I went to Kohl's tonight and spent nearly as much time in the checkout line as I spent shopping (okay, it probably just seemed that way, but still...). Kohl's has instituted a queue system in which everyone gets in a single line and waits for the next available cashier to call them. Borders bookstore uses the system and I love it, but Borders understands a couple of things that have apparently escaped that particular Kohl's management:
1) On a busy Saturday evening, you need to have more than two of the ten registers open
2) On a busy Saturday evening, those two registers need to be operated by efficient cashiers
While I waited, I had (way too much) time to observe both cashiers and they were without question the slowest I've ever seen anywhere. The line was bad enough when I got in it; when I finally managed to escape with my merchandise, it had extended well into Women's Sportswear. It was ridiculous.
I wonder how many of the foot-tapping, eye-rolling patrons in line eventually gave up and put their would-be purchases back.