Miss Manners: My patience is running out with these line cutters

Dear Miss Manners: I am asking for help with line etiquette when faced with the following situation.

Person A enters the post office and stands behind five people in line. There is a group sitting at the table that deals with parcels (addressing, labeling, packing boxes, etc.). Person A finally gets to the front of the line, but when the “Next!” is called, Person B who was packing cuts in front. Then, one by one, Persons C, D, etc. also cut out, stating that they have “already crossed the line.”

I see both positions. Person A would say, “I’m 100% ready and you’re not. You’ve already received the service, now it’s my turn. People B, C, etc. would say: “I already took my time and waited in line just like you. I’m ready now and it’s unwise to make me wait again.”

Which one is correct?

GENTLE READER: The choice of supplier in your example suggests that your experience coincides with Miss Manners’ – namely, that the Post Office is the last company that has not noticed that by ambiguously placing their tables inside the line posts they are causing lobby fistfights.

The irrational but accepted convention of the line is that it can move forward at any pace – and therefore everyone in it is prepared. This puts people B, C and D in the wrong position, pushing themselves to the front.

However, this does not give Person A the right to be rude. Alert Person A may therefore want to stand in such a way as to make it difficult for him or her to move away from the table. Otherwise, the best they can do is say, “Sorry, I think I beat you to it.”