BRITINJAPAN4

In Thailand this would be an outrageously offensive behaviour, Japan and Korea also.,

dougzz

Like many threads here, the problem is other people. I seem to have similar issues everywhere I go.

subject2load

Totally agree PUCCI.

The reality is that access to lounges is determined - for all practical purposes - purely by the ticket bought / FF card held / money paid.
The sort of manners taught during one’s upbringing cannot (sadly !) play any part in the vetting process ; which in turn means that such selfish behaviour as described by the OP is destined not only to be witnessed regularly, but to broaden still further its already-unsavoury horizons.

Visconti

This isn't just a "British" thing. Even here in America, the Amex CL in SFO (the city which made it hip to be a slovenly barefoot hippy) routinely requests cardmembers remove their feet on the furniture or would fetch them an ottoman.

IMHO, taking off one's shoes especially for a man in the CCR strikes me as being grossly unaware & completely oblivious of one's surroundings.

PUCCI GALORE

There's something else as well - this occurred on a sofa if I recall, Sofas are intended as places where more than one person can sit - if he had his feet on the sofa be it shod or otherwise - no one else can sit down. That too is clearly another charm school classic. The general theme of this sort of conduct is that they don't care less - and really object when someone says anything. Their little bubble is punctured and their ego is bruised. Good manners is essentially about thinking of others rather than oneself. It would appear that as someone says "Road Warriors" (whatever that nonsense really means) can be as boorish as they please and then they run into a battleaxe like me. I take no prisoners.

Thank God, most people are polite and considerate - and frankly I hope that I am as well.

GUWonder

The inside of used shoes can be quite hospitable to a variety of bacteria and fungi, and the socks with them. That said, the amount of contamination of fecal matter and related bacteria on upholstered furniture at theaters would probably surprise many people. And those people would probably be surprised by what’s the case with upholstered airplane seats, airline lounge furniture and the water tanks feeding the planes’ lavatory taps.

Familiar with the phrase about familiarity breeding contempt? Applying a microscopic examination to too much may breed grossness out of proportion to reason, as familiarity with the contamination and contamination level grows.

I hear that random strangers’ phones are often more contaminated with “bugs” than toilet seats. I guess that’s another reason to prefer paper boarding passes to electronic ones … or just clean the hands more often and keep unwashed hands away from the mouth, nose, eyes, food, utensils/dishes/glassware.

Teaching old dogs new tricks doesn’t work all that well it seems. The messy lavatory floors seem to be made worse by adults than by children, from what I’ve unfortunately encountered over recent years. Little boys and girls seem to have it more fresh in mind on what messes their preschool and school mates may notice and how they may comment and so at least seem inclined to have some sense about a mess and perhaps cleaning up, all while adult oafs have little to no consideration for “the next person” and “just do their business” as if that is all that matters even with regard to shared facilities. Common courtesy is not so common among adults either.

labdoctor

Pity the lounge staff can't go round handing out fines for feet on seats like on Merseyrail.

I'm just picturing what Hyacinth Bouquet would say if she went into the CCR and came across the American version of Onslow slouched on a sofa with his feet on the seat 😂

"RICHARD! Eject this man"

crazy8534

Young men can direct the fire hose wherever it needs to go whereas the gently-tipped watering can of old age is far less aim-able....!

GUWonder

Gives additional meaning to the term “old slobs”.

Are the BA customer demographics such that they are collectively getting older than used to be the case, with the aging being even more pronounced with the CCR users than with LON flyers as a whole? “Old slobs” leave their mark, and so can the shoes of the young. Perhaps they need to up their allowances for janitorial services given the customers of today.

FT too has a challenge with aging demographics, but not sure if that makes for a cleaner or messier environment here too.

1P

"Sit up straight when you're talking to me, boy!"

Lioneye

On that basis Jesus would be barred but Hitler welcomed into the lounge

Flyertalker001342

Travel can be and often is disgusting. I have been in public restrooms rendered unusable by all manner of bodily secretions or one time, in a restroom that had been used for shooting up drugs which was contaminated with blood everywhere.

As much as people complain about the age and condition of the CCR bathrooms, I'd rate them as a solid 7-8/10 of what I have seen elsewhere while traveling.

As to the CCR itself, I find the staff and fellow travelers to be an oasis in the midst of what else I might encounter on my trips. My fellow passengers, at least while I have been there, have generally behaved themselves well, and the place is kept to a very reasonable standard of cleanliness. I have yet to encounter a situation in the CCR that I found offensive.

If your frame of reference is some private club limited to persons who attended private boarding schools, or perhaps the boardroom of a large corporation, then the CCR falls short. I'm happy for what it is, for the fact that I can occasionally enter it, and all the sniveling in this thread is just a bunch of whining in my own, not very humble, opinion.

mrpacifist

Totally agreed the BA staff member did very well here, and I am sure it is sometimes not an easy thing to do with all the new wave of societal lack of manners prompting the slightest remark to being labelled a boomer, a conservative, a moaner etc. I'm in my 30s and I am appalled at people putting feet on trains seats or lounges seats, or being on the phone or playing music at loud volume in public spaces/transporation, etc. My upbringing was neither strict or not strict but I have always been taught indeed that although you do what you please at home (and even then respect the neighbours!) while in a public space you have to think of others and your freedom stops where theirs start.

labdoctor

I think the rot started when some people thought it permissable to wear shorts or beachwear on an aircraft

Flyertalker001342

I know people who charter aircraft, sometimes several people going in together on a charter, to get them from a point A to a point B. They don't care to mix with the general public while traveling, they get to choose their times of departure and arrival, and to pick what sort of catering will be on the plane. They also get to pass through private terminals where those of lower station don't intrude on their personal space. I might advise this to some individuals on this thread who would prefer to avoid mixing with the great unwashed.