Surviving the grocery store lines

Wednesday, October 4. 2006

There is just no escaping it sometime. Every once in a while you have to go grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon. Despite the dozens of check out lines, only three of them will be open. You will have two gallons of milk and two kids that do not want to be in line any more.

And somebody in your line will be using coupons that they forgot to dig out of their purse before the last second, writing a check they did not prefill out, and need 10 price checks.

People like to make fun of the military and how poorly they manage everything, but line problems do not exist at the commissary (grocery store on the military base for all of you career civilians).

What did the commissary figure out that the rest of the world still can't get?

You only need one line.

They forced everybody into a single file, waiting for the roller coaster type of line. You wove back and forth as the line steadily advanced. When you popped up to the front, you were directed to the next empty register. Any register that was taking a long time, did not impact any individuals waiting for that register. Amazing. Simple. Efficient.

And apparently something that only the military can coordinate. It's almost enough to make me want to sign back up.

Posted by Mike Miller in kalbzayn at 09:38 | Comments (51) | Trackbacks (0)

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They do that at the check-in lines at airports. However, it doesn't make the wait seem any less interminable.

#1 Dan on 2006-10-04 10:25 (Reply)

At least it keeps you from getting stuck behind the slow person. Unless they're all slow people

For more of this kind of thing, search the web for "queuing theory", "single line", and "multiple servers". Fun stuff!

#1.1 Dave (Link) on 2006-10-04 13:26 (Reply)

When I find myself in a store where everybody is slow, I immediately leave Wal-Mart.

#1.1.1 Mike on 2006-10-04 13:30 (Reply)

I just don't go into Walmart unless I absolutely can't avoid it.

#1.1.1.1 Anton (Link) on 2006-10-04 19:47 (Reply)

Plus you have to get dressed up for Wal-mart

#1.1.1.1.1 rich (Link) on 2006-10-05 06:15 (Reply)

I always shoot for the smallest line, only to find out that the reason it is short is because the person in line has been waiting on a price check for 15 minutes.

#2 S William Shaw (Link) on 2006-10-04 10:40 (Reply)

Dan, there are lots of things about airports that are less than optimal. The single line at airports might just be the only thing that makes the experience bareable.

#3 Mike on 2006-10-04 10:55 (Reply)

Always go for the line that has either: A) male cashier B) is predominately males. or C) Both

Men aren't shopping for enjoyment, and aren't into small talk, coupons, etc... They just want to get the hell out. My wife and I use this practice almost everywhere we go. It works. I promise. Sorry Ladies.

#4 Brad on 2006-10-04 11:30 (Reply)

There are two things that drive me crazy:
1. people who still use checks (v. debit cards)
2. and people who do not understand that you can begin the debit/credit process while the clerk is scanning and bagging your purchases

#5 Matt on 2006-10-04 11:59 (Reply)

Ick, debit cards?

I just use credit cards. Same speed, but I don't have a grocer dipping into my bank account.

Plus, if you use a debit card for a delivery on a product, and they blow you off, you might have no recourse. You always have recourse with a credit card.

Btw, post offices always use the same single line too. Doesn't seem really fast there either.

#5.1 Jim on 2006-10-04 18:44 (Reply)

Yes, but the bottleneck is not the line. The bottleneck is the process at the counter. Splitting the customers out into multiple lines will not help the problem at the post office at all.

#5.1.1 Mike on 2006-10-04 22:19 (Reply)

That's a great idea, I wonder if any (civilian) grocery stores do this.

#6 Anshu on 2006-10-04 12:41 (Reply)

Albertson's does this, at least in utah

#6.1 Anonymous on 2006-10-04 13:02 (Reply)

New supermarkets in Melbourne, Australia, seem to be doing it too, but only in the 12 items or less lanes.

#6.1.1 Will on 2006-10-04 19:07 (Reply)

This goes on at a number of locations in the UK, including Post Offices and Boots pharmacies.

