Avoid Queue-Jumping

      Queuing is well known to be one of the cultural behaviours in Hong Kong.

Queues can be seen at everywhere, such as supermarkets, bus stops, platforms in

MTR and KCR stations, karaoke boxes, cinemas ticket offices, and even outside

toilets! However, there's always someone who breaks the rule of the game in this

world. I believe that everyone has experienced that one or some other people come

and stand in front of you when you are queuing-----queue-jumping! No one would

not dislike this social behaviour, and so do I. According to my past experiences, queue

jumping can actually be avoided in some ways.

      The first step to avoid queue-jumping is to recognize who intends to break the rule

of queuing. If you wait until they come in front of you, it would be too late then. Of

course, we should first carry out our own responsibilities. Enter the queue and stand

exactly behind the last people of it. When there are more and more people standing

behind you, try to observe them one by one. But do remember to walk a few steps

whenever the queue is moving forward, or others will be able to jump into your

queue legally! We should aware of two types of people during the observation: those

who look at the front of the queue and those don't stand properly behind the one in

front of him/her. If these types of people really exist in the queue, we can carry out

some methods to avoid their potential action.

      The non-verbal communication style, eye-contact, is the basic technique to avoid

queue-jumping. Look at him/her directly to let them realize that you know he/she

is trying to stand in front of you. Or even stare at him/her to give them a signal

that they shouldn't jump into the queue. People who are guilty or have made some

mistakes are afraid to have direct eye-contact with the victim. Even if it doesn't

work, it can at least postpone their action time!

      When the situation of queue-jumping is really inevitable, we should be sensitive

and use a high speed to do some movements in order to save our positions in the queue.

First, beware of anyone who walks near the queue!! Be sensitive of the direction from

which he/she tries to offend and move to it as soon as possible. Then, get well use of

your back so as to block his/her way towards the queue. Sometimes, we can even turn

around and take a look at the queue-jumper and the back of the queue to let him/her

know everyone should follow the rules of queuing. After the series of action taken,

the guy would catch the attention of most people in the queue and queue-jumping

can be avoided more easily.

      The final step is the one we all absolutely don't want to take! That is saying a

few words or scolding the queue-jumper loudly when he/she has already jumped  into

the queue successfully. When we are so unluckily that someone has taken the place

in front of us, we should be brave to say a few words to them. For example, `It's

so impolite for you to jump into the queue' or `It's really unfair to all the people

waiting at the back, including me!' Be brave to do so as you are the right person.

And remember to speak all the sentences loudly so that everyone in the queue is able .

to listen to. Then, the guy would feel so embarrassed and leave his/her place. Or some

other people at the back may even help you to make him/her get rid of this queue!

      now, I'm going to share some of my own experiences of avoiding queue-jumping

as references. One rainy day, i waited for the bus No.17 to go to school and there were

over ten people standing behind me in the queue. When the bus was coming and

getting ready to slow down, one old man walked slowly towards the bus door and

tried to get on the bus without queuing. I started to move to the direction in which

he tried to enter the queue and followed tightly the woman in front of me in order

to block his way to the queue. I even faced to him and closed my umbrella before

getting on the bus, making him move back and stand far away from the queue.

Finally, he should wait until all people  in the queue had got on the bus! However,

I also have some failed cases. When I was waiting for a mini-bus one day afternoon,

there were also over ten people waiting behind me in the queue. However, a mini-bus

came and stopped at a place far away the stop in front of the queue! Then, everyone

at the back rushed to the mini-bus, leaving me standing alone there. I was really

surprised by this phenomenon. There was no seat left when I walked to the mini-bus.

I'd like to express that no one would say that he must be able to avoid queue-jumping.

There are so many people who like breaking the rules all the time. And the

environment, the weather and even the mini-bus driver are all factors affecting the

queuing game. So, we have to get well use of the methods stated above to protect our

own rights in the queue.

      The initial step to avoid queue-jumping is to observe and discover who is trying

to jump into the queue. You can never avoid this if you even don't know who is

actually standing in front of you in the queue. Queuing is a rule of the game

first-come-first-served. It's really bad and impolite for a person to carry out queuing-

jumping. We should try our very best to avoid this behaviour!!