An escalating problem | Bangkok Post: opinion

THINKBOX

You might think that three years in kindergarten, 12 years in school and four years in university would teach all the basics needed for daily life. If not, then your parents should have helped bridge any missing gaps in your knowledge. Apparently however, neither the education system nor many parents teach children about some important manners. It might sound like a trivial thing, but for a society in which department stores are everyone's second home, escalator etiquette is important.

According to my parents (blame them if I'm wrong, not me), Bangkok's first escalator was installed at the Thai Daimaru Department Store, back when my mother was still a primary school student. It was a big thing at the time and lots of people went there just to try the escalator. Almost 50 years later however, many still aren't even aware that there's such thing as escalator etiquette. You just stand on one step, wait until it goes to the end, and leave. Simple, right?

From my own experience, a lot of problems can occur during that 30 second ride. I can't remember where I learned this, but I've always known that on escalators, you stand on the right and walk on the left. I've also learned that many people don't know or simply don't care about basic escalator etiquette; that couples will stand side by side, blocking two of the escalator's invisible "lanes".