Rules at the Grocery Store Self Check Out

Went to get my hair cut today and figured that since the commissary (grocery store) was next door and my husband was still feeling under the weather, I would go pick up what I needed to make him soup.  My major mistake was not realizing it was pay day before I had pretty much picked everything up that I needed and put them in my cart.   The check out line was all  the way round the store. NOoooo!!!
    I decided to count my items and head to the self check out. 
Now there is an EXPRESS lane which is 15 items or less and then there are two lanes for 20 items or less,  two lanes for 40 items or less and one lane for no limit.  It is well posted in Big Bold Writing on Blue Signs.  You can't miss it.  
      When I get up to the check out with my 21 items and as a rule follower, I stand in the 40 items or less lane.  All the self check outs have about five people waiting and to make matters worse, one of the 40 or less registers is out of order, go figure. 
     The lady who was ringing up her items on the 20 or less lane must have had at least 40 items and the lady who was on the 40 or less must have had a whole months worth of groceries for a huge family, easy and they were in no hurry.
For all the RULE BREAKERS out there:  The signs don't say 15 items +3,  20 or less but if you have 30, that's OK and 40 or less really means bring it on, who cares how many items you have.
     Do people just not care?  It is one of my pet peeves that people can't even follow the rules when grocery shopping.   What were the two employees who check your I.D's at these registers thinking by letting these two women use the checkouts, when they clearly exceeded the amount of items.... 
I think there needs to be a kill switch on these registers.  When you reach the listed number of items, the register will not scan anymore and total your Bill.  You pay your bill and if you still have stuff in your cart, you can join the back of the line again and wait your turn or you can put the items in your cart back and leave the store. 
The self checkouts were put in place for a reason.  They are there for folks who have the limited amount of groceries and limited time.  They are there to get in and out of the store quickly. All I can say is shame on you all. 
      If you don't know how to use the self check out, please don't decide to try and learn on Pay Day.  The older lady who was next in the 40 or less line seemed to have that problem.  It was painful to watch (she did not want anyone to help her) and by the time the gentleman in front of me had went and it was my turn, the older Asian lady behind me decided she had waited long enough and wanted to speed up the process by helping me unload my groceries.  It was cute but she was practically throwing my stuff at me to scan and asked me a question about everything I was buying..How do you cook your sweet potato ? What are you going to make with the butternut squash?  What is that ? One item after another...It lightened my mood and made me laugh.
So the next time you go to the store and decide to use the self checkout, give your fellow shoppers a break, count your items and stand in the appropriate line....
Mahalo