Queueing Etiquette

[hehehoho]

Never experienced jumping in supermarkets,

In over half a decade living here I've never experienced or even seen or heard of it here.

Don't forget this is the internet and people need to make things up.

[StreetCowboy]

Never experienced jumping in supermarkets,

In over half a decade living here I've never experienced or even seen or heard of it here.

Don't forget this is the internet and people need to make things up.

I don't need to make things up. I could stop any time I wanted to. I just choose not to.

Loads of my friends have given up living in a fantasy land already, loads of times.

SC

[mca]

Thai people are pretty good at queuing up. Sure, they don't take it to the anal extreme

I would certainly hope not. Bloody painful I reckon and completely inappropriate in the check out line at Tesco Lotus.

[ARISTIDE]

Thais this and Thais that, you are speaking almost they are not human like you?

What I do see on a daily basis is Thais behaving very differently when confronted with people up/down the pecking order from themselves or when dealing with people who do / do not have an impact on them personally.

Not just in queues, but in every aspect of their dealing with each other - Thais are hyper sensitive to hierarchy and 'social utility'.

I find it difficult to believe that this clear trait of Thai society is switched on and off in queues

Rather queues are an environment were Thais are forced to do something they don't like doing - deal with people they have not been introduced to.

There response far too often is to ignore or be dismissive of the other people around them.

[WebBangkok]

I dont know, the only time I see Thai's not queuing up is at 7 eleven which has no room to queue. Some street food places and thats about it.

Its like some of you guys are living in a fantasy land saying they NEVER queue up and ONLY the rich push in lol

You sure some of you don;t live in Taiwan and came to the Thailand forum by mistake?

Anyway we all have different experiences here in Thailand, some good some bad and I seen it does get to people which if they see a Thai person kick a dog, they start thinking all Thai's kick a dog. Its understandable.

[GuestHouse]

Thais this and Thais that, you are speaking almost they are not human like you?

Spare us the self-righteous indignation and go read the Opening Post (You'll find it at the top of this thread), reading it will shed some dim light for you on what is the topic under discussion.

Once you've grasped that, you might be able to figure out that referring to Thais as ..... erm 'Thais', is not denegrating them as not being human.

[chuang]

you are lucky...in China they don't say 'excuse me'...they just brush you aside...

[StreetCowboy]

I dont know, the only time I see Thai's not queuing up is at 7 eleven which has no room to queue. Some street food places and thats about it.

Its like some of you guys are living in a fantasy land saying they NEVER queue up and ONLY the rich push in lol

You sure some of you don;t live in Taiwan and came to the Thailand forum by mistake?

Anyway we all have different experiences here in Thailand, some good some bad and I seen it does get to people which if they see a Thai person kick a dog, they start thinking all Thai's kick a dog. Its understandable.

In my experience people in Taiwan are generally polite and hospitable, unlike their mainland brethren. I put it down to a fairer civic society with more respect for the individual.

SC

[Crushdepth]

Next time just walk up to the counter and shout your order at the staff like nobody else is there. Don't forget the big hair, knock-em-dead perfume, excessive jewellery and make-up, or it won't work.

[JurgenG]

I dont know, the only time I see Thai's not queuing up is at 7 eleven which has no room to queue. Some street food places and thats about it.

Its like some of you guys are living in a fantasy land saying they NEVER queue up and ONLY the rich push in lol

You sure some of you don;t live in Taiwan and came to the Thailand forum by mistake?

Anyway we all have different experiences here in Thailand, some good some bad and I seen it does get to people which if they see a Thai person kick a dog, they start thinking all Thai's kick a dog. Its understandable.

In my experience people in Taiwan are generally polite and hospitable, unlike their mainland brethren. I put it down to a fairer civic society with more respect for the individual.

SC

Agree with SC. In the business life they are totally corrupt and complete <deleted> but in the everyday life they are very nice and considerate people.

[mca]

Next time just walk up to the counter and shout your order at the staff like nobody else is there. Don't forget the big hair, knock-em-dead perfume, excessive jewellery and make-up, or it won't work.

For shizzle I'd step aside if you walked in looking like Gary Glitter mate!

[tropo]

I dont know, the only time I see Thai's not queuing up is at 7 eleven which has no room to queue. Some street food places and thats about it.

Its like some of you guys are living in a fantasy land saying they NEVER queue up and ONLY the rich push in lol

You sure some of you don;t live in Taiwan and came to the Thailand forum by mistake?