#6.1.1.1 Pete (Link) on 2006-10-05 02:51 (Reply)

best buy does this in all their stores now, so does frys electronics

#7 matt h on 2006-10-04 13:41 (Reply)

Fry's Electronics has the best line management of any store I've ever been to.

I went on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year) and they had 54 registers open. The line never stopped moving and I was at the front of a very long line within two minutes.

They seem to have learned that you should never make people wait to hand you money.

#7.1 Scott on 2006-10-04 19:54 (Reply)

they do this at sam's club.

they also now have clerks with handheld scanners who scan all the stuff in your cart (along with your membership card), and then send you to the jewelry counter...they scan your card there and your total is in the system already, so you just pay up.

#8 a on 2006-10-04 13:46 (Reply)

First off, I'm an impatient male. Polite, but always in a hurry.

I unload my stuff as soon as there is space on the belt.

I get out my store card (the one that gives you discounts) before I hit the cashier.

I rarely have coupons (only when the wife shoves them in my wallet) but when I do they're laid on top of the last items.

I put the divider bar down immediately behind my items so that the next person can start when he/she desires.

I get my credit card out as the cashier is going, and if possible (almost always is) I swipe it during the ring-up. The credit card takes no extra time because there is always stuff to bag. If it's a few small items I'm in for cash.

I help with bagging whenever possible.

When the ring up is done, the credit card processing is underway, and by the time I'm done signing, the bagging is done.

Then I'm gone.

IF YOU ONLY KNEW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMMENTED, NOTICED, REMARKED, SMILED, THANKED ME, you would be amazed.

As egotistical as this sounds, I've never observed anyone else quite so efficient.

And as sexist as this sounds, the most efficient customers are indeed males. No checks, no purses, no keychains with 500 affinity cards on the ring, coupons are rare, we never check the receipt as we're leaving.... the differences are numerous but they're real.

#9 Dan on 2006-10-04 14:07 (Reply)

I saw that episode of the Simpsons.

#9.1 Jon on 2006-10-04 19:29 (Reply)

I shop at bag your own, pay cash and bring helpers. I trained the kids to organize the cart in a manner that that makes it easy to bag and then put away groceries once home: refrigerator stuff together, freezer stuff together, bathroom stuff together, pet food together, etc.

Once we can reach the belt we all work on unloading the cart until the cashier starts ringing groceries (we're usually done before he or she ever gets to our order). I watch the price on each item making sure that each item rings correctly. If an items rings incorrectly and can't be corrected by the time everything else is done we skip that item. Most of the time the cashier will give me the price I quote on a disputed item. If I have any coupons (rare because we mostly get store brands) they are in my hand with my cash.

Kids bag the groceries while I watch the cashier then I pay cash. Cash is still faster than credit cards or checks. Since I've shopped at the same store for fifteen years I recognize many of the cashiers. I know which are fast, which are slow, and which are new.

On a busy day, if we have a lot to do besides grocery shopping, because our stuff is organized we can dump all the groceries and just put away the refrigerator stuff and do the rest later.

I won't have food spoil and I won't have to go back before my next weekly trip. We have a running contest to see who can get closest to the total grocery bill. My kids are usually within a dollar or two of the total.

Are you SURE men are more efficient?

#9.2 Jill on 2006-10-05 02:28 (Reply)

I do everything Dan does except help with bagging and I've never had any reaction, positive or negative. So it must be the bagging. However, there's almost always a bagger in my line.

I do something for additional efficiency: stand at the end of the conveyor, with the cart to my right, and unload the cart with my right hand, passing items to my left hand which places them on the conveyor. It works a lot better than any other method. I picked up this method the first time I saw someone do it. I rarely see anyone else do this.

#9.3 Jim C. on 2006-10-05 17:35 (Reply)

Why are you in such a hurry? Relax, dude ...

#10 max on 2006-10-04 14:20 (Reply)

I've got to get home before the ice cream melts.

#10.1 Mike on 2006-10-04 22:24 (Reply)

Umm... you should retitle this: More efficient line organization. It applies to more that just the market. I actually spent 20 minutes explaining this configuration to the manager of the Shanghai Airport.

