Being polite in shops...is there such a thing?

Question

Today when shopping an old lady asked my aunt where the quiches were - my aunt asked me and i said three aisles that way...she looked a bit confused so i took her over to them. She was so grateful and that shocks me so much..'i havent been in here for a while and they are always moving things around - i dont like to ask ppl cos mostly they either ignore you or just talk to you like you are a child'...why are ppl like that? It took me all over 30 seconds to take her to where she wanted to be...nothing..nothing at all in my day. She said id get my reward...but i dont want one for just being polite..normal as i put it.

The world these days has become so closed...so inward. Sad isnt it...i cant understand where politeness went, or how all of a sudden the older generation are now afraid to ask questions. Sorry not a proper question just an observation really but it has kinda made me sit back and look at the world.

Answer 1

Why? Because I swear that parents don't instill manners in their kids from an early age. I was taught to hold the door open for anyone, regarless of age, if I was at the door first. I tell people when they drop something and don't know it. I help people in a store if I see they have a problem reaching something.

And while I always smile and get a thank you, it's the older people who look at me (I'm in my early 30's) with surprise and gushing thanks. I know they think being polite is a lost art and are surprised that a youngster would help them.

Kids these days are just plain rude. No excuse mes or thank yous or pardon mes. They just do whatever they want. I've seen teens let doors slam in peoples' faces instead of just holding it for a couple seconds.

Sorry, it's a big rant of mine. And you have a very valid point.

Answer 2

being polite in a shop is easy, but what do I bet that most the people that have written here were rude to a least one person this last week. I worked at a ski shop in park city and we were constantly gettin letters about how nice we were, and how we went out of our way. In all honesty when people are happy it makes the day go by easier and quicker. I live in prague now and people are as a rule (with exceptions of course) not nice and not friendly, they say that if some one smiles at you, they are smiling because 1) they think they are better than you and are looking down on you or 2) they are happy, but what the hell do they have to be happy about. So either way the person being smiled at is angry

Answer 3

maybe cuz she's old. a lot of people talk to old people like they're children. i have to admit, they act like children a little sometimes and it's kind of maddening. no, it's not nice or right to treat someone badly, especially if they are nice and polite to you. the world is closed and inward because everyone focuses on themselves. is the world really more harsh today than it used to be? are old people really surprised at how younger people act these days or are they maybe just forgetting how they used to be and a little unnerved because they are insecure about their own abilities with getting old? i read somewhere, recently, that violent crime really isn't on the rise, the depiction of it is. as in, the media coverage, entertainment etc. people would have you believe it's growing. i don't know if this is actually true, i don't know what the stats are but i'm inclined to think it's a possibility. one thing is for sure, the media's in-your-face violence gives everyone more reason not to trust other people. that's where the breakdown of society is, where everyone becomes suspicious of everyone else and lives in fear and terror.

Answer 4

I would agree with you, the world is full of hasty, rude, ill mannered people. It is very upsetting and discouraging. What is the world coming to when the elderly are afraid to ask someone a question? Good for you, for being a part of the solution and taking action. Perhaps someone will see your behavior and take notice and follow with repeating the same. A little kindness goes along way. You probably made that women's day with that 30 seconds of your time. God bless you.

Answer 5

I don´t find most people to be rude. Actually, I think most young people are quite pleasant and polite.

I don´t think there was ever a golden age of wonderful manners. But I would say that the world has become more inward, perhaps as a consequence of new technologies and increased wealth, both of which permit people to live further apart.

Answer 6

I've found that in the shops where staff are polite, I'm more likely to come back but if they're disinterested or unpleasant to me, I'll do everything I can to avoid giving them any of my hard earned money. I find that in my job (motor taxation/DMV), for every polite customer, there's some upstart who thinks that because I'm a government employee, I deserve to be spoken down to, sneered at, even accused of wronging them. It effects how I treat my next customer and often they are the complete opposite of the rude ones. I see people working in shops verbally abused and I hate it because they're often doing their best to help an undeserving customer.

Answer 7

I think you've made a very important point there. I would have done exactly what you did, after all, it costs nothing to be nice. I often have chats with strangers in shops, I think it's completely normal. Once, I had served a customer in a chemists and we were having a chat about anti-depressants, when a young girl stormed over, flung a bag of nappies in front of me and said "Excuse me, I haven't got all day you know!" her boyfriend also informed me that he had been attacked on more than one occasion by people that she had offended! I don't know, some people....good job some of us are nice! x x x :)

Answer 8

Yup, my partner works as a body piercer & the amount of rudeness he encounters in the course of a day. He was out back in the loo & when he came out a guy had parked him in within the staff carpark & he asked him to move as he was leaving work in 1/2 hour & the guy started going beserk & told him that he was going to kill him. My partner was piercing the guy's wife, who was rather embarrassed about it all. So many people go into the shop & try to get in arguements - I just don't get it.

One of my friends works at a petrol station & in one day he was yelled at 5 or 6 times, hit by 2 cars, threatened with violence about 3 times & actually punched once. This was Thursday morning by 10am.

People are so self important & disinterested, it's really sad.

Answer 9

Yeah, I agree, I'm only 26 and I can see people younger than me with no manners at all. The other day, for instance, I saw this teenage girl walk into this old lady with a stick, this teenage girl was prating around and didn't see her. The girl just gave the old lady a dirty look and walked off, no 'sorry about that' or anything! What is going on in the world?????

Answer 10

You know - whenever i go out to a supermarket i make it a point - even a ritual - to talk to and smile at atleast 2 people - and they always smile back - strike up a conversation - every one feels the same - i';s just making the first move - people are all lonely in this closed world - reach out and give them a smile - the reward is always there in the smile, in the warmth - if they don't smile back - then it's their loss not yours!