I got in line the wrong way.

[MOM21SON]

I was inline at the store today and there are two registers.  The registers are side by side and the way they are, the cashiers face out into the store.  There were 2 people ahead of me.  when the cashiers were finishing they were saying, "who's next?" and the next person would walk up.

When I was waiting to be next I saw someone pushing a cart to the far right, for lack of nothing else to do I glanced over and saw the very faint sign, that said, "line begins here."  So since both cashiers were finishing up, I just stayed.

"who's next?"  was called and the 2 guys in line the correct way gave me the go ahead.  So I did.

Cashier:  Were you next?
Me:  Yes, I was right behind that lady.
Cashier:  I had to ask because the line starts there and people are coming from all directions.
Me:  Sorry, I didn't see the sign.

The guy at the correct spot said, "she was next."

THEN, the other cashier yelled, "SHE WAS NEXT BUT HE IS IN THE CORRECT PLACE FOR A LINE.!"

I was so humiliated.

Did I really deserve such treatment?

[BeagleMommy]

I think the cashier was rude for yelling.  That is completely uncalled for behavior.  The gentleman let you go, the cashier questioned it, he verified it; case closed.  No need for the attention-grabbing outburst.

[TootsNYC]

The gentlemen obviously considered that you WERE "in line"--you just didn't know where the line was. "In line" is a metaphorical concept sometimes, and the cashier is too literal-minded to get it.

No, you didn't deserve that treatment, and if it's any consolation, those guys "behind" you "in line" assuredly thought the cashier was rude.

And she ruined their fun, bcs they were probably feeling very good about being so cooperative and community-minded with you. (bcs you waited for the go-ahead, they gave it, everybody feeling good all around--until the cashier yells! Party pooper!)

[Two Ravens]

This humilated you? I can see it being awkward for a moment, but clearly everyone agreed that you were next. I'd do my best to shrug it off.

[MOM21SON]

This humilated you? I can see it being awkward for a moment, but clearly everyone agreed that you were next. I'd do my best to shrug it off.

Yes it did.  It has been shrugged off, just asking a question.

[LeveeWoman]

Crivens! What was her problem?

[Moray]

This humilated you? I can see it being awkward for a moment, but clearly everyone agreed that you were next. I'd do my best to shrug it off.

Yes it did.  It has been shrugged off, just asking a question.

I generally reserve feelings of humiliation for inadvertent pantslessness in public Glad you got over it.

Of course you didn't deserve to be yelled at. You don't even have to ask to know that was wrong! Are you sure she was yelling at you and not calling out to the other cashier?

[lowspark]

I think there are some cashiers who take a perverse pleasure in making people feel stupid if they don't stand in "the" line as marked. And those markings are not always obvious.

I once stood in what I thought was the line for a particular cashier at a round cashier station. The station was a circle (or an oval maybe) with registers all around so walking up to one of them seemed natural. While I stood there waiting for the cashier to ring up the customer in front of me, said cashier not only saw me, she acknowledged my presence with a nod. Then after the several minute wait, she proceeded to tell me that I had to get in line on the other side of the oval where there was apparently a sign indicating the "line starts here". Well, I have no idea if there were people there before I got in line or not but there were a couple of people there now. No way to know if I was line cutting or not at that point.

I'll never understand why she didn't just tell me as soon as she saw me where the line was. Since it was on the other side of the oval, it was certainly not obvious or intuitive at all. I was pretty miffed and considered leaving the merchandise and walking out but instead I just went to a different cashier station in another part of the store where there turned out to be no line.

I think it's great to have one line for multiple cashiers as it evens out the wait for everyone. But for goodness sake, why can't they make it obvious and politely inform people who don't see the sign right away?

In your case, especially since those in the right location for the line had not only motioned you on but verbally acknowledged that you were next, the cashier(s) should have had no further reason for comment.

[Knitterly]

This humilated you? I can see it being awkward for a moment, but clearly everyone agreed that you were next. I'd do my best to shrug it off.

Yes it did.  It has been shrugged off, just asking a question.

