Queue jumpers

[Mushroomsarehorrible]

Why do us Brits get so wound up about queue jumping when other cultures / societies happily bundle and jostle and push in and no one gets angry about it?

I see so many arguments over people 'pushing in' on my commute into work. Queue pushers annoy me too, to me it just seems so obnoxious and ignorant to queue jump but I wish I didn't bother me! I usually bite my tongue but v occasionally I will say something. AIBU for being pissed off and if I am, can you tell me why queue pushers don't get your back up... I'm usually pretty easy going but this is my bugbear!

Love her stupidly “funnneee” fake-username.

Because we have manners ;)

People like her need to be called out on her behaviour. I imagine then she would be shamed into slithering back to her proper place in the queue.

I'll always allow elderly or disabled people in front of me in a queue for a train or bus.
Underground turnstiles are in my opinion free for all and if you are faffing, I'm pushing in front of you. Oyster cards out ready please people!

i think business travel involves the most stressful queuing of all.

picture the scene: pretty much any gate in Europe, waiting for an Easyjet flight to board.

everyone has hand luggage only and no reserved seats. it’s all sort of casual like, just mooching about, but everyone is watching the clock and as it gets nearer to boarding, people start to eeeever so slowly, silently, glide toward the gate. toeing bags forwards an inch at a time, staking your claim and absolutely no eye contact.

then it’s gate, boarding pass, and then the running-but-not-running through the air bridge/across the tarmac (Jerez airport wins the prize for the plane being so far from the terminal that everyone gave up trying to get there first and just grimly trudged ever-onwards in 30 degree heat) and then oh shit, which steps WHICH STEPS FRONT OR BACK? board, bag in locker (elbows. remember to lock your elbows) and collapse.

still, it’s all very civilised. unlike St. Petersburg, or Istanbul, or Odessa, where it’s Thunderdome all the way to the plane.

i love a good queue, me. and i don’t miss business travel at all.

Where we are in Germany, queue-jumping is entirely normal, accepted behaviour.

Actually I once benefited from that.

Years ago when DD was a baby, less than 1 year, I was flying alone with her on a long haul flight. Unfortunately the plane never took off because of a technical issue so we all had to get off at Heathrow in the we small hours and queue outside for buses to take us to airport hotels. I was near the back of the queue holding DD when a late middle-aged German lady took me by the elbow and insisted on steering me to the front of the queue insisting to everybody else "This lady must get on the next bus she has a small baby".

I could hear British voices in the queue saying "Oh, we are all waiting" and similar and felt a bit embarrassed but basically let the German lady take charge and push me to the front. Thinking about it that probably meant she got on the same bus as me.......

I loathe queue jumpers, but I have been known to do it when there’s an unnecessary queue, like the situation the pp described in McDonald’s above.

The main example I can think of is at my work, where the entrance has two revolving doors. People don’t seem to know how these work, and often form queues on one side while people stream through in the other direction. The beauty of the revolving door is that people can enter and exit at the same time, there’s no need to wait until it’s empty. Drives me batshit. I have been known to walk past the pointless queue and through the revolving door, hopefully teaching the queuers that there is no need to wait. I have been tutted at for my pains .

I come from what you'd call a non-queueing country

It is not that we do not queue, we do, but as others have said we do not stand in a line. Most 'queues' will involve getting a number and waiting to be called, or, my favorite, simply asking who is the last person.

Re queue jumping - if you are waiting for ages and someone jumps the (non-linear) queue of course people will not like it and say something, but it is true that it is not the end of the world. You'd just say 'sorry I think I was first'. No need to get totally irritated by it, like in it happens in the UK.

@cowfacemonkey
We went to Disneyland Paris a few years ago and we’re pretty shocked at the queue jumping so when we went this year we just embraced it and went with a when in Rome attitude. It was bizarrely liberating and saved us getting pissed of with others. Wouldn’t dream of doing it back home though (except at a busy bar where all bets seem to be off as to who gets served when!))

This is very interesting. I always thought that (the liberating feeling)

I have a question for everyone - imagine that no one could tell that you are jumping the queue, would you do it?

At my local hospital, there are often long queues for the car parks. One in particular is really bad, but the queues move slightly more quickly than others. The queues are so long that they go along the side of the road, with a gap for a junction, then continuing on along the road.