Anyway we all have different experiences here in Thailand, some good some bad and I seen it does get to people which if they see a Thai person kick a dog, they start thinking all Thai's kick a dog. Its understandable.

Let's start a list of places where we see Thais queuing up where we don't see anyone cutting in. I can't believe people post on here claiming Thais don't queue.

1. Post office today. Busy with an orderly queue of mainly Thais.

2. AEON ATM. Two long queues of Thais patiently waiting for at least 30 minutes.

3. Supermarket. Only one time in years of shopping an old Thai woman sneaked in front of me when I was moving forward too slowly and there was 2 cashiers serving one queue. It was no big deal.

4. Petrol stations. Lots of Thais queuing on their bikes at many stations. Never have a problem with cut-ins.

5. Food court waiting for plastic card or refund.

6. Cinema.

The only time I've struck anyone cutting in is in a crowded convenience store (7Eleven, Family Mart) where they thought they could get away with it because the queue was not well defined due to space restrictions. If you keep a close eye on people around you it is avoidable. You really need to watch out for the Russians.

[JRinger]

All I can say is, the OP (and the rest of you who follow suit) must live a very boring life to be so concerned about such a small thing...."standing in line"? are you the same guy who was crying about seeing cars parked in the handicap zone?

Edited December 17, 2011 by JRinger

[NanLaew]

I have to admit, I don't have a problem with pretty young ladies slipping there way in front of me in the queue.

I don't really care what they look like - it's a no-no unless they are crippled, blind or extremely old.

Come on now tropo... you going to bark "Get back!" at the sweet young thing with the dazzling décolletage and those Korean big-eyes looking up through fluttering eyelashes while her wet lips say softly, sweetly, "Korthoat na-kah?"

PS. Having your girlfriend with you may be an excuse... maybe.

[tartempion]

My worst experience was on a Greek ferry from Athens to the islands.

I tried to order a coffee at a counter where people were always pushing me aside, at least 23 people behind me managed to order a coffee before I could.

Rude people, unlike the Thais

[chuang]

[in my experience people in Taiwan are generally polite and hospitable, unlike their mainland brethren. I put it down to a fairer civic society with more respect for the individual.

SC

I vote for Japan.. :jap:

[tropo]

Come on now tropo... you going to bark "Get back!" at the sweet young thing with the dazzling décolletage and those Korean big-eyes looking up through fluttering eyelashes while her wet lips say softly, sweetly, "Korthoat na-kah?"

Yes, most definitely.

[tropo]

My worst experience was on a Greek ferry from Athens to the islands.

I tried to order a coffee at a counter where people were always pushing me aside, at least 23 people behind me managed to order a coffee before I could.

Rude people, unlike the Thais

How could you allow 23 people push in front of you - while you were counting them.

[xthAi76s]

[in my experience people in Taiwan are generally polite and hospitable, unlike their mainland brethren. I put it down to a fairer civic society with more respect for the individual.

SC

I vote for Japan.. :jap:

Yeah, +1. Better in most any possible category.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

What I do see on a daily basis is Thais behaving very differently when confronted with people up/down the pecking order from themselves or when dealing with people who do / do not have an impact on them personally.

Not just in queues, but in every aspect of their dealing with each other - Thais are hyper sensitive to hierarchy and 'social utility'.

I find it difficult to believe that this clear trait of Thai society is switched on and off in queues

Rather queues are an environment were Thais are forced to do something they don't like doing - deal with people they have not been introduced to.

There response far too often is to ignore or be dismissive of the other people around them.

Spot on!

> They don't lack spacial awareness, they just don't require or demand as much space.

> It's funny that they are so polite when on a one-on-one situation but when they are in a mass, all that goes out the window

Because usually what we perceive as general politeness is just consideration in circumstances where they are within their "circle of influence", their network where the mutual backscratching is understood.

In random public situation where no one knows you the average Thai doesn't feel the need to conform to the usually rigid strictures imposed on them.

This is why it's completely fruitless to try to chat up that sweet young think when she's in her own neighborhood, but if you have an appropriate context for dealing with her when she's not being supervised, anything goes.

Of course if she's from a proper sort of family, they'd never let her out of their site until she's married, and then it's her husband's problem 8-)

[masuk]

He may have thought that you were with the woman in front of you.

Either way, hardly anyone outside the UK has much idea about queuing unless they get a numbered ticket when they come in. When someone pushes past me I just say loudly and pointedly "Hey, there's a queue and it's behind me". It generally works. And if it makes them lose face or feel awkward or ill-mannered, so much the better.

