There was ice falling from the sky when I purchased my petrol, and a well intentioned chap was queuing up inside to pay while his wife braved the elements and filled up their Mondeo.
That’s him to the right of the picture, clutching the Leicester Mercury. The chap at the counter actually arrived after Mr Mondeo, but wifey outside hadn’t quite yet finished filling up, so Mr Mondeo offered his place to this second chap by taking a step back from the queue and pointing towards the cashier with his Mercury.
“All yours mate.”
“Cheers.”
He stepped forward back into his place at the head of the queue, and was seemingly confident that his wife would have finished filling up by the time the second chap was finished.
However, Mr Mondeo didn’t account for Sheila coming off her break and opening up a second till. Wifey outside was still not yet finished and I was guided to Shelia by a folded Leicester Mercury.
“Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
January 23, 2007 at 1:18 am
Its nice tae be nice
January 23, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I like your motto bawbags.
But it’s only nice to be nice to a certain point…. then it becomes a little irritating. I worry about those who are always nice.
January 23, 2007 at 11:41 pm
I say it aw the time!!!
Best bit of advice ma mother ever gave me.
Gives ye a wee glow inside so it does.
Im a big fan of the old nastiness too though … but it needs to be constructive and well aimed … like a sniper taking out Davina MacColl live on Big Brother … that gives me a wee glow inside too.
Aw the best!
January 24, 2007 at 11:58 am
I’m concerned by this behaviour. Although it may have seemed to be a polite action, in fact the gentleman was queue jumping by proxy, effectively holding the place in the queue until his wife had concluded her purchase of fuel (and why wasn’t he pumping fuel instead of allowing his missus to stand outside in freezing temperatures?).
It’s all very well waving others through to the tills, but he shouldn’t have been claiming a place in the queue at all until he was prepared to make a purchase.
I wonder if, in the supermarket itself, he sends wifey off with a trolley while he occupies a position near a till, waving people through to the No 1 slot until such time as his other half returns, at which point he’s instantly in pole position. If the shop was busy, a long queue could have built up at the tills, but he’d always be ready to jump it. Bad show, I say. Bad show!
January 24, 2007 at 2:07 pm
My thoughts exactly Sam Tana.
It is not rare in this country to see the other half enter the petrol station and browse magazines and chocolate bars while also keeping an eye on their partner who is filling up. Then once the pump is placed back into its cradle the person inside will make their way to the queue.
This gentleman with the Leicester Mercury was not following conventional behaviour and was indeed dominating the queue with his selfish positioning.
He may have got away with it had the queue been larger and he had been towards the back, however in this instance the queue mostly consisted of himself. And so he caused not only confusion among fellow queuers but created anxiety by forcing communication between himself and those of us who were only interested in waiting patiently and quietly.
January 24, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I’m glad you share my concerns, William Deed. Imagine if every couple in the land adopted this shifty tactic. There’d be a mob of non-purchasers milling around at the till, not queueing but rather jockeying for position. If this tactic is allowed to develop it could be the end of civilisation as we know it!
January 24, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I don’t think it’d be taking things too far if we petitioned petrol stations to put up signs that stop this type of behaviour.