Regarding the "x items or less" checkout lines at the supermarket...

[StrongBad]

Today my girlfriend and I went food shopping together at the local Ralph's. When we were done shopping we had only 10 items so we headed for the express checkout (15 items our less) line to pay.

Ahead of us was a woman with a shopping cart. She clearly had over the designated amount but not by much. While waiting in line I did a quick count and she had about 22 items.

This didn't really bother me too much, however my girlfriend made a comment to the woman. She said something to the effect of "I think you are in the wrong line. This is the express checkout".

The woman did a quick scan of her cart, said "ok" and left for the regular lines.

I thought this was a little over the top and that my girlfriend was being a stickler to a rule that isn't really etched in stone.

She thought that supermarkets have these rules for a reason and that the woman shouldn't have been where she was.

A minor spat ensued and I thought this was an interesting social phenomenon to investigate. And what better place to ask an opinion than the DU lounge?

So, thoughts?