I am going to climb back up on that soap box...I hope I don't offend anyone. I was dining with my husband last night and we were in a restaurant where you stand in line, create your food, pay for it, and finally take it to your table. My husband was kind enough to ask a friend that we were meeting later if he would like something to eat. As luck would have it, my husband got in line behind 12, yes 12 women who were together. They couldn't decide what they wanted and were talking amoungst themselves and looking at the menu. Now, you probably know what I'm going to say...
I think that when you are deciding on your food (in person, not possible in the car) at a restaurant where you stand in line...you should allow the person behind you to go ahead and order. It is simple, you say something like, "Do you know what you want?" (they say yes) "Go ahead of us, we're still deciding."
I believe that good old fashioned manners and courtesy have flown out of some peoples' heads. They are concerned with themselves and only themselves. When you are in line at the market, if the person behind you has 6 items and you have a basket (or even half a basket) allow them to go ahead of you unless you are in a tremendous hurry (usually we can spare 3 extra minutes)...you never know if the person behind you is in a big hurry. What if those six items were fever relievers or the rest of a dinner they are picking up to bring to a sick friend. You never know, so please don't assume you're the only one with a day ahead of them, or with places to go.
If we use our common sense and remember the "golden rule" of etiquette (treat others as you would want to be treated) we will never fail (personally). That doesn't mean we'll always be treated the way we wish to be, but we never have to wonder if we've done all we can.
I'll climb back down now, it's just something that caught me by surprise actually. The end of the story is what you would expect. The women took fifteen minutes to decide what they wanted...and my sweet patient husband stood silently behind them (as he should have) and waited his turn. We were late to a meeting as a result...but I did point out to my sweet husband that if he had called his friend when we were in line ordering for ourselves because he thought about whether or not our friend had the time to eat previously, we would have never been in that situation...just some food for thought. Happy Friday!
Friday, November 7, 2008
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That "speech" was much needed. I think that people are becoming more absorbed in themselves and less concerned with how they treat others. When you take time to look around you and notice that you are not the only person in the restaurant, or grocery store, or wherever, you are showing common courtesy. There have been times when someone in our party is in the bathroom, or running a little late and I have let others go ahead of me so we aren't holding people up. But on the other hand, I have been the recipient of that sort of kindness. It's a long story, but the gist of it was being at the Driver's License Division with my 9 month old baby, long lines of course and when someone else gave up and left, they gave their ticket to me. No one else minded because I had the baby. Everyone was so nice even though they had been there before me and would be long after I left. Thanks for all of your input on manners and etiquette, it's great!
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