Here’s a strange story from southeast Missouri. Three years ago a college student was waiting in line at Walmart. Her cousin was waiting in another line that was moving faster. The college student, now a teacher who lives in Louisiana, joined her cousin in the “faster” line. This apparently started a confrontation with other customers (and eventually the police) that may cause the woman to spend 15 years in prison.
The AP reports that the shopper facing trial alleges that the entire incident was racially charged. Police reports say that the woman refused to calm down and leave the property, and allegedly kicked one police officer in the shin and split another’s lip while resisting arrest.
The woman claims that she never resisted arrest, but was jumped by angry cops who were “using racial slurs and telling her to go back to the ghetto.”
From the AP:
Ellis’ [The shopper's] written account to the NAACP describes she and her cousin getting into separate checkout lanes before Ellis switched into the faster-moving line. The woman behind them had placed items on the conveyor belt, and Ellis alleged the woman pushed her when she tried to put her own items down.
Witnesses instead told police that Ellis shoved the woman’s merchandise back, according to court filings.
Ellis wrote that a security officer and manager were called over and that although Ellis said she wanted to pay, the manager yelled at her to leave the store. Police were called and arrived.
Officers eventually followed her to the parking lot, she said, using racial slurs and telling her to go back to the ghetto. As her aunt and uncle drove into the parking lot, Ellis said, the officers “jumped” on her even though she said she was not resisting.
She’s apparently been offered plea deals but has refused them on principle, preferring instead to face trial and possible prison time.
Leaving alleged racism/police brutality/possible extended prison sentence out of it, what’s the right way to handle line-cutters? Is it cool for someone to join their friend or relative in a faster moving line? If not, what should you do when it happens? If she was willing to pay, should she have been forced to leave the store?
Arrest at Walmart leads to charges of racism [AP]
(Photo:frankieleon)
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Pretty sure this has been pointed out at least three times.
Ejecting her from the store is a reasonable response to cutting in line.
Not a fan of line cutters. If someone asks nice I’d be inclined to let them in. Mostly because they aren’t just acting self-important.
I just don’t like the assumption that you can cut because you feel like you’re in a bigger rush than me, or that I don’t deserve even the smallest consideration such as asking first.
Asking really does go a long way in my book.
If the people are paying together, then I think it’s okay to cut. I kind of have to wonder if the woman is just playing the “race card”. I once had a woman in walmart yell at me because I picked up my purse when I left my cart, saying I picked it up because “she was black”. WTF? I don’t care what color you are, I don’t trust ANYONE enough to leave my purse in my cart. She ended up following me around and yelling at me for two aisles. Crazy people at walmart…
Misleading headline.
If she went to prison, it would be for assault.
Also, the trial hasn’t happened yet. 15 years is the maximum, which she is unlikely to get, in my opinion.
I hate ghetto people.
I find that far too many people poke their nose in other people’s business. I was in Costco yesterday; I spent about $200 and made the mistake of putting my bottled water purchase onto the conveyer belt instead of leaving it in my cart. The checker 25 year old male, said I could leave it in my cart, but frankly I already had it on the belt and didn’t want to move it again. The Checker said to me I could leave the water in my cart 3 different times. I finally said in an annoyed tone, that I heard him the first time.
The Checker then started to explain that he was just trying to be nice to me. Nice? I already had the water on the belt; please just finish checking out the people in front of me so you can start checking me out.
This exchange between me and the checker prompted a man in the lane next to me, to made a comment to his wife that I was an “A**Hole”. Nice, my 13 year old daughter heard what he said. Just to be certain I heard Correctly, I leaned in to the man and asked, “Did you just call me an “A**Hole?” the man responded yes.
Yes, I followed the man and his wife to their car, and proceeded to tell him that People like him are the reason America is in trouble. Many of you feel the need to stick your nose in or comment on things that are not your business. Basically, Folks, Shut the F*&^ Up! Mind your own business… The life you save may be your own…
@SwimDude: The other guy was right.
Wal Mart has us all standing in line waiting to give them our hard earned money. Our money is good enough to make them top the list of ten of the richest families according to those yearly lists published by Forbes and Fortune. BUT- well our time isn’t that important to them – that is why they have rows of unopened checkout counters at the front of the store as we stand waiting forever, and gnashing our teeth at out fellow consumers. Is it right that we give Wal Mart our money & they send it to China where the Chinese steal our patents making reengineered junk copies of our stuff. When the local competitor is run out of business, what choice do we have but to work for an employe who pays their employees minimum wage, gives them minimal training & understaff the registers ‘cuz it’s more cost effective while they sit in Bentonville counting our hundred dollar bills?
