Thank you everyone, for your thoughts. It was very interesting to read them all. I have to say I agree that understaffing bugs me too. Not because I don't like waiting but because it seems to me that so many people need jobs in this economy and there seems to be plenty of available jobs at an understaffed store!
Well I am ok with it if there is not a huge delay, but one thing that can drive me personally nuts is when there is no one near the cash register and it is hard to find them too. That can be seriously aggravating. Some of these companies do not want their employees to have a bell. It really inconveniences the customers I think.
The long lines bother me because if you have somewhere to be in a hurry, it's an inconvenience, but if the store has something I want I'll wait. I don't like those loud talkers in line that are talking on their cellphones. It really bugs be when people are loud and obnoxious in line. There's also people who want you to save their space in line while they go get something. I can't stand when people do that because why did you get in line if you weren't done shopping?
There is no point at which it would be okay to wait 45 minutes in line. Unless we just has a tornado or something and this is the relief line from FEMA then yeah, but if I'm at Winn-Dixie why is it taking so long? If ever I waited that long it would be the last time I ever shopped there and honestly I have walked out of places that had me waiting in line for more than 15.
Yes, yes and yes! I hate having to wait long. I'm quite the impatient person. Long lines irate me to the core. I would have to find another store with better service if they keep me waiting for at least 30 minutes. I guess long lines are just my pet peeve.
Not necessarily, sometimes long lines could be an indicator of whatever product their selling is in "that much" demand
For me it depends. Our local Walmart really irritated me when I had to wait in line forever because they would only have 2 registers open even when it was busy. That is the store's fault, they should have more then 2 open in a Walmart!! But if they have more registers open and it just got incredibly busy or there are customers who are causing delays, I don't blame the store for this.
At somewhere like a grocery store, this would really bother me as I'm there to get in and out with whatever I need. If it's a busy store and I see they are all working hard, I have no problem whatsoever.
Yes, it does, most definitely. Long lines mean I have to wait longer to make my purchase. I go to a store to buy something, not to wait forever. Furthermore, long lines usually mean frazzled workers. Frazzled workers are not usually polite workers. I don't want the cashier to be shoving me through as quickly as possible with an angry "why am I the only one working today" look on his face. If I know a store is consistently understaffed, I just won't go there, for everybody's benefit.
Absolutely! If its long lines that go by fast because the workers are efficient then no problem but if its long line that take forever because the workers dont care and slack off I will most probably not go to that store very often. It's ok to have long lines because it shows the store actually has good clientel and good sales but slack off workers make it more difficult
So what would you do to solve this problem then? I'm not saying that condescendingly, I'm genuinely curious.
I actually time my purchases when there's bound to be few people shopping. I hate long lines and 45 minutes is an eternity for me. I try to relieve the inactivity by answering messages and emails on my phone whenever I get stuck in a line.
Long lines really decrease the quality of the store. It just makes me want to never go back there. I start to feel tortured when I am waiting.
Absolutely. If I go to a store and have to stand in a long line more than once, I will without a doubt go out of my way to avoid that store in the future. I will even drive a little further to another store just to avoid a place with long lines. I used to live only a few block away from a Target that always had long lines and I would go to the one further away instead.
I know. I came to shop not stare at the back of somebody's head forever, and this always seems to happen when I most need speed.
We really cannot control long lines. I have gone to grocery stores with long lines. And all I had in my hand was a 2 liter sode or one or two items. I just jump the line, hand the cashier a $10, flash the merchandise, bag it myself, and get the hell out of there. There's no way I will stand on a line of four people with like $200 worth of groceries in a buggy to pay for 2 items.
While I will occassionally wait in a long line, I do get frustrated with it, and sometimes I leave the store and go back another day or not at all. I usually have my 3 children with me when shopping so waiting in long lines patiently is challenging for them. I do not get upset with the employees, as I know they are doing their job as quickly and efficiently as possible. And, I don't necessarily blame the managers or the company. I know there are several times throughout the day with no lines waiting at the checkout and it is impossible to schedule workers for those random times when everyone wants to check out at once. I just am not a very patient person in general, so unless I really need or want an item, I choose not to wait in a line that looks like it will take over 10-15 minutes.
As long as the lines are moving, I don't mind too much. I may try to pick my time of day to go, if I can to get there when it is less crowded. Stores that have a lot of traffic. have decent merchandise I would think.
Nobody likes to wait in line, but it wouldn't deter me from going back to a store. I think bad customer service is a bigger turnoff than long lines. I usually chat with my daughter or read the tabloids at the checkout counter while I'm waiting.
Unexpected waits are just fine with me, if I don't happen to be with my baby while grocery shopping. But I usually bring him with me, because there's no one to leave him with. He gets very impatient if we're not moving a lot, well I guess most babies are like that. I agree that some stores are too stingy to even think about hiring and training extra staff so they make do with what they have. We just usually go to the supermarket very early, we're usually the first ones at the stores just so we could avoid long lines.
