Is a gentleman a thing of the past.
The last two men I have dated have been lovely guys. Wonderful in fact. Both over 50 yet neither opened the door for me until I made it clear that my expectation is that I believe that men should always open the door. I know this is old fashion in so many ways, but when you have always experienced men that are gentlemen, it's hard to settle for anything less.
It's like if an old lady is standing on a bus - someone should stand up and let her sit. Or a pregnant lady who needs to go to the restroom - you should always let her go first.
I can't criticise people for not opening the door, or eating before the host sits down to dinner or not placing their knives and forks together when they have finished a meal. The reason being is that too many people don't do this anymore. The more I travel, particularly in the US, the less I see people using old fashion manners in their every day lives.
Women have a lot to answer for this and I am sure that men find it hard to ascertain who to open a door for and who not to. I am sure most men don't mean it, and no doubt there are a lot of women out there with poor manners to, but in this day and age, can we really identify a common global manners protocol that every person should adhere to?
The English are always good with their manners and Europeans are very good also. I was out with some Formula One Drivers on the weekend, and all of them opened the door, walked on the outside of the women they were with and in every way were gentlemen. It was such a refreshing thing to experience.
What's your thoughts? Do you think that men being gentemen are a thing of the past? Is bad manners exclusive to people outside of Europe and the UK?
In business, what is the protocol? I always allow the client to sit down first, and whether it is male or female, I try to open the door for them as they are leaving. What other ways can business leaders show good manners?
It's like if an old lady is standing on a bus - someone should stand up and let her sit. Or a pregnant lady who needs to go to the restroom - you should always let her go first.
I can't criticise people for not opening the door, or eating before the host sits down to dinner or not placing their knives and forks together when they have finished a meal. The reason being is that too many people don't do this anymore. The more I travel, particularly in the US, the less I see people using old fashion manners in their every day lives.
Women have a lot to answer for this and I am sure that men find it hard to ascertain who to open a door for and who not to. I am sure most men don't mean it, and no doubt there are a lot of women out there with poor manners to, but in this day and age, can we really identify a common global manners protocol that every person should adhere to?
The English are always good with their manners and Europeans are very good also. I was out with some Formula One Drivers on the weekend, and all of them opened the door, walked on the outside of the women they were with and in every way were gentlemen. It was such a refreshing thing to experience.
What's your thoughts? Do you think that men being gentemen are a thing of the past? Is bad manners exclusive to people outside of Europe and the UK?
In business, what is the protocol? I always allow the client to sit down first, and whether it is male or female, I try to open the door for them as they are leaving. What other ways can business leaders show good manners?
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Russell Stewart
21 Mar 2012No, not a thing of the past, but sadly not as common as it use to be.
ReplyLike everything, it comes back to the parents. I know that my two young boys are true gentlemen. They have been taught to be be gentlemen and for as long as I am around they will be reminded to be gentlemen.
Grubs breed grubs unfortunately, I just hope they will be in the minority.
Cheers
Russell