Making Their Whining Shift Down A Register

I am working the express register. Our express lane moves around the store, so the signs indicating it as such are not permanent. Each cashier also has a physical “lane open” sign that we carry around with us to place on a hook over the register. It’s all very charmingly old-school and analog.

A customer moves the “10 Items Or Fewer” sign out of the way to push two full carts up to my register.

Me: “Ma’am, this is the express lane. Only ten items or fewer.”

Customer: “I don’t see a sign.”

Me: “You just moved it out of the way.”

Customer: “Well, I still don’t see it.”

She continues to place her items on the belt, ignoring my further polite attempts to redirect her to the correct lane.

Realizing you can’t reason with such people, I turn off my register, pick up the express lane sign and the “lane open” sign, and walk over to the next lane, which is closed. Since my register was card payment only, I am confident in saying this to the customers who were stuck in line behind the entitled customer:

Me: “This lane is now the express lane! All customers with ten items or fewer in the original express lane line, please move over here.”

Of course, the entitled customer can’t move over fast enough since she’s already unloaded half of her items and the other customers only have their baskets.

Customer: “Hey! I’m unloading here! You can’t just close the lane!”

Me: “I’m afraid I am working the express lane, ma’am, and that is now this lane. The lane you’re on is currently closed.”

Customer: “Look! This lane is open! Serve me!”

I look the lane over quickly and then look back at her.

Me: “I don’t see a sign.” 

She fumed, but I ignored her to check out the customers who actually did follow the rules. She gathered up her items and angrily got in one of the correct lanes.