Thanking people (wet tunnel scenario)

[squidzin]

Hello.
I often enjoy an afternoon walk with my baby in pram. Sometimes we get to a rail bridge / tunnel bit, quite low and thin, about 10 metres long.

We've had a lot of rain, so today there was a huge muddy puddle with only a slim stretch of gravel path to the side to go along unless you want to walk through muddy water.

So today, I was about half way through the tunnel walking through with pram along skinny bit, and this bloke appears at the other end, who sees me, so waits before coming through.

I prefer to avoid eye contact at all costs and tbh was more worried about my pram tipping than anything so trundled along out of the tunnel.

I hear this tutch and "SAY THANKYOU"... I just looked back and gave a confused look to this bloke who was I presume just avoiding getting his feet wet. It certainly was not a "give way" situation. Just self interest.

Anyway it got me thinking, sometimes I dont always thank people who stop driving at the zebra crossing if I am already walking across because basically they legally have to if they want to avoid running someone over, but I have seen other ppl do this.

I do always thank eg shop assistants for giving change back though, and waiters etc, and am not like a generally rude person.

Anyway, would YOU have automatically thanked the man on the other side of the tunnel? Would you have shouted at someone for not thanking if it were you?

I think he was a bit out of order tbh.

Yep, it would have been appropriate to thank him. Very mean-spirited to use some technicality of me-first-you-first as an excuse to yourself.
I always wonder what is going through the head of people who refuse to acknowledge others.
If it is your habit to treat people like that, know that the 90% of the population who don't call you on it aloud, almost certainly call you far worse in their heads.

I would have thanked him AND I would have sped up a bit so I didn't keep him waiting. He was doing something that facilitated your path through the tunnel - doesn't really matter what his reasons for doing that were. I wouldn't have said anything out loud if I was him but I would have been thinking it.

There are genuine occasions when people are distracted and aren't really in the moment. A failure to thank in those instances is acceptable I think. But that wasn't the case here.

I would have said thank you. What he did made my life a bit easier. Whether that was his intent or not.

I wouldn't have muttered at you though. In my head I would have been think you were rude though

I do often say thank you in these types of scenarios, but not always eg if I wouldn't expect to be thanked myself, in reverse.

What? So saying thank you, is dependent on the likelihood of you receiving a thank you in a reverse situation. What would you actually lose by acknowledging someone being thoughtful?

DD is 8 and I always encourage her to acknowledge someone else's thoughtfulness, it costs absolutely nothing.

I'm glad you're open to persuasion, squidzin! I knew you weren't really a rude bat!

It's like saying "sorry" when you are bumped into on a busy street. It doesn't matter if it was they bumped into you, it just makes the world run a more smoothly and there's no real blame attached. It means also that when you bump someone similarly they are just as likely to apologise to you as you are to them. And no one worries.

Of course you thank people who stop at zebra crossing .... I cannot believe you were so rude .... Firstly to not make eye contact and then secondly to not say thank you !!!!

Rude is an understatement!!!!