Very Front Loaded

(I stop in to my local superstore to pick up some dog treats. I decide to grab a soda for myself from the cooler. Just before I place my items on the counter, a man comes up to the line and starts talking to me.)

Customer: “Hey! Can I go in front of you?”

(I look at his full cart, and then at the two items in my hand.)

Customer: “I mean, since I have so much less stuff than you, it’ll just be much faster.”

(Again, I look at his full cart and at the TWO items in my hands. I pause for 30 seconds not fully understanding what’s going on before I finally respond. He seems kind of agitated and since I’m not in a hurry, and don’t want to cause an incident, I let him go in front of me.)

Me: “Sure, go ahead…”

(A few minutes later he’s finally done and I place my items on the counter. My total comes up to less than five bucks and I go to pay when I’m stopped by a woman who was in line behind both me and the man from earlier.)

Customer #2: “Please, let me pay for these.”

(I’m a bit shocked, and immediately protest, but the cashier cuts me off.)

Cashier: “Kid, I’m not letting you pay. That idiot insisted on skipping you, even though you CLEARLY have less items than he did, and you didn’t make any fuss about it. You deserve much more than just this. It’s people like you that make this soul sucking worthless job bearable.”