COVID-19 Etiquette: 6 Common Conundrums (And A Printable Pocket Guide)

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Malaka Gharib:
Last week, I was inside a convenience store, and a deliveryman was stocking up sodas in the refrigerated aisle without wearing a mask. It made me feel uncomfortable. We were in a small, windowless space together. If the deliveryman had been sick and shedding virus, it could have easily spread through the air inside the store.

As I waited in the checkout line, I felt my anxiety growing. What should I do in this situation? Should I say something?

That’s when I could have really used the advice of Elaine Swann, founder of the Swann School of Protocol, an etiquette training institute. She trains people on good manners, for example, how to engage in small talk or which fork to use at the dinner table. Now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, she has been helping people navigate some tricky new social dilemmas — like my convenience store situation.

Although we are living through a pandemic, says Swann, people still want to treat each other with kindness and respect — and “conduct themselves so that they’re not offending others, not hurting other people’s feelings.”

That’s probably why I felt so awkward about speaking up at the store — even though my own safety was at stake, I didn’t want to offend the deliveryman. After talking to Swann, I learned two solutions I could have deployed in that scenario. I could have asked the person with authority, the cashier, to direct the deliveryman to wear his mask. Or I could have popped out of the store until the deliveryman was finished, then popped back in again.

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1. How do I tell somebody — especially a stranger — to step back because that person is just too close to me?

Swann says this is the No. 1 question people ask her. Your first inclination is to yell out, “Step back!” or “Get up off me!” she says — but those reactions aren’t exactly polite, and they’re likely to escalate the problem.

Instead, she says, try to use words like “we” and “us” in the request. For example, “Let’s just put a little bit of space in between each other while we’re waiting in line.” This shows mutual consideration — you’re thinking about how your behavior is affecting their health — and hope they are concerned with your safety too.

If you ask in a kind manner, people are likely to do as you ask, says Swann. More often than not, people want to be respectful of others.

But if you start lecturing about pandemic safety or take on an abrasive tone, they might not be as willing to comply. They might “feel like they’re being chastised” or perceive your request as an attack on their moral character — that they are someone who does not follow rules. That might offend the person or make them feel defensive — and ultimately, the person might refuse your request.
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Rest of article in above link.
 
Those doodle Do’s don’t look so friendly, except for when dining.
 
TheIttyBitty said:
Those doodle Do’s don’t look so friendly, except for when dining.
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This one?

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I just don’t go out to dine myself. But I think all of this is better than some other incidents. I would post a link, but the language used in some of these incidents prevents me from doing so.
 
The whole thing is a bit patronizing. That dining img seems least patronizing, but then I notice the note of where to hide the mask.

Also, the fact that it’s “BONUS ADVICE” well ok…Just noticed all the text is in caps. So the whole print out is screaming. Neat.
 
Are you suggesting we need to be nice? I have to think how I feel about that. Seriously, I have not yet had an issue where subtle body language does not solve the problem. I will leave if needed. In the one situation I cannot leave (bwa ha ha) I get to be direct. I actually kicked a preacher out of where I work the other day, with a guilt free conscience. He had been warned twice (by others) and I was not going to warn him myself. I simply told him to leave immediately, but in a nice voice. I am responsible for the lives he was endangering.
 
It did not take long for me to be mask-shamed by a neighbor.

I don’t tell people on the bus to stop eating, or to obey any of the other rules I see them breaking on a daily basis. Let’s have fewer “mask scolds” taking matters into their own hands.

I wear a mask, so I leave it up to the police and local businesses to enforce my municipality’s mandates.
 
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