more articles like this

Express Line Etiquette
updated: Mar 11, 2013, 7:14 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

A subscriber wonders, if you have a few more than 12 items in your grocery shopping cart, is it okay to go in the express checkout line if there is no one else in it? In counting the items, is a bunch of 6 bananas considered to be only one item?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

NATURE BOY	2013-03-11 07:19 PM
Ask the cashier, "I have more than 12 items, but since there's nobody in line, can i check out here?" But: What if you plopped down your 20 items, then someone steps in line behind you with one item? Not fair to them. And yes, a bunch of bananas is one item.
COMMENT 383639P	2013-03-11 07:21 PM
To me it depends if you have 13 items or 50 items along with coupons, writing a check, getting cash back all while talking on your phone... Use your best judgment. A bunch of bananas gets rung up once so it counts as one item.
ROGER DODGER	2013-03-11 07:24 PM
Ask the clerk..
COMMENT 383641	2013-03-11 07:25 PM
If the light is red. And there are no cars around (that I can see). Is it ok if I just ignore it? Afterall, if it inconveniences me, why should I care?
COMMENT 383642	2013-03-11 07:27 PM
Risky, if I even think I'm close to twelve sometimes I don't take that line.
COMMENT 383644	2013-03-11 07:42 PM
Only if the cashier says it's okay. Just as a sidebar, I always really appreciate it when the person in front of me lets me go ahead because I only have one or two items. I always try and return the favour in the spirit of "do as you would be done by".
COMMENT 383645	2013-03-11 07:42 PM
Spot on 641!
COMMENT 383648P	2013-03-11 07:56 PM
I'm with 644. I wait for a checker to invite me to their open line, which they are aware of and regularly do. And I always invite people to go in front of me. 644, do you shop at Ralph's on De la Vina? I put my cart away too. I know, I'm an angel, give me a halo. lol
COMMENT 383649	2013-03-11 07:57 PM
If you live for bending the rules what do you care? No matter what the rule you're going to bend or break it. However if you have a cart with way more than 12 items and you think you should get away with it don't put it on the community to figure out your conscience for you. It's like parking in a handicapped parking spot. Is it okay to take the spot if you don't see any handicapped drivers around?
COMMENT 383650	2013-03-11 07:58 PM
Use the self checkout area. Also, I no longer let a person with one or two items go ahead of me now that self checkout areas are common.
COMMENT 383653	2013-03-11 08:14 PM
If my boss said do not go over 8 hours ....Is it ok to do 12 hours because my boss is gone?
COMMENT 383654	2013-03-11 08:17 PM
No. Don't be a jerk.
COMMENT 383659P	2013-03-11 08:34 PM
Am grateful that most of the grocery stores here don't have the self-check out lanes. I'm uncomfortable with them and also would rather someone be employed locally.
AQUAHOLIC	2013-03-11 08:39 PM
Never, unless the express check-out line cashier insists & waves me over. Then, I feel anxious to get the transaction done before someone else with 12 or less comes behind me. I also take my cart back to the front of the store...I used to work as a courtesy clerk at Safeway back in the 70's, so I know it sucks to round up all those carts!
COMMENT 383661	2013-03-11 08:46 PM
I called out a couple of UCSB kids in front of me for having way over 12 items at trader joes. They blew me off and said it was no big deal, everyone did it. They gave the big eye roll at the check out guy, who remained silent throughout (he was another college age kid). When the customers were gone I told the checker I didn't appreciate the fact that he didn't back me up. The three customers behind me jumped on him too. The manger finally came over, heard the story, and comp-ed everyone in line a reusable TJs bag. I give props to the manager but can't understand why people think it's OK to act like narcissistic brats (the nicest words I can use without getting nannied)?
COMMENT 383664P	2013-03-11 08:59 PM
I'm with Aqua on this one. I was called over by the cashier once. Never again. I was unloading the last of my 18 items when a man walked up behind me and started huffing and puffing. I mean really huffing and puffing down my neck, I could feel it! Then he started in with the nasty comments. I looked at him and was about to tell him that the cashier had called me in to the line when he let out a string of swear words at me. Thankfully, the cashier came to my rescue and told him to leave me alone, that she had called me over to her line and that if he continued with the foul language and insults she would not check him out of the line! Moral of the story...I'll wait. And if the express line is open, then I don't let the person with one or two items go in front of me. If I have been shopping for a while (ie my bi-weekly menu planning shopping), then I'm tired and want to get going because I still have to go home and unload the car and put all of the groceries away.
