Inconsiderate people suck. And they seem to be everywhere lately. After a few run-ins with cranky, manner-less people this week, I started wondering…do rude people even realize they're being jerks? Maybe they don't know how they're supposed to behave in public to be courteous human beings. But then again, maybe they're just jerks and they don't care. Find out where you rank on the jerk scale by taking the Are You Rude Quiz below.
1. You are walking through your neighborhood when a smiling woman walks by, waves, and says, “Hi!” in a cheerful voice. You don't recognize the woman. What do you do?
a) Avoid eye contact and keep walking.
b) Nod your head to acknowledge her greeting.
c) Smile and say, “Hi.”
2. You are driving in your air conditioned car on a particularly hot summer day. You see a pedestrian who is about to step into a crosswalk in front of your path. What do you do?
a) Keep on driving. The pedestrian can wait. He wasn't even in the crosswalk yet.
b) Slow down to see if the pedestrian steps out, if not, continue driving.
c) Come to a stop and wave at the pedestrian to cross the street. It's hot outside and it's easier for you to wait in the cool of your car than it is for him.
d) Role down your window and offer a bottle of water to the pedestrian.
3. You are sitting on an airplane, headed to a business meeting across the country. Then a mother and her baby sit down right next to you. As the plane takes off, the baby starts wailing and doesn't stop for a full 20 minutes, despite the mom's efforts to placate the baby with bottles, pacifiers and toys. What do you do?
a) Put your fingers in your ears and scowl at the mom. (This actually happened to me once!)
b) Put on your noise cancelling head phones and open your laptop.
c) Play peek-a-boo with the baby and say to the mom, “I know you're trying your hardest. Flying with a baby can be so tough!”
4. You need to switch lanes on the freeway to exit so you turn on your turn signal. The person behind you slows down to let you in. What do you do?
a) See a break in traffic across three lanes, so you cross all three to get to the exit lane with plenty of time to spare.
b) Move over one lane.
c) Move over one lane and give a thankful wave to the driver who let you in.
5. You are struggling to open the door to Starbucks for your mid-morning latte. You are pushing a stroller, talking on your smart phone to your bestie, and juggling a bunch of packages. A man sitting at a nearby table jumps up to open the door for you. What do you do?
a) Walk though the door and get in line to buy your latte, duh!
b) Say, “thank you,” and return to your phone conversation.
c) Say, “thank you so much!” Then end your phone conversation so the whole coffee shop doesn't need to be regaled with stories about your mother-in-law.
d) Thank the man by buying him a cup of coffee and a danish.
6. You are riding on a bus with your two young children and an elderly couple boards, the wife has a cane but the husband does not. There are no seats available and your family is occupying three seats. What do you do?
a) Hope someone else gives up their seat – you have your hands full.
b) Put one of your kids on your lap and offer the empty seat to the wife with the cane.
c) Put your kids together in one seat and stand up to offer two empty seats to the couple.
7. You are eating at a burger joint with your kids. There are no open tables, just spaces at the counter but there aren't counter spaces for all of your brood. A stranger eating at the counter says, “Let me make room for you,” and moves down so your family can sit together. What do you do?
a) Tell your kids to take their seats and then start distributing sandwiches and ketchup packets.
b) Quickly say, “Thanks,” to the stranger and get back to managing your kids.
c) Look the stranger in the eye and say, “Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.”
8. You have just said goodbye to your kids at the elementary school drop-off when you realize your son has left his lunchbox in the car. He has already disappeared into his classroom. What do you do?
a) Put your car in park in the drop-off lane and walk to his classroom to give him the lunchbox. On your way back, you see a friend you haven't talked to for a long time, so you two stand by your parked car and chat. The other parents can just drive around your car.
b) Put your car in park and turn on your hazard lights. Then sprint to the classroom to drop off the lunchbox.
c) Drive out of the drop-off lane and search for a parking spot. After parking, bring the lunchbox to your child.
9. You have just spent five nights in a hotel with daily housekeeping. You realize you only have a $100 bill or a handful of change to leave as a tip. You have already checked out. What do you do?
a) Don't leave a tip. Housekeepers receive a salary and they won't know who you are anyway.
b) Leave the handful of change with a note explaining the situation and thanking the housekeepers for their hard work.
c) Go to the front desk to ask for change and either give the tip to be passed along to the housekeepers, or return to your room to leave the money.
d) You leave the $100 bill for the housekeeper.
10. You are checking out at the grocery store and have a cart overflowing with food. There is only one cashier lane open. There is a person behind you holding only two items. What do you do?
a) Probably not even notice the person with two items. Who has the time to pay attention to other people?
b) Point out the self-service check-out lane to the person with two items.
c) Invite the person with two items to go ahead of you in line.
Tally up your responses.
If you got mostly a's, you probably don't even realize that you're rude because you don't take the time to think about others and how your actions affect them. You may be a sociopath or you could just be a big ol' jerk. Either way, I don't want to be stuck behind you in the school pick-up lane.
If you got mostly b's, you probably think you're considerate, but you could do better. Start by putting your phone down occasionally and looking at the people around you. And smile sometimes. Saying please and thank you is good too!
If you got mostly c's, you're considerate and kind. You try your best to think of how your actions affect other people. You think the world would be a better place if everyone practiced being considerate. You may even make an Are You Rude Quiz to make your point.
If you got any d's, you're a saint! Settle down, you're making the rest of us look bad.
So, where did you rank on the jerk scale? Let us know in the comments below. (Ahem, I mean, please let us know in the comments below!)
A Note from The Travel Mama: The photo at the top of this post was purchased from istockphoto.com and taken by Nina Malyna.
About Colleen Lanin, The Travel Mama
Mostly c’s. I actually thought I’d rank lower!
Lol. Relieved I am not a jerk!
I know what I should do every time, but am probably not as consistent as I should be. I think our collective interpersonal skills need some work as more of us become more comfortable connecting only through a screen.
Allison – I didn’t think of it that way. You could be right – people are so used to connecting through a screen that they don’t know what to do when a neighbor smiles and says hi!
I was terrified to take this, but apparently my mama raised me right. I was mostly Cs! Lots of good food for thought in the quiz too about how our actions impact others. Love it!
Keryn – I’m not surprised at all. You’re a very conscientious person!
Good reminders and food for thought!
I’m definitely between a b and a c so I guess I have a little bit to work on but part of it is probably my northeastern reserve.