Hi, my name is Randy Hill and I am just one of thousands of people around the world, tired and frustrated with the lack of consideration that is displayed by a growing "demographic" that I call, "the great unwashed and ill-mannered." People who can't seem to get outside their little world long enough to see the stress that they create on the rest of the population.
Hey Travelers – Mind Your Manners!
By Randy | November 28, 2008
83 Percent Believe Air Travelers have Become Ruder in the Past Ten Years
Oblivious Parents Top List of Most Annoying Travelers
NEWTON, Mass., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ — TripAdvisor(R) (www.tripadvisor.com), the world’s largest travel community, today announced the results of a survey of more than 1,100 U.S. travelers about annoying and rude traveler behavior.
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays…
But unfortunately, if you have to take a plane to get there, you’ll most likely encounter rude travelers. Eighty-three percent of respondents said air travelers have gotten ruder over the past 10 years, and 24 percent of respondents think travelers are ruder during the holidays.
Kids Gone Wild
When we asked respondents to identify the most annoying air travelers, oblivious parents topped the list (59 percent), followed by people who recline their seat during meal service and travelers who talk nonstop although you’re sending clear signals you want to be left alone. “The people traveling with kids and the people traveling without them tend to be equally vocal about how annoying the other group is,” said Michele Perry, vice president of global communications for TripAdvisor. “Perhaps it’s due to more kids flying during the holidays – or, rather, more parents unaccustomed to flying with their kids taking to the air.”
Clean Up on Aisle 6
Please make sure you leave time to take a quick shower before arriving at the airport, say 54 percent of travelers. Travelers with offensive body odor topped our list of rudest flyers, followed by people who talk on mobile phones at the top of their lungs while strolling through the airport, and people who are rude to airline staff. “If all else fails, you can buy deodorant in the airport shops,” said Perry. “And just because you have a Bluetooth headset doesn’t mean you need to use it constantly.”
Plane Talk
Speaking of mobile phones, 80 percent of respondents think allowing the use of them on planes will make people ruder.
Stop the Madness
Sixty-eight percent of respondents have asked another traveler to stop doing something rude. Thirty-five percent think a flight attendant should get involved when someone’s bad behavior bothers several people.
Rough Road
Mobile phones affect drivers as well – our respondents think the rudest drivers are those who jabber on their phones and do not pay attention to the road (55 percent.) The number two and three rudest drivers are, respectively, people who cut into exit lines at the last minute to jump in front of everyone, and people who tailgate.
We Hope You’re Not Sitting Next to These People
We asked our respondents to describe the rudest behavior they’ve ever seen on a flight. These are our favorites:
— A lady telling her kid to stop kicking the seat in front of them because the mean lady wants them to stop. — A man clipping his toenails while sprawling on the floor at the gate. — A party of nine preboarding and sitting in all the first-class seats because they had never flown before and thought it was “first come, first served.” They created a scene when they were told they could not sit in first-class by the airline stewardesses and that their tickets were in the coach section. This held up the flight 49 minutes. — A man in front of me picking scabs off his bald head. — A man loudly passing gas on the plane. Hello, you can’t open the windows!!! — A man yelling at a mom traveling by herself with a screaming baby… he told her to shut the kid up, when it was obvious she was trying to. The baby was less than a year old. — A person packed Thanksgiving leftovers into containers that leaked all over the overhead compartments and down onto passengers below on an extremely crowded flight. — A guy sitting next to me with a wad of chew, spitting into a cup throughout the flight. — An intoxicated woman who kept hugging me and touching me even though I asked her to stop. — A movie star changing his baby’s poopy diapers while sprawled across two seats in business class and then handing the dirty diaper to the flight attendant during meal service from LHR to LAX.
Stop the Insanity
So how do we solve the problem? Sixty-one percent of our respondents recommended following the Golden Rule (do unto other travelers as you’d have them do unto you) and 53 percent suggested that we all try to have a positive attitude. “We’re all in this together,” said Perry. “By minding our manners and adhering to basic travel etiquette – much of which is really just common sense – we can make holiday travel a little easier for everyone.”
TripAdvisor is a registered trademark of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.
(C) 2008 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.
*Source: comScore Media Metrix, July 2008
SOURCE TripAdvisor, LLC
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Bad manners at work: The top 5
By Randy | November 15, 2008
Is there no end to the nasty things some people do at work? Here’s my top 5. What are some of yours?