The guy who said airports use this obviously hasn't been in enough airports.

#11 AkumAPRIME (Link) on 2006-10-04 14:27 (Reply)

Whole Foods NYC does this, best performing grocery stock in the past 5 yrs, go figure.

#12 Jonah (Link) on 2006-10-04 14:38 (Reply)

They do this at the Whole Foods in New York.

#13 matt on 2006-10-04 14:40 (Reply)

i don't experience lines as my wife does all the shopping

#14 bob on 2006-10-04 15:30 (Reply)

They do this at Frys Electronics.

#15 dan on 2006-10-04 15:33 (Reply)

They also do this at Best Buy. It would be nice if everyone could be considerate of the people in line behind them.

#16 LennyP (Link) on 2006-10-04 15:39 (Reply)

They do this at the bank.

#17 Go on 2006-10-04 15:48 (Reply)

They do this in some British grocery stores, I believe. At least I recall going to a Sainsbury's in central London and they did it.

#18 Devin on 2006-10-04 16:21 (Reply)

The problem with this method is that the time between customers is suboptimal. The cashier doesn't take a new customer until the previous one is gone, so there is dead time between customers. Then the cashiers have to wave their arms around like crazy because the customer at the front of the line isn't paying attention.

This proposal also doesn't address the express checkouts which are very important to my sanity. As a male living with a single roommate and no car, I usually don't have very many items when I go through the checkout. It's nice to not have to wait in the regular lines.

Another comment I have is that it's stupid to have multiple express lanes. "15 items or less" and "9 items or less". The wait time for 6 items is pretty much zero, so why not just make them both "15 items or less"?

#19 David Frey (Link) on 2006-10-04 16:42 (Reply)

Two comments: Military commissaries do this, but it doesn't prevent them from pulling the old TSA trick and opening up 1/4 of the available registers, especially on a payday and on a Friday.

Secondly, Best Buy does not universally use the single queue, multiple service model. I stopped shopping at the one in Palmdale, CA when they, too, followed the "only open a small fraction of your registers" policy, particularly around Christmas.

At the airport there is a money saving imperative in terms of labor costs to only open as few service points (x-ray & metal detector lines) as can possibly be opened without causing a riot or a complaint from the airline CEOs about passenger dissatisfaction. Anyone who travels regularly knows what a vocal statement of unhappiness will get you -- a cavity search!

The TSA has no incentive to more expeditiously process passengers, save a few nasty remarks or angry looks from irritated travellers. Best Buy nearly went bankrupt a few years ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if something as simple as this was part of the root cause.

#20 Chris on 2006-10-04 16:54 (Reply)

The dirty little secret is that grocery stores don't mind customers waiting in line. That is the whole point of filling shelves full of $6.00 gossip magazines and candy bars, so that you can make impulse buys while you wait in line.

This is simply not a problem anyone wants to fix!

#21 BOB on 2006-10-04 17:36 (Reply)

Fry's has this system. They have impulse buy items lining the entire queue area. They also have lights above each casheir to tell you when they are free, and a person standing at the head of the queue directing you to a free cashier.

As far as I can tell, the only drawback to the store is it demands a great deal of real estate even when the store is not very busy.

#21.1 Charlie on 2006-10-04 18:28 (Reply)

Actually, the average time spent in line would probably increase with this method. The goal of this is only to make sure people get to the checkout in the order of their arriving at the lines.

The checkers don't check people out any faster. In fact, people wouldn't be able to unload their cart while waiting in line, so it might actually take a minute longer per person than the current method of one line per checkout.

#21.2 Jim on 2006-10-04 18:51 (Reply)

That's the point. No one waits the minimum (which no one minds), while no one waits the maximum (which no one minds either --unless it's you!) Everyone waits the average. The only people that have a legitimate gripe here are the people that are usually in line with an amount of purchases that could would put them in the line with the minimum wait times (the "express" lanes).

