Why can’t people follow simple instructions?
Discussion
You can see this is many areas of life. One example (in mind as I am on my way to the airport soon), is the security check.
In most airports there are notices or videos or staff that explain what you should do eg liquids have to be in a separate, plastic bag, allowable volume of such liquids, computers have to taken out of bags, jackets and belts taken off, etc. People are also asked to prepare themselves to make the process quicker. Yet only a minority of people follow those instructions. Often you have to wait twenty minutes or more in a queue before you get to the front, yet people don’t do any preparation and only start to get things ready at the last moment. Often they have to be told what to do and many haven’t followed instructions on liquids (and have stuff confiscated before or after the bag is scanned). Almost everyone will have flown more than once and so will have been through security before (which seems to be much the same everywhere I’ve flown). Why aren’t people able to follow simples rules? Perhaps the question should be why don’t people follow simple rules, rather than not able to, because for most I suspect the capability is there, just any will to do so is absent.
What is frustrating is that the witless or obdurate cause problems not just for themselves but for everyone else too. I wish in life we could have some physical separation for those who can’t or won’t make life easier for the rest of us, so that they only inconvenience themselves.
In most airports there are notices or videos or staff that explain what you should do eg liquids have to be in a separate, plastic bag, allowable volume of such liquids, computers have to taken out of bags, jackets and belts taken off, etc. People are also asked to prepare themselves to make the process quicker. Yet only a minority of people follow those instructions. Often you have to wait twenty minutes or more in a queue before you get to the front, yet people don’t do any preparation and only start to get things ready at the last moment. Often they have to be told what to do and many haven’t followed instructions on liquids (and have stuff confiscated before or after the bag is scanned). Almost everyone will have flown more than once and so will have been through security before (which seems to be much the same everywhere I’ve flown). Why aren’t people able to follow simples rules? Perhaps the question should be why don’t people follow simple rules, rather than not able to, because for most I suspect the capability is there, just any will to do so is absent.
What is frustrating is that the witless or obdurate cause problems not just for themselves but for everyone else too. I wish in life we could have some physical separation for those who can’t or won’t make life easier for the rest of us, so that they only inconvenience themselves.
Sheepshanks said:
I suppose it's because most people are thick as s
t.
Airport security is frustating but normally the scanner itself is the bottleneck so in reality it doesn't make any difference how slow people are to get their stuff into the trays.
I suppose with the law of unintended consequences, if everyone followed the rules and the process was twice as fast…airports would employ half the number of people at security so that the process for the customer took just as long.t.Airport security is frustating but normally the scanner itself is the bottleneck so in reality it doesn't make any difference how slow people are to get their stuff into the trays.
The problem also is that different airports have different processes:
Some require shoes off - some don’t
Some allow electronics to be left in bags - some don’t
Some insist that liquids are 100ml max and in bags - again, some don’t now
Some require meds to be removed and bagged - some don’t
Some allow watches to be left on - some don’t
There is no consistency even within single airports never mind countries - I had everything all out for scanning in Washington DC a few weeks ago and was moved onto a new lane and was shouted at as that lane had a different scanner and allowed everything to be left in the bag. Ludicrous.
People are total idiots though and don’t follow instructions - but again some won’t be native English speakers and may not have heard or understood fully.
As a regular flier (2-4 long haul a month now on average) this all annoyed me originally but now I couldn’t care less and it’s not worth getting pent up about.
Some require shoes off - some don’t
Some allow electronics to be left in bags - some don’t
Some insist that liquids are 100ml max and in bags - again, some don’t now
Some require meds to be removed and bagged - some don’t
Some allow watches to be left on - some don’t
There is no consistency even within single airports never mind countries - I had everything all out for scanning in Washington DC a few weeks ago and was moved onto a new lane and was shouted at as that lane had a different scanner and allowed everything to be left in the bag. Ludicrous.
People are total idiots though and don’t follow instructions - but again some won’t be native English speakers and may not have heard or understood fully.
As a regular flier (2-4 long haul a month now on average) this all annoyed me originally but now I couldn’t care less and it’s not worth getting pent up about.
Alorotom said:
The problem also is that different airports have different processes:
Some require shoes off - some don’t
Some allow electronics to be left in bags - some don’t
Some insist that liquids are 100ml max and in bags - again, some don’t now
Some require meds to be removed and bagged - some don’t
Some allow watches to be left on - some don’t
There is no consistency even within single airports never mind countries - I had everything all out for scanning in Washington DC a few weeks ago and was moved onto a new lane and was shouted at as that lane had a different scanner and allowed everything to be left in the bag. Ludicrous.
People are total idiots though and don’t follow instructions - but again some won’t be native English speakers and may not have heard or understood fully.
