No idea what Dagney's beef is, but I detest noise pollution and can run you a few off the top of my head:

Shopping can be a fraught experience at the best of times. I don't need this compunded by hearing, "I'm not going out Friday, nah I'm broke innit. Nah I can't go out. Nah, nah. I don't get my student loan til next week and I was out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and I bought them new Diesel jeans today. Where you going anyway? Oh right. Right. Will that fit bird be there? Yeah the one wiv da fit arse. Yeah. Alright, see you bout 8 then. Yeah we're gonna get munted mate."

People on mobiles simply don't function as efficiently as those not on them (YMMV). If they are packing their shopping single handed in order to continue the dross above, they are slowing me down for no good reason.

I think it is rude at the point of being served, to stare blankly at the amount owed and hand a card over, as if the cashier is nothing more than a vending machine. Working in a supermarket isn't exactly a fulfilling job - it helps to have customers who talk to you, or at the very least acknowledge you.

The call can wait.

I agree completely, SG.

(what is ymmv?)

Well, most of the time it can, but not always. I don't see any reason to be rude to the cashier even if one is on the phone. Usually even if I am on the phone, I will nod and smile at the cashier, I might even mouth "thanks" whilst listening to whoever is on the phone. It's not ideal.....but just acting like the cashier isn't there isn't an option.

The cashier. It pissed the hell out of me and the people behind him or her because they would usually take two to three times as long. Some people can multitask some people can't.

Bwahahaha.

I was the cashier, for 2 and a half years. Working at the Jewel-Osco in my town (a popular super grocery/drug store in the US Mid West) I saw these customers on a daily basis. Basically, I didn't worry about if they didn't notice me. Sure, it's rude and lacking any effort at being courteous but it's whatever, I'm just gonna let it go, they are the customer. Customer's always right, that's what was ingrained in my head in my years of working in retail. I just suck it up and smile, "have a nice day ma'am."

Your Mileage May Vary
(in other words this is my personal experience and the conclusion I draw from it)

Besides being rude and and not attending to the task at hand cause you are jabbing away as people are talking to you, and others are waiting for you to finish your task and get out of the way? Put your damm phone away and pay. If you are just standing there waiting, no problem, but don't be pissed if I try really hard to hear everyword being said, cause some people talk really loud. I just think it is rude. Ok, ok, if your mom is dying or your kid is sick, you can talk on the phone in line. Do you think anyone would get mad if I bumped you, you dropped your phone, and I stamped on it? :D Sorry about that mate.:evil3:

so freshnesschronic, you asked her why this was happening, and she gave you the answer. clearly you don't like the answer, so my question to you is, do you think she's telling the truth?

You stated my feelings concisely. I don't need to know what you're doing tonight, frankly I don't care. I also don't think it's quite fair for me to have to wait - wasting my time - while you debate which bar you want to get trashed at while the line behind me gets longer.

Cell phones are handy little things - but they can be quite annoying when used at the wrong time. In the check out line at the market = wrong time.

Rude?
What I am doing while I am in line at the store is none of your damn business. S-not rude, you being in my business is rude, mind your own.
I worked as a cashier and bagger for years while in school, I could care less what people do, phone, dealing with their kids, crossword puzzle, sing, dance, talking to me, etc, who cares really?
I do my job, get you done and move on, that is all that matters, end of story.
If they are slow, it may be the phone or just that they are slow, chances are it is the latter.
I don't like it in movies or theatre, places where I paid to listen to something, other than that, talk on your phone.
I don't care what the people around me are doing, I'm not nosy.

If I think your inattentiveness is holding me up, I think you are rude and should be bitchslapped. If you don't want people in your business, don't do it in public.

How about if two of you are stood in a queue together and talking...?

[old man rant] I can remember when we had phones that actually had wires! These wires not only connected the speaker part to the other part of the phone, they went from that part into the wall! And we had to spin this round thing a bunch of times to call someone. And we had to wait until we were somewhere where there was a phone, and the person you wanted to talk to was somewhere where there was a phone. There were these things called "pay phones" along the streets. And we were happy we could call people. It was less time than the mail. [/old man rant]

Do you camplain at the length of time it takes a fax to be sent, too?

I do. Scanning, converting to PDF, and e-mailing is so much faster and more likely to go through.

BRRRRRRRRRING BRRRRRRRING
BRRRRRRRRRING BRRRRRRRING
BRRRRRRRRRING BRRRRRRRING
BRRRRRRRRRING BANANAPHONE!