Queue jumping/bad customer service

angry kitten

How do you feel about it?

Logical Fallacy

I feel like they are two completely different things.

Seachmall

I feel like a rainbow.

angry kitten

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

I feel like they are two completely different things.

I think its bad customer service to allow people to jump the queue.

chin_grin

Seachmall wrote: »

I feel like a rainbow.

That's called "In-prism-ent".


<sigh>

Logical Fallacy

angry kitten wrote: »

I think its bad customer service to allow people to jump the queue.

They don't allow people to skip the queue, the people in the queue allow people to skip the queue.

It's not like any business can afford to pay a member of staff who is solely responsible for ensuring order in the queue.

If you let someone stroll past you in a queue somewhere then it's on you, not the company who goods or services you are queuing for.

smash

I saw a great one recently in Tesco in Stillorgan where a woman joined a que and stood there in 4th place reading a label on something. As a spot opened up on the self serve a woman walked up to pay and the woman reading the label let out "Sorry there's a que here" which was answered with "Eh I know, I've just been fucking standing in it..."

chin_grin

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

They don't allow people to skip the queue, the people in the queue allow people to skip the queue.

It's not like any business can afford to pay a member of staff who is solely responsible for ensuring order in the queue.

If you let someone stroll past you in a queue somewhere then it's on you, not the company who goods or services you are queuing for.

It's what those queue bollards that I should stop playing with (retracts\puts back) are for. The line. Believe in the line. The line is good. The line will bring you shuffling to your next destination. The liiiiiiiiine.

angry kitten

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

They don't allow people to skip the queue, the people in the queue allow people to skip the queue.

It's not like any business can afford to pay a member of staff who is solely responsible for ensuring order in the queue.

If you let someone stroll past you in a queue somewhere then it's on you, not the company who goods or services you are queuing for.

I disagree, I've seen shop assistants refuse to allow people to skip the queue and I've recently had an experience where the assistant ignored us when we put our basket on the counter and turned to serve the customer who had just walked into the shop and had gone to the side of the counter to avoid queuing. In my opinion that was queue jumping and bad customer service. I left my basket on the counter and went to Dunnes, I won't be buying from that shop in the future.

MickySticks

I feel like chicken tonight

chin_grin

angry kitten wrote: »

I disagree, I've seen shop assistants refuse to allow people to skip the queue and I've recently had an experience where the assistant ignored us when we put our basket on the counter and turned to serve the customer who had just walked into the shop and had gone to the side of the counter to avoid queuing. In my opinion that was queue jumping and bad customer service. I left my basket on the counter and went to Dunnes, I won't be buying from that shop in the future.

So you're not going to that shop because you're not assertive enough? Give me a break!

I inadvertently tried skipping a queue once: there was a long curved counter, and the queue was standing nowhere near it, but to the side, and well back among the aisles (I still don't get that one?)
Anyway the assistant pointed out the queue to me, I said sorry and went to the back... that's how it should be done

chin_grin

bluewolf wrote: »

I inadvertently tried skipping a queue once: there was a long curved counter, and the queue was standing nowhere near it, but to the side, and well back among the aisles (I still don't get that one?)
Anyway the assistant pointed out the queue to me, I said sorry and went to the back... that's how it should be done

Yeh rebel yeh! :pac:

Dravokivich

chin_grin wrote: »

It's what those queue bollards that I should stop playing with (retracts\puts back) are for. The line. Believe in the line. The line is good. The line will bring you shuffling to your next destination. The liiiiiiiiine.

sleeps tonight...

o wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu a weee a womba waaaaaaaayyyy

sorry couldn't help myself there.

back on topic though, bad customer service is something you generally get when you're a bad customer.

People who skip lines deserve what's coming to'em.

Sindri

One time I tried to skip a queue that wasn't a queue and and was left standing at an unused register in McDonald's. I was 4 year's old.

I only wanted ketchup.

Carter P Fly

In my local shop theres always a single queue that gets served by 3 counters. Thing is if you just ignore the queue and walk up to the counter the girls always serve you so you feel a idiot for actually queuing. The servers should tell people to join the queue as it is not th customers responsibility to do this and it just makes people pissed off and annoyed.

filmbuffboy

queue jumpers bother me. i once had a woman ask me if she could skip ahead of me as she was in a rush to get back to work. i said no problem. not fifteen mins later did i catch her in champion sports browsing! no longer let people skip past me now if they ask, i just tell them im also in a rush!

old people thinking they have a right to skip the queue annoy me too.

runawaybishop

I watched 3 lads skip the massive queue at the working abroad expo in Dublin. They cut their queuing time from 2 hours to 5 mins. No one said a word to them.