NATURE BOY	2013-03-11 09:04 PM
Self-checkout is like pumping your own gas, or shopping online. Less human labor involved, and yes, less jobs, but we choose them because they streamline the processes and make life happen more smoothly. The price of living in a technologically advanced world.
COMMENT 383667P	2013-03-11 09:07 PM
Since someone else touched on the subject of putting away carts... I'll go ahead and rant as that is one big pet peeve of mine. Customers borrow the cart as a convenience. When you borrow something RETURN IT! If you are too old, too busy, too sick, have too many babies or have some other reason why you can't walk 15 feet to a cart return than ask for carry out assistance! Aside from the rudeness of making some poor clerk wander the parking lot gathering up carts they are a huge nuisance to the rest of us trying to park. I'll stop and breathe now :-)
KIDS	2013-03-11 09:07 PM
In the early morning at Von's, (when I do my major shopping), the Express lane in the ONLY one open. I do try and let the 1-2 item people ahead of me. After a short while, 5-6 people have gone ahead of me and I have to get home and to work.
NATURE BOY	2013-03-11 09:14 PM
If we're talking about the loss of jobs due to self-checkout, we should talk about the loss (or lessening) of jobs due to people returning their own carts, when one of the duties of store employees is to gather the carts from the parking lot. Want to mitigate the lost work from self-checkout? Leave your cart in the parking lot.
NATURE BOY	2013-03-11 09:30 PM
And 641: Equating using an empty "12 Items" Vons checkout with driving through a red light is a little bit... um... NOT.
COMMENT 383675	2013-03-11 09:53 PM
No.
COMMENT 383679P	2013-03-11 11:23 PM
Nature Boy: The store employees gather the carts from the various cart returns and bring them in. Its obnoxious to leave them in random parking spaces and up against cars instead of taking the extra 90 seconds to place them in a return. Plus, I am wholly unconvinced that your suggested action would mitigate anything but civic duty.
COMMENT 383688P	2013-03-12 06:05 AM
One thing that you lose in stores with self-checkout stands is the positive interaction between the cashier and the customer which helps define that customer's perception of the store. Shopping, especially for singles and the elderly, may be one of the few social contacts available. The 7/11 in Old Town Goleta still remembers me even though I moved several years ago - as I walk through the doors they hold up 2 fingers to see if I want 2 quarter pound hot dogs (my usual order). I can't imagine Santa Cruz market with self-checkouts either ... who could I practice my spanish with. Not everything is an improvement.
MESA	2013-03-12 06:11 AM
I agree with KIDS, I like to do shopping early in the morning sometimes. I like to go to Vons and they only have one line open and that is the express lane. Maybe they should use another lane just so it doesn't seem like you are breaking the rules. On a separate note I like the wait sometimes; it may be the only time of day I get to slow down for a minute. Why is everyone in such a hurry anyway?
COMMENT 383692	2013-03-12 06:20 AM
If I have gone shopping for the week, and my cart is crammed full, I stay away from the express lane. Any other time, if the express lane is lightest I take it. If you are so busy because you buy one item at a time, scoot over to the self checkout. Then you won't need ANYBODY in your life.
FLICKA	2013-03-12 06:37 AM
Self-checkout is being touted here like it's an option to everyone; we don't have any in Carpinteria. Being polite is the main way to conduct yourself. With 13 items go through express, not with a weeks worth of food. Ask the checker.
CORKY	2013-03-12 06:43 AM
That's a good question. I have been waved through by cashiers on occasion, and sometimes, it's only one or two of same items, so not a big hassle, but I usually try to be careful on my count. At Vons Fairview, I almost always use self-check. I know some people need to use cash, but it's annoying to wait while someone counts out pennies, etc. and then starts going through their paper money. Even more so, when a person writes a check they haven't even dug out of their purse while in line. Surely they could put the store name and date on it.
COMMENT 383706	2013-03-12 06:47 AM
I agree with 654... don't be a jerk. Of course if that's the only open cash register it's a moot point. And please return your cart. How difficult is it to wheel it over to the cart gather or back to the front of the store? Leaving it in the parking space next to you (or worse letting it roll into the car parked in the next spot) only shows what you're really made of.... accustomed to mom or the maid picking up after you.
