Queue jumpers

I had an annoying variation on this; chap in front of me was paying for his groceries and young woman shot in front of me from the queue next to mine. I told her I was next and she assured me that they were together, but you were only allowed one shopper to each trolley. Obviously queuing behind her husband was too demeaning. ?

So what do gransnetters do when two lanes merge into one on a road? The rule of the road is that both lanes drive to where the road merges and then take turns to enter the lane which is open. But where this situation occurs a long queue usually forms behind the open lane which imo can be quite dangerous. I usually drive to the front and then merge but I often get dirty looks

I hope you didn't have fisticuffs or a slanging match over it!

A well known celebrity lived in our village. One day, in the village store, he jumped the queue to pay for his purchases. The redoubtable assistant indicated that he should join the queue. His rude retort was “Do you know who I am?!”
She gave him a look and then shouted “Does anyone know who this person is? I think he has forgotten!” Everyone laughed and the celeb beat a hasty retreat without his groceries. [Grin]

Queuing outside at the swimming pool the other day, an older lady walked to the front saying “I have to go in and pay and book for next week” (all pre-booked sessions now). Fair enough, but when she came out, she just waited at the front instead of going to the back. Seemed oblivious that the rest of us had been patiently queuing for several minutes.

I was about third in the queue in a local department store; a man came to the front with his items, and asked, with charming smile, could he go next as he was parked on a double yellow outside? A voice from the queue boomed 'So you're holding up the traffic outside and now you want to hold every one up here? GET TO THE BACK OF THE QUEUE'. He did.

You did right. I worked in shops from school age and the rows that went on at the tills was unbelievable, some nearly coming to blows.

I think shop assistants get enough abuse without challenging queue jumpers. I can’t understand why people abuse those serving you. My Tesco driver said that he was getting abused for the lack of stock due to a shortage of hgv drivers - hardly his fault

Oofy

"Some students were happy to take $200 to take a flight the next day".

I chuckled at this. I remember a similar thing happened to a work colleague some years ago on a family visit to the US. They arrived for their flight home with a well-known airline and were told the flight was overbooked, would they minding being bumped till the next day. They had a couple of days in hand before back to work, so they agreed. They were put up in a 5 star hotel overnight, evening meal at the hotel included, had a limo to the airport the next day, bumped up to business class and a free anywhere-in-the-world tickets any time in the next year for the whole family. They were well pleased!

This has happened to my husband when his plane developed a fault. He waited while all the self important people insisted they should be queue jumped on the next flight. When the assistants got to him he was very polite and found himself in a posh hotel for 3 days, and someone kindly came and found me at Heathrow to explain - no mobiles then.

In the case in USA it would have been tempting if someone wasn’t driving 2 hours to the airport to collect us. $200 was a lot then, think our international flights were less than £100.

If I am in a queue where there are a line of people waiting for two tills, I spread myself out with shopping bags on the floor and standing right in the middle. This stops people behind me overtaking but what to do about kamikaze shoppers coming in from the side, I don’t know.

I was queuing once in Luton Airport when a woman decided she needed to be at the front of the queue because she had a child with her. Everyone was a bit frazzled - remember what it was like queuing for EasyJet?

Anyway, she started physically pushing herself past people and said "let me past, I have a child" to which I'm afraid I'm said, that's a shame but its not my fault.

I always say politely "Did you know there is a back to every queue" I think you should join it.

Oh without question she’s being rude and inconsiderate- clearly the queue is for both tills- well done for calling her out on it!
I was in Boots recently patiently waiting in a queue and just as I got to the front an elderly woman (75+) beetled round the side of the aisle to the till ignoring the queue completely. Also not wearing a mask. The assistant told her she had to queue and she said (I kid you not!) ‘But I’m very busy, I don’t have much time. I’ll only be a second.’ She looked at me at the head of the queue. I thought of all the things I had to do that day with all the people I care for plus my work and know there is no way she had less time than me BUT she wasn’t wearing a mask and the sooner she was out of the shop the better for everyone else. So I gestured to go ahead. Woman doesn’t say thank you but turns to assistant and puts two items on counter and says, ‘I need advice on which of these to get…’ Queue behind me and I collectively roll our eyes. She took ages btw!

Told husband later and he said ‘Funny, that’s exactly what an elderly woman did to me in the bank as well.’
Turns out there’s an elderly woman roaming our town trying this stunt on everywhere. Next time I’m going to say a very firm NO!

