David

Actually, the funny thing about it was, as I stood there waiting in the long line, I kept my eye's peeled on the "short" line. There was nobody for a full 3 minutes and the other 2 "short" lines were empty as well. But you are right, the sign clearly said 15 items or less .... and I guarantee that if I were behind someone that had more than 15 items, I would be upset too. I can promise you now, I will never get into one of those lines with more than the allotted items ... heck, I might even implement a math equation of (-1)+x=y ... no more problems for me

Long time reader of the boards, but never posted ... until now. Just had to comment on the new Kroger. I normally shop at HEB and I would agree with everyone that it is becoming chaos. Decided to stop in this past weekend to grab a few things at the new Kroger. Took me a while to find what I needed, but the store was easy to move around in since there were hardly any people there. I had exactly 18 items in my cart and went to check out. Arriving at the checkouts, I noticed there were only 4 "regular" lanes in operation and 3 "15 items or less" lanes. Suffice to say, all the regular lanes were backed up at least 3-4 carts deep and 1 of the "15 or less" lines was just becoming available so I decided to save a little time and maneuver my cart in that direction. Now, before everyone get's in an uproar, I'm not "one of those" who clogs up the express lines at the grocery store (I've only done this on 1 other occasion). I begin by placing the "courtesy grocery bar" (which is the little plastic device that indicates my territory) on the belt and start unloading. I get approximately 8 items on the belt and the checkout lady hoarsely asks "Sir. Sir. Do you have less than 15 items?" I immediately turned the bright red shade of Brittney's dress on the cover of the Enquirer. So I proceeded to count my items quickly just to make sure I was close to the limit. I politely indicated "Almost 15 items. I have 18." Now all in a span of about 3 seconds my mind goes through stages ... embarrassment, shock, and then disbelief that she would even bother to ask. To my amazement, she responded back, "Sir, this line is for 15 items or less. You need to move your items to another register." ... as she points to the brightly lit up sign above her head. I responded with the obvious "You're kidding me right?" "No sir. The sign clearly says 15 items or less." Of course I sheepishly moved my items and went and stood for 5 minutes in the regular line. While I respect the cashiers and the rules, I've never actually heard of this happening to anyone I know, much less experienced it myself. I really wanted to take 3 cans of soup out of my basket and set them on top of her register and give her a "Ummpf ... there. Here's your 15 items now." Being a new store, I wrote this little experience off as the new cashier using her newly acquired training to show off to her new boss. At least she takes her job seriously. Of course, this experience didn't ruin my taste for shopping at this Kroger in the future ... but it sure upset me and I think I'll continue to fight the mob's at HEB for now. Thanks for all the info everyone provides on the boards!