But wait, we blame it on the poor guy in front of us – yeah, that’s right, he’s the one disrespecting us.
Thmink!
I’ve almost gotten into fights over line budding in the past, and this sounds most egregious (sp?). If you miss the window of opportunity (i.e. you have to shove the succeeding customer’s shit back) then you’ve come too late.
My family is from Southeast Missouri – a town very, very close to Kennett (where this happened). The police are bored and do, indeed, use that kind of language.
Should she have jumped line? No. Am I surprised that she was treated this way? Absolutely not, unfortunately.
I say the store was well within their rights to deny her service. She skipped someone and was asked to leave. End of story.
I had an incident where an older man raced past us to cut in front of us as we neared the checkout line. It was all my friend could do to talk me out of confronting the guy. I hate rude people and have no problem making a scene….
If people were less apt to allow this behavior, maybe it wouldn’t be so pervasive….
really? it is that important to some of you not to let a friend join another in a line?
i think if you split up to get the fastest line it is fine to join your friend. but not to have a cart full of stuff where others have to all back up carts and such.
HOWEVER, if they are already where people have their items on the belt behind your friends stuff, well you are just out of luck, you waited too long. pushing someones items back is just not cool at all.
I don’t particularly mind the two people getting in separate lines to see which one comes up first, as others have said, when they are really shopping together. What pisses me off is where one person gets in line to the spot and the other person shops and brings stuff back to the cart. You don’t get in line until you are finished shopping.
I really appreciate stores that use the one queue approach where there’s no guessing as to which cash will go quicker. Everyone gets their turn, and it’s all fair.
The police claim they arrested her because “she refused to calm down and leave the property”. But then the story goes on to say that “Officers eventually followed her to the parking lot”. It seems like she was leaving the property.
This clip from an episode of “Dead Like Me” deals with this sort of situation very nicely. The writing in that show was simply incredible.
[www.metacafe.com]
is it 15 years for cutting in line? or because she supposedly resisted arrest and hit a couple of cops? I think the consumerist needs to stop making wild headlines that hardly reflect what is actually in the article.
I don’t mind people joining their relative in front of me (I’ve done this with my mom, actually), as long as the new person doesn’t have 500 items to purchase. If it’s something small and will only take an extra few minutes, I’m fine with it.
As someone from Canada, generally we are polite and keep quiet on most issues.
Most of us would not be confrontational in a silly situation like this.
I must admit, though, I love U.S.-style justice.
So, I am an American living in Singapore – which often gets a rap for its tough legal system.
But really – a possible 15 years for cutting in line?? Okay, the resisting arrest/disorderly charges might hold water. You have to wonder if a little calm professionalism by WalMart and the officers might have de-escalated the situation? Maybe take the woman aside, let her pay for her items and ask her to please show more consideration in the future?
Maybe I am a sentimental fool, but the America I remember had a lot more common sense and calmness than we seem to exhibit at times today.
“Lady, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave the store.”
“I’ll swallow your soul!”
She’s not facing prison time for line jumping.
She’s facing prison time for resisting arrest and assulting a police officer.
My guess is that racism is involved, starting with the chaos at the line. I bet in southern Missouri a redneck with a stars-and-bars t-shirt and camoflage pants switches lines to be with his cousin (err, wife) the rest of the rednecks in line don’t make noise, but when a black woman cuts in line the SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN RIGHT NOW. From there it only escalated and the legendary fairness and color blindness of southern law enforcement took it from there.
Sorry to be stereotypical, but the fact is stereotypes come from somewhere and the stupidest of our fellow citizens are especially on edge lately.
If you have any doubts, go to peopleofwalmart.com and look at the pictures from the bible belt Walmarts.
Hopefully the national attention this case is getting will override the local anger and everyone can apologize for overreacting. It’s not likely to happen since the cops won’t back down for fear of being sued and the woman shouldn’t back down because someone needs to stand up to bullying cops.
I suppose the moral of the story is don’t cut in line.
@TCinIowa: I think you have a pretty good take on the whole thing.
The only time you can cut in line, is if you both plan on paying for the items together.
Otherwise? March your happy ass to the back of that line.
For me, if the lanes have been packed, I’m not very tolerant of line cutters, as I’ve likely been waiting 20 minutes already. Should they not be too busy, and the person only has a couple of items (read: 50% less than me), I’ll likely just let them go.
Also: cute girls can cut in front of me.
