Some Customers Deserve To Be Skipped

(I walk over to ring up a waiting customer. We have three registers, and I’m on the middle drawer. He’s standing in front of the first register. When I greet him, a woman that I didn’t even know was there pops out from behind him and cuts ahead to my register with a cheery, oblivious attitude. I assume that maybe this was intentional, so I proceed as normal.)

Me: “Hi, ma’am, what did you get today?”

Male Customer: “What about me?”

Female Customer: “Oh! I’m sorry, go on ahead!”

(The man glares at me while telling sarcastically telling the woman it’s fine and to go on ahead. As I’m taking care of her order, the man talks to me.)

Male Customer: “So, why’d you skip over me?”

Me: “I… I didn’t, sir.”

Male Customer: “I was over here. Why can’t you use this register over here?”

Me: “I can only ring on the register that’s assigned to me.”

Male Customer: “So, I have to walk over there if I want to get rung up?”

(The difference is less than a foot of space and I’ve rung plenty of people up who didn’t want to move physically in front of my register.)

Me: “You can stand wherever you want, sir.”

Male Customer: “Well, then, I just don’t see why I was skipped over.”

(The woman’s order is done and she walks away. The man gathers his things and steps in front of my register.)

Me: “Sir, I’m not sure why that woman cut you in line. I looked at you and called you over; I never even saw that woman.”

(The man didn’t seem to care. He was grumpy the rest of his transaction, even though I attempted to be positive and friendly.)