Shopping Line Etiquette

Reminder: I'm switching blogging sites and this is an oldie but a goodie... enjoy!

For anyone who knows me, knows I do not like confrontation. I do not like confrontation of any kind. That's why this past incident has been bugging me for the past FOUR days.

I took my sister shopping on Saturday so she could use her birthday money. I am not a fan of shopping, especially clothes shopping. I just like to pick it out, and buy it. Hoping when I get home it fits to perfection. Which is usually not the case. Trying on clothes... ugh. The lighting in the dressing rooms are always horrible, and that makes you want to go to the nearest makeup counter and get a makeover spending hundreds in the process. The mirrors in the dressing rooms are always unflattering, so you're never truly certain if the clothes fit like they should. Needless to say, I do not like fitting rooms, nor do they like me.

As I'm looking around, I find my sister with one pair of jeans in her hand. "Do they fit?"

"No, these are too big," she states excitedly.

"Ok, we'll just get the size below, and let's go. If they don't fit we'll come back." I am hoping for her to agree as I remember my distaste for dressing rooms, and realize that this is just the first of many stores we will be visiting today. Blah.

As we walk up to the registers, I notice a register with a line and one without. I stand maybe about ten feet from the register without a line trying to figure out if she's open or not. As I'm standing there, the empty line cash register lady says, " Next customer please."

As soon as I hear that, I get a little pep in my step, and walk on over to the empty line cash register lady. As my sister is getting checked out, I can hear women upset that I got in that line. I started to feel my cheeks get warm. Oh gosh, I didn't even think about the other line. I thought to myself, well I was standing there and she said next customer. I thought it was first come first serve. What was I to do at that point? Was I to concede my position in the line? Was I supposed to turn around and say sorry?

A woman and her two tween daughters came up behind us in the line. I could over hear her say to her daughters, " You better close your ears in a minute, because I am about to get nasty with these two blondes."

I immediately thought, oh gosh I better say something. "I'm so sorry I cut in front of you. I thought it was first come first serve."

"That was really rude. You don't do that. There's all these people in front of you, " she proceeds to tell me.

"Like I said, I didn't realize there was a shopping line etiquette. I thought it was first come first serve. I'm really sorry." And I was. I would never intentionally cut the line or be rude.

After that nothing else was said to me. I was hoping that this confrontation was over, and I could feel the ladies' eyes boring into my back. I was nervous that I may bump into her again at that mall that day. It bothered me a good bit that day and the next. I do have a moral compass and wouldn't want anyone to think other wise. It bugged me that she thought I did it on purpose. But I didn't even know this lady, and I will probably never see her again.

Note to self: when in doubt, go to the back of the line...

Always,

D - waiting on my bread to rise