I was at my favorite grocery store late one evening. They had been short-staffed for several months now, so long lines at the checkout were expected, but this time, I approached the front of the store to find only one register open in addition to the self-checkout. I was ninth in line. Everyone ahead of me had very full carts, and two families each had two full carts. I didn’t recognize the cashier and thought she might be a new hire. I could tell it would be an even longer wait.
Fortunately, people were not particularly mad about it, even as several more joined the line behind me, which now curved around the end of the aisle and out of my sight. There was some grumbling and sighing, but no one yelled or demanded a manager.
Ten or fifteen minutes later, I had reached the third position in line. An employee approached me to say that they were opening another register and I was invited to be first in line there. I gratefully accepted, and several other people followed me. I began unloading my groceries and greeted the cashier just as she turned on the lane light.
Me: “Thanks for coming to rescue us from that long line!”
Cashier: “Of course. And thank you for being patient.”
She rang up my purchases and I paid and started bagging. The guy behind me, who had been lowkey complaining to another customer about the wait, started unloading his groceries.
Customer #1: “Hey, thanks for working so hard. I bet this job isn’t as easy as it looks.”
Cashier: “You’re right, but it’s not too bad.”
As I was leaving, the next group started unloading their groceries.
Cashier: “Sorry about the wait.”
Customer #2: “Meh, don’t worry about us. It could have been worse. You’re doing a great job.”
It was so refreshing to hear that many people just deal with a slight inconvenience patiently instead of taking out their frustration on the underpaid and underappreciated employees trying to help them.
