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In addition to avoiding interaction, I also prefer not standing there awkwardly while people work for me. I can't help the checkout clerk scan my groceries faster, and (if there is one in that lane) I'd just get in the way of the baggers, so I just have to stand there letting them serve me. I don't like that feeling of power/superiority/(not quite sure how to phrase it). It's the same reason I don't like mani pedis.

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Agreed. I find it easier to interact with people in service situations if they're responsible for the whole experience. The point of going to a restaurant or a barbershop or getting take-out is that you're leaving the whole process in someone else's hands.

A checkout clerk just feels like a weird adjunct to the whole process. I walked to the store, pushed the cart around and grabbed all my items, yet somehow someone else has to do the quickest and easiest part for me?

Alternative viewpoint:

They'd really rather you not get in their way, anyway. It isn't awkward for them until you try to help. They enjoy the feeling of power/superiority they have over you. That's why they smile while you stand there naval gazing.

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