The Other Customer

I say 'customer', but really, it could be the other customer in a restaurant, the other passenger on the train/plane/bus, the other spectator at an event. With the close, sometimes quiet environment, what have other people done that you saw as absolutely rude and inconsiderate, given the situation?

During lunch with a friend today, a family was sitting at the next table over. The kids were very well behaved, but during the entire meal, the older one left his PSP running with the volume on high, so everyone around them was forced to listen to the looping video game sounds. Thankfully, a manager stopped by and requested it be turned down.

Something I find rude in almost any close-space situation, be it a restaurant or a train or bus ride, are those cell phones that play MP3s, and the people who dont bother with headphones before blasting it. Regardless of the song, it always leaves me wondering 'what makes you think the people around you want to listen to your music?'.

Loud cellphone conversations? Tapping their feet, or kicking your seat? What do the other customers and passengers do that leave you gritting your teeth?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Smokers, in air-conditioned restaurants, with wimpy management unwilling to enforce anti-smoking ordinances already in effect.

Gets my goat every time.

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I think my biggest pet peeve in this situation is in a movie theater. I tend to sit 2/3 of the way up in the center, so I have a pretty good view of the screen. This also makes everyone below me very visible. Anyway, I can't stand when someone checks their cell phone while the movie is going on. It's like turning on a light bulb, and I just can't help but notice. It's worse when you can tell they're sending text messages and keep their phone lit. At least they have the decency to mute the damn thing.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I usually have no problem with the nerd/geek crowd, but there are these two people on the bus that fucking annoy me to no end. Everyone else on the bus is quietly keeping to themselves or talking in a low voice, but this guy and this chick talk loud as fuck. I can have my headphones on and be sitting at the back of the bus and still hear these fuckers talk about the latest stupid shit they saw on the internet all the way up in the front.

This is not the type of shit I want to deal with at 9AM.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Smoking in restaurants is against the law in Jersey now, so that's not a huge problem for anyone these days.

I people who have little children running around like little shits around a restaurant. They're already being distracting by doing what they're doing, but it just bugs me to no end that the parents don't do shit about it because, "they're just being kids". I honestly hate that reason.

I also hate people who snort and attempt to hock a loogie in public places. If you're inside a bus or inside a building. It's not the place to be doing something like that. It's just gross and inconsiderate to everyone else. I don't give two shits if your peers don't mind it, I'm sure someone else does.

I was speaking idiomatically.

3. People leaving their dirty, greasy, disgusting fingerprints on public computer monitors (ESPECIALLY in the Photoshop lab where COLOR IS CRUCIAL ).

2. People who arrive late to a concert and stand right in front of me for 10 fucking minutes trying to situate themselves while kicking out the people that shouldn't be in their seats. "You're blocking the stage, could you just get yourselves situated and sit and fucking SHUT UP so we can enjoy the concert we paid our tickets for?"

1. Children with god-awful parents that don't know how to be parents in public.
clerk/shop employee/associate:"Excuse me little boy, could we not climb on the shelves? It's dangerous to do that, okay?"
mom: "See now look what you did, you got me scolded!"
everyone around them: "wtf?"

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I agree that bratty kids can be quite annoying at times. However, in my day you can smack misbehaving kids real good to make them behave. Nowadays you can't lay a hand to discipline without anyone screaming "CHILD ABUSE!" In my opinion, it tends to dilute the disciplinary power of parents.

So the point is - if society frowns on physical punishment, they must be prepared to be more tolerant of misbehaving miscreants.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

So the point is - if society frowns on physical punishment, they must be prepared to be more tolerant of misbehaving miscreants.

Yes, because the only way anyone ever learned anything was through a good beating.

Get the fuck out.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Spanking has never been bad for a child. Beating with any object including fists, yes go ahead and call the cops.

