What do I mean by mind your P’s and Q’s?
On a recent flight to Mexico, I was sadly made aware of how rude our society has become. I was on a United flight from Newark to Cancun at 8 am. The flight attendants on board were bubbly and friendly. One, in particular, caught my eye as she was very conversational with many of the passengers. Listening to her speak with the passengers in front of me we learned she was in her seventies, from Hawaii, and still had 9 kids living at home. She didn’t look a day over 60, and needless to say, we were all shocked when she shared her age.
Later in the flight during the in-service, she was the one who happened to serve me. The standard “What would you like to drink?”. I said, “May I have a ginger ale, please.” Her response completely caught me off guard when she thanked me for my manners. She told me it is not very often that anyone uses the word please anymore and that I was very well-mannered. I was shocked.
Is please not an automatic word to use when requesting something?
After hearing this, I decided to keep my ears open through the rest of the flight and service. And oddly enough, she was right. Almost no one was using their manners. I even heard her voice again from the back compliment another passenger like myself. All I could think was have we really strayed so far from our common roots that I am sure most all of us were taught as children.
If your parents didn’t teach you, then certainly using good manners was posted in some cute poster form and practiced by your teachers at school. Seriously, how hard is it to remember words such as please, thank you, and excuse me? Obviously, one simple word can totally change your interaction with a stranger or even a friend. Have we not all grown up hearing, “one kind word can change someone’s entire day”?
For those of us who have forgotten, or get to busy in our lives to remember here is a list of things we learned as toddlers that should never be forgotten:
Use good manners every day.
Say “please”, “thank you”, “excuse me”, “you’re welcome”
Respect others, particularly those elder
Be kind to others
Respect other people’s property
Help keep a clean environment.
Treat others the way you wish to be treated.
Greet people with “Hi” and “How are you?”
Put your electronics down when speaking with someone.
Open doors for others
SMILE
The next time you’re on a flight, standing in line, or out shopping, I challenge you to use your manners and see if you can brighten someone’s day!
Lisa Rossmeissl is the owner of Boomerang Escapes, a home-based agency located in Old Bridge, New Jersey with agents in TN, MS, and WI.
She has been a professional travel consultant since 2008 and specializes in Australia and the South Pacific. Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, and Cook Islands are among the specialist certificates she holds. Her agency’s focus is on creating custom itineraries with their client’s wants, desires, and budgets in mind. She and her planners believe in getting to know the traveler to ensure they have a vacation to remember. With each planner specializing in a different market area, Boomerang Escapes can offer a wide variety of leisure vacation planning.
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