Just change the word "less" or "fewer" to "more" on checkout signs. Easy as.

People buying something like just one fag can use the other lines.
-- 4and20, Sep 28 2015

Not this _22Pay_2010_25_20more_22_20checkout
[4and20, Sep 28 2015]

Already Halfbaked? Cum_20Multis_20Aliis_20Lane
Can I even do this here? [absterge, Sep 29 2015]

For people who arrive without their horse http://i.imgur.com/7Vym6.jpg
[4and20, Sep 30 2015]

Queueing theory https://en.wikipedi...iki/Queueing_theory
[hippo, Sep 30 2015]

Yes, but at the same time, no. Someone buying a single item may only take 2 minutes to find it and go to the checkout, making a 10 minute wait unreasonable. If someone has spent 45 minutes doing their weekly shop, a 10 minute wait is less unacceptable.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 28 2015


But, none the less, unacceptable.

We are in favour of automating all checkouts. Those unable to use automated checkouts will be unable to purchase food and will conseqently starve. Thus mamned checkouts become superfluous.

Darwin triumphs again.
-- 8th of 7, Sep 28 2015


There is a certain logic to this in that it rewards shoppers prepared to show some commitment and buy a reasonable number of things from the shop, in contrast to [Max], wandering the grimly lit supermarket aisles with his one item, worried about the prospect of a 10 minute wait to pay.
-- hippo, Sep 29 2015


//People buying something like just one fag

Hmm, what happens if they are buying rolling tobacco? If they roll very skinny ones, that would be more than 20 items.

And flour. They might be cooking a near infinite number of small cakes, or one big cake. How can you take their word for it?
-- not_morrison_rm, Sep 29 2015


I propose special handling for customers with lots of shopping: shop staff unload the cart and distribute the items across all of the available checkouts, making sure the individual checkout totals do not exceed the limit for contactless payment, and pack the items from each till into bags and load them back onto a single cart for transport to the car park. The purchaser simply walks down the row of tills authorising as many small payments as necessary.

Of course, this needs several things:

o- available shop staff, but they always seem to be in abundance when I'm at the supermarket checkout - standing around chatting. This scheme puts them to good use.

o- available checkouts, but these too seem abundant, at my last visit to Tesco 23 of 26 tills were idle. This scheme reduces wastage arising from idle assets.

o- mental arithmetic, applied by the shop staff distributing goods across checkouts. This is probably where the idea falls down.
-- Tulaine, Sep 29 2015


Yes, interesting - queuing theory would suggest, I think, that there's a sweet spot for the number of checkouts that you should use for x items of shopping, i.e. between 1 checkout processing all items and x checkouts, each processing 1 item.
-- hippo, Sep 30 2015


If standing in line waiting bothers you I suggest bypassing the checkout and just pushing your laden cart out the door. Bound to get you quicker service.
-- cudgel, Sep 30 2015



random, halfbakery