know I'm missing the point here, but escalators are only 130 years old. Tube escalators are even younger: just 112. Look up Bumper Harris for a bit of transport history.

Thank you!

I used a time frame based on the age of the Tube system itself, without checking what was actually in the stations at the time.

Perhaps I should have written "for well over a century" instead!

The dithering woman at the front of the queue, asking questions when she'd very clearly been told what to do, but was continuing to do nothing much, while being oblivious to the queue, the pressing needs of others, just what an absolute inconvenience they were being while not letting the next person have their turn...... sounds VERY VERY LIKE MY MOTHER. We despair as much as everyone else.

My usually 'on the ball' DH has recently been struck with a condition rendering him lost for thought and words, especially if stressed. You would not be able to tell by looking at him. He is therefore often dithering and a bit lost at a reception desk if they is anything other than a straightforward answer.

Irritating though it may be, Do not judge people, one day it may be you who is lost and confused.

I am not the biggest fan of people that fill a lorry load of a trolly, get to a check out, then disappear to keep adding more items to said lorry load of a trolly. I'm normally the person with a pint of milk behind this person in the queue watching them carefully pick their sweets, read ingredients on the packaging while the queue is out the door and the person at the till has a mountain of groceries building round them.

Completely unaware of my rage 😡

People who are so obsessed with being in the queue that all common sense goes out of the window.

I worked in a few hospitals, you would see patients in the morning, have a break often with a team meeting and then see others in the afternoon.

So after the break / meeting we would come out to patients in the waiting area, 4 patients would have the same time for their appointment but were going into different rooms for different tests.

So you would call Mr A but Mr B would copling he had been waiting longer and Ms C thought she should be seen first.

At one hospital we actually sent out letters on different coloured paper so you could say, "Your letter is yellow so you are for this test, the person with the blue letter is for a different test"

Or trying to post a letter in the internal letter box of the DSS, but people are queueing past it and they won't move so you can literally post one envelope.