Annoying as hell? Yes. Sucky? Eh...maybe? I dunno

[Dave1982]

Yesterday I had to make a quick stop at the supermarket on the way home. I didn't have a lot of spare time as I was meeting up with a friend right after.

Already, I'm sure you can anticipate that there was a significant delay at the store.

I grabbed the 3 items I needed, then made a beeline for the Express Checkout. I'm the 6th person in line counting the woman who was currently checking out. All the other lines were just as deep so I was pretty much stuck where I was. And the line WASN'T MOVING. At all.

No SC Standard Time here; I actually checked my phone. It took that woman TEN MINUTES to check out. On the EXPRESS LANE.

Why. Because she was paying for her stuff with at least FOUR (possibly five or even more) WIC checks.

But here's the thing.....she wasn't really doing anything wrong per se. She wasn't over the 12 item limit for the Express Lane. She wasn't being huffy or rude or anything. It was simply the fact that she had multiple WIC checks (which as anyone who's worked at a supermarket can attest, take significantly longer than any other form of payment to process).

I'm not bemoaning the fact that she was on WIC....but damn.....I wanted to say something but I held my tongue.

Honestly I can't even really decide if she was sucky or not. I'm inclined to lean towards it being a situation that was aggravating but ultimately one where you just need to grit your teeth and take it.

(No debates on the general mertis of WIC please. Just this particular situation.)

[Raveni]

Based on the information that you provided - Not Sucky.

It appears that the customer got everything right on the WIC list, so it isn't like you were waiting ten minutes for an employee to go switch out a 36oz box of cereal for a 34oz box of cereal while the customer stood there tapping her feet.

Of course, you missed the beginning of the transaction. Did the customer tell the cashier that she had 4 WIC checks? Did the cashier call for extra backup to handle the increased work? Was that call ignored? There still could have been some suck, but who knows on whose part.

[Draco]

Having dealt with WIC transactions quite a bit over the years, I can say most do not tell us when getting into line that they have WIC or multiple WIC transactions. Though we can usually figure out when people do by how they put their stuff on the belt.

I've always been of the opinion that if you have multiple transactions you should have to wait in line multiple times. *shrug* It'd cut down on the couponers and WIC transactions monopolizing a lane/station's time for upwards of fifteen minutes and honestly? It'd be more fair to everyone else waiting their turn.

[ArcticChicken]

I think it was sucky. Someone on WIC knows it takes longer than usual to process a WIC check. The express lane is intended so that people with only a few items don't have to wait behind people with a huge cartload. Common courtesy would say that if you have several checks, you go to a regular lane, rather than tying up an express lane.

[AccountingDrone]

Short of designating one check out WIC and restricting them to use it, I don't think there is anything that can be done =(

And imagine the screaming ... even though you could 'streamline' the checkout procedure knowing that all the transactions would be WIC relater, the SC would be screaming about racsm, prejudice or whatever.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Short of designating one check out WIC and restricting them to use it, I don't think there is anything that can be done =(

And imagine the screaming ... even though you could 'streamline' the checkout procedure knowing that all the transactions would be WIC relater, the SC would be screaming about racsm, prejudice or whatever.

That's precisely why we don't really have any easy answers for that question.

We have the same issues at my store too (our Express Lane is for 12 or less.) IMO though, even though the purchase is divided up into smaller groups (usually 12 items or less per WIC transaction) if you were to add them all up, it's well over that 12 items.

So while it is in essence, sucky, there's really no way I can think of to solve that issue.

[Aethian]

There was a store that I grew up near that if you had WIC you were taken to another register where someone else rang you up. Usually this was no problem since most knew to come during the down times in the store. When one woman took more then a half hour cause of her being new to the system and using 5 or so tickets/vouchers/things... at one time the manager posted a sign saying you couldn't use more then two at a single time.

[malmalthekiller]

I think it was sucky. Someone on WIC knows it takes longer than usual to process a WIC check. The express lane is intended so that people with only a few items don't have to wait behind people with a huge cartload. Common courtesy would say that if you have several checks, you go to a regular lane, rather than tying up an express lane.

I agree. At least I think that way. Not everyone is as observant.

[Andara Bledin]

I, too, think it's a bit sucky, not a lot just a bit, to do a transaction type that you know will take an extended amount of time in the express lane which we all know is there specifically to get people with small orders out the door as quickly as possible.

Plus, that women just destroyed the express checker's speed rating, too, which most people don't even consider.

^-.-^

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Not knowing exactly how WIC works, I'm really curious as to how she could be paying for less than 12 items with multiple WIC checks? Is each one for only $3.00 or something?

[Jay]

Not knowing exactly how WIC works, I'm really curious as to how she could be paying for less than 12 items with multiple WIC checks? Is each one for only $3.00 or something?

WIC cards are item vouchers. She likely had 1-2 items specified per WIC check.

They don't have specific cash values, just maximum price limitations per item.

[Andara Bledin]

Not knowing exactly how WIC works, I'm really curious as to how she could be paying for less than 12 items with multiple WIC checks? Is each one for only $3.00 or something?

I'm not certain, but I believe that the check system has different checks for different types of items to ensure that a person buys a variety of stuff and doesn't spend the entire amount on, say, just cereal or something.

^-.-^

[Food Lady]

I think that's it. Or that there's a separate check for each kid or age group. I do agree the lady should've gone to a regular line instead of the express, unless she was brand-new to the process. I'm so glad foodshare is a debit card, and I can buy whatever I want within reason.

[ArcticChicken]

Not knowing exactly how WIC works, I'm really curious as to how she could be paying for less than 12 items with multiple WIC checks? Is each one for only $3.00 or something?

Around here, at least, each check is for specific items, not dollar amounts. So you might have a check for a dozen eggs, however much cereal, a jar of peanut butter, a gallon of milk, and, say, carrots, and you might have another check for just milk, or bread or something. How much is on each check varies, I've seen checks with anywhere between one and eight different items.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Around here, at least, each check is for specific items, not dollar amounts. So you might have a check for a dozen eggs, however much cereal, a jar of peanut butter, a gallon of milk, and, say, carrots, and you might have another check for just milk, or bread or something. How much is on each check varies, I've seen checks with anywhere between one and eight different items.

Oh! So they're more like vouchers rather than checks, yes? Got it!

In that case, she totally should've got to a non-express lane IMHO. Or someone needs to write a program that can take these checks faster than the current one does. >_>