Checkout capers

I was at the baskets only checkout in Sainsbury yesterday and the person behind me trundled up with a fully laden trolley. The checkout lady did actually point out to the shopper and she harrumphed a little before moving to the next one. It is so annoying when you get stuck behind a trolley at the baskets only checkout. I mentioned it to the checkout lady, full of praise as often they realise but are wary of moving them on.

Sometimes when I am in a queue, the person behind me asks if I would kindly let them through as they only had one item etc and I have happily said yes. However when I have tried this myself on others, it hasnt worked.

I always think we are a fairly polite nation on the whole and do consider others, but as ever there are those who haven't been taught manners by their parents ( an earlier thread this week covered that one in much detail!)

'Had a lovely experience in a store some time back. I was in a fairly long but good tempered queue; man behind me suddenly detached from the queue, went to the front, and trying to be charming but managing only to sound rather oily he smiled at both the person at the front and the salesgirl and said could he go first as he was on a double yellow line outside? He had not noticed the 'Peggy Mount' lookalike who was second in the queue and she let rip; 'SO! You're holding all the traffic up outside and now you want to hold everyone up in here? I DON'T THINK SO - GET TO THE BACK'. And he did!

OP - isn't that what usually happens? The first 2 or 3 people stay in the original queue and 4,5 and 6 form a new queue.

I do agree with OP, if I am next in line then I should be served next. If I'm behind someone queuing and a new till opens I always move back to allow the person in front to get to that till. However the same courtesy never seems to apply to me. I probably wouldn't say anything though.

Oops! I'm with Bluebell on this. I wouldnt push in, but if I choose to join a different queue because it looks shorter then I'm all for it. The only place where that doesn't work is the Post Office. If I change queues there, I always find myself behind the person who has just emptied their child's piggy bank and the queue I was in before empties rapidly!

That gave me a chuckle Rosina. Would that I could be so quick thinking as your Peggy.
I notice that bus queues are a thing of the past round here.
I have learned to crowd on with everyone else or stand.

I live in Portugal and they are bringing in a new law in December were the elderly and pregnant and disabled have the right to be served first and can jump ahead of everyone Great! And yes I would say something if someone pushed ahead of me but not if another till opened it's every man or woman for themselves?

Clearly this calls for legislation. Perhaps a caution for pushing into a queue at WAITROSE and maybe three months for not acknowledging someone letting your car into a line with a nod and a wave. What about the 'milk in first/last' question though? Possibly a debate in parliament and a free vote would be appropriate.

What on earth was the point of the 'we in England' jibe?
You had no way of knowing this woman's nationality and therefore your response sounds borderline racist to me.

It happened to my wife and I, changing planes, there was a huge queue. We were near the front, when a man and his wife and two children just walked into the queue in front of us. I asked him what he was doing. He gave a story, about some official, had told them they could go to the front of the queue. I told him he could go to the front, anywhere behind us. They moved behind us. Not one other person objected to him. They all stood, like sheep. I'm not the biggest person in the world, but I won't let anyone take advantage of us.

Continente here in Portugal has introduce a one queue system where we are called to the next available till. Much fairer.

Balini, on aeroplane boarding passengers with children have priority so it wasn't a story.

Bluebelle, It's not a storm in a teacup if you were the one standing in agony from osteo-arthritis. In Paris & Prague I have had younger people get up and kindly give me their seat on trams and underground. They could probably tell from my awkward stance that I was in pain. I just think that we are training youngsters to think they come first in any situation. And me "being rude" are we not allowed to breathe criticism these days for fear of abuse?

Nona4 ever: What a cheap crack, accusing me of being racist: evidently you don't understand about racial mores. I bet you get off on feeling morally superior.

I was just about to be served in the chemist when a man called out to,the cashier to ask where something was. There was only one other person behind me. She left me to go with him to show him the item. I guess I was invisible to both of them.

Shanma .... I an as unlucky as you ... If I were second in the queue, the one being served would have a split bag of sugar, umpteen coupons to deal with or their card decides to play up. It seems worse when I pride myself for picking the right isle for quickness,:-(

As others have said it sounds like normal practice to me. On the other hand if someone had said that to me I would have been fuming!

My son was with his baby son in a Lisbon supermarket and they do have priority checkouts. Pregnant women, parents with children under 2, disabled and elderly can go to the front of the queue. When the cashier asked him to go to the front of the queue a customer moaned about it, in Portuguese. My son does look English but is fluent in Portuguese, so he spoke to her very politely and said, "Madam, I don't mind waiting in line, but my son is a baby and he can suddenly decide he doesn't want to wait and you would not like to hear him screaming. Thank you for your patience." She did look rather embarrassed.

There's nowt you can do about that unless you want a fight on your hands. Bad manners is bad manners but I do believe as you have done in voicing my objection. I once had a very well muscled gentleman in a big swanky car push ahead of me on a garage forecourt and when I said "It's a pity your manners don't match your bank balance" he got rather upset but I made the point without being clobbered.

Bus queues are non existent now ,I politely asked a group of school children to allow a very elderly woman get on the bus first the other day as they were pushing and shoving to get on,and was given a mouthful by one of them . Little did they know that I know the school deputy head ,whom I phoned that evening . I understand a lecture was given to the whole school about politeness. I have to say that I find I am usually offered a seat on a full bus or tube by one of these "awful" migrants that people want to send home .

I thought that was the point of opening a new till. To relieve the pressure on existing tills.... That surely involves some people in existing queues changing to the new till. What's the problem?

TBH Jaxie, if shopping is an uncomfortable & painful experience for you, why don't you consider home delivery? No queues, no "off the shelf into the trolley; out of the trolley on to the checkout belt, into the bags back into the trolley , into the car, out of the car into the house then finally unpack" . Just a friendly person carrying your shopping into your home for you to unpack at your leisure. Makes sense to me - I hate queuing!

Jaxie I wasn't saying you were personally rude what I said was you were doing exactly the same as the person you were complaining about, trying to move to a better position ... so if she was rude and bad mannered, weren't you doing just the same as her ..... I don't understand if you were as you said, next in the queue why did you go to move in the first place

I stand by my first reaction it's normal practice and on that occasion you lost the 'battle' and are annoyed by it bigger things to get worked up about I m sure it happens in every queue every day I seem to lose out in every queue I ever go in I go to the smallest one that gets stuck, I go to the fast moving one and the assistant needs to change the till roll, one before me

I don't see what Paris or Prague have got to do with it at all , there are rude people and kind people in ALL countries

I was in a cafe the other day and ordered a snack from the lady behind the counter..'please order your drink further down' she said. As I moved down two women pushed in front , ordered their food and drinks in front of me . I was just amazed...however the lady behind the counter was cross , she apologised and said she couldn't really say anything but she did give me a loyalty card full of stamps, so free coffee next time !