It used to be so easy. When you were in the 3rd grade, if someone cut in front of you, you’d just recite the line above and the offender would be shamed into retreating to the back of the line lest he face the ire of the other kids and be the pariah of the class. But somewhere between elementary school and acne, the cutters lose their shame. So when you tell them that they might be mistaken as to where the end of the line is, they usually just pretend like they didn’t hear you.
A few days ago while we were waiting to pick up a pizza, this guy that came into the store just behind us, marched up to the counter, bypassing the other three people who were standing in line, and asked if his order was ready yet. The amazing thing was that the cashier, knowing that there were people ahead of him, complied and took his credit card. I was waiting for the other people who had obviously been there longer to say something, but instead they all just looked at each other with a who does this guy think he is? look on their faces.
But no one actually confronted the guy. We were all talking, in not-so-soft tones behind him about who was next in line, but no one confronted the offender. And it got me thinking about the psychology of the whole situation… or maybe it’s sociology… I don’t know, I went to an engineering school and didn’t take either course.
What motivates someone to cut in line? Is it a risk-reward type thing where they don’t care about being viewed negatively? Do they think they’re better than other people and don’t need to wait in line like everyone else?
And what about the offended parties? The majority of them don’t say anything, I’ve noticed. They just give weird looks or stare them down. Does the fear of confrontation outweigh their sense of injustice?
What do you usually do when someone cuts in front of you? Or if you’re someone who cuts, what are you thinking when you do?
I’m usually pretty good at witty retorts, but I couldn’t think of one for the situation above on the spot, so I’ve come up with a few after-the-fact for the next time this happens…
- “So… I guess this means we’re lining up from most pretentious to least.”
- “By all means, Your Majesty, I am but a lowly peasant boy in need of more waiting.”
- “You know… you’re really going to kick yourself if, by cutting in line, you accidentally make me the millionth customer. Don’t worry. I’ll send you a post card from Tahiti”
- “No, you go ahead gramps, you don’t look like you got a lot more time left anyway. Hopefully the line in Hell is shorter for ya”
- “Hey, the line for manners is back that way… your mama is waiting for you there.”
Feel free to use any of the above or suggest more for everyone else.
haha those are pretty good.sadly, i never get the courage to say anything to those kind of people. i think i did ONCE ever, but i wasn’t even 100% sure if he’d cut b/c i was kind of out of it and i don’t think he’d meant to. so i felt kind of bad afterward :T
hahaha those are brilliant! Those jerks…
“where’s the sign that says JACKASSES FIRST? i missed it.”
yeah, for the offended i think there’s a subconscious instantaneous cost / benefit analysis. the lost minute or two are just not worth the aggrivation of the potential agrument with a complete jerk if they confront him.
great post
hmmm, i do usually comment and tell the offender to get to the back of the line. when i’m helping customers i make cutters go to the back of the line. i think it’s my juvenile side.
I like the 1 millionth customer one.Sometimes….I think its not worth it to say anything. Of course its irritating but after you reached a level of Daoism..you shouldnt let it bother you. If you can forgive, forgive. However………if the line is over 30 mins long….I would gently inform the offender there are ppl whose been waiting for quite some time.
hahaha love the list of retorts!!!
i just say, ‘uhm, excuse me but there’s a line here.’ — boring i know. i’d have to use one of yours~
Im pretty sure people cut lines so that dont have to wait. I don’t know, I always say something when someone cuts me. And i’ve been as a cashier before, and i don’t usually tolerate line cutting, hahah. Once these kids went infront of these women and I told them that they weren’t next and told them to move behind the women. They complied, though i could hear some attitude in their voices. I don’t know, if you don’t want people to cut, just take command. Most people are afraid of confrontation, especially if they have to confront a stranger because.. who knows, the stranger might have a gun. I don’t really care though.. hahah.
The optimist in me says that most people just don’t realize they’re doing it. Perhaps this guy thought the rest of you were waiting to place orders and since he had already placed his, he didn’t need to wait.
The pessimist in me says that most people still don’t realize they’re doing it out of sheer arrogance and lack of consideration for others.
I rarely say anything, just because it is not worth the aggravation.
However, my Nana is another story. Once, at Universal Studios in CA, we were waiting in line for one of the rides and these two guys started to cut through the line. My itty-bitty 90 year old (85 at the time) Nana stands in front of this one guy and says “no cutting in line!” and when he ignored her she starts screaming “Security! Security!” They took off out of the line at that point. It was hilarious.
everything in life is about risk vs reward. i would just stand there and give him a weird look and hope that he doesn’t see me give him a weird look. that way, i get the satisfaction of not approving his behavior and avoid any face to face confrontation with the dude. i’d rather wait in line for 2 extra minutes instead of risking getting beat up in the parking lot.
haha i can t picture myself saying some of those lines…
you should promote my songs on revelife!!heheh.
I worked as a drive-thru bank teller for 4 years. We had four lanes in our drive-thru and I was queen of them. It was nice. One day, all lanes were full, and there were a couple cars behind each lane as well. When one customer was finished and drove off, the guy second in line in another lane cut his car sharply in front of the other car waiting to be next in that lane and took his spot. I was so mad! So was the guy he cut off. While they were yelling at each other between lanes, I had my own method of reprimand and took my dear sweet time finishing all the other customers transactions (even the ones behind the cutter…muahaha) before even budging to start his. I wouldn’t even let any of the other tellers take his tube. I don’t know if he noticed it or not, but the guy he slighted did, and that was enough for me. 🙂 I can’t believe that the cashier did nothing to make that man go back to his place!
PS. Caligrrrl, your Nana is amazing! I’d like her on my crime-fighting team!
I used to rarely say anything, but now I say something about 90% of the time. I guess I got fed up with rude behavior and people taking advantage to step over others. If the person ignores me (which happens when it’s intentional), then I will say something to the cashier, and that usually works. The other 10% is when I fear my life will be endangered, and in that situation, I would probably just talk loudly about the rudeness of the person who cut and then just let it go. You can’t win them all.
http://www.xanga.com/samuelockthe entry is called “I Am a Weapon.”