Another one misses the bus

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

This happened Friday afternoon after the craziness of the doorbuster sales.

Woman buys a bunch of stuff, including electronics, and checks out in the electronics department. She tells the person ringing her out "I have to catch the bus in five minutes."

The electronics stuff comes in anti-theft cases or has anti-theft wraps and it has to have the anti-theft stuff removed. This takes a bit of time. Woman anxiously asks "Can we hurry this up a bit? I have to catch the bus."

Cashier tells her she understands she has a bus to catch and is going as fast as she can.

Woman pays by check. It gets stuck in the register somehow. Another round of "I have to catch the buuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!"

I don't know if she actually caught the bus, but I'm guessing she missed it.

[Evannah]

I hope she missed it. I've had a customer complain that they had a doctors appointment 5 minutes ago, can I hurry up? Why are they here then? Geez.

[Android Kaeli]

I've had people say they had to go pick up their kids from school in a couple of minutes and if they can get ahead of the few people in line. Um, no you can't.

[Dave1982]

Say it with me.....failure to plan on YOUR part does not constitute an emergency on MINE.

[Argabarga]

The same could be leveled at any "I have to be "X" in 5 minutes" people... "Well, then you probably shouldn't be doing THIS right now"

[Monterey Jack]

Most bus lines, all you have to wait is fifteen or twenty minutes to catch the next one if you miss the one you wanted. Now train schedules, that can be an hour or more.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I missed the bus
I missed the bus [ohh]
And that is somethin I will never ever ever do again

[notalwaysright]

People sometimes tell me they're on lunch break. I'm back at the cutting counter, btw, they still have to wait at the register!

[Ben_Who]

Bus comes, bus goes, she stays, love grows, under my umbrella...

They are setting you up to take the blame for their inability to plan ahead. You can just bet she'll be reaming you out to a sympathetic ear later in the day: "Oh, she was so slow, she just wouldn't step it up..."

Her world must be incredibly frustrating. She's surrounded by poky drivers, red lights that are too long, sluggish store clerks, slow waiters, and other people who, for whatever reason, refuse to prioritize her. That must be a troubling world to live in, in exchange for just not taking responsibility for the clock.

[RealUnimportant]

Any time someone tells me "I'm in a hurry/my train is in X minutes/I don't have time for this" I have given up all pretexts of sympathy, and go straight to the truth: "why are you wasting both our time telling me? just say what you need & we'll both be done quicker."

I've never had a complaint, I think some people just don't realise how counter-productive their bleating is.

Oh, and have you ever noticed that (as in the OP's story) "people in a hurry" are always the ones least prepared for their purchasing? Who uses a cheque when they're rushing?!

[Trixie]

We used to get a bus driver every morning (who would take up a whole row of spaces with the bus) come in between routes and she'd wander around and wander around and was only in a rush when it came time to check out.

Sorry lady, I don't care if you lost track of time and the poor little tots have to stand outside in the cold because you needed a dollar eyeliner that wasn't really a dollar but you fight it anyway complaining about the time. She really bugged me. I guess they changed her route for this year because I haven't seen her.

[eltf177]

Most bus lines, all you have to wait is fifteen or twenty minutes to catch the next one if you miss the one you wanted. Now train schedules, that can be an hour or more.

When I was visiting Fort Lauderdale back in the mid-80's it was 30 minutes between buses on the weekend.

In Miami it was an _hour_ between buses and subway trains. And the worst part was I needed to take a bus to the subway, take the subway, then take a second bus. And the first bus just missed the subway so I had to wait almost an hour for it, then wait again for the second bus...

Still, your failure to plan is _not_ my problem!

[Catwoman2965]

I hate when my customers do that. THey'll tell me, and not nicely, they are in SUCH a big hurry. So I try and ring them up, etc. as quick as I can. What irks me is after I do that, they will continue to wander about the store, as if they don't havea care in the world. Um, i thought you were in a hurry?

[KellyHabersham]

Most bus lines, all you have to wait is fifteen or twenty minutes to catch the next one if you miss the one you wanted. .

I wish it was like that here.....if you're trying to take a bus from, say.......Phoenix to Scottsdale, and you miss the bus that makes the "full trip", it can be anywhere from 30-45 minutes to wait for the next one. (this being during the week, weekends aren't quite as bad)

[MoonCat]

Some bus schedules change throughout the day. The bus I take home from work isn't bad until after 6 pm. Then they're an hour apart. Same with the train times.

And that's why, when I know I have to catch a bus or train, I plan accordingly - because I know shopping always takes longer than I think it will.