Two Cashier Lines - What's the protocol?

meggy

AK Subscriber
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More of an interesting sociological observation than anything of any significant importance. I'll bet different generations will have opposing points of view, though.

Visualize one wide exit isle of a store with a cashier checkout counter on the left and one on the right and enough room between them for people to pass through. When cashiers are busy at both stations, do you stand in the middle of the two (forming a single line and pretty much blocking anyone in back of you to choose), or do you commit to one of the lines and go wait on that line?

I had a little difference of opinion with someone in a Walgreens the other day.


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Priority is pretty simple.
Attractive women go first
Bikers over 6'6 wearing colors go 2nd
Remaining person with the fewer number of items next
4th in line with high intelligence go pay at pharmacy counter.

Above shift down one spot to allow frazzled mom with dirty diaper baby to exit.
 
More of an interesting sociological observation than anything of any significant importance. I'll bet different generations will have opposing points of view, though.

Visualize one wide exit isle of a store with a cashier checkout counter on the left and one on the right and enough room between them for people to pass through. When cashiers are busy at both stations, do you stand in the middle of the two (forming a single line and pretty much blocking anyone in back of you to choose), or do you commit to one of the lines and go wait on that line?

I had a little difference of opinion with someone in a Walgreens the other day.


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I might be in the minority, but I like to make the retailer wait as long as possible before relieving me of my cash...
 
When I am in Home Depot for the self-check aisles,
we queue in a single, center lane and zipper to the left and right as registers open up ...
Asshats may do it differently, but in polite society we queue up and wait our turn.

More of an interesting sociological observation than anything of any significant importance. I'll bet different generations will have opposing points of view, though.

Visualize one wide exit aisle of a store with a cashier checkout counter on the left and one on the right and enough room between them for people to pass through. When cashiers are busy at both stations, do you stand in the middle of the two (forming a single line and pretty much blocking anyone in back of you to choose), or do you commit to one of the lines and go wait on that line?

I had a little difference of opinion with someone in a Walgreens the other day.


View attachment 1296274
 
Interesting question.

When I'm in a store with my wife, she'll ask me to wait in a different line just in case it ends up moving faster. I don't know if this is improper or not. :dunno:
 
Interesting question.

When I'm in a store with my wife, she'll ask me to wait in a different line just in case it ends up moving faster. I don't know if this is improper or not. :dunno:

As long as she isn't playing the Piña Colada song.
 
Multiple shorter lines clog up the store less. Local grocery does it that way, and it works great. Keeps the lines to manageable sizes so they don't impede other shoppers.

That said, I haven't waited in a grocery line in months. I pick up the self-scanner on the way in, scan the purchases as they go into my own fold-up bins (sized to fit the cart) and hit the self-scan-only register on the way out. Beep, bop, pay, receipt, cart the bins out the door and pop 'em in the car. Get home, bins go inside, already sorted by what goes in the fridge vs. pantry (because I load them that way at the store).

If I'm going to be the 'labor' for the store, I'm going to do it my way, all the way thru the process, and save me time instead of the store.

Put it in the cart, take it out of the cart, scan it yourself, bag it yourself? Nope, not for me... at least not without the employee discount.
 
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In the original scenario I tend to go with individual lines. But the Home depot around here goes with a single line feeding multiple registers.

I might be in the minority, but I like to make the retailer wait as long as possible before relieving me of my cash...

Unless it is something I just have to have I'll put it down and walk out if the wait is long enough. I save money that way because it 'feels' like I bought the item without buying it.

When I am in Home Depot for the self-check aisles,
we queue in a single, center lane and zipper to the left and right as registers open up ...
Asshats may do it differently, but in polite society we queue up and wait our turn.

The way most of the self check areas are setup it makes sense for that. Most I've seen have more than two registers on 1 or two isles so a single line makes sense.

Anybody have the Targets where they put two rows of registers in? I've never figured out why they don't just make sure all the registers they open are in the same row. If people are lined up at the back row do you zig zag to the front register if there is room on the belt? In reality the opening through the 2nd row isn't big enough for people there to push forward to the front register and the 'next' person in line there already has their stuff on that belt.
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Multiple registers, one line. That's how it works with manned registers at the supermarket for 8 items or less. Individual registers, generally a line per register. The bottle shop/liquor barn is different- we form a single line and just go to the available operator.

No fixed rule it seems here either.

Logic suggests a single line that just goes to the available operator, but if you have heavy stuff, you need to put it on a counter,
 
When I'm in a store with my wife, she'll ask me to wait in a different line just in case it ends up moving faster. I don't know if this is improper or not.

That's so not cool. But I've seen worse- a whole family doing that using their kids to queue sit while they do their shopping.
 
As I have mentioned previously, I am an old man in poor health and I get around by chasing a 4 wheel walker.

And to be very clear I do not believe the the world owes me anything.

But there are those that will crowd in front of me if I am in anyway slower than they think that I should be. That is if the line is long and slow moving I will use the seat of the walker to rest my bad legs and heart and during the time it takes me to stand up and turn around there are some that will make their way in front of me.

Especially those that seem to be waffling between the right hand and left lines.

And I especially appreciate those that use family members as place holders. I pray for those that they are never in my position.
 
Now that I think about it a little more, I guess it would depend on how/where the self serve registers are set up.

Where I live,Walmart and Home Depot self serve are designed to have one line go into the register "area". Sams is designed to have one line per register.

If the design is one line per register, standing between two, in hope of getting through just a little quicker, is like the idiots on the road weaving in and out of traffic to get one car length ahead. (Albeit far less dangerous.)
 
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