Wednesday, September 20, 2006

A Few "Rules" I Follow

Check and see if the guy opens the door for you. Small gesture. Big telling sign.

Open the door for the elderly. Just do it.

Never snap your fingers at the waiter. They are not servants.

Try not to yell at the customer service representative. It is shooting the messenger.

Always tip 18 – 20%- 25% at a nice restaurant. Don’t double the tax. Especially if you had alcohol. (alcohol is not taxed so you will under-tip.)

Don’t talk on your cell phone in line.

Applying lip-gloss in public is ok. But go to the restroom to apply anything else.

Treat everyone with respect, unless they prove that they cannot be respected.

Shake hands when being introduced to someone.

Remember birthdays and anniversaries. Very important.

Don’t walk ahead of your date, ever. If they walk slower, then you walk slower.

Say “please” and “thank you” to the waiter, it goes a long way.

At the grocery store, if you have a lot and the person behind you has very few, let them go ahead of you.
In the ladies room, let the pregnant woman go ahead of you if there is a line.

When you get into an elevator and are standing near the buttons, ask the other patrons what floor they would like to go to and push the button for them.

Silverware – Start from the outside going in.

Try your hardest not to fart in the elevator.

Always end emails, phone conversations, face conversations and instant messages with a proper ending. I.E Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you, love you, have a great day, see ya soon, ttfn, etc. etc.

Accept gifts and compliments with a thank you. Rejecting a gift or a compliment is like rejecting that person who gives it or calling him/her a liar.



What are some of the things you all follow?

25 comments:

Rachel said...

If someone needs to talk to you stop what you are doing and give them your full attention.

Don't give a woman with a crying baby dirty looks. She is doing the best she can.
Don't assume that all teenagers are hoodlums. Give them the benefit of the doubt.

If you screw up. Admit it and apologize. (yeah, I had a huge one of these on Monday with a client when I underquoted them a price. Told them it was $694 and it was $923)

If you have to give criticism, do it in private.

Always let someone know when they have done a good job.

When you are stuck in traffic, let people merge. They need to get somewhere too.

Always take every opportunity you have to tell someone that you love them.

-J said...

When dealing with a woman, choose your battles carefully.

Anonymous said...

Don’t walk ahead of your date, ever. If they walk slower, then you walk slower.

Are you serious? ...don't get me wrong some of your 'rules' I get & may possibly agree with...on a good day when I feel like being mushy n nice all day long...but....Don’t walk ahead of your date, ever. If they walk slower, then you walk slower.
What's with that, scared ya date will run away when ya back turned, scared you might get lost, scared ya date might think you actually have confidence?
Emz

jibber.jabber said...

i love your rules... i try to practise each one but the pregnant woman in the restroom thing... if it ever happens you have my word i will follow your rule :)

my rules:

1. follow your heart
2. stop dreaming and make it happen
3. spend at least 50% of what you earn on yourself
4. spend 25% of what you earn on your childs future
5. spend the remaining 25% of what you earn for your future
6. always give the benefit of the doubt
7. never intentionally embarass someone even if they are an ass... you'll end up being the ass
8. own up to your mistakes and do your best to never repeat them
9. do what you have to to get what you want but never give up your humanity in doing it
10. eat, drink and laugh your ass off at least once every weekend

Tiffanie said...

My gut - I may try to doubt it, but it never wrong.

Anonymous said...

Nice list Rach. I must admit I haven't heard of our thought about the walking behind or in line with your date though. It does make sense as a respect thing though.

A lot of the rules I follow, or try to follow with some ocassional, unforutnate lapses, are pretty much listed in your post or the comments so far.

I'm especially conscious of the tipping rules though because I used to be a waiter ;)

Rachel Heather said...

Rachel - I have a hard time admitting when I am wrong too.

J - good rule :)

anonymous - what can I say - I drive a hard bargain :)
As for walking slower - it is a small gesture of chivalry. My girlfriends don't even do it. If we are walking down the street you pace yourself with the person you are walking with. All my past boyfriends and all my girlfriends do this (automatically without asking) and it is not a "being mushy" thing. I actually have only had two dates in my life that didn't. Maybe you were one of them ;)

Jibber - number 9. So true. Persuasion is involved a lot in getting what we want. But there is that line that can be crossed between persuasion and..ya know..."lawyer" :)

Tiffanie - never doubt the guy. It is like a personal GPS system. :)

Mike - if you saw it happening on the street you would understand. :) The good news is most decent guys and respectful guys walk side by side without thinking.

Picture this: a guy is walking with his gf down the street. He is walking a bit slower cause she is shorter that way it is side by side. he can be holding her hand, arm around back or arms down whatever. now picture that guy speeding up his walk and walking about 15 feet ahead.

Like I said - most do the respectful way without even thinking. :)

As for the tipping - I had a good teacher :)

Lydia said...

