I have always been amazed looking at the “10 items or less” checkout counters in the supermarkets. At the outset, it looks like a great idea as people with less than ten items should not wait longer because they have only a few items. But it does not make sense just for the same reason. Why treat them as special when they are not your best customers? If people with less than 10 items should not wait longer, how about people with 25 items or more? Since there are only a finite number of checkout counters in a supermarket, for every “10 items or less” counter opened, people with more than 10 items will have to wait longer.

It’s odd that providing this convenience to some customers comes at the cost of increasing inconvenience for the best customers.

My $.02 – this arrangement is great as long as they also take care of doing something to people buying a lot of items. May be provide them with exclusive discount coupons or carry their bags to the cars or something that will show appreciation for their best customers.

So, here is the real question: How about in your business? Are you providing some conveniences for some of your customers at the expense of your best customers?