Penn

In a Smyths Toystore on Christmas Eve 2010, I made a heavily pregnant woman carrying a large box get to the back of the queue when she tried skipping it. And I was right to do so.

angry kitten

chin_grin wrote: »

So you're not going to that shop because you're not assertive enough? Give me a break!

I have absolutely no problem asserting myself, but I have a huge problem with shop assistants allowing customers to jump the queue. In that instance she actively helped her to do it. My attitude in this case was adopt a screw supporting local veg growers, I'm going to Dunnes attitude. I suspect Dunnes will be there long after this greengrocers has gone out of business.

Princess Peach

bluewolf wrote: »

I inadvertently tried skipping a queue once: there was a long curved counter, and the queue was standing nowhere near it, but to the side, and well back among the aisles (I still don't get that one?)
Anyway the assistant pointed out the queue to me, I said sorry and went to the back... that's how it should be done

I used to work in a shop and 90% of queue jumpers did it by accident. You just told them nicely where the queue starts, and 90% of them took it well and apologised and got back in the queue.

I used to work in the school book department and you'd often be walking past someone in the long queue at the end of August, who would say "Sorry I only have to get one book, will you just get it for me and I'll pay at the register downstairs." Like hell I will! It doesn't matter how many things you have to get, you still have to queue like everyone else!

And you would get a few narky people who skipped the queue accidentally and stood at the counter for a while, because you thought they were being served, and when you call the next person in the actual queue the first one got upset because "They were waiting ages and nobody helped them." Maybe if you stood at the large sign that says queue here. Tools.

Happened me a few weeks ago at the cinema, at the food counter where there were 4 different types of food. I was confused and thought since I wanted fries I was to go stand at that counter. Was ignored by the staff there for about 5 minutes, until I realised I was to queue with the line for popcorn. It was a genuine mistake and all the staff had to do was point out to me I skipped the queue, instead of ignore me the whole time. I thought that was bad customer service.

MickySticks

Penn wrote: »

In a Smyths Toystore on Christmas Eve 2010, I made a heavily pregnant woman carrying a large box get to the back of the queue when she tried skipping it. And I was right to do so.

What a lovely person you are.

blaze1

Carter P Fly wrote: »

In my local shop theres always a single queue that gets served by 3 counters. Thing is if you just ignore the queue and walk up to the counter the girls always serve you so you feel a idiot for actually queuing. The servers should tell people to join the queue as it is not th customers responsibility to do this and it just makes people pissed off and annoyed.

Was just about to post the same. That really annoys the bollix out of me.

Princess Peach

Carter P Fly wrote: »

In my local shop theres always a single queue that gets served by 3 counters. Thing is if you just ignore the queue and walk up to the counter the girls always serve you so you feel a idiot for actually queuing. The servers should tell people to join the queue as it is not th customers responsibility to do this and it just makes people pissed off and annoyed.

Or when you are in a shop like that, and they open a new register at the end, saying I will take who's next. And people behind you jump forward to it! I find that so rude.

Penn

MickySticks wrote: »

What a lovely person you are.

If she was behind me in the queue, I'd have had no problem letting her take my place, and probably would have offered to carry the box for her.

She skips the queue, f*ck that!

runawaybishop

Princess Peach wrote: »

Or when you are in a shop like that, and they open a new register at the end, saying I will take who's next. And people behind you jump forward to it! I find that so rude.

This happens all the time in Aldi/Lidl - its like a bloody stampede.

brokenhinge

Tried jumping the queue once but they were too tall.

ejmaztec

Dravokivich wrote: »

sleeps tonight...

o wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu a weee a womba waaaaaaaayyyy

sorry couldn't help myself there.

back on topic though, bad customer service is something you generally get when you're a bad customer.

People who skip lines deserve what's coming to'em.

Like speedy till-service and getting home in time for supper?:P

Cantona's Collars

My local Credit Union were paying out dividends on shares to customers about 2 years ago,queue was massive.
This asshole walked in,looked at the queue then marched up to the counter demanding he be served before everyone.The woman behind the counter pointed to the crowd behind him saying he'd have to wait like everyone else,he proceeded to give her dogs abuse,shouting & cursing at her because he was too busy & important to be held up.A couple of lads near him in the queue 'politely' asked him to leave "before he was knocked out".

The face on him like a scolded child as he skulked out the door was priceless.

Outkast_IRE

Heres a conundrum for ye ,

I skipped a queue at the cinema last year for the new Harry Potter movie, there was people standing queueing for half an hour waiting to be left into the next area not the actual screen .
However all tickets sold were assigned seats so if you were first of last your seat was the same as ticket stub anyway.

So sat back and relaxed for good half hour watched the queue build and when it finally started moving we just merged in with it

Its not my fault people were stupid enough to queue for so long for a film with reserved seating.