#21.2.1 JimC on 2006-10-04 21:16 (Reply)

They should. I often will walk out of stores if the lines suck. And I am the kind of person very likely to pick up a candy bar at the last second.

#21.3 Mike on 2006-10-04 22:21 (Reply)

Spend a few seconds observing the cashier. Some are so slow that even short lines don't help.

#22 Chui (Link) on 2006-10-04 20:05 (Reply)

They do that in Canary Wharf's (London / UK) Tesco - and it works like dream: two lines in both ends of the shop and around 10 cashiers per side... they have even installed flat screen TVs to entertain people while they are queing.

#23 MN on 2006-10-04 22:15 (Reply)

This is done in India at some Railway ticket counters. Earlier it was the traditional 5 lines for 5 counters.

But, now there are a seats which are arranged in a zig-zag manner (to maximize space utilization). Its like a stack - the people at the bottom of the stack go to the first free counter they see, and then everyone shifts a seat, and a new person can sit in the now vacant top of the stack.

It beats the "the other line always moves faster" mindset which is frustrating to say the least. Plus you get to sit!

It sure is a nice and simple solution.

#24 Shiva on 2006-10-04 23:15 (Reply)

One long yet "fair" queue vs risking choosing the slowest checkout lane?

Ya know, more often than not, I feel I have 'chosen' the faster lane on any given shopping trip, so for the most part I like my grocery shopping as is, with 3-4 checker lines to choose from.... plus, isn't that just part of the game?

(Another tip: you can sometimes perceive the staff about to open another lane when it's busy - so consider a lane that is adjacent to a closed-about-to be-opened-register)

Anyhow, I spend/waste most of my time at the store scouring for the sale items, and deciphering the obstacle course that exists when you try to decipher similar items priced at cents per oz, and dollars per pound, sheets per toilet roll, cubic feet per pack of paper towels per dollar... By the time I'm at the checkout, I am not likely to worry about the ocassional waiting time beyond my control...

#25 ken on 2006-10-05 00:14 (Reply)

The single queue/multiple server model (where all servers have equal capabilities) such as you describe results in the shortest average waiting time in the queue. As I recall, that's one of the few provable results from queueing theory, although it doesn't take math to see why it works.
The issue in grocery stores is FLOOR SPACE. This type of queue requires more space, which takes away from the space available to display products. That's why you don't see it in grocery stores or department stores.

#26 smac on 2006-10-05 07:01 (Reply)

I'm not sure about the whole floor space issue. Right now, when I go into the grocery store, the lines extend out into the aisles so no traffic can move through the space between the registers and the aisles. I think floor space is already an issue and don't see how a queue really takes up more space if you have it wind like a roller coaster line.

#26.1 Mike on 2006-10-05 07:08 (Reply)

In Beaverton, OR (outside of portland) there's a store called Winco with the best system I've seen anywhere. Their checkout lanes have 2 conveyors after the cashier. The cashier rings all your stuff, and send them down one conveyor, where you bag your own stuff.

If there's a delay/price check, or when they're done and waiting for you to get your check, they pause your order, and move on to the next customer, putting their stuff in the other conveyor. When you're ready, they pause that order, finish you, and go back to the second customer. By the time you're finished bagging your things, and your conveyor is empty, it's time for the third person's stuff to get put there. There is no downtime for the cashier, so this is quite efficient.

It's a bit hard to explain, but this is probably the one store that I've reliably spent the least amount of time checking out. I moved away 4 years ago, and every time I go shopping I wonder why it's only in Oregon that people seem intelligent

#27 nutmeg on 2006-10-05 07:19 (Reply)

Excellent real world application of queuing theory. Many stores do implement the single line, snake out to next available methodology, but not enough.

