RETAIL RULES OF ENGAGEMENT CUSTOMERS MAKE CHECK-OUT ROUTINE PLEASANT OR A PAIN.

Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer

Know what you're going to order. Have your money ready. Keep the line moving.

Following these basic rules of engagement at the check-out counter is more critical as the masses begin the run-up to the holidays. Yet one stray customer inevitably foils what can be the most defining moment in a shopping excursion.

``It's annoying when people have a ton of groceries, and wait till the very end to start writing out their check,'' said Heather Williams, a Burbank resident. ``They could've been filling out the body of the check while they were waiting.''

The checkout experience is so critical it can even determine whether a customer will return to the store, said Deborah Cours, a marketing professor at California State University, Northridge. But the one variable they can't control is the behavior of other customers.

Burbank resident Jessica Carter is driven mad when customers insist on using expired coupons. ``Then they fight with the cashier about every coupon,'' she said.

Another irritant is cell phones, and Cours said more establishments are banning them to keep the peace.

``People get very irritated,'' said Natalia Monjoy, who works at the postal substation at Maxsons Drugs in Sherman Oaks. ``One time a young man was going on and on (on his cell phone) and there were three other people waiting in line right before closing.''

Monjoy said the other customers began screaming at the man to get off the phone. ``He couldn't understand why they were angry. He had no idea.''

The pharmacy eventually put up a sign requesting people not use their cell phones while in line, a trend popping up near cash registers everywhere.

Some chains like the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf have worked out a diplomatic system to handle the situation.

``When you're standing behind a person who's on the phone and they're not quite ready to order, it can be quite frustrating,'' said Jay McDonald, senior operating officer at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Coffee Bean cashiers will tactfully move on to the next customer, then return to the cell-phone user once they're off the phone and ready to order.

``We figure that's the fairest thing to do for all those concerned,'' McDonald said.

A little courtesy goes a long way in cooling the boiling tempers of customers, too, said Terry O'Neill, spokesman for Ralphs stores.

Candice Choi, [phone]

candice.choi(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) A sign asking customers to refrain from using their cell phones hangs at a postal substation in Maxsons Drugs in Sherman Oaks.

(2 -- color;) Cynthia Barajas helps a customer at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf store in Woodland Hills, where a sign asks people not to use their cell phones while ordering.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer