Taking cuts in line. Not sharing on the school yard. When is it right?
I was standing in line ready to check out at a local store—which I'll call Trader Jose's—when, out of nowhere, a woman attempted to squeeze by me. She couldn't until I was literally forced by her body to move. She proceeded to slide her atm/cc before she even put down her items. The cashier looked up at me with a "what-should-I-do" expression, all the while scanning this woman's items.
No, the woman did not say a word or look at me. She turned and walked away with her bag. The cashier sheepishly greeted me, uncertain of my reaction. At that moment, I felt disheartened and curious about why that woman thought that pushing me to the side and "taking cuts" was acceptable.
A simple "Do you mind if I go ahead of you?" works wonders.
What would you do?
Rosalinda Oropeza Randall is an etiquette consultant who owns Your Relationship Edge in which she teaches classes and presents workshops to a variety of audiences. She can be reached at rosalinda@yourrelationshipedge.com and her website is www.yourrelationshipedge.com. She can also be reached on Facebook.