The people who can't tell the difference between spanking a disobeying/rotten child and absolute abuse, should get some family counseling and actually see what it's like to have the responsibility of growing something that actually resembles a person.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

So what, precisely, is the correct application of physical force required to impart knowledge? If you hit the kid too hard that's obviously wrong but it seems like if I don't hurt the kid the spanking is inconsequential. So it seems like kind of a balancing act would you agree

what I need to know here is exactly how dark the bruises ought to be

also, will hitting adults also prevent them from acting stupid because I got a list

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yes, I quite agree, it's a delicate balance.

But you also see where I'm getting at; "You don't got enough guts or common sense to discipline your child correctly (or at all), don't procreate, for the love of all things that breathe oxygen. Please."

Unfortunately, the rotten children that grew up to be douchebag adults, I can only hope shit comes around for their stupid acts or they somehow miraculously grow up somewhat of a decent adult. This is not the case in many cases, so I can only hope the harsh cruel world of reality will allow them to fucking wake up.

If that does not work, then yes Pang, I will not judge you if I see you hitting adults in public if they were being stupid. But I do expect you to be able to communicate first, like reasonable adults are capable of doing before you resort to violence. If talking doesn't get it through the other person's retarded thick skull, beat away, my friend.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

There you go Zerg, Pang, and shorty, derailing my thread.

I was going to just say Pang, but that wouldnt be fair discipline of all the children, now would it? Start a 'spanking children' thread in the sewers, because we know that thats where it would end up.

Now, Pang, tell us about the time you smacked some adult in the face for doing something stupid and rude. <3

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, I don't actually do that

Because violence doesn't actually do a good job of educating people and tends to foster a simmering resentment which only ends up hurting both parties

that is kind of where I was going with that

I was speaking idiomatically.

Christ, where do I begin with this one... I guess I'll start with the nuisances that arise from my daily form of transportation: The Subway.

- People talking overly loud. As in, volume levels encroaching on yelling.
- People who don't obey the "let them off first" rule when the doors open.
- MP3 cell phones on full-blast so everyone can hear the latest single from "African American Rapper Who Loves Money and Bitches"
- The person who walks in the middle of the stairway carrying two enormous bags from Macy's so not even Kate Moss can pass by them.
- The person(s) who walks excruciatingly slow in a crowded area.
- The homeless guy with one arm on the L train who gets all up in your comfort zone to ask for change instead of letting you be.
- The breakdancing crew on the A train (Only cool if you're viewing from a distance. Otherwise prepare to get sweep-kicked).

More to come, I'm sure.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by sprouticus

- MP3 cell phones on full-blast so everyone can hear the latest single from "African American Rapper Who Loves Money and Bitches"

Propped for this one. Holy shit, people need to purchase some headphones. I don't care how gangsta your music is.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by sprouticus

- The person(s) who walks excruciatingly slow in a crowded area.

This, a million million times over. There is nothing quite so infuriating as people who don't understand that some of us have places to be ten minutes ago or that we walk much faster. And the bastards never move out of the way for you.

Also, people who stare openly at you in public. I'll admit I have an eccentric dress sense, I don't mind a glance or a double take, that just shows me I'm doing it right. But people who full on stare at you? I actually get a little person in my head screaming abuse at them.

Small children gone wild in any public places where it is unacceptable behaviour. Totally ruined a Valentine's date I had a few years ago.

People who when at gigs decide they are actually going to stand with their backs to the stage and chat with their mates right beside/in front of you. No I'm not talking about security.

Check-out people who are infuriatingly smug when they ID you and then fucking grim once you've given them your driver's license.

Parents who yell at their children in public.

People who talk right through a film (slightly off-topic but I also hate it when I'm watching TV and obviously involved only to have people give me the bloody spanish inquisition (which actually, I expected).

That's all I can think of right now.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

The fucks who think nothing of their kids being allowed to run riot, alone, in a supermarket. When I was a kid I'd always wander off and gaze at shit on the shelves to pass the time, but not once did I do a solo screaming bombing run down the centre aisle, leaving a trail of destruction behind me.

The fucks who let their kids whip out the handhelds in a restaurant. The notion of being allowed to read at the table was something completely fucking alien to me way back then.

