h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Beggars:
I don't give to street beggars... especially not the ones who sit complaining they have no money, and have a crate of beer and a box of fags sitting next to them. Plus it's all to easy to pretend you're worse off than you are, and sit and get free money off people who think they're doing you a good turn.

Buskers:
As long as they're playing with some kind of competency I think a certain amount of buskers can add personality to a highstreet, and even I am likely to part with some cash with the reason that they're making an effort.

Charity collecters:
I hate these with a passion. I wouldn't mind if they asked you nicely and left it at that, but the ones that speak to me all seem to be obnoxious and self- righteous. Some of the most foul mouths I've heard have belonged to people wielding a clipboard and wearing a sash.
Also, I'm more likely to drop some spare change into a moneybox than I am to give some stranger in the street my direct debit details when my only 'regular' income is a termly student loan payment, which I have to pay back anyway. I'm not exactly rolling in it, and what I do have is on loan from somewhere and I have to find the means to pay it back, whether to the loans company or to my parents.

Prams:
Please don't stand and chat in a shop entrance, or other such public access way. It's thoughtless. I have nothing against mothers with prams- I'm fully aware of the need for a child to be with it's parents for reasons of safety and upbringing, but when you're lugging something which is already large and cumbersome around a packed shopping centre, a little bit of thought is necessary. It's annoying to have to clamber over a pram in order to get into a shop, and it's annoying to have your pram clambered over too. It doesn't take much to move out of the way, stay against a wall or whatever- I mean, you wouldn't like it if someone stopped their car across the road you were trying to go down!

Mobile phones:
In public, it's loud, people are talking, so I don't see what difference a mobile phone makes. But in a quiet cafe, the chances are that a lot of people have chosen that place partly on the basis that it's quiet.
I think a good thing to do is to quickly put yourself in the position of those around you: Would you be annoyed if someone sitting next to you on the bus was yelling into their phone while you were trying to read your paper?
I'm always careful when I'm on my mobile phone to find a quietish place not too near to others who may be disturbed by a conversation, for my comfort as much as theirs- it's easier for the phone user as well as those around him/ her if thy don't have to compete with other noise.

Modern chivalry:
Sometimes it's rude to walk through a door in front of a woman, other times, if you hold the door open for them it's seen as incredibly sexist. Each situation has to be judged on its own merits- in a busy town centre, if you stand and hold a door open for someone, you probably won't ever get through it, but in a corridor at work or uni, it's only polite to hold the door for someone regardless of gender, sex or race.

Service staff:
They're being paid to provide a service, but not to take your crap. Pleases and thankyous are common courtesy, and a smile never goes amiss.
Be patient if there is a misunderstanding- they're not being awkward, mistakes happen.
The same goes for the reverse- the person you are serving is helping to pay your wages, so do what you're doing politely and preferably with a smile

TK