On 10/15/2008 we went to the California Academy of Sciences.  It was a free day (regular admission is $24.95), and the crowd was huge!  It opened at 9:30; we got there at 10:30 and waited in line.  We are Chinese, and this Chinese lady snuck in right behind us and sat down on the concrete seating area where we were waiting.  My wife asked her to not cut in line, but the lady ignored all conversation.  By the time I notified the security personnel, the line had moved some more, and the lady was still sitting there.

I asked her if she cut in line.  She said her leg was hurting; she needed to sit down; her party was farther back; and she was waiting for them to catch up to her.  Unfortunately for her, the rest of her family arrived, presumably to cut in line.  An argument ensued; they started getting indignant and self-righteous; they accused me and my wife of shouting at them, they told me to mind my own business, etc.  But by that time, they were arguing with the security guy (who knew exactly what was going on).  The security guy asked the lady to sit further away out of the line until the rest of the...ahem...party made it up to where she was.  By that time, there was quite a scene, and they all walked away angrily.  The original lady hung around (under our watchful eye) and finally left.  I'm sure they didn't get in back of line...by that time, it would've been at least a 2-hr wait.  They got what they deserved.

Their ruse showed that they were obviously prepared for their line-cutting strategy.  So I've distilled it into "Line-Cutting 101":

1. Requirements:  need to be female and have exceedingly thick skin.  [Reason:  men may feel less inclined to confront a woman, ppl may not be inclined to get into women-women arguments]
   
2. Seek out a party of the same ethnicity waiting in line...not too close to the front.  [Reason:  others around you will think the line cutter is with the same ethnic party]
   
3. Discreetly come in behind the party and just sit down  [Reason:  see strategy #5,6]
   
4. If asked anything, ignore.  Or speak/mumble in your own language.  [Reason:  don't interact and draw attention]
5. Wait for the line to move.  [Reason:  ppl may not care if somebody cuts behind them.  Also, people further behind may not have seen what happened, and will assume that the lady was already ahead of them]
6. When a few groups of people have passed by, signal your party to cut in line.  Ppl around my grumble, but they can plainly see that you were in line already.
   
7. When truly confronted:
   1. Claim some physical ailment for sitting down
   2. Claim your party is farther back, and you are waiting for them to catch up.
      
8. If your cover is blown:
   1. Accuse other people of getting angry, raising their voice
   2. Tell people to mind their own business
   3. Accuse people of picking on your disability/ailment
      

Line cutting is all about "me first"...but when you combine that with self-righteousness and self-entitlement, then it really goes downhill.

Recently when I signed up for a new cellphone plan for myself and my wife, I got the cheapest phones and $50 rebate.  The rebate came in the form of 2 $50 VISA check cards.  It seemed easy enough to activate and use them.  I'm sure like many people, I was expecting to be able to go to a restaurant and use these cards to offset the cost of a good meal.  The card was declined (hm...maybe I didn't activate properly?).  So I called the 800 number to talk to a representative.  Here's why I hate VISA gift cards:

• Legally, it isn't a gift card, so they can expire (In California, gift card expiry is illegal)
• In a restaurant establishment, you can only charge 80% of the value of the card due to tip anticipation holdback.
• At gas stations, you have to have the attendant charge exactly the amount you want before the gas purchase can be authorized.

If you get these, do what I did:  hurry to Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Best Buy, or whatever shopping establishment and buy bona-fide gift cards.  With in-store gift cards, you can easily charge the cards, easily check the balance, and split purchases across gift cards and regular payments.  How inconvenient it would be to be limited to 80% of the card value or having to call a 800 number to check the balance so you know exactly how much you can spend, or having to spend it before a certain date?  I'm sure all of these restrictions make it a lot harder to spend the exact amount.