AT THE CHECKOUT

WHY has it become acceptable to use your mobile at the supermarket checkout?

When we’re forced to use those wretched self-service checkout machines (the ones from which Dalek voices bleat ‘Unidentified object in bagging area’), we curse the fact that we are not being served by a real human being, yet when we have a real person in front of us we act as if they were nothing more than a machine.

Wait until you have finished your phone call before you approach the till. Making eye contact with the cashier, saying hello and generally interacting, is not just good manners, it is good for your soul.