Wait in Line

Good going regarding the toy. I would have done the same..

Lol!

It's funny how most are bashing and criticizing this woman for standing her ground when she was not the real offender in this whole drama.

The American women showed no professionalism in this encounter. I would have been quite embarassed if she was with me. It was good she stood her ground but bad with how she did it. Most Americans are taught to be an ambassador for our country when we are abroad by not acting like a retard in public or disrespecting the locals. With that being said, there are still the ones that squeek through and ruin it for the rest of us. The statement she made about the US owning the world proves she is of low intellect and social standing. Sorry if I'm stepping on toes here.

Well my mom's like Monica from friends if it's just about cleanliness though it's not a common practice in the PI when eating at a fast food chain to throw your own trash after the least we can do would be to put all out trash on a tray so that staff people could throw it. It's an SOP, if someone finish eating they'll clean the table & wipe it with disinfectant that's just the way things are & if someone will going to use the table, they'll ask the waiter to clean it. I would bet that no one comes close to my mom being a good parent here so stop whining about these nonsense. I'm just curious about these throwing your own trash after you eat because it's not a common practice of ours so don't push it like its all about the parents fault... It's like these, do you wash your mouth after you eat? Some just wipe it with toilet paper. It's a common practice of ours to wash our mouth after we eat because it's more hygienic compare to just a toilet paper but eating is just a metaphor for something you do in the toilet if you had a bad stomach.

I was at the pool a few weeks back and my daughter after dragging a toy she was going to throw it back to the swimming pool so I explained to her that the toy was dirty and should not be thrown back to the water so I asked her to clean it up, then while I was getting ready to go with her just to show how to clean it a neighbor came by in a nice way and asked me if I was probably a little too harsh with her, "you know... she's just a baby" then I explained to this gentleman that I had my own way of teaching by setting good examples and btw, she's four years which IMHO makes her fit enough to realize certain things... with a little bit of mentoring, of course.

FYI... We left our table clean not in a sense we throw our trash clean but properly put in a tray for easy picking not a storm had pass kind of thing, just to be clear...

Indeed Fathimah, indeed.

That's just something that comes naturally...or rather its supposed to.My mother has always been that way as well. Regardless of where we dine we were always required to leave the table as clean as possible.It's amazing though how many people deem it perfectly fine to leave their messes around. and undoubtedly most children would follow in the footsteps of their parents too.

Fathima, my child stopped doing that when he was about 2 years old...but hey, each to their own.

Oh, and IF this were to happen in a restaurant or food court, I would feel obligated to clean the mess my child has left.

I know exactly what you mean...its certainly not a pretty sight and very uncivilized specially when you see clearly that all/majority of the diners were above ten years of age!

Seriously, can I get her number? I would like to ask her out.

Have you seen the state of some of the tables left behind in some food courts here?

You'd think a horde of wild animals had been feeding there....

Half eaten food smeared on the table, seats and floor...paper everywhere...pretty nasty.

But even in Qatar,just like I did back in SL, whenever I do eat at a food court(which is very rare) I do clean up after myself. Leaving the tray behind for the next person to clean off, in case the cleaning guy doesn't reach there fast enough, just isn't my style. And yes I find it to be of good manners and consideration to do so. And I believe we actually had a discussion on this topic sometime back in QL!

the counter battle generally takes place in the hypermarkets....

Well, I was at Mango today, there was a sale...the whole store was a battlefield..BUT, everybody stood in line and waited for their turn.

I guess the American lady did what she though it was the right thing fir her to do. Sometimes you must pick your battles in a smart way and I have learned that there are times, especially when I hang with my family when is better to give up and don't let these kind of things ruin your day.

When I see this behavior it makes me realize that some are totally against globalization and openness but those are the kind of things you can't stop, especially in the 21st century and those people are the ones who will need to suck it up. It's just a matter of time and patience.

Cupid & flor, you are both right. However, in USA (maybe some other countries too), they get used to clean their table after dining in a fastfood chain but not in a fine dining restaurant. You will never see anyone leaving their mess in the table after they eat. That is their culture.

In middle east, it is being practiced in Ikea restaurant. You have to clean your table before leaving in exchange for the cheaper price offered for their foods.

flor1212... Well I can understand that even in my local company before we clean our own mess... but in the P.I. most likely if we eat in fast food chains or restaurants there are staff people who clears our table...

very hard to implement this in public malls' fastfood dine areas. The cleaning fee is included in their food price. In private mess halls, usually, the meal is subsidized and the employees will have their share by cleaning their own mess.

Well that's new... They don't have people to clean it, here? I guess there's a difference after all.

Well I think it is because in other countries people who go to malls and eat have only like 30 minutes to get back to their desks... food courts get so jammed that customers might make a bigger mess if they throw their own thrash because of insane time & jammed pack so better wait for staff people to do their job...which makes some sense..

But here, you've got like 2 hours at least to kill during lunch time to throw that trash in-spite all customers are in line not on the cashier but the trash can..

Courteous thing to do is clean up after yourself

if another employee's being hired to take charge of your trash prices will increase. Surely you don't want to be responsible for pricing anyone out of an affordable meal.

in Industrial areas back home, almost all the mess halls of IC companies have the same regulations. You need to clear your eating place and put the tray on a designated areas. It's a good practice.

I think it is because in other countries people who go to malls and eat have only like 30 minutes to get back to their desks... food courts get so jammed that employees fail to clear the tables fast and the turn around time is insane.. so When you don't throw your trash, most probably the next hungry person will have to do it... which makes some sense..

But here, you've got like 2 hours at least to kill during lunch time..

I'm curios about that throw your own trash when eating at a restaurant or fast-food chain. They have staff people to clean that right? I mean it's not like I'm bothering a customer to throw it.

this is what I was trying to point out. The culture here makes it acceptable not to throw this tray when you eat at the mall. In other countries you would get the dirtiest looks doing that.

I am not saying cutting to the front of the line is acceptable by any means. But you just can't measure everything you learned back home about social behavior and dictate people here about it.

When you're in Rome...

Yup weren't the rebellious kids anymore who needs to be rude to people who are rude, being educated persons we learned how to act accordingly in public though I don't pick up my tray after eating in a resto or any food establishment likewise unless I'm having a picnic in a park or something...

like the BBC reporter who was shot dead in New Zealand the day before?

I agree skittles. and I think everyone who harps that it's 'cultural', or that we ca't blame their rudeness on culture because that would be racist is just ignoring and muddyng the issue.

People need to learn to have respect for other people. Point blank. I don't care where you are or where you're from, rudeness isn't allowed.

I don't know quite when we as a society shrugged collectively and said we weren't going to say anything to people who behave badly in public. . .

that's not the point, the 15 year old girl is probably harming herself more than others, I'm talking about people's behavior in public, how you treat other people and simple act of consideration, off course every country has " trash" and when you don't know how to act and treat people, it's because someone failed to teach you respect and manners.

Well said...But when it came to your friend speaking up I'm guessing she didn't really do so with the intention of just teaching them good manners(which frankly, if they haven't learnt till now I doubt they ever will)but she simply stood up for her rights and getting what she wants and for that alone she rocks! Fact is they can keep all their rudeness to themselves,mutter and cuss under their breaths even, but you don't try to act like you own the world and claim rights you don't have.

True skittles but you know, In the US a 15 years old girl is usually allowed having a BF and doing things a 15 years old should not do on weekends. Not one culture is perfect. I agree parenting is a must to all these behaviors though..

for me it all comes down to manners and what parents and the schools teach the children, Simple consideration for people, waiting your turn, saying "thank you"," excuse me" and "please", and knowing how to behave in public.For instance you eat at the food court,you pick your tray up when you finish and take it to the trash.I don't care how old I am or what country I'm in, my mom would slap the hell out of me If I left my trash on a public table and walked away. this isn't about culture or "if you don't like the country leave" it's about manners, being polite and knowing how to deal with people. I don't agree with my friend simply because I don't care what these people do, it's not my job to teach them what their parents failed to do.

