We took a deep dive into Twitter to see what people think when they’re forced to wait in long lines.

Here’s what we found.

First of all, a surprising number of customers fantasize about leaving without paying. Others tweet that they’ve witnessed frustrated shoppers actually do it.

if da line too long at da gas station ima jus steal everything i got n dip

— mob ties🤞🏾🖤 (@mobties720) March 4, 2021

The next big gripe? Waiting in line behind lottery players – especially players who scratch tickets right there at the register.

I’ve said it a million times before but I don’t root against anyone more than the person at the convenience store who’s taking forever to buy scratch offs and making the line ridiculously long.

— geoff (@geoff5point0) March 3, 2021

the people who get lottery tickets at the gas station when the line is long are mad selfish

— cam (@BYLU_cam) February 18, 2021

A healthy lottery business is a good thing, but there’s no question that more lottery players equate to longer lines, slower service, and more stress on cashiers and customers.

This was one of the top reasons c-store retailer, Breeze Thru Markets, added Passport Express Lane™ to their array of in-store POS solutions.

“If it’s a lottery store, don’t fight it. Let’s expand the lottery section.” says Breeze Thru VP of Retail, Mark Smith. “We’re about to build a lottery section that will take up half a store. [We’re looking for] things you can do at our store that you can’t do other places. Gilbarco’s self-checkout is one of them.”

Another chronic line-extender is extreme weather. This problem causes long lines inside the store AND outside on the forecourt.

While it’s hard to fight against mother nature, often times, you can at least prepare. Use our quick guide for natural disasters to better ensure you can stay operating for your community in their time of need.

The Bottom Line

As we all know, the “C” in “c-store” stands for “convenience,” and long lines are the opposite of convenient.

Lines might even seem like a good problem to have...hey, at least you have (mostly) paying customers, right?

As you can see from the tweets, it’s a problem that will solve itself one way, or another.

Retailers can either take a hard look at their in-store operations or wait for the line to disappear on its own – with vanishing customers.

Ready to combat long lines at your stores? Contact our team today to learn about Passport Express Lane Self-Checkout.