One Line

I have been absent for a while. But that does not mean I have been without opinions. Here is the first opinion I have come back to share.

I always pick the wrong line. I don't mean to. In fact, I try really hard to get in the fastest line. I consider not only how many people are in a line, but how many items they have to ring up, how quickly they move, and how slow/new the teller seems. While driving I try to judge based on the type of vehicle, whether to get behind them or not. And I've improved my lane choices based on these judgments. But I still mostly get the slowest lines. A person that gets to the check out at the same time as me in another lane, will be out of the store before I can pay. A car that used to be behind me will change lanes and I will watch it drive away ahead of me until I can't see it any more.

Banks get it. Why don't grocery stores? Subway gets it. Best Buy gets it. Having one line for all checkers means no one gets stuck in the wrong line. Like in the bank, everyone who enters forms a line a safe, private, distance from all the tellers. When someone becomes available, they take the next person in line. You are served in the order in which you arrived. It's fair; and I like fairness. No one should get in and out faster than me because I got a teller-in-training and they were luckier.

Although it can't solve my traffic problems, 'One Line' is the fairest system for most stores. It would take some rearranging of the layout, and maybe my local grocery store couldn't do it as they are built now. But all new floor plans should include space for a main line to form. There shouldn't be a wrong line.