HELOISE She studied instances of express-lane abuse

Dear Heloise: This is in response to a pet peeve you printed recently regarding the abuse of express checkout lanes. I am a cashier at a large chain store. I decided to do my own study on the abuse of express lanes.
Our store's express lane is posted as eight items or less. I found that the express lane is abused on the average of once every 27 minutes by a person with an average of six items more than the posted limit. The most items a person checked out in the express lane during my study was 24 items (three times the posted limit).
Many of the "abusers" wrote a check for their purchase, further holding up the line. Please, be considerate of the express lanes. They are there for a reason, and you put the cashier in a bad position when you have too many items. If she asks you to step to another line, you think she is rude or lazy. If she rings up your over-the-limit items, the next person in line, who has one item and is on his or her lunch hour, gets mad at the cashier. Rebecca, Via E-mail
This is a constant complaint from many people! Thanks for your insight. I'd like to hear from the "abusers," as you call them -- what's up? Heloise
Fast facts: Here are some hints on what to do with old marbles:
UAdd them to a vase of real or artificial flowers for added color.
UWash well and add to an aquarium.
UMake your own steppingstones with concrete, and push marbles into the wet cement to form a design.
UPlace in a pretty jar and use as a doorstop.
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate