We are used to lines, though we complain about them. The season for lines is coming fast, which means an increase in the pairs of sore feet and acts of impatience.
Last weekend I was out and about and found myself near the new location of Carlo’s Bakery–the family pastry business run by TLC television celebrity Buddy Valastro–which just opened in Marlton, NJ. I pulled into the shopping center, hoping to drop in, but the line went out the door about 100 deep at 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon. Of course this was about 24 hours after the grand opening. What was I thinking? So I did the only logical thing I could do: on the way home, I stopped at the local fourth generation bakery with no line.
Some people feel that, if a store has no lines, they’re not popular. Some folks in my office rag on me about my Windows® computer, and the fact that people are milling about the Apple® store by the dozens on a slow day, while customer associates at Windows® are drawing lots to see who will have the privilege of serving any walk-ins. I believe that sheep and cattle stand in line at the abattoir, so I’ll wait off to one side until they come get me.
At the start of each month, the grocery stores are packed with lines of people who just got paid on the first day and are stocking up with food for the next 30 days (or 29 if it’s November). I have images of cellar freezers crammed with fish sticks and pizzas and racks of ribs or club-sized trays of chicken drumsticks. The carts are straining from the loads. What ever happened to the weekly grocery trip?
Of course some lines have lessened, like at the movies or concerts, when all you have to do is log on and find out they’re electronically sold out as of two minutes ago.
Other lines start too early and grow ridiculously huge, like the people who have already camped out outside stores like BestBuy® for Black Friday deals.
On customer service phone lines, occasionally the wait with hold music is more torture than standing in a Black Friday queue at the cashier. If yours has only two recorded tunes with which you must wait for the next available representative (neither of which is identifiable), it can seem like you’ve camped out two weeks in advance at BestBuy®. Phone lines should have at least three recordings of hold music. And no country, please.
When I’m waiting my turn, I often think about what I have accomplished so far in the day. It sometimes makes the delay less painful. If it’s the first thing I’ve done that day, I remind myself that I awoke in the morning, there was breakfast in the kitchen and my digestion is healthy. Then the person behind me bumps into me, and it’s back to reality.
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