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Peggy M. Parks, AICI CIP, CPBS

Ambassador of Corporate Civility

The Parks Image Group

Ambassadors of Corporate Civility
serving company, leadership and staff
Peggy M. Parks, AICI CIP, CPBS
Contact The Parks Image Group today and let us help you:
  • build corporate credibility and staff confidence; and
  • ensure that your employees at every level of the company represent your corporate brand and message, both internally and when they interact with the public.

No Cuts, No Buts: The Etiquette of Waiting in Line

June 6, 2010 by RoseNew

A friend of mine has recently been traveling along the British coast. She and a friend were entering a crowded pay parking lot and were about to turn into a space when a woman stepped up and blocked their path, claiming the space as her own. That she was on foot and there was a long line of cars waiting to park didn’t matter. She refused to budge despite honking horns and angry comments.

Needless to say, my friend was outraged by the woman’s behavior and complete disregard for the protocols of a line. The woman turned out to be French, and my friend’s British travel buddy commented that, while the Brits consider “the queue” to be a formal, orderly process, apparently French people have a bad reputation for cutting ahead. Who knew?

This is a great example of the importance of returning to civility. We are taught in kindergarten about lining up and waiting your turn—there’s no excuse for grown people to cut or charge ahead of people who have been patiently waiting for a longer period of time. I find it hard to bite my tongue when I see someone cutting ahead, even if I’m not the next to be served. But oftentimes I’ve noticed that if you point out that it was someone else’s turn, the “cutter” will get angry, even though they are in the wrong.

So let’s all take a moment to grow up and practice a little etiquette. Be patient. Wait your turn. Be observant so that you don’t accidentally cut in front of someone. And if someone busts you for cutting, apologize and step aside—there’s no need to be nasty. Also, stop feeling so entitled. Your baby may be crying, you may be pressed for time, or perhaps you just feel like you only need a quick transaction and you shouldn’t have to wait. Suck it up and wait your turn!

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Filed Under: Etiquette Tagged With: etiquette, Image, image consultant, parks image group, peggy parks, waiting, waiting in line

American City Business Journal – Guest Columnist

Peggy is the ongoing guest etiquette and civility columnist for American City Business Journal’s How To blog. ACBJ is the parent company to the Atlanta Business Chronicle and its 39 sibling newspapers throughout the country. You can see a list of her most recent American City Business Journal articles here.

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Read Peggy’s Most Recent Blog Posts

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