I generally reserve feelings of humiliation for inadvertent pantslessness in public Glad you got over it.

Of course you didn't deserve to be yelled at. You don't even have to ask to know that was wrong! Are you sure she was yelling at you and not calling out to the other cashier?

I don't think the feeling of humilation is something that one can control that easily.

I know I've been in situations where I've wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole - situations that someone else would be able to easily shrug off.  Being called out like that would certainly leave me feeling extremely embarrassed.

OP: You behaved fine.  The gentlemen behaved fine.  The cashier was extremely rude.  Her behaviour was absolutely uncalled for.

For goodness sake, how would that poor cashier react if someone had allowed someone to go in front of them for some other reason (like having only 1 item to their 50).  She was rude.  The gentlemen said you were next, ergo you were next. 

[MOM21SON]

This was my third time in this store.  The last time 6-8 months ago.  The time before that was over a year ago.  The previous 2 times the line was right where I stood this time.  By the buy by the pound dog treats by the registers.

Moray, I don't really know who she was yelling to, she was literally yelling, not talking loud.

lowspark, that is exactly how I took it.  It made her feel good to be authoritative and call someone out.

[LeveeWoman]

This was my third time in this store.  The last time 6-8 months ago.  The time before that was over a year ago.  The previous 2 times the line was right where I stood this time.  By the buy by the pound dog treats by the registers.

Moray, I don't really know who she was yelling to, she was literally yelling, not talking loud.

lowspark, that is exactly how I took it.  It made her feel good to be authoritative and call someone out.

It's a pity that she has such a meaningless life that she has to yell at customers who pay her wages in order to feel better about herself.

[MOM21SON]

This was my third time in this store.  The last time 6-8 months ago.  The time before that was over a year ago.  The previous 2 times the line was right where I stood this time.  By the buy by the pound dog treats by the registers.

Moray, I don't really know who she was yelling to, she was literally yelling, not talking loud.

lowspark, that is exactly how I took it.  It made her feel good to be authoritative and call someone out.

It's a pity that she has such a meaningless life that she has to yell at customers who pay her wages in order to feel better about herself.

I would like to think she was just having a really bad day.  But, I also will never be back.

[LeveeWoman]

This was my third time in this store.  The last time 6-8 months ago.  The time before that was over a year ago.  The previous 2 times the line was right where I stood this time.  By the buy by the pound dog treats by the registers.

Moray, I don't really know who she was yelling to, she was literally yelling, not talking loud.

lowspark, that is exactly how I took it.  It made her feel good to be authoritative and call someone out.

It's a pity that she has such a meaningless life that she has to yell at customers who pay her wages in order to feel better about herself.

I would like to think she was just having a really bad day.  But, I also will never be back.

I wonder how many she's chased off.

[Tabby Uprising]

This humilated you? I can see it being awkward for a moment, but clearly everyone agreed that you were next. I'd do my best to shrug it off.

Yes it did.  It has been shrugged off, just asking a question.

I generally reserve feelings of humiliation for inadvertent pantslessness in public Glad you got over it.

Of course you didn't deserve to be yelled at. You don't even have to ask to know that was wrong! Are you sure she was yelling at you and not calling out to the other cashier?

That's what I was wondering too? Maybe you could tell yourself that if for no other reason than to make yourself feel better? 

It sounds like a lot of drama just for you happening to stand in the wrong place.  You sound as though you were being perfectly polite and patient and the cashiers made too much of a production out of it.  I can see where the first cashier was perhaps trying to explain why she asked if you were next in line.  "Are you next? Our layout isn't clear and I wanted to make sure I was helping the appropriate customer." I can see a comment like that being okay.

On that note, if people are "coming from all directions" they probably need to address the layout of their checkout area.  It sounds like a hassle for customers and employees.

[CrochetFanatic]

It can be annoying (or, at the very least, awkward) when customers do this, but from what I've seen it's almost always an accident.  The cashier who yelled like that showed a serious lack of judgment, and you didn't deserve it.