Not true "hardly anyone outside the UK...". Here in Australia, next door in Kiwi land, we queue regardless of tickets etc.

It's only good manners after all.

[sbk]

Since there seems to be a concern about this thread I should point out the rules are quite specific:

7) Not to post slurs or degrading comments directed towards any group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais.

Its a fact that queuing is not a part of many cultures around the world, I don't see acknowledging the differences as derogatory.

However, the thing that many members seem to fail to grasp is that what is good manners to you is not necessarily a universal truth and before insulting someone else you might want to consider that fact.

[sbk]

Discussion of moderation removed, if you want to discuss moderation and rules with me do so via PM as per the forum rules I helped to write.

[tropo]

Its a fact that queuing is not a part of many cultures around the world, I don't see acknowledging the differences as derogatory.

It has been fairly well established on this thread that queuing is part of the Thai culture.

There are rude people everywhere, but waiting one's turn is a normal part of every culture. First come first served is the way of human beings and even many animal species.

[bkkjames]

Tropo; I like how lions do it. Females do the hunting and the male gets to eat first.

The electicity authority on chidlom is a perfect example of efficient service. You cannot allow the sheep to go un-herded.

Now if I can only convince my local 711 to give out numbers life would be grand.

[cardholder]

Maybe it is just a 7/11 problem ?

[autan]

I am also British and a regular visitor to Thailand.

In the UK, I am expected to wait patiently while waiting for my order at McDonald's. I know that this is how things are done. I join the last person in the queue and the first person will be served and so on. The queue will wait patiently behind me and will proceed without complaint in the same manner. This is a civilised way to conduct our fast food business in Lancashire and I suppose other parts of the UK too, except London of course which is full of foreigners yet to learn the art of the British queuing system. (No racist pun intended, just stating pure fact, they are not used to queing just yet).

In Thailand, there is no system for queuing, it is simply a case of entering the above establishment, removing ones wallet from ones pocket and taking out a 1000 baht note and waving it furiously with a smile at the pretty little thing serving. It does not matter if there are 1 person in there or 1000 persons in there, the system is different. The more agressively waving of the 1000 baht note the fast one is served. If someone complains it is customary to look at their shoes and point for exactly 4 seconds. This is purely a diversionary tactic to stop any inflamitable situation being a Muay Thai Match with yourself being at the end of a sticky wicket. If the above advice fails to work, then feel free to extend the pointing time, it confuses the hell out of the Thais, the fact you are pointing at their shoes and anyone else for that matter.

The above lesson was learnt at considerable expense in McDonald in Chiang Mai, whereby after 45 minutes of being shoved out of my self displinced queue I decided to watch the locals and see how business was conducted locally.

Estimated waiting time 22 seconds includes time pointing. LOL

[autan]

He may have thought that you were with the woman in front of you.

Either way, hardly anyone outside the UK has much idea about queuing unless they get a numbered ticket when they come in. When someone pushes past me I just say loudly and pointedly "Hey, there's a queue and it's behind me". It generally works. And if it makes them lose face or feel awkward or ill-mannered, so much the better.

Not true "hardly anyone outside the UK...". Here in Australia, next door in Kiwi land, we queue regardless of tickets etc.

It's only good manners after all.

I can vouch that in Austrailia you are expected to queue as in the UK, in fact the discipline in queue is far more rigourously enforced in OZ, by way of violence for anyone daring to offend the majority. Especially in Brisbane.

[sbk]

Its a fact that queuing is not a part of many cultures around the world, I don't see acknowledging the differences as derogatory.

It has been fairly well established on this thread that queuing is part of the Thai culture.

There are rude people everywhere, but waiting one's turn is a normal part of every culture. First come first served is the way of human beings and even many animal species.

Clearly you have never been to China, or India for that matter. It is not a normal part of every culture. And no, queuing is fairly recent in Thailand in my very long term experience. As in Taiwan as another member reports, when I lived there many years ago, nobody queued and pushing and shoving was the norm. And nobody got offended because it wasn't considered rude.

What is rude in one country is not rude in another, as you should well know Tropo. In Thailand its extremely rude to put your feet up on the chair next to someone, I had a kid do it to me in the US and had a hard time not saying something but I also realized that in the US, it is not rude.

These things are cultural relevant and not universal.

[tropo]

. And no, queuing is fairly recent in Thailand in my very long term experience.

When did queuing behaviour start in Thailand? In my very short term experience there have always been queues.

Was there a time where, for example, when queuing was not required at the airport and people pushed and shoved to check in at the airline counters or to get through immigration?