Etiquette Question
Related to a a question M-A posed a little while back:
If two people simultaneously approach from either side of a glass door (so they can see each other) of a public establishment (say... the Starbuck's on Broadway) who should open the door? Who should walk through?
My recent reflexive thought is that, regardless of gender, the person on the side the door swings towards (in a public establishment, that's normally the person on the outside) should open the door and hold it open (so it doesn't wap them in the face), while the person on the other side should walk through, leaving the way free for the outside door holder to then proceed indoors.
This procedure should obviously be modified when one party is significantly encumbered (baby carriage, large boxes, etc) in which case whoever is unencumbered should hold the door for the other.
Now this seems correct to me, but I've sometimes observed that what seems obvious to me doesn't necessarily seem so obvious to others. Certainly I've experienced enough instances of the "After you Alphonse." "No, after you Gaston" routine at such a door to know my assumption of the best procedure isn't always the same as the assumptions of others.
Thoughts?
If two people simultaneously approach from either side of a glass door (so they can see each other) of a public establishment (say... the Starbuck's on Broadway) who should open the door? Who should walk through?
My recent reflexive thought is that, regardless of gender, the person on the side the door swings towards (in a public establishment, that's normally the person on the outside) should open the door and hold it open (so it doesn't wap them in the face), while the person on the other side should walk through, leaving the way free for the outside door holder to then proceed indoors.
This procedure should obviously be modified when one party is significantly encumbered (baby carriage, large boxes, etc) in which case whoever is unencumbered should hold the door for the other.
Now this seems correct to me, but I've sometimes observed that what seems obvious to me doesn't necessarily seem so obvious to others. Certainly I've experienced enough instances of the "After you Alphonse." "No, after you Gaston" routine at such a door to know my assumption of the best procedure isn't always the same as the assumptions of others.
Thoughts?