Other reports I have read about this state she shoved someone elses items out of the way to line jump. She was rude and wrong to line jump. Its not ok to do this – go to the end of the line. Too bad she chose to play the race card. 15 years would be idiotic but 90 days community service might be good.
This story is not about line cutting, why deliberately exclude the major subject of the story?
Anyway, line cutting is bad, but not kicked-out-of-the-store bad.
I hate it when people cut in line. Results were extreme, probably illegal, but bitch won’t cut in line anymore. Too bad her civil liberties were violated, too bad she lacks etiquette.
To be fair, “Go on back home” DOES sound a lot like “Go back to the ghetto”.
The race card was entered by the media. At that point the players lined up to take advantage of the national spotlight.
read here : [geogee.wordpress.com]
What they left out of this is the fact that the young lady apparently shoved back the person behind her cousins stuff to make room for her stuff, which is quite rude. Then she got an attitude like she was entitled to do whatever she wants since her cousin was in line. I would not mind if she added a few things but you can’t just move people things that were in the line before you jumped in and then get an attitude with them when they complain.
Missouri, clearly, is still a place with the KKK POLICES the citizenry. This is a disgusting example, of a small issue getting TOTALLY blown out of proportion, by an overzealous, racist, police department. And as far as “taking a plea” good for her that she instead chooses to bring the fact that police officers VIOLATED HER CIVIL RIGHTS AND USED RACIAL SLURS. Lets see those officers get handed their pink slips, before they create the sort of environment, faced by civil rights workers, decades ago.
We don’t need to go backwards, we need to go forward, and there is NO PLACE for racism in police departments, where they are to uphold the LAW OF THE LAND, not the LAW OF THE CLAN.
Another reason to not patronize WM. As if we needed one.
similar incident at the CNE here… My Mom is lined up for a ride and is cut by a rather large intimidating African-Canadian woman with her son. I was not there at the initial confrontation on but arrived shortly after the woman called my Mom a British bitch and pushed her. All the other customers took steps back and I feared for my Mom much older and weaker. I stepped in between and advised her she was under arrest for assault. One thing led to another with a lot of foul language from this woman in front of all the kiddies. I wanted to deck her right in the mouth! Being a former police officer I waited knowing my wife had already fetched the police. She fought with police yelling racial slurs and calling the race card herself. She was charged with Assault x 2, Assault Police, and Causing a Disturbance. She was found guilty but being Canada she got off lightly eh? 3 years probation and anger management. I seriously doubt police officers would say that. What could they possibly gain? When the oppressed become the oppressors? Take care in what you say, it could be more damning that your actions.
@RPHP: I was looking to see if anyone else caught it.
@Loias: Ditto.
@FatLynn: I’m okay when it all goes on the same receipt. If it’s two separate transactions, it’s not okay, because it’s not just the items, it’s the extra time to pay for them.
@JPropaganda:
The only way I would agree with that is if they are paying together. If they are paying separately, no, its not right.@He:
@JPropaganda: The bottom line is it is rude. Regardless if its 2 or 200, you don’t cut into lines without knowing that people will be annoyed.
otherwise this is just an exercise in determining “acceptable” annoyance.
Bottom line. Rude people will still cut, people in the line will still be annoyed. But it’s nothing to lose sleep over.
@JPropaganda:
Have you considered that the 30 seconds you save by splitting lines isn’t worth being rude to the people you’re getting in front of?
I see people split lines around here, but as soon as someone gets in line behind them they get out of that line (because bringing the other person into that line would be rude).
@AbsoluteIrrelevance: once you’re at the conveyor belt, you’re committed. it’s too late when the person behind you already loaded their stuff on the belt
@proskills: I like it too; I may have to try it.
@pecan 3.14159265: well every time god kills a kitten i want kitten stew. and you are correct, you are not imdb.
@pecan 3.14159265: The Target I go to is really good about lines. Sunday afternoon is really busy there, and yesterday when I went, they had at least 12 lanes open and someone directing the shoppers to the less busy ones at the non-grocery side of the store.
@Scuba Steve: But sometimes it is a race. If im in a rush, I dont want to wait the extra 3 minutes for them to get through. And it seems that any time I allow anyone to cut, something happens. Their payment doesnt process, they need a price check, they need something that ends up taking much longer.
It’s normally not a big deal, but the same logic that you are using to be ok with line cutters points out why they shouldnt cut to begin with. They think its ok to make me wait longer, but arent willing to wait longer themselves.
@xtc46 – thinksmarter on twitter: This happened to me EVERY TIME I chose a short line at Wal-Mart.
Notice the past-tense… the “value” just isn’t worth it to me anymore.
