What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

Morning all, Happy Mother's Day.

With such a diverse people now living in our cities, towns and villages here in Britain, it must be hard for our precious tradition of queuing to mean as much to them as it does to us. I well remember, even though it was over 40 years ago, living in Baker Street, London, and catching a bus to and from work each day.

Waiting for the old style buses meant that there wasn’t much chance of queue jumping, People would queue correctly, one or two people, maybe not appreciating the British way, would try their luck by approaching towards the front from the right and try their luck jumping on, but more often than not, were soon put in their place by people in the queue waiting their turn to get on the bus that this was a queue and they need to go to the back.. Most of the guilty usually said nothing, waiting for those who were complaining to get on and then sneakily follow them, still being unfair to those waiting to get on. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wanting to smash them!!!

However, once they brought in the wider openings on the new buses, it seemed that although we British still queued nicely, others perhaps not accustomed to our sense of fairness and the importance of our tradition of queuing,, would, when the bus arrived at the bus stop, suddenly appear from nowhere at the side of the queue, and just hop on. My stress levels were out of control sometimes honestly.!!

Since returning to the countryside many years ago, one very rarely sees cases of people pushing in front in a queue. Perhaps it’s because they know it is akin to a hanging offence!

However, something happened this morning for the first time since those heady days.

I popped down to Morrison’s for the papers and a carton of orange juice for breakfast this morning as I had forgotten to put the juice on my home delivery shop. The days of breakfast in bed on Mothers Day have long gone!!
Usually HWMO would go for the papers, but I left him happily finishing creosoting the fence and shed, It’s a lovely crisp but sunny morning so thought I would go for the papers for a change.

Anyhow I picked up the papers and Juice and made my way to the two only tills that were open (the self serve was out of order). I looked to see which queue was the shortest, there were four in the queue at the first till and three at the second till. Of course I went for the queue at the second till. The woman finished being served and that left the two of us.

Just then a supervisor came along and opened the till at the next checkout, looked at me and said, would you like to come over here and I’ll serve you. Great, I thought, as the woman being served in front of me had quite a bit of shopping in her trolley. So I gratefully turned around and made my way quickly to the newly opened checkout, just as a woman with a full trolley headed towards the till from the right flank! I JUST made it before her, picked up the board and placed it on the counter so she could put her shopping on there after me.

As I put my own few items onto the counter, I suddenly heard this continuous loud Tutting from behind me. I turned around to see her glaring at me as though she wanted to do serious damage to me. I could also see she was really annoyed with me so I couldn’t help but say, I’m sorry, is there something wrong? To which she replied, Yes, there is, you pushed in front of me! There is such a thing as a queuing, you know! I couldn’t believe it.! But before I could give her what for, the supervisor who was just handing me my recieipt, turned to the woman and said: “excuse me, we do not allow queue jumping at Morrison’s. This lady was before you because I asked her to fetch her shopping to this till as I opened it”. The woman customer didn’t say anything but she was still glaring at me, so as I was leaving, I just couldn’t resist saying out loud to her “So there!”

Thing is, I was still feeling indignant as I walked home, because having been born before 1984 when political correctness first came into being, I’m of a generation where queuing was, and still is in Britain, one of our cherished traditions. Woe betide anyone who breaks the rules by trying to push in front of the queue that I happen to be standing in!. And her accusing me of such a crime was as bad as accusing me of not paying for my goods in the shop!

Bloomin Cheeky Cow!

Have you ever experienced queue jumpers? What did you do about it? Or have you ever broken the golden British rule and queue jumped? If so, what was their reaction?

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

Our local pharmacy has an odd queuing system you sometimes have to stand to the right and sometimes the left, all depends if you have a prescription or not but nothing at the doorway as you enter tells you that and often the queue is out the door. It causes many people to push in as they realise they have waited half an hour in the wrong queue and don't want to go right back to the beginning again. It's almost caused fisticuffs on some occasions. So yes I have been pushed in front of and sorry I have done some pushing myself. I try not to get into fisticuffs about it though and accept it's a fault of the system not the people pushing in.


Another place I encounter pushing in is parking at work we have a limited number of spaces allocated to each floor and if I arrive prior to 5pm I can find myself vying for a space and some of them having company cars don't mind driving them like dodgems, so I don't push in but I do sit back and let them push in before me for fear my car will be bumped.

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

What a story SG!

Times like that you need a fresh salmon in your pocket to whip out and slap her around the chops with, ala Monty Python here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XeDvKqI4E


Something else I have always noticed is that staning in a real queue, human beings rarely push in, many wouldn't dream of it,

but put them in a car when there are roadworks ahead and vehicles have already begun queuing up in the 1st lane and people will still merrily drive right past queuing vehicles intending to push in further up. Strange mentality really.

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

I had a real verbal once with a que jumper,security had to be called,she said she will take me out,if I don't shut the F... Up,...I think that was her way of getting out of it,taking no responsibility.

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

I think queue jumpers sometimes do it on purpose and sometimes because they are oblivious to their surroundings. They are just as annoying as those that queue to the side or leave a big gap or leave their trolleys strewn across the aisle whilst clinging on to it for dear life as though it contains the crown jewels or something. They are probably the same people that don't realise you have to move over to the right when turning right at a junction.

I hate all shoppers, I think shops and particularly supermarkets should be opened just for me as though I was Prince Charley or someone.

As for opening extra tills, they should be open all the time.

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

I have learned (quite late in life) that those who threaten to 'take you out' will back down if you take them up on it. Either that or you'll get a black eye.

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

Have you ever shopped in Lidls?..if they open up a new till,there's a stampede,..a guy nudged me yesterday in there,asking if he could go in front of me as he was in a hurry,I let him of course.

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

Waiting for a till and shoppers start making a second queue! I always tell them the 'queue is back there!'

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

SG, l would never deliberately push in or jump the queue but that happened to me once when the til assistant beckoned me over. I really got the evils from others. She also pointed out to them that she had called me over.

If someone pushes in front of me, l do say something like, ‘l was next’!

Re: What happens if you queue jump in Britain?

Here in Spain if you are say at the fish counter you have to take a ticket and wait for the number to be called out

Other than that the Spanish are very good at queuing (NOT) they just walk up to the front and push in