I read a lot of news, and through this, I often find similar portrayals – Baby Boomers (those born 1946-1964) are the ambassadors for manners and social etiquette, while pretty much any other younger generation, including Millennials like me, well, we need some lessons.
The social research group McCrindle recently released a report that delved into this issue.
“Returning your shopping trolley, waving to another driver, and being punctual are all opportunities to exhibit politeness and extend courtesy to your neighbour,” the report said.
“It is these etiquette standards and manners which are often seen as the guidepost directing community behaviour.”
While the report details survey results that position Baby Boomers holding allegiance to these unwritten rules and younger generations more likely to be more adept at other things like recognizing dietary requirements, my recent experience would suggest otherwise.
Now, I can’t argue with quantitative research, so perhaps I am a Millennial anomaly, a rare member of my generation who does return her shopping trolley, wave to other drivers who give way to me and is punctual but what I do definitely know is that, despite what these results say, that not all Boomers are the polite, courteous citizens they are often reported to be.
Not just a once off…
You see, a few weeks ago, within the space of five days, I had four separate encounters with ‘Generation Social Etiquette’, which made me question their status.
Encounter one occurred during a visit to the bank where I was greeted, well actually no, I wasn’t greeted, I was grunted at by a Boomer bank teller while I attempted to ask her for assistance to resolve an issue with my account settings.
Sitting in her work area, Boomer Teller continued to plug away at her computer keyboard as I approached the customer-less and only manned counter. I offered a friendly hello but received silence in response.
Giving her the benefit of the doubt that she did not hear me, I said, “Excuse me,” but again, this was to no avail. Just more clickety clacks from her very busy fingers and no eye contact. This was saved for her computer screen.
Moving on, I explained my issue and asked whether she may be able to assist. She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, stood up and approached a younger-looking staff member who then approached me with a smile and solved my account issues.
If this were a one-off, I’d just dismiss it as such, but unfortunately, it was not.
The next two events occurred while shopping with my 10-year-old daughter at a shopping centre.
The first, during a visit to Target, we stood off the main walkway, in between a shelf of pyjamas on display and a rack of other sleepwear behind us. We stood close to the shelves, picking up a pair of the flannelette sets to work out the right sizing.
Behind us, we heard the voice of an irritated-sounding older woman, who, upon observation, appeared in her late sixties.
“Move,” she grunted at us, her mouth pursed, waving her hand at us as if she were the Queen of the department store and we were her peasant slaves being dismissed.
My daughter and I looked at each other, shocked, squishing into the flannelette pyjama stand even more despite the clear pathway behind us, so much so that we were nearly in it.
“That was rude,” my daughter whispered to me after she’d gone by. I nodded in agreeance, we took the pair of pyjamas we were holding, purchased them, and left.
“The generation of manners and social etiquette, yeah, right”
But we didn’t escape! While at our next stop, the birthday card aisle at Big W, as we perused which card her younger sister might like for her upcoming birthday, again leaving enough space behind us for fellow card buyers to pass, we were accosted by another Boomer woman. She, like her fellow generation shopper from Target, seemed to have lost her social etiquette in the car park.
Approaching us from our right, she said, “Move please,” in a tone that was more of a demand than a polite request. She then proceeded to take over the exact position we had been in so she could have her turn (which apparently couldn’t wait for ours to be completed first).
Having had enough of our shopping day, we left, got into our car, and proceeded to drive out of the car park.
As we were waiting to turn onto the road, a Boomer man nonchalantly disregarded his Big W trolley on the adjacent footpath I laughed a wry, laugh while thinking, “Boomers, the generation of manners and social etiquette, yeah, right!”