Not quite the same but similar. In Tesco I hovered over which pack of cooked ham to buy, weighing up price/weight/quality. A voice behind said "For God's sake hurry up and choose something". I told the large elderly gent (larger and possibly older than me) to please go ahead of me as he MUST be in a rush, and I obviously had more time (...to live, I thought). He didn't thank me but snatched what he wanted and left. I hoped my sarcasm wasn't lost on him, but I think it probably was!

I have certainly been the queue jumper in this situation in supermarkets.
It's because I haven't realised there's only one queue, tho, usually because it extends along an aisle, where I haven't seen it.
Anyway, I always go to the end of the queue once I know about it.

LindaB5

Another form of queue jumping is people turning up for medical appointments extremely early - sometimes up to an hour! (I'm a receptionist) They will then blurt that they thought there would be more traffic or some other excuse. Because they have arrived we have to 'attend' them on the computer system and they will be seen in the order they arrived - otherwise we would soon lose track of our list. It's infuriating because the patient for the next appointment will arrive in good time for their slot but the 'early' patient will go through first. Appointments are made for a reason, however this type of person will always find a way to jump the queue by fair means or foul!

I'm sure that most GP's do actually see people in order, unless the person who arrives early is elderly and confused. I've seen people try to jump the queue like this in our old surgery and they just have to sit there until it is their turn. However I know that sometimes people are told to come in and wait if there are no available appointments and they have an urgent problem. The receptionist slots them in if the doctor is running slightly ahead of time.

There was a long lunchtime queue in our small bakers an elderly walked past everyone to 'look at the bread ' I was next in the queue so when assistant asked who was next the elderly lady started to say what she required. I politely said I was next and the assistant served me but didn't seem happy about. I suspect this lady did this unchallenged on a regular basis and was served next ahead of several people who were wanting to get back to work. Staff should be more aware of queue jumpers and challenge them.

BlueBelle

Why don’t they make two queues like they do in most supermarkets though I don’t understand that bit
But yes she shouldn’t have jumped the queue

One queue really does work better and is fairer to everybody. Its normal in M&S (other than for food where there would be a delay whilst you loaded the belt with your food) and in John Lewis.

LindaB5- i gathered that for the few Drs surgeries who are seeing patients again that patients still have to attend on the actual time given only- due to coronavirus rules?

I had to go to hospital in rural Italy. I went to reception with my symptoms translated on my iPad. We were told to wait to see if a Doctor would see me. I was told he would and directed to a corridor with hard benches lined with people clutching numbers. We were not given a number . I thought we were in for a really long wait.
But no, I was called in immediately and had to walk past rows of glaring Italians. The Doctor spent 30 plus minutes with me. He said he would like to come to England and work and didn’t seem at all worried about the waiting people.

I felt nervous when we exited as we had to face the poor people queuing outside.
I still have his card.

Nanna8- i hope you're not implying that yorkshire women are all like that? I'm a Yorkshire woman and i wouldn't dream of queue jumping i am however likely to say something to someone who would do so- yorkshire women (and men too) would stand their ground on things yes- but not for wrong doing like that! (and generally most of us are not selfish either!)?

Another form of queue jumping is people turning up for medical appointments extremely early - sometimes up to an hour! (I'm a receptionist) They will then blurt that they thought there would be more traffic or some other excuse. Because they have arrived we have to 'attend' them on the computer system and they will be seen in the order they arrived - otherwise we would soon lose track of our list. It's infuriating because the patient for the next appointment will arrive in good time for their slot but the 'early' patient will go through first. Appointments are made for a reason, however this type of person will always find a way to jump the queue by fair means or foul!

We had a visiting lecturer from Malta and during a conversation someone asked her about what the British had bestowed on Malta and her answer was "the ability to queue" you often find that in European countries no-one forms an orderly queue anywhere for anything you just take your chance when you see it. I have jumped queues when I see people standing nattering rather than paying attention to what is going on. This has even happened when an assistant at the till shouts "next customer" and no-one moves so I have popped in front of those too busy blethering.

"Some students were happy to take $200 to take a flight the next day".

I chuckled at this. I remember a similar thing happened to a work colleague some years ago on a family visit to the US. They arrived for their flight home with a well-known airline and were told the flight was overbooked, would they minding being bumped till the next day. They had a couple of days in hand before back to work, so they agreed. They were put up in a 5 star hotel overnight, evening meal at the hotel included, had a limo to the airport the next day, bumped up to business class and a free anywhere-in-the-world tickets any time in the next year for the whole family. They were well pleased!

Single queuing for multiple counters/tills is far more effective than a queue per window/till or whatever. Remember when you used to queue in one of several in front of an individual counter at the post office and then you'd get stuck behind someone collecting their pension and then posting 15 parcels to different countries before paying the gas bill and getting stamps while the other queues move along