Two Points Make a Line, But They Have to be the Right Two Points

[secritcrush]

Poll Standing in the Not-line

I am sure you will be shocked to learn that in fact these people were waiting to be served. (And in at least one case clearly thought I had pulled shenanigans to get waited on in front of them.)

So have I missed some crucial bit of line etiquette?

Comments

[teadog1425]

Um, no?

Speaking as a UK person with a naturally acute sense of queue etiquette ;) - I would have done the same - I think their understanding of what queuing is was at fault, not yours!!

[secritcrush]

I didn't really think so, but I thought perhaps there was a custom where you always queue in the center, even if the cash register way on the right was the only one open.

[matgb]

Pretty much, yeah. If there's no designated queueing point, you stand in the centre area waiting for the next one to become free.

Plus, if you're unsure, you catch the eye of the person you're not sure of an ask if they're waiting, practised inhabitants of civilisation can do this without even speaking ;-)

[secritcrush]

I wasn't unsure until the third time it happened, honestly. (And the person who seemed to think I was making cutting shenanigans was standing all the way to the right when the open register was all the way to the left.)

[secritcrush]

Standing back I get and definitely ask. Standing right at the counter in front of a closed register I do not.

[karen_w_newton]

Unless there is a sign that says "Line forms here" I am not usually going to assume that one person is a queue. Two people, one behind the other, yes, I would probably then ask, "Is this the line?" But generally, places that want customers to stand in a single line for the next available cashier have a sign that say so. Customers who decide to make such a line by themselves should expect confusion, especially if they simply pick some random spot to do it.

[carl_allery]

There's a definite custom of leaving a large gap behind the person being served, except in supermarkets where you're loading stuff on a conveyor. If there is an option of tills and you're not sure if another will open, yes, it's common to line up somewhere in the middle to cover both options, but standing at the counter next to a closed till? Nope. I'd stand well back of the person being served and ask the other person if they're in the queue or if they're being served.

Usually all you have to say is - Excuse me, are you ...? And wave your hand vaguely at the person being served and you should get a yes, or a no, you're/that's fine, response. :)

[bemused_leftist]

That's how it works in US post offices, banks, etc. Even if only one cashier is on duty, you stand back in the middle in case another cashier arrives.

If someone is standing closely in front of a closed window, I assume their cashier has gone to get them something.