Excellent well done!

PeterG, You just said it clear what I had been trying to mumble all along! If we start pointing out the rudeness and sense of entitlement of nationalities a lot more mud needs to be thrown,...pointing out a rude behavior is a different thing, BTW on a scale of Sense of Entitlement+Arrogance, Qataris definitely are not number1….

Smoke, my point was that whether we know if they are Qatari or not, why need to tag some behavior by some nationality...

Once I was renewing my visa, some American woman, cut through the line, where many others were standing. I gave her a piece of my mind and she was extremely rude.

people really need to chill out in here. Here is a summary of 95 % of the posts on QL:

- Issue presented (from the teller's side, so 50 % true at most )

- Cultural or nationality or religion blaming

- Supporters clap

- Defenders Boo and tell supporters to leave if not happy

- On the side people tell others not to generalize

- Some wise guys throw silly jokes

- Topic deviates to something else

Happened to my with all kinds of ladies and men. Yes, they were all arabic, but not necessarily Qatari.

I just tell them to wait and give my order to the salesman, or tell the cashier to ring me up.So far, nobody has dared to cross me...;)

@ OP 100 likes to the attitude and reaction of your friend...:) I love people with such attitude...

I'm not saying what your friend did was wrong but it's better if she just let it go and be the better "woman" a more professional approach. By the way it's also wrong to claim the world based on nationality though it may be caused by the heat of the moment, just saying...

PeterGrifin I think the OP said "Qatari" lady coz thats what the other lady said...no one is generalizing about the whole country.

Also to some of us its difficult to tell who is a Qatari and who is a wannabe, when they all dress alike and talk the native language you dont understand.

Some of us have to shut up and put up with it coz the laws here favor the Qataris and ones that speak Arabic and yes that is like 80% of the time. If some of us didnt have mouths to feed back home and were not afraid to lose their jobs without hope of getting a release to find a new job due to the stupid rules of slavery Qatar has, do you really think anyone would keep quiet for these arrogant arses?

who CARES what nationality she is! she could be anything and her behavior is just wrong.

Qatari people who come from good families are usually the educated ones, who usually behave politely anywhere they are. I am sure back in the US, you've got some low class citizens who not only cut in the line, but also threaten to kill you if you don't hand them your belongings.

This Nationality pointers got to stop on Qatar-living. You would expect western people to be a bit more open minded not to generalize a whole nation by some arrogant idiots.

I highly doubt she was Qatari. In my experience, it is the women pretending to be Qatari who make these scenes. (My husband is Arab and can catch the accent right away, so I know if they are non-Qataris)

My contacts with actual Qataris have been pretty positive. They apologize if they realize they are in the wrong.

I am American, and I too, do not put up with this crap of cutting in line. Where do I find the biggest problem with this? The public bathrooms in the malls!! I find I have to advocate for the poor kids or expat (non Western) women who are standing in line but get pushed aside by Abaya wearing women.

Well done lady !! you have many more nbg21s to be taught this lesson...

Your friend did the right thing. However, I don't yell at them, I give them a dirty look and push right back in front of them.

It's not just Qatari's either. I've had other nationalities butt in front of me in a line at LuLu or Carrefour just because they only have a few items and I have a cart full.

I was shopping at LuLu on Saturday and as I was bending down to get some water from underneath my cart a guy butted in front of me with 3 items and the cashier started ringing him in. I started yelling at both of them and called the manager. You don't mess with a pregnant lady.

BRAVO. MORE people need to do this! It's not about who's country it is: it's about common curtesy and respect, and that is universal.

