Express lane. I had four items, three customers away from the register. We were motionless. The Slowest Checker in the Universe was staring into space as something was delayed. Line, ever longer. All I wanted was my sports drinks, gum and Christmas card. Come on!
A young man, nonscruffy, approached me and asked if I could go ahead of me, he only had one item.
Dammit. I only have four items, I said, and we’ve all been waiting a long time.
But it’s the express lane, he said, uselessly. It should go fast.
Dude, I only have four items.
Are you going to let me in or not?
And like a jerk, I did.
The line crawled.
He was short five cents, and the Slowest Checker in the Universe said, don’t worry about it, hon.
And he asked for a plastic bag for his small bottle of water.
Ungrateful shit.
I desperately need a do over for this.
What’s the etiquette for something like this? He was basically asking for cut-sies — should I have said “it’s okay by me, but you have to ask everyone else you’re in front of”? Should I have just said no? Should I get over myself and just be polite?
Comments
3 responses to “charming at the checkout line”
Just say no Becky.
Hiss quietly under your breath and show your teeth.
There are certain times in life that you do the “no English” shrug, or point to your ears and shake your head, this is one of them.