We all know that we Brits love a queue and can't stand it when other people don't respect the unspoken rules that come with waiting in line - as seen most recently when Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were wrongly accused of jumping the queue to see the late Queen lying-in-state.
But one man has now found himself at the centre of another queue-related drama, after he was branded "pushy" and "demanding" for asking if he could cut in front of a mum and her baby while shopping at Aldi. The man claimed he had only popped into the supermarket for some bananas, and as the mum had a full trolley, he asked if she would mind if he went in front of her.
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And while the woman said yes at first, it was clear she was upset at being asked and the man later found himself being shouted at by another woman who claimed he was out of order to have asked to go in front of the mum.
In a post on Reddit, the man said: "So I was at Aldi buying a bunch of bananas, and just as I was getting in line [to pay], a woman with a child and at least 30 items beat me to the only register operating.
"I asked the woman politely if I could go in front as I had one item and I was in a rush. She said 'sure…'. I went in front of her and she sarcastically continued, 'because I have a child and that’s not important.'
"I asked nicely if she wanted me to step back behind her and she said no very rudely. She then proceeded to rant about [how] 'this world's going to the men', 'I'm going to post about this on Facebook ', 'I wish I had a camera to record this', etc.
"Another woman comes from behind and the angry mother lets her cut, stating that I 'cut her in line', in turn, that woman started yelling at me and making a whole scene.
"I just wanted some bananas and got drama. Had there been self-checkout I would've gone there but I was in a rush and meant no disrespect. I had thought asking would be innocuous but apparently not."
Commenters on the post were largely on the mum's side, as many of them said that it was up to her to offer for him to go in front of her in the queue, and by asking her, he put her in a "lose-lose situation".
One person said: "I think that in a scenario like this, the person in front is supposed to 'invite' you to go ahead first, if they want to. It's a courtesy. Just barging through and 'demanding' it is kind of pushy."
And when one pointed out that the man had "asked politely", someone else responded: "You put her on the spot. It's a lose-lose proposition for her. If she said no, she'd be the a**hole in the grocery store at which she likely shops all the time, forcing her to say yes.
"If I'm not in a rush, I let people go ahead of me. But if I am in a hurry, I got there first; I should be served first. Sorry, not sorry."
While another added: "Everybody sucks here. Her for her not just simply saying no, and everything after. You for even asking to cut in front. I don't even understand how this is a thing. People, myself included, will occasionally offer which is nice. But asking is just an a**hole move in all but the most severe situations."
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