It’s inevitable that whilst the amount of technology increases, our attitudes and typical way of life will adapt as we worm our way through the twenty-first century. Is there any need, however, for general manners and etiquette to change? Indeed it certainly seems that bad manners are seeping out of every pore in society.
Take Jo Clarke in Sainsbury’s for example; she carried on talking on her mobile phone whilst the lady at the till was attempting to serve her yet the cashier was in the wrong. Oh, I do apologise, how rude it was for her to interrupt this lady’s highly important conversation…a conversation in place to apparently explain that she was just about to leave the store. So not an urgent, life threatening problem which might otherwise excuse her actions. Let us be honest about this, the cashier did not respond to the customer’s, ‘Apologies, I didn't realise that it was Sainsbury's policy that you are unable to use your phone at the checkout’ in a particularly polite manner, ‘you learn something new everyday’. On the other hand, I have never heard someone use the word ‘apologies’ at the start of a sentence unless intended in an insulting manner.
It’s a topic which frequently irritates me, as I have been both salesperson in this situation, and a consumer waiting to be served after the buyer in front. As either person, I can say it is extremely frustrating – namely due to the huge queue which invariably continues to form, as every single checkout process is slowed down by half! In researching for this blog post, I must say I have read some rather misinformed comments which state that the cashier in question is paid to serve the customer by scanning the goods and that is all, ‘people are not paid for their niceties or to have conversations’ (coincidentally, on this note, there are some ‘interesting’ comments on The Guardian’s website). What many people do not seem to be aware of (I have no idea why, it’s not as if companies attempt to hide it…), is that most supermarkets train their staff to interact with the customer, be it ‘do you have a loyalty card?’ or even ‘that’s twelve pound fifty please’. Just because the payment due invariably pops up a little digital screen does not mean that human-human communication is automatically lost. It’s not just supermarkets that harbour this issue; have you ever tried to serve a customer made to measure shoes whilst they are babbling away on the phone? Hmm I thought not. Not only is this sort of behaviour rude, but it also implies that the salesperson is of a much lower class and worth very little. We are not living in the Edwardian era of servants anymore, so there is no need for it.
Nick Clegg stated that he has observed people using their iPads in important meetings before, and I must say I have seen the same. The disadvantage with tablets such as these is that they can be used for taking minutes of a meeting, keeping notes etc., however I am fairly certain that the user invariably ends up checking emails etc. We have all fallen foul to the lure of the internet, where you go on to look something up and end up browsing the web for a further half an hour! Heck, I started writing this post several hours ago but during my researching I found myself drawn into various articles! Families have to put limits on the amount of time their child is allowed to use the computer, because it is so easy to be enticed.
There is no denying that technology has seen so many advances in modern day society, I mean without it I would be unable to write this blog post, but it is also easy to see that unless kept on a firm leash, it will gradually rip apart the world we know and love (the love bit is debatable, I know). It’s been seen before that we are perfectly capable of ruining the Earth as it is, so why speed up the process just through lack of manners. Did you know that the only reason orangutans don’t smile is because they don’t have enough muscles in their face? We do, why don’t we use them more? If you’re one of those people with their phone constantly glued to their ear, next time you go shopping how about hanging up and saying hello to the person behind the desk? You’d be surprised that a smile goes a long way, you could be the one person who puts the cashier in a good mood on a Monday morning!
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