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bagging to the pros. Make sure you grab a line with a bagger to get the job done right.
    4. Take a flyer on the flyer . Customers holding dog-eared flyers are probably going to ask questions or slowly tear out coupons. Just remember this handy line: “Flyer in tow? That line is slow.” Amen, sing it to your mama.
    5. Mo’ cashiers, mo’ problems . We’re looking for quick hands, firm credit card swiping, and purposeful change drawer slamming in cashiers. Avoid lanes with two of them because one’s in Training Mode. Support their development silently and catch them when they’ve learned how to double-bag.
    Yes, picking the fastest-moving line at the grocery store is such a great high. When you get it right, you’re like the undercover cop of the store—spying on customers, eyeballing cashiers , and swooping in smartly to get the job done in style.
    AWESOME!

Getting a hug from someone you didn’t know you were in a hug relationship with
    My dad’s a side hugger.
    When I go see him at my parents’ place in the burbs, I usually go in for a quick hello or handshake when I’m popping in the door. But my dad’s a slippery senior and he always scoots sideways to squeeze my shoulder, bump hips, and smile his soft, goofy smile through thick boxy glasses just to tell me he’s happy I’m here.
    Now, the funny thing about my dad’s side hugging is that it’s pretty much his only greeting for everybody. Hello! You’re getting a side hug. Goodbye! You’re getting a side hug. Neighbors, nephews, nobodies: Don’t matter who you are, don’t matter why you’re here , you’re getting a side hug. My dad upgrades everybody to side hugs and he’s proud of it.
    I like watching people’s faces when they realize their handshake is mutating before their eyes. Sure, they go for the shake, but my dad suddenly scoots sideways before they know it. When that handshake changes, I notice their face changes too. It goes from a polite thin-lipped smile and eyebrow raise to a full-on toothy grin . They relax and dissolve into the moment for a second and let the power of touch and hallway love remind them that we’re all pretty close out there and, come on, we’re all in this big thing together.
    Getting a hug from someone you didn’t know you had a hug relationship with reminds you somebody cares about you. Sometimes it’s good to skip the high fives and handshakes.
    Sometimes ... it’s just good to hug.
    AWESOME!

That one person who laughs when you tell a really bad joke
    This is also known as The Pity Laugh and it somehow manages to save your terrible joke from being a complete bomb. See, now you didn’t serve up a dud that hit dead air. No, no, your humor is just a little highbrow and hard to understand, that’s all.
    AWESOME!

Letting go of the gas pump perfectly so you end on a round number
    I hate $19.98.
    When I’m pumping my car full of some sweet-smelling gasoline, I always get tense when I’m two cents away from a nice, round number. Maybe I’ve got a twenty-dollar bill in my pocket or maybe I’m throwing it on a credit card. Either way, I just can’t be that satisfied with a $20.01 pump. If I hit $20.03 or $20.04, it’s like I wasn’t even paying attention. Call me Slow Hands at that point, because I clearly have no idea what I’m doing.
    But if the opposite happens, if I tap that handle ever so sweetly and let a little thimble of gasoline drip into my tank so the numbers curl up to twenty bucks even, then it’s time to high five the passengers, call the papers, and get ready for a beautifully changeless transaction.
    For a split second you transform.
    Gone is mom driving the kids home from ballet, gone is the pizza driver doing a quick fill before midnight, gone is the suit pumping a fast one before riding the expressway to the office downtown.
    Gone, gone, they’re all just