On the whole, we’re a very polite lot, we hold doors open for people behind us, we remember our please and thank yous and we always form a queue when appropriate. It is after all, a quintessentially British convention.
But it appears that many foreign students visiting our fair Isle are not so educated in the etiquette of queuing. It’s buses in particular that are causing the problem, as Southern Vectis report that they receive many complaints from locals that the students are not very good at observing the conventions of standing in line.
The queuers are happy to make complaints to Southern Vectis, but it seems are far too polite to directly confront the transgressors.
Now Southern Vectis, plan to contact all the local language schools following these complaints.
Operations manager for Southern Vectis, March Morgan Huws said “On the Isle of Wight we get lots of foreign language students staying with families,”
“In their cultures, they do not queue for buses where they live and there is a scrum every time a bus turns up, while in British culture there is a nice orderly queue. We have had quite a few complaints from residents who queue up in an orderly fashion then all those foreign students push past them.
What we have said is that we will work with the language schools to provide some instructions on the etiquette of queuing. We won’t be marching the students up and down showing them how to queue, we will just leave it up to the group leaders to pass on the information.”
It’s amazing the things that get picked up in the news, because this one has gone worldwide, being reported all over the gaff. [image courtesy of Tim Hunkin – check out his website he has created some amazing coin operated collecting boxes]
