Peepette no. 4

Peepette no. 4: Hold the door.

It’s just common courtesy. I can excuse the occasional, absent-minded, quickly corrected elbow-on-the-table and I can even forgive the not holding of the door if there is a good possibility that the door could end up holding you (i.e., revolving doors, elevator doors, subway doors…). But it drives me berserk when I am walking behind someone and they slow down while the approach the door, turn their head around just so their eyes peek over their shoulder, look at you and proceed to enter not only without holding the door, but by opening the door only a few inches so that they can barely squeeze through sideways. At this point, you have caught up with the person watching them suck in and shuffle through and think, “Is this a private party at the post office?” It makes no sense.

On a similar note, what is proper etiquette for saying “Thank you” when someone holds multiple doors for you? I think one is sufficient followed by a series of smiles to acknowledge and encourage them to keep it up.