The decrepit old fucks on the bus who wheeze like a dying Landy when they talk and liberally use the word "cunt" as punctuation. Yeah, thank fuck I no longer take that route.

The fucks who go into independent coffee shops and order a Venti Dolce Pianissimo Machiatto Starfucksia Deliciosso With Double Seven-Shot Diet Skinniness.

The fucks who listen to 16kbps Dizzy Rascal mp3s on their phones at full blast when riding trains.

And lastly: the fucks who go to Subway not knowing what they want, need the differences between the various breads and sandwiches explained to them by the employee behind the counter, wait for said employee to ask if they want each salad ingredient one-by-one and then spend upwards of a minute counting out exact change in coppers to pay for their goddamned sub.

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You know what really grinds my gears? Those goddamn Bluetooth earpieces. I've never met someone who said "Oh wait hold on, I've got a call" and then proceeded to talk. They just answer the fucking thing like your conversation with them never happened.

Also, they look fucking ignorant.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Bernard Black

Also, people who stare openly at you in public. I'll admit I have an eccentric dress sense, I don't mind a glance or a double take, that just shows me I'm doing it right. But people who full on stare at you? I actually get a little person in my head screaming abuse at them.

I've seen the way you dress. Stop being a 13 year old angst case and realise if you dress like a cartoon or a super hero, people will stare at you. Don't like it, invest in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Denicalis

I've seen the way you dress. Stop being a 13 year old angst case and realise if you dress like a cartoon or a super hero, people will stare at you. Don't like it, invest in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

I also do silly things which I could stop to counter this hatred. I'll never learn

In all seriousness I don't mind the attention my outfits get; I had 3 people actually come up to me and compliment me yesterday. I'm talking about people who stare at you in an agressive way. I've had this happen when I've dressed neutrally. Maybe it's my face D:

f u deni im so misunderstood

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Originally Posted by KrelEN

The fucks who go into independent coffee shops and order a Venti Dolce Pianissimo Machiatto Starfucksia Deliciosso With Double Seven-Shot Diet Skinniness.

Krel, why do you consider this rude? Maybe a little obnoxious because it seems so haughty... but I guess I'm missing how that's rude to you as a fellow customer.

Also, I went to the diner with a friend tonight, and sure enough someone had their freakin' MP3 phone blasting at the table next to ours. It was a group of middle aged people, which surprised me, and it was classical music they were blasting. But as I said in my first post, it left me thinking, 'What makes you think I want to listen to your music?'

I was speaking idiomatically.

It's rude because the places I'm talking about are the type of joint where you can order a big coffee or a small coffee and not much else. Hearing people using garbage Starbucks lingo everywhere is fairly irritating.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Oh, where to start, where to start.

There are people who try to talk to you even while your headphones are in. Granted, I don't usually keep mine at a terribly high volume, I do tend to adjust the volume to become the majority of sound. Naturally, I have to ask them to repeat themselves. It's even worse when they get annoyed that they have to repeat themselves. Kills my faith in humanity, these small things

That is all.

FELIPE NO

Oh man. The only think I could think of besides idiots being loud at the movies was this one time back in high school. I was a freshman or sophmore and I was taking the bus home. Some woman got on the bus and sat on an end seat with the one near the window being open. It was incredibly rude, because she was really overweight and no one would've been able to climb over. Even though someone can speak up and ask to move, it is still insanely rude. Then she pulls out a frickin cigarette and lights it up and starts smoking. Everyone told her to put it out and she ignored them. She thought she was above the rest of society I assume.

Then the whole bus started screaming at her to put it the f out and the bus driver stopped the bus and kicked her off. She was screaming and cursing all the way out too.

What a bitch.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I find on the bus, people with music (ipod, etc.) play their music SOOOOo loud. Like seriously, does it need to be so loud that over half the bus can hear it? It just sounds like a really loud mosquito and doesn't sound like music to us at all for the rest of us.

Movie theatres can be rough too, especially when people yell out during the movie or laugh when its a sad scene or something. I know many teenagers and a few younger that sit near the front and bug each other and laughing and move around, etc.....

Jam it back in, in the dark.