@Brontide: I agree, and so does this one. I just finished up reading the story from [apnews.myway.com] and after seeing that, then reading this article, they grossly left much of the important information out. 15 years for cutting in line? No, 15 years for assaulting two police officers.
As an African American male, I couldn’t be more tired of the “race card” being pulled up by other African Americans. It’s incomprehensible to see skin color so often used as a cop-out for one’s blatant disregard to society.
@idip:
Absolutely, store have and do refuse service. Service=labor (or a task performed) and the 16th Admendment forbids slavery and servitude. Being reguired to perform a service (above and beyond the call of duty or what is provided to other customers) without proper compensation is the same as slavery.
Refuse service can be for other reasons. Health and safety of employees or other customers is a very valid reason.
@idip: I don’t know about stanthemandeans 16th amendment argument, but a store can refuse service to anyone as long as they are not a protected class. You can refuse service because they are wearing wight after labor day or you just do not like the person if that makes you happy, but since that tends to make your managers unhappy and might make you unemployed it is perhaps best to avoid just kicking people out.
[en.wikipedia.org]
She could have just shop lifted and if she got caught she would have saved 5,474 days in prison! @idip:
@JohnDeere: Stewing is really the only way to prepare kitten. It’s tough unless you cook it for hours. Puppy, on the other hand, is always tender and delicious.
@mac-phisto: And why the hell does the guy in the wheelchair get to go straight to the front? It’s not like he even has to stand!
@korybing: I wouldn’t get into a fight about it, it’s not worth getting socked in the face over something so trivial, but oh would I burn holes in the back of their head with the Laser Eyes of Death.
@pecan 3.14159265: Yeah, that was a little over-the-top, but I sort of find myself agreeing with the spirit of what he’s saying just the same. @_@
@lmarconi: You misunderstand me – I find doing this hilarious. Doesn’t hurt my blood pressure, just gives me a chuckle for the day.
In other news – I also enjoy standing facing the back if I’m the last person on a crowded elevator.
@PsiCop: In stores where there is a broad selection of people, that may be the case. But, the problem comes back to the WM/grocery store high volume retailers that also serve as convenience points. Those are the locations where I suspect that the backfire scenario you present would occur on a regular basis.
In a store like JoAnn’s, I suspect that the majority of purchase quantities fall within a narrow range of items.
At a grocery store/WM, you have a larger floor plan that encourages purchasing of a larger variety of items, but the price competition that make the store a lower priced alternative to 7-11/CVS. This attraction of extremes wouldn’t be a problem if purchasing was spread out evenly. However, with the majority of purchases being actual grocery purchases, you end up with the majority skewing towards high volumes. As more folks hit the high volume threshhold, the express lane folks are stuck. Self checkouts appeared to have been an attempt to cut costs as well as cater to low volume purchasers (would you devote 3 aisles of self checkout with “10 item or less” tags otherwise?). However, those line have been taken over by high volume purchasers attempting to escape from longer lines, just as they did when the express lanes were born.
Shunting people off to customer service is a viable option, but you then need to balance the actual service issues with those who have abandoned their place in line (if they have not been trapped by the line).
I think the Maze of Doom is viable in the right location, but it is not an ideal solution for high volume retailers. It is too easy for low volume folks to get stuck.
@Cyberxion101: I do think it’s probably inversely related to population density. Seriously backed up lines are pretty unusual here, and we don’t really do traffic jams either. So I don’t think there’s the big-city time pressure. (Don’t worry, there are drawbacks as well.)
@anneka: Yeah there’s nothing wrong with saying “Excuse me I think you’re cutting in line, the end is back there”, but if the guy is going to be a total jerk about it whatever, man. Let him be a jerk. I’m sure it makes him feel like a real big man. I’m not getting into a fight over my space in line.
@lmarconi: I’m confused as to where this “one minute” thing came in. I didn’t mention an arbitrary time period in which it’s OK to be rude to strangers…
I guess I’m the type that actively tries not to impose on other people…even if it is a complete stranger and only for one minute.
I’m also not the type to get upset by such behavior. I wrote above, “I’d imagine anger is a common response.”. I meant that literally. My blood pressure is not affected by such common acts of rudeness…or even what I consider to be much worse (e.g. woman starts war dialing family members on her cell in front of me to find someone to transfer money since she can’t foot the $20 in groceries she’s trying to buy…I waited five minutes before I had to reload my cart and switch lanes).
What it boils down to (for some of us) is the lack of common courtesy that is this type of behavior. It’s presumptuous to think that your forgetfulness for some milk is OK with the rest of the world because their time cannot possibly be important to them.
