Two Hands, One Brain, Zero Extra Cashiers

I worked at a truck stop about twenty years ago. It was a weekend, and there were only two of us working, and managers never worked weekends.

I was working by myself while the other cashier went on her break. I started getting a little bit of a line, but nothing drastic. One man yelled at me:

Customer: “Can’t you open another register?!”

Me: “I could, but I could still only run one at a time.”

Customer: “Two registers, two hands!”

Me: “And sadly, only one brain, so I’d have to divide my attention between the two, so each line will take twice the time.”

Customer: *Goes back to waiting in sullen silence.*