I’m English and I was driving through Europe and ended up in France. I was at a petrol station and when a new cashier opened up and everybody behind me in the queue just walked past me to the new. I was sort of stood there in shock waiting for someone to let me go in front of them before I suddenly remembered and I was like “Oh yeah, I’m in France”.
Go and visit a German supermarket. When a new queue opens you will see grandma’s running at speeds that would qualify them for an Olympic sprint race if they could keep it up for more than the distance to the next cashier. I am always amazed that nobody is tripping and hurting themselves in their panic to get to new cashier as quickly as possible.
In stark contrast to that, when the fire alarm goes off in the supermarket, they will calmly continue shopping as if nothing happened in the happy ignorance of the roof they are shopping under being of the same structural integrity as the frozen pizza sold underneath it: 12 Minutes at 220 degrees and it’s done.
As a European I’m confused.
Did the cashier you were queued for stop accepting customers? If not, what exactly is the queue etiquette supposed to be here? Nobody moves to the new queue until the person in front of them confirms they don’t desire to switch?
What I’m used to from grocery shops/supermarkets is that, as soon as a new cashier opens, everyone in the queue evaluates for themselves whether their place in the new queue would be faster and moves accordingly. If practical (new queue is close to the old one and can be reached by simply walking over) the order from the old queue is generally preserved. If instead the natural way to move would invert the order (tight isles, obstacles between the queues) that is simply what happens. In either case, this usually splits the queue into roughly equal parts in a quick and efficient manner and does so organically, without the need for verbal communication.
I’m curious how this is normally done in the UK/US.
I suppose the fact that this was a different time (80s and 90s) makes a big impact. Americans weren’t as reviled back then as they are now. I’d probably tell people I’m Canadian if I went back there now.
I’m English and I was driving through Europe and ended up in France. I was at a petrol station and when a new cashier opened up and everybody behind me in the queue just walked past me to the new. I was sort of stood there in shock waiting for someone to let me go in front of them before I suddenly remembered and I was like “Oh yeah, I’m in France”.
As a fellow Brit, that sort of behavior is unthinkable. I hope you tutted loudly.
Go and visit a German supermarket. When a new queue opens you will see grandma’s running at speeds that would qualify them for an Olympic sprint race if they could keep it up for more than the distance to the next cashier. I am always amazed that nobody is tripping and hurting themselves in their panic to get to new cashier as quickly as possible.
In stark contrast to that, when the fire alarm goes off in the supermarket, they will calmly continue shopping as if nothing happened in the happy ignorance of the roof they are shopping under being of the same structural integrity as the frozen pizza sold underneath it: 12 Minutes at 220 degrees and it’s done.
As a European I’m confused.
Did the cashier you were queued for stop accepting customers? If not, what exactly is the queue etiquette supposed to be here? Nobody moves to the new queue until the person in front of them confirms they don’t desire to switch?
What I’m used to from grocery shops/supermarkets is that, as soon as a new cashier opens, everyone in the queue evaluates for themselves whether their place in the new queue would be faster and moves accordingly. If practical (new queue is close to the old one and can be reached by simply walking over) the order from the old queue is generally preserved. If instead the natural way to move would invert the order (tight isles, obstacles between the queues) that is simply what happens. In either case, this usually splits the queue into roughly equal parts in a quick and efficient manner and does so organically, without the need for verbal communication.
I’m curious how this is normally done in the UK/US.
Something I’ve always hated myself, but the Germans are even worse with this ;)
I’m American and experienced the same thing in Germany. Not everyone has the enlightened tradition of the queue we got from you guys!
Or maybe everybody just instantly clocked you as an Ami who needs to go home. :P
Not unless they heard me speak. And I was home, as I was living in Germany at the time. You’re sounding very American yourself!
A joke, following the general vibe in this thread, of friendly international ribbing. Followed by a cheeky smiley.
I suppose the fact that this was a different time (80s and 90s) makes a big impact. Americans weren’t as reviled back then as they are now. I’d probably tell people I’m Canadian if I went back there now.
Should of given them an old chelsea smile.