So the Hubs and I grabbed a few things during the afternoon rush, and I picked an express lane. Big mistake, because I have the worst luck with express lanes.
Two women were ahead of us. I fished out my rewards keychain from the mess of other rewards thingies on my keychain and laid it out on the belt next to the divider, then loaded the rest of the groceries.
Woman: *poking at my keys* "These are yours?"
Me: "Uh, yeah...I left them there because of the little card thing." *goes to re-find the proper rewards card because her poking messed them all up*
Then it came time for the first woman to pay. The total was $15-something. The other woman fished out a coinpurse...and started pulling out nickels and dimes. She was counting them out and laying them right on the belt. Did I mention the cashier had her hand in a brace? Because the cashier had her hand in a brace, so it was hard enough to pick up change for her, let alone right off the still-moving belt.
Cashier [with just a hint of irritation in her voice]: "Just so you know, there is a change machine right *back there* where you can exchange your coins for dollar bills." *indicates nearby Coinstar*
Woman: "Oh, okay." *continues fishing for change*
Then the women kept asking how much was left.
Cashier: "I still need $5.XX."
Woman: *throws more change on belt*
Cashier: "I still need $3.XX."
Woman: *throws more change on belt*
Cashier: "I still need $2.XX"
And so on...
After the first woman finished her transaction (which took like 8 minutes), it was the second woman's turn. Same thing. $15-ish total, paying in coins. At one point, she pulled a handful of pennies out of her coin purse. She put them back, fortunately. I think I would have lost it. By this point, another cashier had come up to relieve the first one, but the first one was still chained to the till as long as this transaction was being drawn out.
The customer came up $5 short, so her friend pulled out her wallet and handed her a $5, which she fished out of a stack of $20 bills.
Between them it took at least 15 minutes to checkout.
Two women were ahead of us. I fished out my rewards keychain from the mess of other rewards thingies on my keychain and laid it out on the belt next to the divider, then loaded the rest of the groceries.
Woman: *poking at my keys* "These are yours?"
Me: "Uh, yeah...I left them there because of the little card thing." *goes to re-find the proper rewards card because her poking messed them all up*
Then it came time for the first woman to pay. The total was $15-something. The other woman fished out a coinpurse...and started pulling out nickels and dimes. She was counting them out and laying them right on the belt. Did I mention the cashier had her hand in a brace? Because the cashier had her hand in a brace, so it was hard enough to pick up change for her, let alone right off the still-moving belt.
Cashier [with just a hint of irritation in her voice]: "Just so you know, there is a change machine right *back there* where you can exchange your coins for dollar bills." *indicates nearby Coinstar*
Woman: "Oh, okay." *continues fishing for change*
Then the women kept asking how much was left.
Cashier: "I still need $5.XX."
Woman: *throws more change on belt*
Cashier: "I still need $3.XX."
Woman: *throws more change on belt*
Cashier: "I still need $2.XX"
And so on...
After the first woman finished her transaction (which took like 8 minutes), it was the second woman's turn. Same thing. $15-ish total, paying in coins. At one point, she pulled a handful of pennies out of her coin purse. She put them back, fortunately. I think I would have lost it. By this point, another cashier had come up to relieve the first one, but the first one was still chained to the till as long as this transaction was being drawn out.

The customer came up $5 short, so her friend pulled out her wallet and handed her a $5, which she fished out of a stack of $20 bills.

Between them it took at least 15 minutes to checkout.

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