COMMENT 383714	2013-03-12 07:05 AM
The SBPD will be conducting a checkpoint at the 12 items or less line this weekend.
COMMENT 383715	2013-03-12 07:05 AM
Never ok to use the express lane if you have more than 12 items unless it is the only lane open. Done. Easy.
COMMENT 383718	2013-03-12 07:10 AM
i love the person who waits until all their stuff is checked....then and only then opens up their purse to pay..... and they take pleasure in digging deep to get the exact amount.....'here's a nickel...just need 2 pennies'
COMMENT 383719P	2013-03-12 07:12 AM
No. But since no one, not even the cashiers, ever follow this rule these line should be abolished and all lanes made equal. Besides, these 12 or fewer lines tend be a lot slower then all other lines so they are useless anyway.
COMMENT 383722	2013-03-12 07:28 AM
I don't like crowds or much human contact so I shop at off hours. If I have more than 12 items, I use the regular checkstand. If a cashier tells me it's okay to use the express checkstand then I do - it happens a lot - they want to stay busy and keep things moving. I always have my debit and store discount card in hand and hand them my bags before they start checking items. I'm glad some stores have self checkstands because then you can only be irritated with yourself if it's taking a long time.
COMMENT 383724	2013-03-12 07:31 AM
719P - I think you're right. More often than not I watch a longer line moving faster than me when in the express line due, usually, to customer wanting price check, debating with cashier about whether item is on sale or not, signing up for new club card or forgetting their club card and having to remember which phone number was used initially, etc., etc., ad infinitum. Oh, and how about the customer who stands pat and holds up the line while waiting for a "helper" to come back from picking up a last minute or forgotton item from the farthest corner of the store.
COMMENT 383726	2013-03-12 07:36 AM
I'm surprised none of the moms piped up to say how they purposely park next to carts in the parking lot to make the trip safer with multiple kids in tow. I usually look for a lost cart or a mom or elderly person who is unloading into their car and offer totake their cart.
COMMENT 383730	2013-03-12 07:44 AM
And when you return your cart don't return it to the disabled parking space. I'm disabled and really need the blue parking but there's usually an abandoned shopping cart because the space is empty. Then I have to get out of the car, move shopping cart, get back in the car and park. Sometimes it's easier just to find another parking space. I think if it's something people don't use they think no one else uses it either. I think overall it's best to just think of other people wether they are collecting carts, looking for a quick way out of a store in an express line or trying to park in the disable spot.
COMMENT 383731	2013-03-12 07:44 AM
I used to be a cashier who often worked the express lane and it always just so happens that when the person with 15+ items comes through the empty line, that the people just wanting to buy a sandwich and drink will materialize behind them. It also just so happens that the people with their sandwich and drink, following the rules, WILL notice that you have more than 12 items and guess who they are going to take their aggression out on? The poor young college student working behind the register. Yes, I speak from experience. So no, it's not OK, if you have time to pick up more than 12 items then you have the time to stand in the regular line as an honest person.
COMMENT 383734P	2013-03-12 07:52 AM
There will always be dingy people. Some folks' brains just work like that. You might as well relax and enjoy watching them.
COMMENT 383736	2013-03-12 07:52 AM
719 P I thought I was the only one that had terrible grocery line experiences. I choose a line that looks like it is short and a checker I know is fast. But then the customer (usually a woman) in front of me is paying by check and has not made it out even in part before ringing out. In addition there is the "price check" on a small jar of Hungarian Olives that no one can find, followed by the dispute about sale price, then there is the social conversation with the checker and finally she reaches into her purse and pulls out a huge wad of coupons to be scanned. The check, of course, is drawn on the bank of Hong Kong and needs the approval of the store manager and last but not least the adjacent checker needs 100 dolllars in five dollar and one dollar bills from 5 twenty's she tenders or perhaps the register malfunctions in the process. I usually warn people not to get behind me in line as I am the unluckiest shopper ever.
COMMENT 383737	2013-03-12 07:53 AM
While were on the subject...while shopping in the isles, please don't park your cart in the middle of isle so that others can get past.
COMMENT 383742	2013-03-12 08:06 AM
How silly comparing traffic to food lines. Ask the clerk, mostly likely the clerk will scan your cart and say yes or no. Use your best judgment and shop in the off hours if you can.