Good rules. I follow most of them. I think the respect one covers a whole subset to stick to.

Re the compliments, I have an additional rule - don’t let the lack of a thank you deter you from giving future compliments to that person.

Some other rules of mine:
If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything. There are exceptions.
Give other people the benefit of the doubt until they prove they really don’t deserve it.
Tell people “I love you”, don’t just wait for the “I love you too” moment. This one’s easy.
Praise people for their efforts and achievements, even the tiny things.
Don’t judge by appearances.

Scott said...

Unlock the door for your date, if she doesn't reach across and unlock yours, bad sign!

Scott

Thomas said...

Btw, I am liking your new picture.

Anonymous said...

-Always thank your date for taking you out;

-Always call the host of a party the next day to thank them for having you;

-Always say hello to the cleaning lady at my office at night, the homeless man down the block from my office, the doormen on the way home, etc.

-Always get up for pregnant women, the elderly and anyone else that really needs a seat on the subway;

-Call home at least twice a week; and,

-Take the time to pray for my friends and family & anyone else that I know may need a little prayer.

Rachel Heather said...

Lydia - that is a good adendum (sp?) to the compliment rule. :)

Scott - you got that from Singles huh? LOL. I agree on that rule except ijn this day and age it usually doesn't work because of keyless entry all doors are unlocked at the same time :)

Thomas - thank you :)

Keshi said...

Rach ur the best. Reading thess I realise even more what a well-brought-up great girl u r. Ur a respectable and decent human being. Not many r like u!


**At the grocery store, if you have a lot and the person behind you has very few, let them go ahead of you.

I always do that. And I m glad someone else thinks that way too.


One more thing:

Always smile. Never have a long face in public.


Keshi.

Rachel Heather said...

Jill - those are some great ones..especially the host of the part one. Your dad must love you calling home that much. That one is a non issue with me since my parents are only a few miles away and I always go to their houe to steal cleaning supplies and towels :P

Keshi - awwww thank you! But I am not as "good" in private. I burp loud and hog the remote control. ;)

deepsat said...

pretty much the same. apart from that.. i like to..
- stop at the red signal
- give preference to the elder
- never honk near the hostpital.
- obey queue discipline and if anyone tries to break..give them a piece of my mind!

;-))

CP said...

Try not to spill beer on a friends carpet.

Avoid eye contact with men who's wives' I've hit on in the past.

Try to stop threatening lawsuits against people for being stupid.

Work on stopping myself from my first statement to a woman being "Yo' toots".

JK. I'm not really like that, I just got on a roll there.

Peace!

Dz said...

*Live for the moment, like it's your last day on the planet
(ok that is hard but try to)
*Love yourself
*love your friends and cherish them
*never compromise who you are even when it seams imposible
*never give up!
*give hugs to friends and family:)
ok this was only some of them:)

Ike said...

The last line should be, "If you follow these simple rules, it is a reflection on how well your parents raised you." Well done, my friend.

Signed,
A Cynic No More (if you catch my drift)

Anonymous said...

Great rules, and another great post.

Some of mine:-

Let children go in front of you if there is a long line in the ladies.

Always say 'please' and 'thank you' especially if the other person doesn't say it to you.

Spend some, save some.

Be as honest as you possibly can be.

Own up to your own mistakes.

Try not to take your bad day out on someone else.

mollymcmo said...

the farting in the elevator tim does and it drives me beyond crazy!

i always try and hold doors for elderly and people with children (stollers etc.)

i had a group of young guys let the door slam in my face while i was pushing a stroller with an infant, holding the hand of my 2yr old. my 7yr old son held the door, at least he's going to grow up with manners, i would kick his ass if i ever saw him do something like that! LOL!

m

Keshi said...

Rach, in private im a public manace. LOL!

Keshi.

Kathryn Craven said...

thank you notes. even if they aren't totally warranted. ok, so it's really a thing for the job, but you'd be amazed.

oh, and hand addressing envelopes.

Anonymous said...

Rach - I guess it was never really a concious thought I've had. If it's someone I'm dating or want to date I'll almost always be in line or behind them but with friends it's kind of all over the place.

To further the walking thing, I've also heard that it's more respectful for the guy to always walk on the street side if walking together on a sidewalk. I'm working on making this a habit as well.

Jill said...

Mike Stickel: Hi! I believe the sidewalk thing came from back in the day when pimps would walk down the street, displaying their prostitutes to the men passing by. When the woman walks by the road, it's like saying that she's your ho. (also, from a safety standpoint, there's a greater likelihood the guy will get hit by a car that swerves out of control if he's walking on the outside).

shpprgrl said...

Since I'm here late, I think just about everything has been convered. I don't remember if making eye contact with the person you are speaking to was mentioned. It's strange how many people will speak to you without ever doing that.

I've missed alot around here! (but I'm caught up now!) Hope all is well with you. cya! :)