Is a little bit of courtesy really too much to ask for?

Now I'm not one to whinge (HA!) but I like to look on the nicer side of things. Who among us complains about the drive into work? You're stuck in traffic while half-asleep, you didn't have time to eat breakfast, your traffic jam seems to be meeting yet another traffic jam and to top it off, you have noticed that the fact that you're baffled by the noises that come from Radio 1 these days indicates that age is slowly rearing it's head.

Be cheery! At least you're driving! In your car you can sing wildly out of tune, you can shout abuse at the silly man on the radio for his silly suggestions, you can launch a major excavation project in whichever nostril you choose, all in the comfort of your own space. You could be on the bus, for example, sitting on someone else's chewing gum, listening to children scream as loud as they can while the crazy lady sits and stares at your ears. Plus, you'll be really cold.

Can't find shoes that "go" with whatever you're wearing? At least you have legs.

However, the one area that I find it hard to be all cheerified about, is simple lack of courtesy. I am not a doorman, I do not have a long green jacket, I do not have a top hat, and my name is not Jeeves. This means that when I hold the door open for you, it is because I'm being nice, not because it is my job. Therefore, a "thank you" is in order. Same with letting people out at a junction.

Same with people who say they will turn up, then don't. I was due a BT engineer at my new place (having remembered the "fun" of moving from a previous blog entry) last Wednesday between 1pm and 6pm. I sat in, I ate many many sandwiches as the line between boredom and hunger became blurry, I watched more Jeremy Kyle than is healthy for a sane man, waiting patiently for the BT guy to turn up, connect the interweb, then disappear so I can finish my work. Did he turn up? No. Aaaarrrrrrgggggg!!!

Now, he may have had a very good reason: His car may have broken down. He may have come over all queasy following a visit to a customer that thinks a bath is "one of them new-fangled contraptions". He may have witnessed a Tiger go for a group of schoolchildren, and decided to save them. I don't know, and I don't really care. What I do care about, is that nobody decided to let me know. Really, I had nothing. No call, no letter, no flowers, no nothing. Deary deary me, BT.

Now to their credit, they've apologised profusely by sacrificing a senior manager to the sun god (at least, I'd like to think so) and by offering two months' free connection, which is better than nothing, however that simple fact of nobody bothering to tell me has led to not only BT going two months without payment, but to me telling all of you people about this. You may even decide to go to another provider instead (just don't go to Talk Talk for the love of god, unless utter frustration is your "thing") based on what I've just said.

So if you're going to see someone, whether at a board-meeting or in the pub (or a board-meeting in the pub), please either stick to it or let them know you can't make it as soon as possible. They'll probably forgive you for the advance notice that you can't get there. If you just don't show up, they'll be angry, and if you cannot offer them anything in recompense, then they may just shave your head while you sleep, just to get back at you.

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