COMMENT 383743	2013-03-12 08:09 AM
I've always liked the cashiers queston: "Which 12 items do you wish to purchase?"
COMMENT 383748P	2013-03-12 08:17 AM
I've had plenty of checkers wave me over with more than 12 items if they have nobody in line. Sometimes that is the only line open if you're going to the store early in the morning. If they wave you over or they are the only checker open, etc., it's totally ok. The point of there being a checkout for few items is during the higher traffic times of day when there are lots of lines open but some people only went for milk & bread... use your judgement and ask the checker. The people here who are responding negatively are clueless about shopping at odd times off day where the stores are experiencing downtime and checkers just stand there hoping for something to do!
COMMENT 383750	2013-03-12 08:20 AM
OK- I'll chime in as a mom that is bummed if I can't park near a cart corral or "lost" cart in the lot. It's so much easier to grab it so I can load my child in without having to go search. I also look for someone just finishing unloading his cart and offer to take it for them. Then when I come out, I confess I do leave my cart if my child is with me and the corral is too far away for me to safely leave my child in the car alone- which seems to be the case where I usually shop- the cart corrals are really far out in the lot. I do however try to position it where it can't roll into other cars. I also avoid the express line if I have too many items and I let people ahead of me that have 1 or 2. Actually I love the self check and usually use that- less stuff for my kid to grab and way faster! Common courtesy folks :)
REXOFSB	2013-03-12 08:22 AM
For those who want to get rid of quick-check lines, I have just one word: COSTCO. I once stood in line at Costco behind a guy who had over $300 worth of small items. All I had was one $16 purchase. Costco, of course, has no quick-check line. It was a long wait. And while we're on the subject, it's been my observation that Costco customers are, hands-down, universally rude when it coes to letting customers with only a few things go ahead of them. Often they'll just prretend you're not there, staring though you as if you're invisible. THEN, once the checker has started ringing them up, they'll snap out of their trance, make eye contact and say something like, "Oh, I should have let you go before me." Yeah, that WOULD have been nice. I think the rule at Costco is NEVER let anyone go ahead of you. The worst offenders in the supermarkets are semi- or allegedly non-English-speakers who try to pretend they either don't see or understand the great big sign that says "12 ITEMS."
COMMENT 383755	2013-03-12 08:25 AM
736.....i just know we use the same market....
COMMENT 383758	2013-03-12 08:33 AM
750 As a "bummed mom" your concern for your child left alone is good, but rather than leaving your cart somewhere in the parking lot where it either blocks a parking space or perhaps scratches someone's car, when the checker or bagger asks if you need help out SAY YES!
COMMENT 383765	2013-03-12 08:51 AM
People that write checks especially for very small amounts of items are even more obnoxious than those violating the express lane rules. Even more so at places like Lazy Acres where the line is clearly labeled NO CHECKS. This is 2013 there are only a handful of specific circumstances left where a hand written check is an appropriate form of payment!
COMMENT 383767	2013-03-12 08:52 AM
I've actually had the opposite experience to Rexofsb at Costco. Within the past couple weeks, I've had more than one person let me go in front of them because I only had 1 or 2 items. However, I don't expect to be let in front, and I feel the person in front of me has every right to keep their place in line. It's just an added bonus if someone does let me go ahead of them, and I'm grateful.
COMMENT 383768	2013-03-12 08:52 AM
Comparing traffic rules to checkout line etiquette. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Rules are rules, if you break one what's stopping you from breaking others.
SECCO	2013-03-12 09:00 AM
Express lanes should be six items or less. If there are 3 people in line ahead of me, each with 10-12 items, it ain't gonna be express!
COMMENT 383780P	2013-03-12 09:33 AM
768 - "rules" and the LAW are two different things entirely. Check out line etiquette is the epitomy of victimless, non-important social rules. Stopping at a red light prevents death. But here, it seems as though most people consider a "violation" of the 12 items or less sign to be equivalent to murder. Ease up everyone!
COMMENT 383781	2013-03-12 09:37 AM
I was once summoned over to an express lane when there wasn't anyone there. I would never have dreamed of taking my full cart into that lane, but after the manager asked me to come over into his lane, I did. To my horror, a bunch of express customers showed up when I was nearly done loading everything onto the belt. Too late to back out, but far too soon for them not to think I'd been a pushy jerk and done it on purpose. That was nearly 15 years ago and I still think about it. I guess you can say I'm one of the conscientious few who count up to the item and if I'm one over, I wait in the regular line. I wish everyone was like this, though.