@sonneillon: First off, probably shouldn’t use Wikipedia as a “legit” source. Ever.
But I digress; just because a store/restaurant/customer-service-based business has a sign saying they have the right to refuse service to anyone, doesn’t necessarily mean they do. A lot of restaurants have these signs because it allows them to kick-out patrons that are recognized as past dine-and-dashers. However, a lot of things can move from legal realms to civil realms. So, if a store DOES refuse service, they’d better have a pretty cut-and-dried case as to why they did so. And even if they avoid legal proceedings, they’ll still have a potential lawsuit brewing for any number of reasons thought up by the refusee. So, it would behoove all customer-service businesses to be sure they’re making the right call on refusing service.
@nbs2: The problem is that multiple queues do not serve customers well … not in ANY setting … no matter the transaction size.
The cold hard fact is that an alternative is needed. A single queue IS that alternative. Leaving things as they are, WILL NOT help. Lines WILL NOT magically improve if stores do NOTHING to change how they work. There is no “line fairy” who will show up someday and *poof* make the lines go away.
One definition of “insanity” is doing the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results. If this is the case, then continuing to use multiple queues is “insanity.” That’s right. I said it. It is INSANE. Period.
I very much understand the resistance to this. I do. Honest. I get it. Really. I know it appears counterintuitive. I know it looks daunting.
But the key words on those two sentences are “appears” and “looks.” That’s all it is … an appearance only.
The reality is that a single queue is the most efficient way to go in every case. It just is.
If you don’t believe me, try this real-world example reported in the New York Times:
It simply works better. If more stores would try it, they’d find that out … and you’d see it for yourself.
@Jesse in Japan: yes. where IS that footage? hmm?
@ben: If waiting in line for an extra 5 minutes is no big deal, then why doesn’t the line cutter just go to the end of the line?
@Blackfished: Ditto. I saw the article here first [www.foxnews.com] and was appalled at how unbalanced Consumerist’s take was. To wit:
A college student in New Orleans at the time of her arrest, the 24-year-old Ellis now teaches in Louisiana, where she is engaged to a state trooper. She has said she feels trapped by “small-town politics” in Kennett, where her family lives.
“What a shame the system can destroy a young person’s future like this because of bad cops,” Ellis wrote to the NAACP in April.
The group subsequently held a rally in Kennett. Before the June 13 event began, police officers found threatening letters the size of business cards scattered along the route that said the Ku Klux Klan had paid a visit and “the next visit will not be social.”
Dunklin County Prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff said the cards were removed and the source investigated but never discovered. He said he doubts the cards actually were from the KKK; he knows of no KKK presence in the area. A call to the KKK headquarters was not answered.
As for Ellis’ allegations of mistreatment by law enforcement, Sokoloff said he’s “seen absolutely no evidence of any kind, apart from her statements, that those things occurred.” Kennett Police Chief Barry Tate did not return phone calls seeking comment.
… She has previously rejected plea deals.
“Why would you plea bargain if you’re innocent?” said Ellis’ father, the Rev. Nathaniel Ellis of Kennett.
“This is not a matter of justice,” he said. “It’s a vendetta.”
…Officer A.W. Fisher wrote in a probable cause statement that Ellis was given “every opportunity” to comply with officers and leave the property. He said she used an expletive in telling him she would beat him if he put his hands on her.
Fisher said he then told Ellis she was under arrest, but she would not stop fighting while being handcuffed.
Ah-hem. Obvious race-baiter is obvious.
@PsiCop:
I completely agree that a single queue line is much more efficient. However you also have to consider space restrictions. Whereas a Wendy’s customer may be able to navigate a zig-zagged line, try bringing a shopping cart into that maze.
Ironically when you’d benefit from a single-line the most (ie Labor Day weekend sale at Walmart), is also when you have the most traffic and least amount of space.
@deniseb:
I’m not a fan of line cutting and I’m not a fan of people in general these days since so many are just plain rude. I don’t shop at Wal-Mart, in part, to avoid these people.
But if I’m the last person in the line and someone wants to join their party I am normally agreeable because I want to be nice and kind to people and hope that they will be nice and kind to others . But if I’m not the last in the line I don’t think I can waive the line jumping on behalf of the entire line – who knows what kind of rush they are in.
@RogerTheAlien: Yes I cannot use wikipedia in my MBA classes, but this is the internet and I needed a summery and did not want to spend more than 3 minutes doing it and it was not even the main point of my shpeal only backround information about protected classes.