Woman in Airline Check-In Queue

[Zilverblue]

Not life or death but a question of modern manners!

I was standing in a long and slow moving check in queue for a flight recently. One of the queues where they weigh and check the size of your hand luggage. It really wasn't going anywhere fast as there was plenty of time before the flight left, in fact it wasn't moving at all as they hadn't started letting people through yet.

The woman behind me kept jostling me, touching me, so that she was almost at my shoulder. I think she wanted me to stand really close to the people in front and do the same to them. So, hoping she would get the hint, I pulled back my hair (it gets caught under my bag strap anyway, as its very long) and of course it made contact with her. More nudging and jostling from her in response. So I did it again. This time there was loud sighing and tutting from her.

So I turned to her and said "Maybe you might stand a little less close. Or perhaps you are so desperate, you might prefer me to let you in front of me" (in the non-moving queue).

This resulted in a long, deep sigh and the words "behave yourself" and a rant about how I shouldn't "flick my hair at her". Then a brief and reasonably quiet argument ensued, the queue started moving and she barged past me. Sympathetic looks from other passengers.

Who was U?

[Marylou2]

YANBU. I think some people were off school on the day they did the personal space class!! A metre is the very least unless you are a friend or family.

[Aridane]

Just ask her to stop standing too close / jostling you. Don't flick your hair in her face.

[sashh]

I'd have turned around and said quite loudly, "I'm straight, not interested, stop touching me, OK?"

[19lottie82]

could you not have put your trolley / suitcase between you and this awful woman?

[Carrierpenguin]

I would have started coughing, scratching and sniffing a lot. That would have scared her.

[PingPongBat]

at sashh - love this idea

[momofmonster]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who does the hair flick when people get too close!!!

She was definity BU

[EmptyNestAgain]

i've had this. Drives me NUTS.The last time I turned to the woman and said"they're black ones" she looked a bit puzzled, but then i said " my knickers. I assumed you were getting so close so you could see." it 's my standard response to space invaders. She moved back, sharpish.My DH, though, was mortified! He didn't speak to me for ages!

[EmptyNestAgain]

oh, and she was definitely being unreasonable.

[KatoPotato]

I hate space invaders! Yanbu. I had one at the self scan in Morrisons yesterday. Mounted her stuff while I was still lacking mine. I just spent even longer re packing then adjusting my handbag etc.

[Gruntfuttock]

"This resulted in a long, deep sigh and the words "behave yourself""

If I was in your place OP and she'd told me to behave myself I think the red mist would have come down and she'd have found herself slightly murdered!

[Zilverblue]

could you not have put your trolley / suitcase between you and this awful woman?

She actually knocked my suitcase so that it was leaning against my legs. Twice. Before I "flicked" my hair.

Re the "hair flicking". I've never heard it described as that before, but the woman accused me of doing it, after I'd asked her if she would prefer to go in front of me (albeit in a passive aggressive, mightily pissed off sarcastic tone of voice).

It was a narrow queue too, families were standing in single file because of the barriers. And no, we weren't there too long either!

Oh please, never let me become one of those women that behaves like this!

[peppersaunt]

You are so NBU! Have you tried the readjusting your shoulder bag --whipping
it around behind you--

[peppersaunt]

Strike through fail...

[Bewooohooove]

An oap woman pushed up so close to me in the shop last week that she was able to see me typing in my PIN number on the pad. I stopped and looked right at her and made a theatre of rotating the pad round and covering it with my hand. The checkout op was even at her.

[Honeezreturnofthelivingdead]

You should of had my DH with you. He can fart on demand, she would of left the building!

[Clarabell33]

I do what peppersaunt suggested. I tend to have a medium-sized but quite heavy rucksack as hand luggage which genuinely does need to be hoicked up on my shoulder every so often (usually carried on one shoulder in airport queues so I can swing it round to the front to get out passport etc). I can be considerate about making sure I'm not going to whack anyone with it, but if the person behind is so close that I can feel their breath on my neck, then it's only mostly an accident if they get whacked with my bag when I vigorously swing it round or adjust it.

[BeGhoul]

oh people like this are all too common and really fuck me off. I wish I had hair long enough to flick.

Well done OP :)

I try and remember to use tai chi principles for space invaders - when someone gets too close on the tube (for example) with their legs or body, rather than move away from them, you move into them. And then they move away themselves.

[Rainbunny]

I swear people turn into zombie sheep in these situations. This happens to me at the supermarket. I'll be standing while my items are going through, then when they've all been scanned and I'm using my card to pay, some pushy person in line behind me will actually move up to stand practically on top of me as they think it's their turn to be at front, however I am still trying to pay for my shopping! It's crazy, it's like they're oblivious to the fact that I haven't finished my transaction. Sometimes I'll politely ask for a little space to finish paying (and protect my card details) and the offender will stare at me like I magically just appeared from thin air.

I even had a young woman walk right infront of me at starbucks once. I was in the middle of giving my order when she stepped right into to small space between my and the counter infront and started ordering. The Starbucks employee and me just looked stared at each other and the employee told her she would need to join the queue to order and finally the girl notices me and the two people standing in line behind me. Of course she managed to look annoyed at us for being in her way.

[wowfudge]

It's airports - they really do make normally rational people behave like idiots. It's a mix of excitement/anticipation and/or fear of missing the flight.

And something to do with queues - like the people who are itching to reach over you to get the 'next customer' sign for the supermarket conveyor belt, even though they've left a three foot gap between their shopping and mine. I feel like saying, 'I won't pay for your stuff and you don't pay for mine, okay?'

[rookiemater]

I do get annoyed when people stand too close, but would it not have been more pleasant just to ask her to move back?

But ifuknow I'm not sure what this has in common with people who need to go to the toilet as soon as the airplane sign is off. I'm generally one of those people - I always request an aisle seat if I can as I do go to the loo a lot. It may only be a short flight, but by the time I have queued up, waited in the holding pen and got onto the flight it's generally been an hour or so since I have had the opportunity to go to the toilet, and I'm not sure why anyone would care, provided I don't inconvenience them.

[Hatespiders]

Some people are the pits aren't they? We recently were queuing at the petrol pump at Tesco's, behind a dear old man who was clearly very frail. He did everything in painfully slow motion. The car behind us started sounding his horn and gesticulating for the man to hurry up. It was sad to see the old boy's face. He was desperately trying to get the pump nozzle off the hook. My darling h got out, turned and scowled at the hooter, then spoke gently to the chap and helped him fill his car. He then offered his arm and the old man gratefully accepted it to the pay desk. I was proud of him. But I could have slapped that impatient twat.

[coldwater1]

I hate people too close to me, i usually ask if they're hoping for a piggyback!

[ifuknow]

Rookiemater I too like an aisle seat, I get all settled with my book and invariably have to move for a fellow passenger to go to the loo, it just annoys me - I should be more considerate myself I guess.
HateSpiders your DH sounds lovely.

[Sonder]

That is how we queue in India! Everyone touching everyone. Imagine my surprise when I queued in England as an adult and there was a big gap between everyone! It's an even bigger gap in Denmark and Finland, they take their personal space even more seriously.