I haven't had much creativity to write about new stuff recently, yet I felt obligated to the readers to post something recently. So, here's a recycled post from my previous job from several years ago.
Question: Let's say you're waiting on line at a drive-thru bank where there are 4 lanes in operation. All the lanes are being used, and 3 of those lanes have an extra car in them - so, on line, there are 2, 2, 1, and 2 cars in each lane. In this case, it's obvious where you'll drive - in the lane with only 1 car.
However, let's say that all of the lanes have 2 cars in them, meaning the one currently being served and one more car behind them. Here are the questions:
A) Do you have to take your chances and pick a lane? Or,
B) Can you just hang back so that whichever lane opens first becomes yours?
I vote for B). I think it's rude when a person comes to the drive-thru, sees me "hanging back", and rather than line up behind me to be filtered into the next-opening lane, swerves around me to arbitrarily pick a lane.
And, as an extension to this question, let's say you are waiting on a long line at a supermarket, and it's late hours so there are only 2 aisles open, both of which have long lines. Let's say that a cashier opens a new aisle and announces "I can take somebody over here". If you are towards the back of the line, are you morally obligated to offer the people in front of you first dibs at the newly opened aisle?
Here were comments from the original post:
Matt Dabney said...
Scenario A:
Hopefully the entrance to the drive thru is only wide enough for one car than fans out to accept the 4 lanes. In that case, I would hang back far enough to not allow someone to swerve around you to cut in front.
Scenario B:
Who ever moves their cart the fastest to the new open register wins. Hopefully you see the cashier walking with her till box to the closed register getting ready to open it. Then you can get a headstart and head over to the register before it even opens.
Joe said...
Switch to Scenario "A" as soon as someone appears behind you. There's no way they can read your mind.
If people did that at grocery-store checkout lines, or at toll booths, there would be a freaking mess. I mean what's so specail about the drive-through?
If I saw someone doing Scenario "B", I would tap the horn. And if they still didn't move I'd be pissed.
Luke said...
i think at the drive through you have to pick a lane but at the supermarket it's first person to the new cashier wins - you have no obligation to those in front of you
kimblog said...
I like Joe's comment on scenerio A. We spend too much time thinking that others can read our minds, while the party opposite us is thinking the same thing.
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3 comments:
Let's just smell the roses.
That being said, the queue accompanied by theater type stanchions is popular now, suggesting that the normal societal expectation is to do what you were told to do in kindergarten, line up. I don't see why this expectation should change in the supermarket and it should become every man for himself.
I agree with the other Joe. Unless there's a specific area for queueing up (e.g. at a bank with multiple teller windows), you should not just pick a line instead of standing back ready to pounce on the first one that moves.
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