No one likes a line-cutter. But unfortunately, some people feel that they don’t have to line up for anything, and cut in front of people without as much as a glance over their shoulder.
That was the case with an entitled SUV driver in this redditor’s story. Though the netizen didn’t let it slide, they turned to petty revenge instead, inviting another driver from the queue to join in on it. You can read about their petty revenge below.
Cutting in line is one of the most annoying things one can do to people around them
Image credits: NewJadsada (not the actual photo)
This netizen sought petty revenge after they saw a person cut in line at the pharmacy drive-through
Image credits: Prostock-studio (not the actual photo)
Image credits: rosefiend
People tend to let others cut in line, when they see that it’s being done for a valid reason
Whether by the ice cream stand or at the airport, if there’s a line, it’s probably there for a reason. But some people simply don’t care. They march straight to where they see fit, often seriously annoying those around them, even if they might not say a word. (This redditor didn’t say a word, either. They let their actions do the talking, as they carried out their plan of petty revenge.)
But people’s reaction to others cutting in line is often different, when they’re the ones to let them in. Most of us have probably seen someone frantically asking to be allowed to cut in line, usually for a valid reason or an emergency. Many of us have likely been that person ourselves! In cases as such, people don’t seem to mind others cutting in as much.
Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee of Harvard Business School got to make sure of it firsthand, after he carried out an experiment based on cutting in line. Together with a team of experimenters, he approached 500 people in queues, offering them cash payment of up to $10 to cut in. As one could have seen coming, the experiment found that the higher the amount, the more likely people were to let the person in. What came as a surprise, though, was that many people let the experimenters cut in without taking their money.
“Oberholzer-Gee took this to mean that people will allow cuts if they perceive the queue jumper has a real need to save time, though most people felt it inappropriate to cash in on that need. For line-holders, a higher bribe meant the jumper was more desperate,” read a piece on the professor’s experiment, published by Harvard Business School.
Image credits: Andrei Ianovskii (not the actual photo)
Some people let others cut in, hoping that the same will be done for them, if they find themselves in a similar situation
Another study on cutting in line, carried out by researchers Gad Allon of Kellogg School of Management and Eran Hanany of Tel Aviv University, found that some people let others cut in line, anticipating themselves being in a similar situation one day.
“Our main message is that the phenomenon can be explained on the basis of rational behavior and operational dynamics,” Kellogg Insight cited Allon saying. “We basically show that there are systems in which cutting in line—and letting others cut in—is a social norm that can actually be beneficial to the system and its customers in the long run.”
Allon explained that when it comes to queuing, people might think “I’ll let you in now, but you or someone else will let me cut in in the future,” or “I have a non-urgent need for the service for which I’m queuing now, but I might have an urgent need in the future,” and therefore, they let others cut in line.
Chances are, the SUV driver behind the OP, too, was in a rush or in an emergency. However, instead of approaching the driver and telling that to them, he chose to simply cut in front of someone else, who, for all he knew, might have also been in an emergency situation. Since the SUV driver didn’t say a word, the redditor likely thought it was his sense of entitlement and not urgency that led to the driver cutting in, so he came up with a plan for petty revenge. Judging from the fact that the SUV driver left shortly after, it looks like the plan worked.
Image credits: Ewan Yap (not the actual photo)
Fellow netizens applauded the driver’s petty revenge