COMMENT 383787	2013-03-12 09:43 AM
644/648: I let people in front of me, and return my cart, and I go to the TJ's & Ralph's on DLV. :) And 750, I understand why you do it, but really, you say common courtesy, but then leave a cart in the parking lot (taking up parking spaces, and potentially scratching/dinging someone's car)? I agree with 758, if you can't return your cart at the end of your visit, you clearly need help with your groceries & should ask for help out. Common courtesy folks :) And 768: One is etiquette, the other is a law. You aren't breaking any laws by bring your full cart into the express line - you're just being a jerk. Also, I don't count items - if its around/under 10-ish items, I'll use the express line. I don't count the items of people in front of me either (seriously, that's ridiculous). As for the TJ's checker that didn't say anything, he probably couldn't. A lot of these type positions they just have to deal with it. Customer is always right. :P
COMMENT 383797P	2013-03-12 10:03 AM
Life is so short- why not just relax knowing that a trip to the grocery store (or any other store) will always take longer than expected? I no longer switch lines thinking it will go faster (because it doesn't), I always return cart to proper locale ( I have 3 kids) and I cherish that little old lady using her checks or exact change (because she has been through alot more of life than me). Rude people will always be rude and when we are rude back they win. As my Granny used to say "It all works out in the wash".
COMMENT 383798	2013-03-12 10:06 AM
To moms with babies....you are absolutely justified to ask for help out and should ask, for the safety of your child plus the safety and convenience of the other shoppers. Don't be hesitant or embarrassed, this may be the only time in your life you need this service so go for it.
COMMENT 383799	2013-03-12 10:08 AM
I shop regularly at Vons in Montecito and this happens a lot. The cashiers very rarely say anything to the customers. The other day an older woman had 17 items in her basket, while I had seven. I pointed out that it was an express lane and she apologized, but the damage was done!
ANDY	2013-03-12 10:17 AM
12 means 12 Period
COMMENT 383852	2013-03-12 12:06 PM
6 pet peeves that immediately jump to mind. There are many more.... People that put their entire basket up on the conveyor belt and expect the cashier to unload it for them. People that get in the express lane and then ask the cashier to go get them cigarettes. People who pay by check when in the express lane, and people who pay by check in any line and don't have the all but the total amount pre-filled-in on the check. People who leave their carts in a parking space. Baggers (not including the "special" ones) who, after putting my one loaf of bread and 1/2 lb of lunch meat in a plastic bag, ask me "Do you need help out with that?" Cashiers and customers (always women, both of them) who gab with each other endlessly after the transaction is over, despite the fact that there are 5 people in line waiting patiently to be rung up.
COMMENT 383877	2013-03-12 01:30 PM
1st world problems. We seem to have a lot of them in SB.
COMMENT 383880	2013-03-12 01:35 PM
I'm tired of the 1st world problems complaint. We can't all go around wringing our hands about truly important problems all the time. We're just talking, here. A bit of levity is in order.
COMMENT 383886P	2013-03-12 01:48 PM
880: Right you are. 856: Just got to stir that pot again, don't you?
COMMENT 383924P	2013-03-12 03:34 PM
714 for the win! And those who are so locked into full and strict compliance with a CORPORATE policy, even when it is widely known that the Express-Lane cashiers make exceptions ALL the time, you folks are what is known as "Sheeple", the one and the same variety who would rather be told what to do than be free to make your own choices.
AUNTIE S.	2013-03-12 04:47 PM
I'm with you, 659P. I'm against self check out lines on principle. It tells me that stores are asking paying customers to do the job that store employees should be doing (under the guise of making things easier for the customers)
COMMENT 383956	2013-03-12 06:20 PM
I love edhat after a long hard day's work. I come home, put my feet up, and crack up!!!!!!
COMMENT 383963	2013-03-12 06:41 PM
I enjoy self check out. 5 things, bagged and out the door in less time than the express line. I used to work at a grocery store so I'm used to it. But it defiantly is not for everyone. And not a full cart

42% of comments on this page were made by Edhat Community Members.

*** 6 comments were deleted from this thread by the Edhat Board Nanny for violating Edhat Comments Board policy. Click Here to see them.

Comments on this thread are only open to Community Members.

# # # #