That's twelve items per PAYING customer, dude.

[Pixel Ferret]

Whoo. First story. Not particularly epic, but I did have some teeth-grinding and I was pretty embarrassed at how this dude was talking to me.


Okay, so I'm in the express lane at the grocery store, with my mother and two jars of spaghetti sauce, behind a balding, middle-aged man and his wife. My mother is a bit of a grammar nazi, and one of her pet peeves is the phrasing "12 items or less." So, when I notice the express lane signs are actually correct:

Me, to Mom: Hey, did you see? The signs actually say "12 items or fewer" here!

The man in front of us turns around angrily. Man: Yes, I see that, there are TWO of us here.

Me: I was only talking about the grammar on the signs! I'm not trying to bother you!

Man: Continues to bitch at me for the perceived reprimand that I never meant to even imply.

I eventually got it through to him that I wasn't angry at him if he and his wife had separate groceries, and he turned around and left me alone. Indeed I wouldn't have been, either... but the cashier continues to ring up the entire cart full of about 20 items and neither Man nor Wife stops to pay him halfway through. Guess what? 100% of the money comes out of Man's wallet; I looked again and Wife isn't even carrying a purse!

THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS, MISTER.

[greensinestro]

And this is why the express line isn't the express line.

[blas]

Man, how I hate people who just seem to love eavesdropping and have to just make comments on what they overhear you saying.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.

It's none of your business what I'm talking about, so why not save some energy and keep your damn trap shut.

[Canarr]

I get that, in theory, you should split the articles between both people; but really - what would be the point? It'd take even longer if the cashier had to do two transactions for 10 items each, instead of one for 20. So, the result wouldn't be faster, but actually slower.

Yeah, I know it's annoying, but I find it hard to bitch about something that actually *saves* me time.

The way he reacted to the OP's conversation, however, shows that he *does* know that what he's doing isn't right; he just does it anyway.

[Pixel Ferret]

Oh, I'm aware that it was indeed faster than splitting it. I just got into the line because I saw one cart and thought there would be only one customer's worth of groceries ahead of me; if there had been two people legitimately in line that would have been my mistake for getting in line there (hence not being mad at those folks), but that wasn't the case.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Not a case of "people taking offense to an overheard remark" but I'm reminded of a situation early in my time at the wholesale club.

Our express register has always been "8 items or less" (grammatically, it should say "or fewer" but that's not the issue here), and we're fine with people splitting up a larger order into smaller, separate transactions, within reason. (If it's super crazy busy, with a line out the wazoo at express, and you breeze up with 50 items, that's not cool.)

It was late in the evening, it wasn't busy at all, no line. This customer comes up with 16 items, and says he needs two separate bills. I ring him up, and as I'm ringing up the second bill, an SC wanders up. He looks at the sign, then counts the items in the first customer's cart, and starts mouthing off about "can't you read the sign, it says eight items or less, you have a lot more than that rabble rabble rabble." Not yelling, but still being an ass about it. My customer defends himself, but is clearly not making headway against the Suck.

That is, until I say, "Sir, if you're gonna get angry with someone, get angry with me; I'm the guy who said he could come through my line." That shut the SC up right away.

[PepperElf]

ya, i got an odd look from the cashier at wegman's once when i had a cart that was clearly over 15 items in her lane

until i said that i was directed there (which was true)

[Jay 2K Winger]

Oh, I get that plenty of times at the wholesale club. And I can't turn them away when I'm told that. I also can't turn them away if they say, "I know I have more than eight, but I need cigarettes." Since cigarettes can only be sold through one register, that typically being express, I have to take them.

[Chromatix]

In many British supermarkets, the fags are sold at a separate counter outside the checkout line.

In Finland, they are dispensed from a machine at each checkout that has to be activated by the cashier. Or, in cheaper places, they are on a shelf that only the cashier can reach.

Some prominent Finnish politicians are publicly aiming to make the country smoke-free.

[Beckduer]

Some prominent Finnish politicians are publicly aiming to make the country smoke-free.

Good luck with that!

I, personally, would like to see the world be smoke-free, since I'm asthmatic and allergic to tobacco in any form, however, the odds of making even ONE COMMUNITY smoke-free in the US are slim or none and Slim just left town! I don't see how anyone would succeed in making an entire country smoke-free.

[Mikkel]

Good luck with that!

I, personally, would like to see the world be smoke-free, since I'm asthmatic and allergic to tobacco in any form, however, the odds of making even ONE COMMUNITY smoke-free in the US are slim or none and Slim just left town! I don't see how anyone would succeed in making an entire country smoke-free.

They probably won't, but if it's illegal to smoke in public or in homes with children and the cigarettes is heavily taxed and you can get help quitting free, then it will become very rare to smoke. You may even think that the country is smokefree.
Then again, very many people in Sweden chew tobacco, people in Finland who can't quit will probably get their fix that way.