Duckworth_Luas

Irish people are incapable of queuing.

I was amazed to visit Madrid and see people queue up in single file at bus stops and, when the bus arrived, get on in that order. Imagine that! In Bus Aras in Dublin the people stand in line until the bus arrives and then alll Hell breaks loose as people almost trample each other to death to get on first.

The British are absolutely meticulous at serving each other in order. It dosent matter who you think you are, whoever was there first gets served first. In Ireland people are disgusted to find out that they are expected to line up with the undermenchen!

I have been in North America about 10 times in my life and have never witnessed anyone jumping a queue there. To Americans it's seen as a worse crime than being a freedom hating communist. In Ireland you queue up at an ATM, when you get to the top of the queue you find out that another rival queue has formed coming from the other direction.

spoofilyj

I was at Slane Castle for the concert last summer queing for Beers.

The que was about 200 metres long anyway I was queing with a freind for about 20 mins and these two lads saunter in infront of us, I called them on it and they ignored me, so I said that there was going to be trouble if they didnt Feck off to the back of the que, everyone around me ignored them.

Eventually I shouted at them to get the fu*k out and they left sharpish, they didnt go to the back however and skipped in again a few people back.

Que skipping is one of the very few thing that really pisses me off and i always call people on it. Some feckers think its their devine right to be served quicker than you, fu*ck that.

GetWithIt

ejmaztec wrote: »

Dravokivich wrote: »

sleeps tonight...

o wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu a weee a womba waaaaaaaayyyy

sorry couldn't help myself there.

back on topic though, bad customer service is something you generally get when you're a bad customer.

People who skip lines deserve what's coming to'em.

Like speedy till-service and getting home in time for supper?:P

They got served.

Fey!

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

Irish people are incapable of queuing.

I find the Irish in general very good and polite when it comes to queuing (sp?)

The Italians are the most arrogant and agressive when it comes to jumping queues, to the point that they'll physically shove people out of the way, young or old., to get in first.

wilkie2006

People skipping queues? Jesus, this is a very middle-aged thread....

The King of Moo

The worst case of queue-jumping I've ever seen was in Stansted airport a few years ago. I was flying back to Dublin and because I was reasonably sensible and paranoid I got to the gate early and joined the queue fairly early, before it got very long, but after the twenty or so people who start queuing about an hour before the flight time, just because one person gets up to queue.

(Sidenote: I've now started sitting at the seat beside the gate when I arrive if no-one else is queuing, then taking the first place in the queue when the staff are getting ready to start boarding. Some might see that as queue-jumping, but I say I was waiting there at the top of the queue, and was there before everyone else. I just happened to be sitting. I also know queueing doesn't really matter on a flight, but I still like to get on earlyish to avoid the crush when everyone's trying to get on and put their bags somewhere, and I like to take the emergency exit seats for the legroom and the chance to be a hero :pac:.)

It was summer and the flight was full, and soon there was a very long queue snaking around the place. Shortly before boarding when everyone seemed to be queuing, two girls in mini skirts and ugg boots arrived and looked in disgust at the queue. They wandered around near the back of the queue talking to each other for a bit. Soon, they began to saunter casually along the length of the queue, looking for an opportunity to slip into the queue, trying to get a feel for which men looked like they'd be willing to let them in.
Eventually, they sauntered in front of a middle-aged guy close to the front of the queue but still well behind me, and smiled back at him and casually said something to him.
But he was having none of it, and he and a few others around them told the shocked girls in no uncertain terms where to go. They left the queue but still hung around the same spot, looking about for other places they might join the queue, and pleading with the same guy, to no avail.
They were quite put out by both the length of the queue and the fact that people wouldn't let them skip it. They really couldn't even imagine going to the back of the queue.

Eventually the line got moving and by the time I was past the gate they were still trying to negotiate their way into the queue.
The worst thing was that when I was on the plane, I noticed that they still managed to get on before the guy they'd tried to charm!
I was raging, and would loved to have known who the idiot was who let the spoiled brats skip the queue.
I also think the girls checking the boarding cards should have made them wait, as everyone could see what the girls were up to, and I'm sure someone kicked up a fuss about them when they got to the gate.

