What are you thinking, Lady?

I was in the supermarket this morning picking up a few items. I went to the express checkout line and there was a woman in front of me with more than just a few items. No problem. The store wasn't crowded and I wasn't in a hurry.

However, when the clerk finally bagged her last item and gave her the total (which was something over $80) then, and ONLY then did she reach into her huge pocketbook and search around for her credit card. What was she thinking all that time the clerk was running her stuff through the scanner? That she'd get it for nothing?

There I was with my cash in hand ready to check out and this woman has to wait for the entire sale to go through before deciding to pay.

I cite this particular instance as an illustration of something I've seen countless times in checkout lines. And it drives me crazy. Why do women wait until they know the total before realizing they are going to have to pay? Maybe it's RPS, the Reluctant Payee Syndrome. There seems to be a syndrome for everything else these days why not for this type of behavior.

Would it kill a woman to have her credit card, checkbook or cash in hand BEFORE the final item is packed? She probably answers her cell phone faster than paying a bill. (Full disclosure: my wife always has her credit card ready and never can find her cell phone, ringing or not.)

If time is money, think how much we could all save if every woman in every store was ready to pay as soon as the cash register rang up the total.

Watch for this syndrome the next time you're behind a woman in a checkout line. If you see it, suggest she talk to her doctor. At your own risk, of course.