The other day, I went in to our local grocery store to get some milk ‘n stuff.

When I finally selected what I thought would be the quickest line, I ended up behind this guy in his mid-30s who had a fair amount of things.

When it came time for the cashier to ring up his items, he just stood there with his arms at his sides as she just pushed one item after another toward the bags and the end of the conveyer.

Once she finished with his items, he pulled out his wallet, as if he thought he might get out without having to pay, and used a card to pay for the items. When he finished, the cashier then started bagging his items.

Even though there were several people behind me waiting, the guy just stood there watching this woman bag his things.

Normally, I’m more straightforward, but today, I wasn’t quite feeling confrontational. So I went the passive aggressive route.

I walked past him, got to the bag end of the conveyer, and started bagging all of his groceries. The cashier looked up at me and smiled and thanked me for my help. Then we both looked at him and said, “You’d think he’d help, since their his groceries.”

The guy just stood there and watched. Then he grabbed his bags and left.

I see this happen all the time, and I can’t figure out why you’d just stand there and watch someone bag your things when you could speed it up by helping – especially when there’s a line of people waiting. If you’re being courteous and thoughtful to the people around you, you’ll do your best to get your business done, get out of the way, and keep the line moving.