June 23, 2025 at 6:21 am

Rude Shopper Thought One Apple Made Him Exempt From Waiting In Line At Checkout, But His Ignorance Held Up Other Patrons And Made Everyone Uncomfortable

by Benjamin Cottrell

grocery store line crowded store

Pexels/Reddit

There are few places more stressful than a grocery store checkout line after a long day.

One shopper had waited patiently for her turn, so when an entitled older man acted like it was his divine right to cut the line, an awkward standoff ensued.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to let a man with one item go ahead of me in the grocery store line?

Went to the supermarket today to grab my week’s groceries.

The line was moving slowly, but like a good citizen, she waited her turn.

I rolled up to the regular cashier and waited for the two people in front of me (who both paid with cash, slowly).

But not all shoppers were as patient as she was.

As I’m loading my items on the belt and the cashier finishes ringing up the person in front of me, a man behind me (maybe late 50s, early 60s) asks if he can go ahead of me because he “just has one apple.”

She refuses, holding her ground.

I tell him no; I waited in line.

Not to mention he could have gone to the express line or the self-checkout line.

This man overstepped in more ways than one.

It’s unrelated to my potential AH-hood, but before I was even done paying, he reached over to plop his one apple down on the scale, which just confused the cashier and further delayed everything, because he “had already washed it and didn’t want to put it on the belt.”

AITA?

He may have only had one item, but his behavior spoke volumes about his entitled attitude.

What did Reddit have to say?

Way too often, people take advantage of other’s kindness.

Screenshot 2025 05 29 at 3.29.04 PM Rude Shopper Thought One Apple Made Him Exempt From Waiting In Line At Checkout, But His Ignorance Held Up Other Patrons And Made Everyone Uncomfortable

There was likely a reason this guy wasn’t using the self-checkout.

Screenshot 2025 05 29 at 3.30.11 PM Rude Shopper Thought One Apple Made Him Exempt From Waiting In Line At Checkout, But His Ignorance Held Up Other Patrons And Made Everyone Uncomfortable

This guy’s timing for asking was way off too.

Screenshot 2025 05 29 at 3.30.49 PM Rude Shopper Thought One Apple Made Him Exempt From Waiting In Line At Checkout, But His Ignorance Held Up Other Patrons And Made Everyone Uncomfortable

It didn’t matter whether the man had one apple or a thousand apples — his behavior was still entitled and disrespectful.

She had every right to defend her place in line.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.