How do you react when someone steps in line in front of you at the store?

1. 80

   lizyetterposted 11 years ago

   How do you react when someone steps in line in front of you at the store?
   
   When I was at the store the other day, I had baby in my arms and I was struggling to pull out my wallet to pay for the pack of socks I picked out for the baby. The register next to me opened and the lady looked at me and told me she would ring me up. I walked over, placed my item on the belt,  and suddenly this boy came running over and set his items down in front of the socks. He blatantly jipped while his mother stood at another register, giving me a dirty look. I said nothing, but what gives?

   replyreport
2. 64

   isenhower33posted 11 years ago

   I've had this happen a few times, but I just laugh at it and go about my day in a positive way Only thing you can do at that point.

   replyreport
3. 59

   Goody5posted 11 years ago

   If I have an entire grocery cart full, and they only have one or two items then I usually ask them if they would like to go ahead of me. However the world is full of rude people (The Hub Pages is no exception) like you encountered, and you really have to decide how to handle it at that moment. The easiest thing to do would have been to take your foot and swiftly kick them on their merry way. Keep on hubbing 

   replyreport
4. 60

   MickSposted 11 years ago

   Tell whoever it is to get to the back of the queue.

   replyreport
5. 63

   Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

   It happens to me a lot because (apparently) I'm not intimidating enough for people to not-dare cut in front of me.  Or maybe, because I come across like "a nice, little, 'nothing-in-particular' lady", people make the mistake of thinking I won't mind their going first. 
   
   In any case, I get aggravated when it happens (particularly since, after an adult-lifetime's worth of people seeming to assume I won't mind, seeming not to think they're apparently more important than I am, and/or seeming to think that being aggressive and rude is the only way to get through life).
   
   So what do I do about it?  Nothing, really - except to make faces when it happens.  If I'm with someone I'll make a face (and maybe a remark) to the person I'm with.  If I'm alone, I make make my "disgusted face" at someone nearby who noticed what happened.  If there's nobody around who saw it, or who'd see me making the disgusted face, I usually resort to evil-eying the back of the head of the guilty party (sort of hoping, I suppose, that my eyes have some kind of "melting power" that will - even if they don't really melt - make them feel squirmy.
   
   Sometimes, a person who "cuts" doesn't really seem aware that he did it.  He just didn't notice that I was there first.  Sometimes, too, there are people like struggling elderly people who are so wrapped up in their own struggles to notice who else was in line before them.  None of that kind of thing makes me angry, and I usually kind of laugh it off.  It's when someone knows he's being aggressive and/or acts arrogant that I get angry.
   
   I'm not the type to get in a fight with people.  It's not how I want to live my life.  Besides, those people who think I"m a good target to cut in front of are essentially right:  I don't do well in verbal confrontations because I don't do verbally well when people are unreasonable.  Neither would I do well in a physical confrontation because I'm not aggressive and nasty, so I lack "killer instinct".
   
   BUT, if I think someone has treated me in an aggressive way and/or taken advantage of me because I'm obviously not a "killer instinct type" person and obviously unlikely to be a rude or hostile person; that makes me mad.  I'm not about to just laugh that off.  If nothing else, my "disgust face-making" and "sending of melting eye vibes" gives me the feeling that I'm at least expressing my contempt and disgust for how I've been treated.  It isn't much, but I think it's better than just happily taking it and doing nothing.

   replyreport
6. 62

   nightwork4posted 11 years ago

   say something always. you must be a heck of a lot nicer then me, lol. i would snap on the kids mom and tell the kid to move his butt.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I would tell the kid's mum to keep her little brat under control.

      replyreport
7. 70

   Don Fairchildposted 11 years ago

   I prefer the public embarrassment technique with adults.  Most children haven't yet developed a sense of regret or a correct sense of right and wrong.
   A rather loud and persuasive statement like " THE END of the LINE is back here, thank you!  You usually get a dirty look with a mumbling diatribe of my personal being.  But you feel better knowing that one more injustice has been deferred for another day.

   replyreport
8. 84

   TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years ago

   What gives is that the boy was rude, as are others who do this sort of thing.  However, I blame the clerk for allowing it.  She had to have seen that you were there first and should have told him to wait his turn.
   
   Barring that,  I have been known to tell people this myself...very loudly.  I don't mind confronting and embarrassing people who are obnoxious, that's for sure.

   replyreport
   1. 84

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I want to add that sometimes when people do this they can't tell whether you're actually in line.  I've seen many people who stop right in front of everybody else and leave a huge space between them and the  counter.

      replyreport
9. 61

   TheDailyMessengerposted 11 years ago

   Hey Lizyetter,
   
   Me personally, I just ignore those kinda people. Actually, it's kinda comical how some people act but, you know, what could you do. So, I just ignore them. Hehe... their the ones that look foolish, not you.
   
   TDM

   replyreport
10. 37

    edhanposted 11 years ago

    Normally I will politely ask the person that I was there first and he/she should wait for his/her turn behind. It works most of the time without any fuss.

    replyreport
11. 72

    soconfidentposted 11 years ago

    Situations like it's best to let go of them, it's not worth it.

    replyreport
12. 65

    pmorriesposted 11 years ago

    First of all, I would start calling my baby, in a loud voice, my precious just like Golem would. I would then say something like, "The boy does not know about manners, my Precious. Otherwise, he would not cut in front of a mother like a nasty little hobbit, my precious. Nasty little hobbits need to be punished, my precious. Yes they do." Make sure to say the above while your eye twitches.
    
    Okay, I would do no  such thing, but I would say, " I am sorry, but I was trying to hold my baby and get my car keys when you cut in front of me," in a loud voice. I am so tired of people justifying their rudeness  or getting away with rudeness.

    replyreport