I have seen absolute rage when people have tried to push in at the gap for the junction instead of joining the end of the queue. This dick move also blocks the way for ambulances. I was gobsmacked though when a woman pulled into the entrance of the carpark, completely jumping the queue, as the next person along went to move up. Three people got out of their cars, each telling this woman to get back out of the queue before she finally did. I had been waiting for 40 minutes at this point, and would have confronted her myself had i not had dd in the car. Some people just are beyond selfish.

I could hear British voices in the queue saying "Oh, we are all waiting"

That's embarrassing. There's a big difference between queue jumping and allowing those who are more needy to go first. I would definitely let people with small babies go ahead of me with zero complaint.

Are buses 8 and 9 arriving at the same time? Because if they are and you use that method of queing here, bus number 9 is going to leave without you.

I noticed this at my Dds swimming lessons. Parents collect their children from a corridor next to the pool.

Instead of keeping the middle of the corridor clear for the wet kids coming out of the pool and queuing at both sides, late comers just stroll to the front. So not only are they jumping the queue they are also making it awkward for the wet kids needing to squeeze through the scrum.

I noticed it was mostly a mix of people from other cultures and upper middle class English people. Whoever they are they are thick skinned!!

Rafals in that case I would just go straight to number 9 and make sure to flag down the driver . I’ve missed buses when number 8 is picking up people and nobody waves down 9 and it just drives past .

Where does that happen? Not in London!

In a pretty large town near Manchester.

I usually hate queue jumpers but am ashamed today I did this at my bus stop. I got to the stop and there is one women sat in the middle of the shelter. Looks at me but doesn't move up. So I stand next to her. Man comes along after me sees the gap by bus stop end, sighs heavily then just walks to the gap - wish I had done that.
My bus comes, so as usual I step out and signal the bus - cause they will drive past if you don't. No one else moves, bus pulls up and I get on only to have the woman sat in the middle get on behind me tutting loudly. Then she follows me upstairs giving me the most evil look.
So I did jump the queue her but only because I had no idea she wanted the bus. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't signalled the bus, I expect we would have both watched as it sailed past and then had to listen to her complain about the driver

I'd just roll my eyes at that daft woman. You both made it on to the bus so she's got nothing to complain about

First bus out of Disneyland California and it was a free for all (must be a Disney thing). I was tired, grumpy and my feet were killing me. Quickly adopted the 'if you can't beat them join them' attitude from there on in.

I had a great one the other week in Tesco where I was just starting to put my stuff on the belt when a man with no trolley or shopping wandered in front of me. His wife then came up behind a minute later with her full trolley and tried to tell me she was first. I laughed. She said 'Oh well you don't have much go first'. I told her I intended to.

@dragongirlx I dislike people like that.

I end up queue jumping in that way at a bus stop near my house all the time. Four different buses can turn up but normally 2 turn up at once. If no one flags down the one behind, even though it isn't a request bus stop, it will sail pass.

It happens at that bus stop all the time with lots of different people. I did consider putting up rules for queuing at the bus stop but realised that was a step too far

It would have included
if you don't step out to signal the bus you can't get on first and
people who choose to stay outside the shelter do not get to push on the bus first

I may be slightly obsessed with bus etiquette

I will never return to Disneyland Paris for this precise reason! Never seen such rudeness and disregard for other people. Disneyland Florida was relaxing in comparison.

That was before we regularly started driving across Europe though. Italy was the worse place for it.

Notice it a lot among the non UK Europeans in my town now. I called a guy out on it when he just walked in behind the person who was currently being served despite there being a long visible queue behind them. I was about the 3rd or 4th person behind but the people who he'd jumped in front of did not say a word (he just flapped his hands at me and stayed there)and just looked at the ground. That made me madder than him jumping in in the first place!

Can't abide queue jumping. Nobody wants to wait but it's just one of those things.

It's very much "my time is more important than yours". And I agree that it's strong aggressive men who will get everything first if there are no queues. Followed by other fit and healthy people who are in fact the most able to wait.

That’s what happens here, muted. And sometimes the back of the queue becomes the front.

At least she only tutted, dragon. I was once shoved, followed by ‘not you’. By some woman who thought I’d queue jumped.

Crikey what’s reduced in IKEA that warrants queuing on Boxing Day!!!!!!!

I think it’s always been the way but since the war rationing etc it’s now so ingrained in our culture it won’t never change

I’ll call people up on it too

Queuing in a Mexican market, little old lady pushes to the front and was firmly told get behind the white guy, he's next.