AITA For Not Letting A Woman Cut The Line At The Grocery Store?

A Reddit user (no gender specified) was in a grocery store line with only five items, when a woman attempted to cut in front, claiming she was there first but had stepped away to check another line. The user refused to let her cut, citing they hadn’t seen her there initially, and called her out when she invoked “Christmas spirit” to guilt them. The woman eventually left, and both ended up leaving at the same time. Was the user wrong for standing their ground? Read the full story below.

‘ AITA For Not Letting A Woman Cut The Line At The Grocery Store?’

Hi Reddit. I need your opinion on grocery store etiquette and not letting someone cut the line. Tonight after work I stopped by my local grocery store to grab a handful of items to make dinner. 5 items in total. I maneuvered my cart behind an older woman who was slowly navigating putting her groceries on the belt to be checked out. She was the only person I noticed in front of me.

A few minutes later another woman tries to edge her way in line in front of my cart. I gave her a quizzical look and she said “Oh, I was here before, but I went to go and see if the other line over there was moving faster.” I said, “Okay, but you weren’t here when I arrived soooo (shrug).”

The woman proceeded to inform me, she was here first and that she should be let back in because she only stepped away to see if the other line was faster. I replied that I did not see her here before I joined the line, so, she could get behind me or go back to the other line.

At this point she showed me that she only had a few things and was shocked that I wasn’t going to let her back in (she had 4 packs of jello). I pointed out that I too only had a few things and I wasn’t going to move because I did not see her in the line in front of me when I joined.

Now this is where I may be the A**hole. At this point we’re both getting frustrated in this grocery store pissing match for pole position. She says “So you’re not going to let me back in? Where’s your Christmas spirit?”. I’d had enough of her entitlement at this point and I shot back “Don’t pull that s**t.”

Honestly, if I had been behind her in line, I would have happily held her place if she has asked. But she wasn’t there when I arrived and she just assumed she could cut back in line after a few minutes. Using Christmas Spirit as a means to get what she wanted was the last straw for me.

In the end she, glared at me and said “I hope you have a Merry Christmas” her voice dripping with sarcasm. And she left to go back over to another cashier. The irony is, we both left the store with our items at the same time. So Reddit, am I the A**hole for not letting this woman cut in front of me and calling her out when she tried to use “Christmas Spirit” to get her way

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

Bedivemade −  NTA, She gambled and lost. She would have most likely had a different experience if asked you first, but she just assumed you’d roll over. I never let people cut the line on me. Ask, and I’ll probably say yes, assume, and it’s a hard no.

BagelwithQueefcheese −  NTA i was 8 months pregnant buying milk for my other kids at Target bc it was near my house and I was too tired to go to the good grocery store. This lady with a preteen and 55 things in her cart was like “um I need to cut please. I have an unhappy child with me.” My grumpy mouth shot off “well, lady, I have an unhappy child in me, so back off unless you want my foot in you”. I am not usually rude like that but she just rubbed me the wrong f’ing way.

Allaboutbird −  NTA. You were perhaps not the *most* polite, but she was being unreasonable and you weren’t obligated to back down just because she mentioned Christmas. She could also have showcased her own Christmas spirit by not bothering you when it was her own fault she lost her place in line.

CinnamonPumpkin13 −  I would have laughed and said that im not christian.. NTA.

DieCryHate03 −  NTA. Everyone knows the risks of trying to find a shorter line; she walked away so she lost her spot. Just because it’s the week before Christmas doesn’t mean that she gets a free pass.

bookishmama_76 −  Seriously? How old was she? Because that sounds like a kid who gets up from their seat to go play but wants it back once a sibling sits down. NTA.

chez2202 −  NTA. I’m so glad I read your post. I’m British. We actually invented queuing (that might not really be true but we are famous for it).. There are rules. The first rule is that if you have a full trolley and someone has 2 items, you invite them to move ahead of you in the queue. If you have a similar number of items then this doesn’t apply.

The second rule is that you thank the person who allowed you to go ahead of them and say goodbye to each other as if you have been friends for 12+ years. Third rule. If you leave the queue you start again. The only exception to this rule is if you leave your trolley or basket in the queue and tell the person behind you that you forgot to collect an item. You have to also tell them EXACTLY what that item is. For example, an 800g Warburtons Toastie loaf. Don’t return with a medium sliced loaf. It has to be the Toastie loaf.

Fourth rule. At some point another checkout will be opened whilst you are queuing and utter carnage will commence. Someone behind you in the queue will run to the new checkout instead of following the rules. This is when we British people mutter to each other about how rude some people are. But we stay in our queue. Because we know that there is going to be a 5 minute gap between the announcement that the checkout is opening and the actual cashier arriving.

AnitaTacoTwo −  NTA. She left the line, you stepped up. She gave up her spot willingly. Not your fault. Hope she has the day she deserves!! You have nothing to worry about, she was acting like an entitled b**t, not you.

Worth-Season3645 −  NTA….She admitted she got out of that line to check out another lane. You snooze, you lose.

ProfessorFrizzle −  NTA. Queuing etiquette is the BASIS OF A CIVILISED SOCIETY.