"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Omelet wrote:
>>
>>>> I like the sign in a store where I shop every couple of weeks.
>>>> It says About 10 items or fewer. Works for me. So long as
>>>> people follow the spirit of the rule. I can't get all aggravated
>>>> if someone's in line with 13 items.
>>> A sign like turns it into a regular lane. That invites people with
>>> 30 or more items since everybody's definition of "about 10 items"
>>> differs, especially when the other lanes are all full.
>>>
>>> That's not an express lane.
>>>
>>> -sw
>>
>> If I have 20 cans of a single type of canned veggie, doesn't that count
>> as one item? <g>
>
> Or a bag of potatoes, a bunch of bananas ?
>
> I still have trouble with the idea of a store being expected to keep a
> checkout station open to accommodate the the shoppers buying the smallest
> amounts and making the customers with more purchases wait longer when they
> are making more profit from a cart full of goods than 12 or less.

They usually have only a couple three low quantity checkers (for people who
want to get done quickly), but they'll have 15-20 full service checkers...
you'd be very annoyed if you had a full cart and had to wait for 3-4 ahead
of you to check out with only a few items each. It's much more efficient
for everyone (especially the store) to maintain the separate check outs.
And everytime I shop if there's a checker with no one in line they'll take
the next person from the next line regardless of how many items. And the
number of items has nothing to do with profit margin, depends on the
items... I'll often buy like six items but they're all 36 can boxes of Meow
Mix, well over a hundred bucks worth... and premium pet food is a very
profitable item.

..