As a regular flier (2-4 long haul a month now on average) this all annoyed me originally but now I couldn’t care less and it’s not worth getting pent up about.
this is why i just wear trainers, comfy joggers and a tshirt. no need to take any clothing off. im comfy (which is what you should be for travelling). my mother on the other hand dresses up, boots, rings, earrings etc. has to faff around taking shoes, belts and jewellery off. All for what? and for who? nobody gives a crap what you wear as long as you're clean and dont stinkSome require shoes off - some don’t
Some allow electronics to be left in bags - some don’t
Some insist that liquids are 100ml max and in bags - again, some don’t now
Some require meds to be removed and bagged - some don’t
Some allow watches to be left on - some don’t
There is no consistency even within single airports never mind countries - I had everything all out for scanning in Washington DC a few weeks ago and was moved onto a new lane and was shouted at as that lane had a different scanner and allowed everything to be left in the bag. Ludicrous.
People are total idiots though and don’t follow instructions - but again some won’t be native English speakers and may not have heard or understood fully.
As a regular flier (2-4 long haul a month now on average) this all annoyed me originally but now I couldn’t care less and it’s not worth getting pent up about.
Skeptisk said:
I wish in life we could have some physical separation for those who can’t or won’t make life easier for the rest of us, so that they only inconvenience themselves.
You can - just move to Japan. No dumb behaviour exhibited although be prepared for locals to look at you as being the witless one, as you fail to spot and follow convention on public transport etc.I don’t really mind that people make mistakes or forget they had something in their bag as the rules aren’t consistently applied between airports. It’s when people argue with the person searching their bag that I get annoyed.
A couple of years ago I stood there waiting for my bag to be searched having been randomly selected whilst an old British bloke argued endlessly about how toothpaste wasn’t a liquid. The security guy was quite funny, just kept repeating “liquids, gels and PASTES sir”. Then he started down the “I’ve been flying for over 50 years”, “ this is ridiculous” road. He was asked by several passengers to wind his neck in and move along sans his toothpaste, 3 full sized tubes of the stuff, must have had very clean teeth beneath that empty void. What exactly are people hoping to achieve by arguing with someone who has been given a very specific brief?
A couple of years ago I stood there waiting for my bag to be searched having been randomly selected whilst an old British bloke argued endlessly about how toothpaste wasn’t a liquid. The security guy was quite funny, just kept repeating “liquids, gels and PASTES sir”. Then he started down the “I’ve been flying for over 50 years”, “ this is ridiculous” road. He was asked by several passengers to wind his neck in and move along sans his toothpaste, 3 full sized tubes of the stuff, must have had very clean teeth beneath that empty void. What exactly are people hoping to achieve by arguing with someone who has been given a very specific brief?
Some airports are now on next generation security equipment such as Schipol and there are signs up saying no need to take laptops and liquids etc out of bags. So what happens? All the people who are never ready when you do have to take them out like in the UK currently are standing there taking them out you can’t make it up 
The best security laugh I’ve ever had was at Joburg when there was a family in front of me and the little boy who was about 4-5 was very proud of his own little case. It went through the scanner and all hell broke loose. He had put his toy hand grenade in his bag
The best security laugh I’ve ever had was at Joburg when there was a family in front of me and the little boy who was about 4-5 was very proud of his own little case. It went through the scanner and all hell broke loose. He had put his toy hand grenade in his bag
Creating/writing instructions is rather difficult.
There are standards and directives to be adhered to, and they usually aren’t. I am wading through this for a project at work, and will be back on the case on Wednesday morning. Its critical equipment.
The best instructions are by Lego. No words just colour pictures.
At airports, we just need some lanes.
Lane 1 for know-it-all’s.
Lane 2 for the inexperienced that have never gone through airport security before.
Lane 3 for semi seasoned travellers.
Lane 4 for people who spend their lives on and off aircraft.
Etc….
There are standards and directives to be adhered to, and they usually aren’t. I am wading through this for a project at work, and will be back on the case on Wednesday morning. Its critical equipment.
The best instructions are by Lego. No words just colour pictures.
At airports, we just need some lanes.
Lane 1 for know-it-all’s.
Lane 2 for the inexperienced that have never gone through airport security before.
Lane 3 for semi seasoned travellers.
Lane 4 for people who spend their lives on and off aircraft.
Etc….
Alorotom said:
The problem also is that different airports have different processes:
Some require shoes off - some don’t
Some allow electronics to be left in bags - some don’t
Some insist that liquids are 100ml max and in bags - again, some don’t now
Some require meds to be removed and bagged - some don’t
Some allow watches to be left on - some don’t
There is no consistency even within single airports never mind countries - I had everything all out for scanning in Washington DC a few weeks ago and was moved onto a new lane and was shouted at as that lane had a different scanner and allowed everything to be left in the bag. Ludicrous.
People are total idiots though and don’t follow instructions - but again some won’t be native English speakers and may not have heard or understood fully.
