I always get really annoyed by people who stand in front of empty seats on the subway, blocking access to those seats for others who might want to sit down.
The other day, I was inadvertently that idiot standing in front of the seat. (The seat was vacated just before I was about to get off the train myself, and I was too oblivious to think to move.)
This lady moves in towards the seat, but I'm blocking the way. So she says to me "Oh, sorry, were you going to sit there?" Which led me to step back from the seat, give it to her, and apologize.
Some people argue that you should just ask standers who are blocking seats to move so you can sit down, but not everyone is comfortable with that approach and it is marginally confrontational, asking the stander to stop doing something (thus implying that they're being bad). This lady's approach allows both people to save face and look generous by offering the seat to each other, with the same end result.
Thanks, subway lady, and I apologize again for blocking your seat!
1 comment:
Argh. This is the thing I dislike most about my adopted country.
"Excuse me, I'd like to sit down," then when they move, "Thank you," said with a smile. Polite and direct. If someone else finds that confrontational, I'd suggest their definition of confrontation is too broad.
But I'm glad you found a way that works for you.
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