#28 Hagrin (Link) on 2006-10-05 10:12 (Reply)

People, this story is simply not true for the case of a grocery store like Safeway, Giant's, Shopper's Club, you name it. When one of the N registers is slow, then there are only N-1 registers left so waiting time for the people in the single line is definitely affected since there are less registers to process people. In addition most grocery stores have two types of regsters - express (if you have small number of items, let's say 10 items). Also, as we all know very few people observe these restrictions to the number. Most people that have up to 20 items will still go to the express register. The people that will stay in the regular registers are truly the people with MANY items. In addition, the people with many items are the ones that most often pay with a credit card or check. So these people are the ones that are more likely to hold up a register. Even if they don't use coupons or write a check, it still takes about 5-10 min to process such a person; factoring the check and coupons that might go up to 15. So the person holding up a regular register is doing quite a damage to the people in the waiting line who are also waiting for a *regular register*. That's because the registers are usually 2/3 normal and 1/3 express. The express registers cannot accept people waiting for regular registers, so the extra waiting time that the slow regular register is causing can only be distributed among the other regular registers. So for the people in the line that are waiting for a regular register this starts to really suck even with one person holding up a regular register. Now imagine two regular registers being held up and you start to get the idea. In addition, features of the waiting line also have to be taken into account. For instance the ratio of people waiting for regular registers and express registers. For a grocery store, I'd assume that most people are buying good number of items and are likely to be waiting for a regular register. Not many people go to the grocery store for a Coke and an otmeal cookie. In that case, even one slow register really causes noticeable delay and irritation, UNLESS the store manager decides to convert express registers to regular ones, which rarely happens.
To summarize - the case of the military base commissary is overly simplistic to compare it to grocery stores. Most soldiers run in there for a pack of cigarrettes and a soft drink, so their wait time is likely to be short anyways. I also agree that grocery store lines are not interested in resolving the issue since you could buy something extra while you are in the store:-)

#29 anon (Link) on 2006-10-05 14:04 (Reply)

What the theory tells you (and, if you stand around long enough with a stop watch you'll observe for yourself) is that the AVERAGE waiting time per person, over all the people, is less with a single queue than with a queue per server. If you think about it, you can't get a bunch of people completely stuck behind a "price check on register 6" or whatever. Those people keep moving forward, although more slowly since there's one less register to service them. It really does work.

#29.1 smac on 2006-10-05 15:24 (Reply)

That is too much for me to actually debate all of it, but 15 minutes for a single person no matter how many coupons is way beyond normal.

And when you say this, "To summarize - the case of the military base commissary is overly simplistic to compare it to grocery stores. Most soldiers run in there for a pack of cigarrettes and a soft drink, so their wait time is likely to be short anyways."

that is just flat out wrong. At every base I ever was stationed at there were a ton of more convenient places to get a quick snack than a commissary which are normally not located in the easiest to access part of the base. The people there are normally buying a full load of food in my experience.

#30 Mike on 2006-10-05 14:09 (Reply)

I agree that most people in the commissary are NOT there buying one or two items. Remember...some military personnel are reservists who only get limited trips to the commisary each month. (Its like one a month, right?). Some are on public aid. Most are on a budget. They all seem determined to get the most food for the least money. When I would shop there, I remember seeing families pushing one cart in front and pulling one behind. I also remember one man with an entire cart of Banquet frozen dinners. And when I say "an entire cart" I mean 2 towers of red boxes as high as the cart was deep. Based on the sheer number of dinenrs, I assumed he was a reservist, making his monthly visit.

Also, commissaries take expired coupons. Many have piles of them at the front door that you can sift thru and take whatever you want. So, because you can use any kind of coupon, the commissary check-out lines could be even more chaotic. But somehow they are not.

AND! Fruits and Vegetables are CHEAP and people tend to buy alot. The cashiers have to memorize the 4 digit codes for each variety. I remember noticing that few had the stickers on them. That could slow the line down, but it doesn't. Its a good system, it works well even with huge orders, coupons, outdated registers and unmarked produce.

My favorite part of the commissary system was that it was not presented as a time saving option or a bold new way of doing things. It was just the way that it was. They never claimed it would save YOU time. They didn't care if it was convenient for YOU. It was just the most streamlined way of getting the job done.

#31 Reba on 2006-10-16 07:40 (Reply)

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