Was I in the wrong to push in the queue ?

[crisikrinkles]

Went into the post office in our town.
It’s always packed and they had two serving.
I needed currency and places never normally have it without ordering.
I needed it that day as we were travelling at night (last minute I know )
There was probably 20 people in front of me.
I didn’t want to wait in the queue incase I stood there and they didn’t have it anyway.
So I went to a counter and just said “before I queue can I just check you have this currency “
A woman barked “there’s a queue !”
I explained I wasn’t pushing in,I was just checking they had something before I got to the back of the queue.
She shouted “ no you wait to ask questions “

was i in the wrong ?

The cashier said, "yes", so OP joined the queue.
If the cashier had said "no", OP would have gone elsewhere.

How did she make it everyone else's problem? It's not as if she demanded that everyone in the shop go home and search for their homes for spare euros.

Irrelevant.

She was rude.

Sometimes 'only a quick question' can turn into something a bit longer and be an inconvenience for the person working there. I have seen this happen before where someone will jump the queue with their 'quick question' but the answer is not a quick answer.

So you were wrong to jump the queue, there may be other people queueing who have 'quick questions' as well. Your time is not more important than anyone else waiting.

I’d have done the same as you. I’m sure the cashier would be able to answer your question in a second, without delaying what they were doing.

I've done this sort of thing before, but I tell the people in front of the queue what I'm doing first. Or sometimes the whole queue if it's not too long. I just say - I need to ask a really quick question before I join the queue, do you mind? It'll take two seconds.. Or you know, whatever along those lines. People tend to accommodate because by asking you're recognising there's a queue, and that they've be waiting longer.

Yes you were wrong. You don't get to go to the front of the queue because your time is apparently more important than other people's!

Our Post Office has a desk where you can drop off parcels and letters that are ready to go, without waiting, because there’s no benefit to anyone in making the queue even longer than it has to be.

YANBU
It’s guaranteed to irritate a few people but it’s the most efficient way of doing it, and will only delay the flow of the queue by seconds, rather than you taking a whole place in the queue and wasting 45 mins of your time.

I'd have asked the friendliest looking person at the front of the queue if they'd ask for me. That way, you'd not have upset anyone else or took their spot in any way.
But ultimately, I'd have just waited my turn to be honest. The queues go down pretty quickly. Although, doesn't mean what you did was wrong, it wasn't imo.

I think it's fine.

I used to work in a currency beauro and people did this all the time. I never felt it was rude- i knew what currency was in stock as we had to count it all twice a day so the answer would either be yes or no. I wouldn't serve them before anyone else but the OP wasn't expecting that.

Seems like most of the pressure came from this being so last minute which is on you. Plus you can get currency changed at airports or whatever station you go through so you weren't without options. I do think YABU for jumping ahead and should've planned so your time pressure wasn't everyone else's problem.

I dont think you were unreasonable. Just using your time efficiently. If the other people in the queue dont like it what are they going to do? Pull out an AK47 and shoot you? Post ofices can be feral.

Been there, done it, got the t shirt. Not related to currency but been into a shop where Im not sure they stock the widget I want, Gone to the front of the queue and asked the nearest assistant "Excuse me do you have stock X?" If the answer is no then there is no point in my waiting. So I am one person less to serve.

People in the UK have a "thing" about queues which causes mockery all over Europe. The only time I saw queuing with such dedication was in Hong Kong queing for taxis when they came off the ferry.

I think it was fine to ask. My heart would have been racing and I'd have felt like I was doing something wrong but I think I would still have done it

In future phone ahead. Or just take it out at the ATM abroad.

It's totally fine to ask a question that would lead to you knowing whether or not to join the queue.

I used to do that a lot during COVID. But I always used to be overly polite and say

'I'm really sorry, I promise I'm not jumping the queue, I just need to ask one really quick question' while hopping up and down and looking ridiculous!

It was usually in Boots or super drug to check the pharmacy was actually open and pharmacist in.

First post nails it as always.

Love the fact that people here would queue 30mins to be told they don’t have the currency. When you could have determined that with a quick question like op did.

This is why people don’t get anywhere in life. No common sense!

But they may have had it and then ran out by the time they got to you.

So your question was not needed and you needed to wait in line.

I understand what you’re saying but the majority of users will be there to do a similar thing - ask something and see if they can help them.

Of course you were being unreasonable @crisikrinkles It's a post office, you KNOW they would have had 'foreign' currency.

Something similar happened last week in the post office in my market town. 15-16 people (me in the middle somewhere,) and 3 windows of 4 open. They have 3 in a row, and one at the back on its own.

This woman trots in with a letter, and waltzes to the back of the post office to checkout 4, and says 'oh for fuck's sake!' She was disgruntled because it was closed, and only checkouts 1, 2, and 3 were open. Did she think checkout 4 was open and we were all so stupid that we didn't notice?

She started flapping her arms at the women serving at the other checkouts, and one of them said 'yes?!' The woman said 'I only want one second class stamp, could you just give me one, I have the right change here (87p.)' A woman behind me said 'I only want one stamp too, but I'm not trying to push in front of 15 people!'

The checkout lady said 'sorry you will have to wait' as half the people in the queue scowled at this woman. 😆

The woman said 'fucking shithole!'' and stormed off. Ridiculous woman!

I don't know why people like her (and the OP and anyone supporting her) think their time is more important than anyone else's, or why they have some God given right to push in, and butt in when someone is being served with their pointless 'questions!'

I think this hits the nail on the head.

OP wasn’t organised/last minute and so she’s panicking and thinking her problem is more important than other people’s.

I don't think that was rude if they often run out of currency. Being short of time isn't relevant.

Rubbish. I would have been happy for OP to ask her question.

Assuming it took 5secs for the employee to answer, I would say that make everybody wait 5sec longer vs making one person wait 30min potentially for nothing is worth it.
OP was not jumping the queue in the sense that she wasn’t asking the employee to do what she came in for (buy currencies), she was only checking if this was possible.

I wouldn't have minded you asking this question.

"I needed"
"I needed"
"I didn't want to"

get in the bloody queue and shut up