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 ?

*as someone who feels they have to wait in a checkout queue JUST to ask where the toilets are, I'm probably not the right one to answer.

Or they’re likely to know as a poster earlier who worked in a bureau de change said they had to count it twice a day, so they likely would have known. If they start asking multiple or complicated questions then the staff member can move them along. If it is literally a quick closed question then taking seconds to answer makes more sense imo rather than have them waiting in a queue for half an hour and taking up space just to hear that they don’t have any.

If I was in the queue I'd have been absolutely fine doing this. If everyone has to wait in a 20 minute queue only to find out when they get to the front that they can't be helped, the queue will be longer for everyone.

Well the vote is fairly balanced. I'm with you OP. Not unreasonable to ask a quick yes/no question before queuing. I have done this myself and am perfectly happy if people do this when I'm at the front. If it turns out they don't immediately know the answer off the top of their head I'll tell them not to worry and try to find out online while waiting in the queue.

It’s polite to ask the person at the head of the queue if they would mind you butting in to ask a very quick question to check it was worth you queuing

I used to work at Argos and this happened every day . We are with a customer and someone would come up to “ask a question” whilst with a customer almost every shift. You’re deep in a conversation helping someone looking at the screen and someone would come up to ask a question that is never just one question it always leads to more and then you’re being rude to your customer . Maybe you needed to go at a quieter time .

I don't think you were in the wrong, you were just asking a question to help understand whether you need to get in the queue or not.

Which is the same in most other places, you usually decide what you want to purchase and make sure it's available before queuing up to pay, you wouldn't go to a shoe shop and wait until you get to the front of the queue before asking whether they have the shoes in your size.

The only thing I might have done differently in this situation would be to ask the person at the front of the queue if they were OK with me asking a quick question.

Edited to add that I wouldn't agree with someone doing this mid-transaction, if this was the case then you should have waited until the cashier called the next customer forward and jumped in with your question then.

Wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if someone did that.

As a former shop assistant myself, I never found it annoying because I understood that it would be pointless for a customer to stand in a queue for 15 minutes (and post office queues can often be that long) just to ask one 2-second question about whether or not this it is even the right queue! (which is effectively what the OP's question was about).

It's similar to if I'm queuing up in Costa Coffee waiting to buy three hot drinks, three toasties and a couple of cakes, and someone nips in front of me to quickly ask for the code for the toilet. Would I expect them to get to the back of the queue just to ask that? Of course not, don't be so ridiculous! Or in McDonalds if someone forgot to ask for ketchup and they just nip in quickly and say "sorry, can I have some ketchup please" and the cashier just hands them a handful - it takes 2 seconds, why would you expect them to get to the back of the queue and wait for 5 different people to order their meals. It's not the same as pushing in the queue to actually buy or order or post something.

YABU.

A queue is a queue. Be it for queries or something else, we all have to wait. The only exception is if you have been mis-served, e.g. bought something that wasn't put in your bag or at a bar if you ordered a mojito and they gave you a tequila sunrise.

The queues at the post office can be ridiculously long though.

Whilst waiting in line could you have phoned to ask whether the currency was available ther?. Someone out the back would have answered the phone.

I would not have minded had I been waiting in that line. Possibly another person in the queue was waiting for the same reason and also benefitted from your question.

It would be good if more information signs were displayed.

I cannot believe some of these replies.

It’s fine. No drama, some people just like to get cross.

Honestly, a good PO clerk knows what currency they offer/have (if they offer it they will likely have it or know they have to order it).

I think she was ridiculous tbh and I don't see what you did was a problem.

i live in a titchy village where (until it closed) even the bakery took card payments for over EUR 5

It really is very very widespread, you could get away with a day in our local small town with EUR 10 in your purse, and end the day still with that note.

Your lack of planning is not another person's emergency.

Wouldn’t have bothered me , it takes seconds to ask a question , common sense !

I would not have mind if I was in the queue. However to be fair to her she could have been doing something quite complex and it was a distraction and she also did no know if it was going to be just one question, you could have then asked did she have x amount of it and does she have it in small notes etc. Also it could lead to other
who are queue to also go up front to ask things like how much is a stamp for a Christmas card to the USA etc.

I mean, definitely this. Why did you think your time was more important than everyone else there?

It’s the type of thing I’ve done most of my life too, but recently diagnosed as well. I have never had an issue with anyone else checking either.

I don’t doubt that it’s common to accept cards there and increasingly so but 51% of payments in Germany in 2023 were via cash compared with only 12% in the UK in the same year and 10% in Sweden. It has been slower to adopt cards than many countries. Personally I continue to use both.

Do we have any x/y/z? Y/N. Sorted. Dont see what the problem is frankly.

We must keep paying with cash to avoid digital dependency and other, concerning matters. I applaud the OP for doing so but she should have had better manners in the queue.

You were rude, maybe 5 other people wanted to ask that exact question.

Well if it was the sort of currency that potentially had to be ordered I’m confused as to why you didn’t sort your shit out earlier. What if they’d have said no we don’t have any in stock. Why couldn’t you just use your card abroad? Why not get a currency card or bank account like Chase which are transaction free? Post offices are best avoided, esp three weeks before Christmas. And there are so many better options.

Not unreasonable. You were asking a question and not being served. We do it in Australia all the time, people say " I just need to ask/clarify something", and once is done, they join the queue or leave.

The clerk wouldn't allow them to jump the queue anyway when the question is answered