For me it's always teenagers, adn usually at the cinema. it's almost worse because you KNOW these kids are growing up with this entitled sense that they are allowed to do absolutely anything and treat anyone as poorly as they like, as clearly they are more important by virtue of their passport. Disgusting.

Once we were standing in line at the cinema, on a weekend when it's so super crowded to get tickets, adn these three qatari boys, maybe 14 years old, just saunter forward like they don't even see the crowd and try to cut in front of me. I told them the line was back there and refused to let them-- i don't know if they were able to butt in front of someone behind me, but at least I treated them the same way I would rude boys back home.

That's the key: I don't know why so many expats seem to think the rules for polite behavior are not applicable to Qataris in Qatar. In Canada, if someone is rude, we tell them. . . even if they are Canadian, in Canada. Just beacause it's your home country doesn't mean you get to be a jerk. Anotehr time, again in the cinema, a group of teenage boys were doing the normal Qatari teenage behavior-- yelling across the cinema, talking, walking around, texting, one even took out a phone and starting playing music loudly in the middle of the film. When I could barely hear the film over their incredibly rude behavior (seriously: just stay at home and watch a dvd if you want to talk adn throw things throughout), I ssshhhh'd them, just like I would back home. They stopped for maybe half a second before coming back louder. Then someone shhhh'd them, at which point one actually got up and went to the usher to demand they make people stop telling them to be quiet. After these shennanigans, one started kicking the back of my friends chair. I turned around and asked them to please stop.

Clearly, they didn't, as they are Qatari. What we're doing is allowing a generation of rich, spoilt brats to gow and develop, a generation who will have NO clue how to function in teh real world. One day, they are going to go abroad, for school or for holiday. And what's going to happen when they behave like they are the center of the universe when they arent' in Qatar? No one is going to care, and more importantly, no one is going to cut them slack. It's not helping Qatar's international image at all!

as Seasons said they are wannabe Qatari's.

I guess wannabe Qatari's

duplicate tcom? What does that mean?

Well done to this lady!

Most of these who cut in are duplicate Qatari's. True Qatari will rarely cut in.

"Western people built this place...."

Now I know why all these problem arises here! Lol!

flor, you should have told him in Tagalog that you are his father.

I have had the same experience in Mark & Spencer in Landmark. At that time, the cashier talked to her nicely that she would take her stuff if the lady in the front of the line agreed her to do so. The Qatari lady got so mad , started yelling and threw the stuff into the face of cashier. Welcome to Qatar

This has only happened to me in Qtel. I just let it go. And yes it was a Qatari (supposed) lady.

Not only western polka...I am an Asian from a poor country (Philippines)as many are saying.

Is this "cutting the line" phenomena always observed in a Qatari Lady Vs Western Lady scenario?

am always around watching you know

It is almost the same story that happened to me last year. I was in the cue to pay at the cashier in Marks & Spencer. Then suddenly a Qatari lady overtook all those in line (I was 3rd in the line) and put all she bought in the counter and she took her wallet. What I did then, I removed her things and told her to learn how to fall in line...she was yelling at me, telling that she doesnt need to fall in line as she is Qatari. Then, I told her that I dont care whoever she is, wherever she is coming from. Then she kept on yelling at me and she called her husband on her phone. When the husband came, they talked in their language and after, the husband apologized to me.

There are really plenty of arrogant Qatari women. We should teach them lesson sometimes when such circumstance arise.

Welcome back DaRuDe!

slapped her

Your friend can be the new poster girl of my cause! She did the right thing...and I'd so do the same. I hate hate hate people who do this. Raises my hackles! Its not about who is a Qatari and who is an American its about doing what's just and fighting for your rights. Besides its the line cutter who brought nationalities, ownership and what not into the whole scene. The height of arrogance really. So pat your friend on her back from me!

