Courtesy Issues to Ponder

Courtesy Issues to Ponder

  • Why do many people litter when a trash barrel is only several yards away?
  • When I am in line at a store with one item and the person in front of me has many more, why doesn’t he/she ask me to advance? Should I initiate the idea?
  • Have you ever held a door open for someone who walks through and says nothing?
  • Have you ever been so oblivious while shopping that your cart blocks the aisle?
  • Have you ever been behind someone at a register who obviously knew that he/she was going shopping at that place and would pay by check, yet kept you waiting because he/she had filled in nothing beforehand?
  • Have you ever loaned money to a “friend” who misled you about the situation and then you later discovered that said person had purchased goods and/or enjoyed a vacation as you waited for any repayment that has never been made and, likely, never will be?
  • Have you ever ordered a pizza and discovered the wrong type or one dozen doughnuts and discovered only eleven or the wrong combination when you got home? How should the situation be corrected by management? Have you ever been told to come back (investing your time, gas, effort, disrupting your schedule, etc.) simply to get another doughnut? Henceforth, why not always examine your order at the counter before departing?
  • What are your feelings and how do you react when someone insults you? What factors affect your decision?
  • What factors cause you to deviate from your normal character or to lose self-control?
  • How many times has someone promised to contact you and never done so or promised to arrive at a certain time and been very late? What should the response be to these people?
  • What is your policy toward acknowledging people after you have initiated a greeting with them on various occasions and they always wait for you to say the first word each time?
  • Have you ever sarcastically said “you’re welcome” to someone after he/she failed to say “thank you” after you performed a favor?
  • Are you patient and courteous with people (especially the elderly) who constantly repeat themselves, move painstakingly slowly, or somehow act bizarrely through no fault of their own?