As my wife and I were waiting in line at Borders to check out we could not help but notice that they had adopted the Fry's Electronics model for check out. Only they one upped the process by having a very personable young lady who engaged each person in light conversation as they awaited a cash rep. At Fry's it seems like disinterested young people who are silent for the most part and very bored person assignates which cash rep to go to.

Anyway we thought about the way that they line us up at stores and which way is the best way. Well now I come across a study about such things. . .

"As you wait in the checkout line for the holidays, your observation is most likely correct. That other line is moving faster than yours. That's what Bill Hammack (the Engineer Guy), from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois — Urbana proves in this video. Ironically, the most efficient set-up is to have one line feed into several cashiers. This is because if any one line slows because of an issue, the entry queue continues to have customers reach check-out optimally. However, this is also perceived by customers as the least efficient, psychologically."