One of the worst times for queuing I encounter is when I'm donating blood in a hotel nearby. The chairs for the initial check-in are arranged in about five or six rows, and the queue is supposed to start from the top left seat and snake around.
The problem is that no-one wants to sit beside someone else, especially if there's a few empty seats about, so they'll sit all over the place, and then no-one knows who's next. Usually when I arrive, which is fairly early, there's three or four people lined up, some with an empty chair between them. I'll always sit right beside the person closest to the back. It sometimes makes them uncomfortable, but usually within about ten minutes there's almost enough people to fill up all the seats, and people start reluctantly sitting beside each other and queuing properly, but not before a huge confusion as to what the order is.
It's a terrible combination of a lack of organisation and social awkwardness.
Occasionally when I've arrived there's been about ten people scattered all over the place with no queue at all, so I've put on my teacher voice and calmly but firmly asked them to line up, and they've all obeyed without hesitation . It scares me a little, as I think it'd be easy for a fascist group to take over the country if they just went around telling people what to do in a loud voice.

I wish we could be more like the English in our queuing and ability to organise large groups of ourselves.
It's great seeing two huge groups of people going through a tunnel in opposite directions in a major tube station at rush hour, all sticking to the right-hand side, with no confusion at all.
Here if you're in any train station at a slightly busy time you'll invariably be faced with the frightening prospect of a melee of two crowds going in opposite directions just ploughing into each other.

We seem to get very anxious and a bit crazy when a queue's involved.
The worst is getting the bus back to Galway city from the Aran Islands. People seem to get this fear that they'll be stuck in Connemara if they don't get on the bus first (even though the company knows exactly how many people will be coming back) so you often get an incredibly dangerous and almost violent crush of people shoving to get on the bus before everyone's got off.
Madness.

Beesand

The King of Moo wrote: »

I've put on my teacher voice and calmly but firmly asked them to line up, and they've all obeyed without hesitation . It scares me a little, as I think it'd be easy for a fascist group to take over the country if they just went around telling people what to do in a loud voice.

I am the worst for blindly obeying authoritative voices and not questioning it until I'm already in line, it worries me at times!

My pet peeve is the queues for buses on O'Connell Street. Why can't people line up? Everyone crowds around the stop and then when a bus arrives they all jam forward at once. I have actually seen two people stuck in the doorway because neither would let the other one pass first!

The King of Moo

Beesand wrote: »

I am the worst for blindly obeying authoritative voices and not questioning it until I'm already in line, it worries me at times!

My pet peeve is the queues for buses on O'Connell Street. Why can't people line up? Everyone crowds around the stop and then when a bus arrives they all jam forward at once. I have actually seen two people stuck in the doorway because neither would let the other one pass first!

You see that all the time on trains especially. People on the platform stand right in front of the door instead of the off to the side to let people off first, and then grudgingly move as little out of the way as they possibly can.
I don't understand it: it's not even just about polite. It's illogical to try to get through a small passageway when you know other people have to pass through it first to get off.
When it comes to transport in this country, we seem to get in a panic that we won't get on board, so we're too anxious to queue, and we crush to get on as quickly as possible, even though experience shows us that there's always plenty of time to let people off and then get on. Especially on a bus, where the driver can see everyone who's waiting and won't just drive off and leave them there.

alphabeat

Fey! wrote: »

I find the Irish in general very good and polite when it comes to queuing (sp?)

The Italians are the most arrogant and agressive when it comes to jumping queues, to the point that they'll physically shove people out of the way, young or old., to get in first.

The King of Moo

Fey! wrote: »

I find the Irish in general very good and polite when it comes to queuing (sp?)

The Italians are the most arrogant and agressive when it comes to jumping queues, to the point that they'll physically shove people out of the way, young or old., to get in first.

I've flown to and from Italy a few times and they really just don't queue at all, stampeding instead.
It feels like such a stereotypical thing, but it's just true, they have a completely different culture about queuing. One of the few times I had priority boarding on a Ryanair flight I was flying to Italy and was at the back of a vague, short priority queue. When they started to check the boarding cards everyone just kind of moved forward in a big scrum, and any distinction between the two "queues" became meaningless and the staff just checked the boarding cards of whoever happened to be nearest them.

You can also expect to be delayed when flying from Italy, especially rural places like Sicily and Sardinia, as on top of the general chaos of boarding you get people arguing about having to put their bags in the overhead locker away from their seat, people who've never flown before not knowing what's going on, and cabin crew constantly going back and forth asking people to switch off their mobile phones (often the same people multiple times) for the first twenty minutes of the flight. And it only gets worse if the cabin crew aren't Italian.

Don't get me wrong, I love Italy, spend lots of time there and have a few Italian friends, but they're perhaps the only Western culture more disorganised than us! The stereotype is definitely based in truth.

ronjo

Fey! wrote: »

I find the Irish in general very good and polite when it comes to queuing (sp?)

The Italians are the most arrogant and agressive when it comes to jumping queues, to the point that they'll physically shove people out of the way, young or old., to get in first.

I remember skiing in Italy about 10 years ago and the queues for the ski lifts were a nightmare. They were constantly trying to skip the queue and had no problem pushing and shoving people to get by