Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Ask A Native New Yorker: When Can I Cut The Line?
By
Gothamist Staff
Published Mar 4, 2016
Modified Mar 4, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
John Del Signore / Gothamist
By
Gothamist Staff
Published Mar 4, 2016
Modified Mar 4, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Are you relatively new to this bustling metropolis? Don't be shy about it, everyone was new to New York once upon a time, except, of course, those battle-hardened residents who've lived here their whole lives and Know It All. One of these lifers works among us at Gothamist—publisher Jake Dobkin grew up in Park Slope and still resides there. He is now fielding questions—ask him anything by sending an email here, but be advised that Dobkin is "not sure you guys will be able to handle my realness." We can keep you anonymous if you prefer; just let us know what neighborhood you live in.
This week's question comes from a New Yorker who's having a hard time with lines.
Dear Jake:
When is cutting in line not cutting in line?
How many times do you see someone in line standing three or four feet away from the cashier waiting to be called “next?” I have seen people in the middle of the floor crowded like doomed cattle waiting to be invited to pay.
During a typical busy lunch time, NY cashiers are on a roll, and expect customers to come to them boom-bang-bing and to have to call “next” is a waste of time.
There may be three cashiers lined up in front of a group, but everyone is afraid to step forward until they get the official nod. If there is just one person waiting, I will ask if they are in line, (because who can tell when they are standing in the street?) If there is a group huddled, with no discernible line, I’ll walk right up to the cashier.
(And to make matters worse, all too often the “call” is for the “next guest.” Sorry, but guests don’t pay, so stop trying to sound like I am special.)
Come on folks, this is New York, not Grover's Corners.
Please advise.
Dandy on the Upper East Side
A native New Yorker responds:
Dear Dandy,
Let me lay on you a piece of native New York wisdom that has served me well: if there is no clear line, there is no line to cut, and it's every man for himself. Good manners and a desire not to get stabbed dictate that you make a brief, good faith effort to allow those waiting longer than you to approach the counter—a glance normally suffices, but if they don't take the hint, and stand around obliviously lolly-gagging, well, you've done your part and life is short. Go in peace.
The problem here is not with longterm New York residents. Our national reputation as rude, pushy line-cutters is totally undeserved. Go to any place with a low-percentage of tourists and new arrivals, say the line to get into jury duty at any of our local courts. You'll see New Yorkers lined up neatly, grimly suffering, with no pushing, cutting, or slashing. Contrast that with the line at TKTS in Times Square, or the line to get into the Bedford Avenue L Train at rush hour, and you'll note that the bad behavior is largely coming from foreign elements.
Jake and roommates contemplating the line at Fairway. (Courtesy Jake Dobkin Private Collection)
This conduct consists largely of positioning themselves in whatever place is most likely to cause a backup, and then looking around distractedly like they don't know exactly where they are, where they're going, or what they want. If they would only stand to the side as they parse our ludicrously complex coffee house menus, or puzzle out the subway signage, things would move much faster, and the disgruntled New Yorker wouldn't have to shoulder them out of the way or scream "go back to Kansas!" which are the behaviors that have gotten us the terrible line-waiting reputation nationally.
Besides tourists, the main source of bad-behavior comes not from the people waiting in lines, but the lines themselves, which are often set up with no rhyme or reason at all. Please, for the love of God, if you are ever in a position to dictate the layout of any high-traffic establishment, familiarize yourself with the basics of queuing theory. For most lines, the most efficient design is a single, well-defined queue serving multiple registers (or turnstiles, or bathroom stalls, etc).
This would usually take the form of a well-signed and demarcated S-line, of the sort you see at airport security. The main drawback of these lines are that they appear long from the back, and though they are faster and far more fair than multiple lines in front of multiple registers, they have higher rates of "balking," which is when a customer refuses to join the line because it appears too long, and "reneging," which is when a person leaves the line because it appears too long once they are on it.
Retailers often dislike single queues for these reasons, because they are worried about losing customers, and instead pick the highly inefficient multiple queue setup, which has lower rates of balking and reneging, but higher rates of "jockeying"—where people switch between lines trying to find the shortest one. To them, it's better business to make you suffer anxiously in a bad line than potentially go somewhere else. This will be especially true for places that don't have a lot of loyal customers or repeat business, so you often find bad lines at precisely the type of establishments you enjoy the least: fast food places and large drugstores, for instance.
If, however, you are a patron at a popular local business with a lot of repeat customers and a bad line system, it's possible they just don't realize that a single-queue would work better. [Editor's note: looking at you here, Brooklyn Roasting Company in DUMBO.] Gently suggest to them that their line chaos is easily solved with a few signs and some stanchions, and by instituting this very easy change, they will increase the happiness of their valuable customers as well as increasing their through-put.
This societal transformation may be slow. So let's say you do find yourself stuck in a bad line—say, the slowest lane at your local Key Food, when the woman in front of you suddenly pulls 50 items she had somehow hidden in her tiny basket. Use this opportunity to test and enhance your zen equanimity. Breathe deeply and feel for the suffering of those around you, like the poor bastards even further behind you in line. Likewise, if you ever do find yourself face-to-face with a line cutter, try not to go completely atomic: remember that time you really couldn't wait in line at the bathrooms at Madison Square Garden, for instance. Maybe even try giving your spot in line to an elderly or infirm person, or pregnant lady; they have it even worse than you do.
One of my jobs at Gothamist is to pick up packages from our PO Box at a big post office downtown. There's only one window where you can do this, and while most times it only takes five or ten minutes, sometimes the line will stretch 30 minutes or more. You would not believe the bad behavior I see during these waits. Seemingly normal people just screaming and beating their hands on the counter, crying, and storming off in a rage. It obviously has no effect on the Post Office workers, except to piss them off and distract them into going even slower—and I often wonder "if you can't deal with 20 minutes in line at the Post Office, how can you cope with the rest of life in a city like this?"
This bad behavior seems to occur with higher frequency among the wealthier line-waiters. I've never seen one of the many delivery guys in line raise their voice, but once I saw a well-known hedge fund guy have a level-five hissy fit because a Hammacher Schlemmer package had been mis-delivered to his mansion in Tribeca, and he couldn't sleep without the night-mask the package was said to contain. It was satisfying to watch the mighty brought down so low by a long line, and it occurred to me that in our late stage of American capitalism, waiting in line at places like the post office is one of the few socio-economic levelers that we have.
Since then, I've enjoyed waiting in line a lot more. Namaste.
N.B.: According to the Gothamist staff, the three worst lines in the city are: the line for the women's bathroom at the Beacon Theater, the bathroom line at Bryant Park during summer movies, and the line at Trader Joe's (especially before a blizzard). Apparently the line at the DMV has "much improved over the last 10 years—they give you a number now."
Ask a Native New Yorker anything via email. Anonymity is assured.
Tagged
ask a native new yorker
lines
on line or in line
we dont have to choose one we can have it both ways
original
Gothamist Staff
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC’s horse carriage drivers feel betrayed as lawmakers set to abolish industry
Central Park's horse carriage drivers are making their last stand as city lawmakers prepare to abolish the industry.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 21, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
Parents grumble as NYC schools chancellor dodges calls for NYC schools integration plan
Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones said she felt disappointed by the lack of details.
By
Jessica Gould
News
Parents grumble as NYC schools chancellor dodges calls for NYC schools integration plan
Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones said she felt disappointed by the lack of details.
By
Jessica Gould
Driver found with apparent gunshot wound on George Washington Bridge, officials say
By
Charles Lane
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
By
Giulia Heyward
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
By
Catalina Gonella
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .