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...

Generally, at the GPs it's people who aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer for a whole variety of reasons. My GPs trialled an automatic check-in but people just didn't or couldn't use it.

There's a lot of anxiety out there and if you're fortunate not to suffer all do you can do is be patient.

Likewise, you have no idea what may be going on with people in the queue behind the slow people to make it difficult / painful for them to wait in the queue.

Slow and fast queues would work well here, then everyone’s needs could be met (assuming people actually used the correct queue!)

Odds on I have as many deadlines, places to be and important things to do as the average person moaning on here. Unless the thread has attracted more than its share of people who spend their time rushing from one life saving mission to another, I'd imagine most of us have the usual routine of our job and our family responsibilities to attend to. A few lost minutes does not result in serious consequences for the majority of people, however important they think they are.

@TulipOH

you would have probably exploded if you'd been with me at Faro airport last week. There were many golfers in front of me at the baggage check desks.

one of them was obviously told his checked bag was overweight so he dropped to his knees and spent several minutes painstakingly and neatly sorting through his checked bag and transferring various items from there to his golf bag. That was annoying enough but then the man behind him in the queue who had watched him go through the whole rigmarole then did the exact same thing.

I'm normally quite patient at airports but those two wound me up!!

Yes people at bus stops that are they way before the bus comes, who don't have there cash, card, phone ready. Why?

Or the twirles who get on the bus before 9.30, am I too early! Yes it's 9.29, can I scan my bus pass at the end. I've learnt to avoid those buses.
Our buses are every 8m not like they have to wait long for the next bus, the queue off them waiting for the 9.30 bus, makes me laugh. Ok if they have an appointment but most off them are popping off to the shops.

Who on earth pays with cash nowadays?

I thought we had all moved on!

Given that they'd missed an appointment, they can't have been that urgently ill, surely?
Even if they were, surely they weren't both ill?
And of course, everyone else in the queue behind them is likely to be ill/injured and struggling too. Including me.

I am fully aware not all disabilities are visible, my own hidden disability was reaching peak awfulness (and that wasn't even the reason I was there).

They didn't seem confused as such, more just ... oblivious. It's hard to put into words. It reminds me of the same people who walk 3-4 abreast along the pavement and expect oncoming pedestrians to step into the road or flatten themselves against a wall to avoid them. It's almost as if they're surprised or unaware that other people exist. It's a very particular phenomenon I'm getting at here, that doesn't necessarily encompass all the dithering examples given in this thread, some of which may be people unfamiliar with a situation or older people struggling with things.

I'm 35 and I was amused a woman in front of me, similar age, because she faffed madly trying to open up a humungous card wallet purse thing. It was like a book with a floral design on the hard plastic cover and inside I don't know how many cards, and she hummed and hawed over which one to pick out and it wasn't made any easier by her long white artificial fingernails. Still, she seemed pleasant enough. She could have done it before she got to the till and the assistant told her the total.

And dare I say it - 99% time they are women. Especially the ones who won't move away from a checkout until their purse is installed in the correct slot and they've done fort knox up (sorry their hand bag)

And don't get me started about (again normally women) those who drive around a virtually empty car park and insist on parking next to the only other car in the lot. Usually a couple of inches away from the other drivers door.

So, you have no idea why they were there, no idea what they said, no idea what was wrong, no idea what happened but you've diagnosed them with "entitlement". 🙄

OMG. This woman is probably genuinely puzzled as to why she has no friends.

I agree with this. There could be any number of reasons. It’s annoying, yes, when you are waiting but it could be you one day.

I hate standing on an escalator like why just stand when you can get up or down quicker by walking leaving space for more people to get on

There is nothing ageist about a reference to a Mary Poppins handbag. It simply means a bag which is capable of containing anything and is a well known literary convention. Hermione Grainger had one and so did Moominmamma.

Go to a shop with a chiller then if that's all you're getting. People are going to order what they want to drink, and I don't know why that annoys you.

<rushes onto thread>

OH MY GOD!
dithering people in the supermarket (their bloody trolly sideways across the aisle while they stare at the milk. It's fucking MILK. How much longer? Just pick one up!)

dithering people on the pavement

dithering people in cars (there's nothing coming - just GO)

stop fucking dithering about !!

<rushes away again>
(no dithering)

no hang on.
There should be a special time of day, 9pm maybe, when the ditherers can come out. No earlier.

I do! Always handy to have a few notes and coins for a variety of reasons. My mum does the same!

We were also in Sarlat in September...and from the sound of it in the same car park in the centre of the town waiting in a huge queue while people phaffed about at the ticket machine. Sadly, we encountered the problem in just about every car park. Tedious.

@Notanotherhousepost

And dare I say it - 99% time they are women. Especially the ones who won't move away from a checkout until their purse is installed in the correct slot and they've done fort knox up (sorry their hand bag)

I'm like this, I'm afraid, ever since I left my purse wallet thing by the self-service tills in H&M in Cardiff. I didn't miss it for about half an hour, it wasn't in my bag, It had my return train ticket and all my cards! But I had my phone still. I went to my bank's branch and they gave me some cash and showed me how to disactivate my cards on my app. Then I racked my brains where it could have been. First I went back to John Lewis, not handed in. Then I remembered H&M. Back to the department where I bought a T-shirt. The lady said 'What colour is it?'. I said 'bluey-black', and she produced it from under the counter! All intact! So now I am so paranoid about leaving it.

I have to say this - every time I go to Cardiff I am struck by how lovely the people are. So friendly and nice.

My proposed solution is for every venue to have a clearly advertised time limit for completing the transaction. If you can't complete your order/enquiry/check-in within that time, no judgment-just go to the back of the queue and start again.

When I am feeling particularly impatient and short of time I get the rage at people faffing about paying in cash, looking for the right amount and waiting for their change, when a simple tap would have sufficed. But I acknowledge I lack a tolerance bone.

SnakesandKnives Oh god, yes.
I've actually had people stand at the till and make a phone call to find out their PIN. With a fuming queue behind them.
One woman actually had to make FOUR separate calls. It's not often l'm lost for words, but.....

That's nice for him that he was able to do that. A relative with dementia in their 60s cannot do these things. Perhaps just be greatfull that your dad didnt

I have to walk slowly at the moment, due to injury, and it's much much nicer. I set off everywhere early, I go my own speed, I don't hurry up as I would lose my balance or fall, and I look about and take my time. I don't give a shit for the hurried huffy people, they are affecting their own blood pressure, not mine. By turning up places very early, I no longer get stressed by people in queues, or people who can't work tils or people in a health-care setting who aren't going my speed, or people who have disabilities, brain injuries, strokes, dementia or are just a bit confused about life. It's so much nicer, you should try it!

People who’ll stand and hold a queue up in a shop talking to the person behind the desk. I’ve noticed this is mainly old people, and a lot of these annoyances are done by old people. It’s like they’ve no concept of time for others.