HEB Report: Picking The Wrong Line...

Technically, we didn't pick the wrong line; the kind HEB associate directed my wife down the path of frustration, and she was too polite to inform him that her Spidey-Senses were giving her a bad vibe about the situation. So there we stood with half our cart unloaded on the conveyor belt, and in front of our stuff, another family with a full cart of groceries sitting idle. In front of them was a lady who seemed to be having a bad day.

Something to do with buying four candy bars and not getting the fifth one for free as the coupon suggested she should. Then, with the help of the cashier, a manager and a bag boy, that issue was resolved. When everything was resolved as to what the bill should be, just then did she begin to search her suitcase sized purse for the all allusive debit card.

Have you ever heard that term, "Ready Golf"? I'm not a golfer, but once while participating in a tournament for slackers (a Best Ball style arrangement), a co-worker explained to me this concept of playing ready-golf. The idea being that, you don't want to rush the group of golfers in front of you, but by God, as soon as they have cleared the green, you should be ready to take your next shot.

I have applied this "ready-golf" idea to all things in life. For example, if you are at a stop light, you should be ready to go when the light turns green, not when you finish your nails or changing radio stations. And thus, we find ourselves in HEB standing in line behind a lady who already has her bagged groceries in the cart, has the full attention of a cashier, a manager and a bag boy, and she is just now thinking about how she might pay for this little transaction.

We got the sympathetic and knowing look from the lady in front of us who was stuck like chuck, the same as us.Meanwhile, as the lady is pulling out receipts and notes and yellow sticky's and feminine products, her kid has grabbed a box of candy from the counter and opened it and wandered off to eat it. The manager casually rang up a similar box of candy and added the cost to the bill. Here, Everything's Better.

Thankfully, the manager did some sort of technique where he could suspend the transaction, pull the lady aside and let our cashier get the line moving again, and of course, just then the lady found her debit card along with some important documents relevant to The Da Vinci Code. Not quick enough my dear; had you learned to play "ready-shopping" you wouldn't have had to go to another register to finish your transaction.