Standing in line, what a foreign concept.

[Gabrielle Proctor]

To understand this post, I must explain the way our cutting counter is set up: Kinda like a square horse shoe. I have included this image because I don't think I can accurately describe it in words.



Blue dot- Me
Green dot- CW
Orange dots and x's- Regular, patient customers
Red dot- Entitlement whore

My company has been cutting hours like crazy, so we've been really short staffed. We usually have 3 people in my deparment, but only one in home decorating. When that person has to go on break one of us needs to cover their position. So, there were only two of us that night.

I took a guy with a cart full of fabric and strict orders from his wife, while my co-worker took a very inexperienced woman who needed her hand held through the entire process of learning to read a pattern. Normally I have no problem with someone who wants to learn. I just prefer to do the teaching when it isn't our busiest night of the week, but I digress.

Next in line was this infamous "red dot" EW. Instead of standing in line, she dumped her fabric on the counter that's practically behind me and began staring at me.

I was about through a quarter amount of this guy's fabric when she asks:
EW- If I go do more shopping, will you hold my place in line?
Me- I'm sorry, but I can't do that.

First of all, she wasn't in line. Second, I would have a lot of angry people if I did that for her. It's just bad politics. All the other customers who have been waiting patiently in line are going to see is this woman who gets to cut in front of them.

Anyway, the *real* line starts to get really backed up. So, I got on my headset and asked Home dec if they could take customers. I made a general announcement to EVERYONE that if they wanted to go to home dec to get stuff cut, they could. A few people went, most of them decided to tough it out.

EW- Can you call that person back there and tell her that I was first in line?
Me- Um...no
EW- Well, that's not fair! I've been standing in line longer than him, but he get's to go ahead of me!
Me- I'm almost done with this order, I can take care of you in a couple minutes.
EW- But I've been waiting here!
Me- Look I'm sorry you fell that way but--
EW- Whatever, I can see I'm wasting my time talking to you!

If she hadn't interrupted, I probably would have told her that if she was so hell bent on keeping her place in line, she needed to get in it first. But, I just got back on my headset and called my manager, Craig, for back-up.

When he came over I pointed to her and said, "She was next." He cut for her and after that we took care of the rest of the line in pretty good time.

I went to go put fabric away, when I heard one of the cashiers talking on the headset:

Cash.-Craig?
Craig- This is Craig, go!
Cash.- I had this guest who told me to tell you that she had to wait in line at the cutting counter a really long time and that when someone sends customers back to home dec they should say, "Will the first person in line please go back to home dec?". And she also said that there should be a limit to how much fabric you can get. She said she didn't want to tell you while you were cutting for her, but she's telling you now.

To defend my honor, I got on the headset and explained the situation. She wasn't actually in line. Period. Although I probably didn't need to explain myself. It might have been a legit complaint if she hadn't gone the extra mile of suck and added a proposal for a fabric limit.

I hate to admit it, but I should have just told her to go back to home dec in the first place. But if I had done that, I would have had to be fair to everyone there, stopped cutting for my current customer, and started assigning places in line for everybody.

The customer that I was cutting all of the fabric for complained too. Although, the complaint was made to me, and later made to Craig about "that ugly* woman with the bad attitude". I'm glad someone agreed with me.

*Just so people know. My customer wasn't insulting this woman's looks. She was actually quite good looking. In the south of the USA the word "ugly" is often used to describe rudeness. Mostly, it is used to remind children to behave. When a parent says, "Don't be ugly!" it is meant as a reminder to use manners or to drop the attitude.

[workerbee222]

Taking a shot in the dark here...I think I know of your company. Isn't there a little deli-style, number dispenser to assign places in line? There is one in use on busy days at our fabric store.

[Gabrielle Proctor]

Taking a shot in the dark here...I think I know of your company. Isn't there a little deli-style, number dispenser to assign places in line? There is one in use on busy days at our fabric store.

Nope. I wish there was though. This kinda thing happens too often.

[ditchdj]

Yeah but even though it's the "south" (I take it ATL as in Atlanta) there's plenty of fucksticks from the north you have to deal with there. I lived there for six months back in '97 and there's hardly anyone there with a southern accent.

[Gabrielle Proctor]

Yeah but even though it's the "south" (I take it ATL as in Atlanta) there's plenty of fucksticks from the north you have to deal with there. I lived there for six months back in '97 and there's hardly anyone there with a southern accent.

If you go further north you begin to hear it. Both of my parents are from the north so I don't have much of a southern accent, but I get a lot of people asking me where I'm from. I tell them I've lived here in GA my entire life, but my parents aren't native. When I go up north I have people ask me if I'm from Alabama, so I guess I have a mixed accent.

[bainsidhe]

Strange. For some customers, waiting in line really IS a foreign concept. Had a woman tonight who was just buying one padded envelope. All lines are open and swimming in customers. First Saturday of the month, so it's grocery/shopping hayday. A woman approaches me (no, she was not in my line) and asks if they can check her out at the service desk. I glance at the long line at CS and I'm pretty much guessing she intends to go ahead of everyone else, otherwise it'd be just as fast at a regular register. I explain to her that no, they really aren't set up that way (they would probably do it, but that isn't what they're there for) and so the woman asks if the self-checkout person can ring her out. I start to tell her that the podium isn't really set up for that and she just walks away, heading for the self-checkouts.

First, we can check people out at the self-check podium. But then we're ignoring the four registers we're supposed to be monitoring which can make for some unhappy customers when we suddenly can't help them. So we try to avoid it. Besides, other customers at the self-checks and express lanes have only a few items and they're patiently waiting in line. Drives me nuts when EW customers think that they shouldn't have to wait in line like regular customers.

[One-Fang]

Question - aren't you just perpetuating this behaviour? You took her. You pointed to her and said "she was next" instead of telling her "Ma'am, the queue forms over there".

[Skandranon]

Question - aren't you just perpetuating this behaviour? You took her. You pointed to her and said "she was next" instead of telling her "Ma'am, the queue forms over there".

I should have, but I didn't want it to end in a confrontation. Since it did anyway, I should have just told her from the get-go. Oh well, you live and learn.

*Edit- This is Gabby posting, not Skandranon. I'm over at her house and I forgot to log out of her user name first. Oops.