Sunday 3 August 2014

Day 6 Queues

They say queuing is a British prerogative, almost an art form, but I think that is a tired stereotype and certainly not one that I subscribe to. I hate queuing especially if you have to pick a line, because then you know for sure that the line you pick will go slower than all the others around and you’ll end up cursing yourself for backing the wrong donkey. Even when they set up one of those obstacle courses so everyone is in the same queue, queuing can be a drag, especially if the queue is not very long so you end up zigzagging half a mile just to join the end of a 3 person queue. But where I am British I suppose is that I firmly believe that when a queuing procedure has been established people should bloody well stick to it. In fact I think sticking to a queuing system is a basic human right. Now Marks and Spencer in Prague has a very logical queuing system, an ‘in' and an ‘out' bit with a clear sign in English and Czech that says 'queue this way'. So being the law abiding citizen that I am, I queue that way. But almost every time I am in that queue someone enters from the ‘out’ bit - starting a different queue. Now either people are stupid and don’t see the other queue or they are conniving and sly and want to jump the queue either one does not reflect well on them but the real villains of this piece are not those who break the rules but those who are responsible for policing the them and allow the queue jumpers to get away with it. Yes, I am talking about the shop assistants in Marks and Spencer. Now you would think that when the shop assistants see such flagrant breaking of the rules they would politely remind the erroneous queuers that they have made a mistake and should join the proper line. But they don’t, instead they serve them, thus legitimising their actions and encouraging others to do the same. That can only lead to one thing, anarchy in M and S.

If you enjoyed this you might enjoy my short story blog, updated with a new story every weekday. Find it here.

1 comment:

  1. When I travel by bus or train or low budget airlines in Poland I dream about some queue policy or tradition. People in Poland have a tendency to form or better to say create a huge living mass of crowding individuals who swarm around the gates or doors to vehicles blocking any kind of logical flow, whether you want to get on or off. Such behaviour leaves me helpless on the side waiting for everybody to find their seats because I do not enjoy elbowing or stepping

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