Nbg_21 i'm going to ignore the fact that you just typed sh*t without thinking or you are one of those people that let anyone walk all over you coz "you are in their country"

That being said, had it not been the "American" that was yelling back, I'm pretty sure the Qatari lady would have won the fight.

LOL,....The average American and Oil rich citizen has the same belief at heart that they own the world, and who's at fault in this specific incident? BOTH , the Qatari to cut in line and the American to make a mountain out of a mole hill, who is she to complain about preferential treatment to the Locals, she comes from a country where invaders are stratified based on colour [not even locals], and where darker skinned citizens face this type of discrimination every day....why....they still have the 'First Black' president!

Segmund you are great. Finally you decided what exactly was the reason of the fight. The video can explain itself.

The thing at fault was not at all Qatarism or Americanism. It was the fact that both parties were women. You can expect anything of a woman but reason.

nbg: you accepting being shat on by locals does not mean others do. Western people built this place and made you have a toilet instead of squatting like an animal.

Jason, be silenced. Last I need is a clown pick on my wisdom in here.

HAHA!

Bravo Americana way to go! HAHA!

Peter as a man who ain't afraid of his identity my pic is better than ur mask, I am cool and you right to think that but this is a post about the locals and their so called right to have it, now I been in my local casino and these locals are sharing tables, bot about your mud clad fantasies this is about double standards you couched bah!!

"People don't like westren people" hahaha thanks for the laugh!

i dont understand why ppl complain about the behaviour of qatari ppl its their country if u dont like it leave it

tell me if ur own country was so gr8 and well behaved then why u came here in the first place

u dont go to jungle and kill a tiger bcoz ur feeling a threat u kill it when its in ur teritory

if a qatari comes to ur country and act like an idiot then its ur right to say him/her some thing other wise else just shut up and keep ur so called manners to ur self

this is the one reason why ppl dont like western ppl is that they dictate their will on others

Jason, ur so cool.

I wish I can have a picture on QL with a drink in my hand.

ever heard of humor you douche bag?

Yeah cos that makes it all good Peter you sad sack

as I was exiting The Pearl, I happened to change lane from left to right but an SUV was fast approaching at the right lane. About a 100 meters more, the SUV cut me and stopped and the driver (obviously an American) went down and scolded me saying he saw me changing lane without using my indicator. I said I did not see you coming and he said, whether he's coming in that lane or not, my mistake was not using my indicators. Ok, fine I said sorry. I asked him to get to his car and drove off and I followed him going to the direction of Rainbow R/A.

But alas, the guy change lane twice without using his indicator so before reaching the exhibition center, I cut him and now it was my time to scold him, and you know what he said, truly an American, "who am I to tell him to use indicators in changing lanes?". The guy sucks!

it would have been hot if they got physical.. nothing extreme just some minor hair grabbing

New money you mean they earnt the right. Yet ok maybe here in their small bubble, yet still they chasing the western dream

New money you mean they earnt the right. Yet ok maybe here in their small bubble, yet still they chasing the western dream

A fight between free and earned money.

Problem is to many people are scared of locals why, why is this, they go to my country and get more than respect aim a guest in their country I expect the same, they are ignorant to think that such a statement is worthy of priority join the back of the que love and to all you who cower, find your backbone

I don't think she was right,I think sometimes you just have to walk away to remain classy,

Your friend was right - America does indeed own the world :o)

Amen!

Serves her right..

My congratulations to your American friend. She did exactly what I have done many times since in Qatar: Show what RESPECT FOR OTHERS means to many of these local ladies. The comment 'I own this country' makes me laugh and shows complete lack of education and an aggressive attitude from a 'minority' in her own homecountry. Her husband though did the honorable and right thing and I applaud him for that.

Respect to be respected! Everybody is equal!

Local arrogance vs American ignorance and bravado. If not for the husband this could have got quite ugly. Fortunately the average mature Qatari male is a very polite and decent person and will always bring reason into irrational catfights and stupid argments.