• Not flushing the toilet
• Clipping your fingernails or toenails at work
• Not cleaning out your old food from the shared, company refrigerator|
• Stealing food from the shared, company refrigerator that isn’t yours or from other people’s desks or work areas
• Loud cell phone ring tones in a cubicle office environment that disturb your office mates
Topics: Etiquette in Public Places, Workplace Manners | No Comments »
Holiday manners for your pet?
By Randy | November 10, 2008
Okay, I have to admit, even I hadn’t thought about posting something about pets manners. Someone had to do it. Check this out…It might save your holidays.
Topics: Holiday Etiquette | No Comments »
Overheard in public
By Randy | October 7, 2008
Guy on cell phone: “Did they sell their house?”
(pause)
“Ohhh, they COULDN’T sell the house!… Yeah… That makes sense! Ain’t nobody can’t get credit now, ho!”
(pause)
“Wait, I didn’t mean to call you a ho, grandma…”
Topics: Cell Phone Etiquette, Etiquette in Public Places | No Comments »
Don’t fume at the gas pump
By Randy | September 29, 2008
Gas lines. Who doesn’t hate them? What I hate even more are people who break in line, either in ignorance or on purpose; people who take forever to pay…the list goes on and on.
Okay, so help make a potentially bad experience into a better one. What can you do?
Pay with a debit card – it’s much faster. Don’t check your oil, wash your windows, check the tire pressure while you are in line. Wait until you get home. Move up to the pump farthest from you in line so the next person can pull in behind you.
Simple little tips that can make life at the gas pump that more tolerable.
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New Documentary: “To Hell With Manners”
By Randy | September 18, 2008
The Decline of Civility
Have we lost all respect for our fellow citizens, or should we blame it on our sped up and chaotic lives? In the new CTV Original Documentary To Hell with Manners! The Decline of Civility, award-winning Montreal filmmaker John Curtin travels across North America and the U.K., proving just how disrespectful society has become. With narration by William Shatner.
Rudeness is on the rise, and this documentary counts the ways. From cell phone abusers broadcasting their chatter to the world to enraged motorists cutting each other off on the highway. From airline passengers going bonkers at altitude to employees losing it in the office. Watch people not hold the door open for one another and not say thank you when someone else does. See a visibly pregnant woman left standing on the subway. Discover how we insult strangers, anonymously, on the internet.
To Hell With Manners! The Decline of Civility airs on CTV this Saturday at 7 p.m.
Topics: Cell Phone Etiquette, Etiquette in Public Places, Travel Etiquette, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Bad manners taking off
By Randy | September 11, 2008
Long lines, extra security and flight disruption are all resulting in airline passengers getting ruder. Almost three-quarters of British travelers say fellow passengers have become less polite, a survey by a travel website found The state of the airline industry and the decline in general politeness are seen as the main causes of rudeness.
Topics: Etiquette in Public Places, Travel Etiquette | No Comments »
Take my advice; I didn’t.
By Randy | August 18, 2008
Took a trip to the Oregon coast this past weekend along with the rest of Oregon. Bumper to bumper…tempers flaring; brake lights as far as the eye can see.
Every few miles on this two lane highway that thousands of people are expected to use to head to the coast on, you will come across a passing lane that lasts for a mile or two. This is where everyone tries to outrace the other to get into the lead. Sadly, I did the same thing. I even felt a twinge or two of road rage.
What is it about human nature that you feel like you have to beat the other guy? It must be primal, because it welled up inside of me in a matter of seconds.
Remember, it’s not a race. The real goal is to arrive alive and safe. Stifle the urge to beat the other guy.
Topics: Etiquette in Public Places | No Comments »
Operation Nice
By Randy | August 1, 2008
Here’s a new blog that I think you will find very – nice! A friend of mine started the blog and I think it’s one blog that “needed doin.” Thanks, Mel!
Topics: Etiquette in Public Places, Gift Giving and Receiving, Tipping, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Waiter leaves dining tips
By Randy | July 31, 2008
I read an interesting little article in USAToday at lunch this afternoon. Steve Dublanica has written a new book titled,Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip — Confessions of a Cynical Waiter (Ecco, $24.95) Here’s a choice little excerpt:
Q. In the decade you’ve waited tables, have customers become ruder?
A. People’s social graces are diminishing somewhat. Civility is down.
Q. What are the five worst customer sins?
A. Not being polite — your basic please and thank you. Tipping less than 15%. Grabbing the waiter. Ordering things not on the menu. And saying, “I’m friends with the owner.”
Read the rest of the interview here.
Topics: Etiquette in Public Places, Tipping | No Comments »