Checkout Line Speed Bumps

I stopped to pick up a few things at the grocery store and had just enough time to dash in for a loaf of bread and some dishwashing detergent and still arrive at my meeting on time. As I approached the checkout counter, another woman with a cart heaping with groceries beat me to it. No problem, I thought, it’s still the shortest line.

The woman unloaded her groceries one item at a time, walking around her basket and back to the counter in the most inefficient way possible.  After that she stood watching the clerk ring up each item until the final tally displayed on the customer screen. Tapping the screen, the woman protested the price of one item claiming it was on sale. The clerk turned on her light for a price check, dug the item out of the bag and waited. Two minutes later a young man took the item and left, returning after several minutes later to say the item had rung up properly. Following that there was a short debate that ended when
the customer decided she didn’t want it, so it was deleted from her total.  Now that she was satisfied, she opened her baggage-sized hand bag and burrowed around until she came up with a fist full of coupons taking her time to straighten each one before handing it over to the clerk.
 
The line grew longer and her groceries sat in her cart completely bagged. Once again she dug deep into her oversized bag. After excavating her wallet, she searched her credit cards until she found the right one.  Exacerbated shoppers standing in line, shifted their weight, looked around, wondering, What’s the big hold up? The woman, oblivious to it all, made several attempts at swiping her card and meticulously wrote her signature across the screen. When I thought she was finished, she decided to reshuffle some bills in her wallet and fold her receipt into thirds. Finally burying her wallet in her purse, she adjusted her shoulder strap and pushed her basket towards the door.
 
I glanced at my watch and sighed. This always happens when I am in a hurry as if it were some law of nature. And here’s the kicker. She was not a senior citizen, just an irritating “grocery line speed bump.”