As a regular flier (2-4 long haul a month now on average) this all annoyed me originally but now I couldn’t care less and it’s not worth getting pent up about.
exactly this - for me a queue means kindle out and read until we're calledSome require shoes off - some don’t
Some allow electronics to be left in bags - some don’t
Some insist that liquids are 100ml max and in bags - again, some don’t now
Some require meds to be removed and bagged - some don’t
Some allow watches to be left on - some don’t
There is no consistency even within single airports never mind countries - I had everything all out for scanning in Washington DC a few weeks ago and was moved onto a new lane and was shouted at as that lane had a different scanner and allowed everything to be left in the bag. Ludicrous.
People are total idiots though and don’t follow instructions - but again some won’t be native English speakers and may not have heard or understood fully.
As a regular flier (2-4 long haul a month now on average) this all annoyed me originally but now I couldn’t care less and it’s not worth getting pent up about.
As a very specific example of this, I was once behind an elderly couple in the queue as the metal detector was triggered. The chap initially insisted that he had no metal, then in a moment of realisation, he pulled 'highlander style', a flat head screwdriver, probably 15 inches long, from under his suit jacket. 
We were given a test paper in one of my management courses many years ago and told by our lecturer that a group of car mechanics had completed it in a very fast allocated time.
We of course, as wannabe managers were determined to beat a bunch of car mechanics.
The lecturer said we had to shout our names out loud when we had finished the 40 multiple choice questions putting even more pressure on each of us because we all wanted to be the one to shout out our name first.
On the buzzer we all furiously rushed through the questions, ignoring the simple instruction at the head of the paper that we were to read all the questions before we started marking our answers.
The 40th question was in fact another instruction which said we did not need to answer any questions, but were to sit there quietly and do nothing until the time allocated was up.
How stupid we all felt when we reached the 40th question.
I learned a valuable lesson that day that has stuck with me for nearly 50 years.
We of course, as wannabe managers were determined to beat a bunch of car mechanics.
The lecturer said we had to shout our names out loud when we had finished the 40 multiple choice questions putting even more pressure on each of us because we all wanted to be the one to shout out our name first.
On the buzzer we all furiously rushed through the questions, ignoring the simple instruction at the head of the paper that we were to read all the questions before we started marking our answers.
The 40th question was in fact another instruction which said we did not need to answer any questions, but were to sit there quietly and do nothing until the time allocated was up.
How stupid we all felt when we reached the 40th question.
I learned a valuable lesson that day that has stuck with me for nearly 50 years.
I think there are so many reasons, those who are thick, those who want rules not to apply to themselves.
The reality there is no real punishments for those who do not follow the rules.
Many can be annoying, yet cause little harm, but my daughter is and anesthetics Dr. You would be shocked as to how many people have a pre op meeting where clear instructions are given regarding what to eat or drink on the day of an operation and then ignore them.
She has had to cancel so many operations in the last few years due to," I was hungry so had a piece of toast" " had a cup of tea" etc. They then get indignant that they cannot have the operation that was so important to them that they could not go without a cup of tea. This causes a waste of theatre time and a team who cannot simply find a substitute.
They should go to the back of any queue in my mind
The reality there is no real punishments for those who do not follow the rules.
Many can be annoying, yet cause little harm, but my daughter is and anesthetics Dr. You would be shocked as to how many people have a pre op meeting where clear instructions are given regarding what to eat or drink on the day of an operation and then ignore them.
She has had to cancel so many operations in the last few years due to," I was hungry so had a piece of toast" " had a cup of tea" etc. They then get indignant that they cannot have the operation that was so important to them that they could not go without a cup of tea. This causes a waste of theatre time and a team who cannot simply find a substitute.
They should go to the back of any queue in my mind
spaximus said:
I think there are so many reasons, those who are thick, those who want rules not to apply to themselves.
The reality there is no real punishments for those who do not follow the rules.
Many can be annoying, yet cause little harm, but my daughter is and anesthetics Dr. You would be shocked as to how many people have a pre op meeting where clear instructions are given regarding what to eat or drink on the day of an operation and then ignore them.
She has had to cancel so many operations in the last few years due to," I was hungry so had a piece of toast" " had a cup of tea" etc. They then get indignant that they cannot have the operation that was so important to them that they could not go without a cup of tea. This causes a waste of theatre time and a team who cannot simply find a substitute.
They should go to the back of any queue in my mind They should be made to sign a waiver to accept full responsibility if/when they choke it in theatre!
FTFYThe reality there is no real punishments for those who do not follow the rules.
Many can be annoying, yet cause little harm, but my daughter is and anesthetics Dr. You would be shocked as to how many people have a pre op meeting where clear instructions are given regarding what to eat or drink on the day of an operation and then ignore them.
She has had to cancel so many operations in the last few years due to," I was hungry so had a piece of toast" " had a cup of tea" etc. They then get indignant that they cannot have the operation that was so important to them that they could not go without a cup of tea. This causes a waste of theatre time and a team who cannot simply find a substitute.
Edited by pequod on Monday 10th April 20:02
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