Friday
Oct012010
Waiting in a Queue
Friday, October 1, 2010 at 4:38AM
It's what we British do best. Form and orderly queue, and wait in line. How much of our time do we spend standing behind a row of people, just to get something done? Something which usually takes a maximum of five minutes. In the post office, in the supermarket, in a fast-food place, even in a busy restaurant. Theme parks don't count. You go to a theme park to queue, that's a given.
What makes these lines all the more frustrating for me is that I can guarantee I will pick the slowest moving one, or get the checkout/cashier person who either a) is new b) moves like a tortoise, or c) is completely incompetent. Either that or I get stuck behind Mr. I am a difficult customer, or Mrs. I am going to count out all my change for you. And then maybe just for fun, throw it all over the floor. Either that, or I get Miss Nosey-body having a peek into my basket to see what I've been buying, seeing if they've missed any great offers, or judging me on my purchases. Worst case scenario is getting pressed against some sweaty, smelly guy. No, wait. A drunk, sweaty, smelly guy, buying more beer.
In America, I have found my queuing experience to be even longer. The main reason, I am sad to say, is laziness. In a lot of stores here, cashiers have packers at hand to help with every customer. It's not like in England where "Would you like help with your packing?" is just a polite phrase instilled into workers; if you say yes, you're asking for more trouble- delays getting a helper, terrible packing etc. Here in the US, almost everyone accepts help from packers, and they are trained how to do it. But some people have taken it to a level where not only do they accept help, but they expect it. It's demanded. So in smaller grocery stores, like the one I was in today, the cashier not only has to scan and deal with your payment, but also pack too. I'd rather just get on with it myself, and get out of there. Instead of my shopping experience being nice and fast, I have to stand in line and watch perfectly capable, but lazy people stand there, doing absolutely nothing, and watch as the items pile up, while the cashier tries to multitask. Just pack it yourself!
Of course, elderly or disabled people need help, as do people with huge cart loads. But just for a few items, is it really that hard to grab a bag yourself and start packing. You may be faced with the difficult choice of a paper or plastic bag, but you can be deciding on that while you wait in line. While there, you can also figure out if you want cashback, and how much you want, instead of umming and errring by the till. Be a bit more efficient, so that I can spend less time stood in the queue waiting for you to finish!
What makes these lines all the more frustrating for me is that I can guarantee I will pick the slowest moving one, or get the checkout/cashier person who either a) is new b) moves like a tortoise, or c) is completely incompetent. Either that or I get stuck behind Mr. I am a difficult customer, or Mrs. I am going to count out all my change for you. And then maybe just for fun, throw it all over the floor. Either that, or I get Miss Nosey-body having a peek into my basket to see what I've been buying, seeing if they've missed any great offers, or judging me on my purchases. Worst case scenario is getting pressed against some sweaty, smelly guy. No, wait. A drunk, sweaty, smelly guy, buying more beer.
In America, I have found my queuing experience to be even longer. The main reason, I am sad to say, is laziness. In a lot of stores here, cashiers have packers at hand to help with every customer. It's not like in England where "Would you like help with your packing?" is just a polite phrase instilled into workers; if you say yes, you're asking for more trouble- delays getting a helper, terrible packing etc. Here in the US, almost everyone accepts help from packers, and they are trained how to do it. But some people have taken it to a level where not only do they accept help, but they expect it. It's demanded. So in smaller grocery stores, like the one I was in today, the cashier not only has to scan and deal with your payment, but also pack too. I'd rather just get on with it myself, and get out of there. Instead of my shopping experience being nice and fast, I have to stand in line and watch perfectly capable, but lazy people stand there, doing absolutely nothing, and watch as the items pile up, while the cashier tries to multitask. Just pack it yourself!
Of course, elderly or disabled people need help, as do people with huge cart loads. But just for a few items, is it really that hard to grab a bag yourself and start packing. You may be faced with the difficult choice of a paper or plastic bag, but you can be deciding on that while you wait in line. While there, you can also figure out if you want cashback, and how much you want, instead of umming and errring by the till. Be a bit more efficient, so that I can spend less time stood in the queue waiting for you to finish!