There are two types of opening a door for someone. The first is where you pull it open, hold it, and wait for the person to pass you as he or she walks through the doorway. I’ll call this method the After You. The second is when you push the door open, wait for the person behind you to get within reach, and “pass” the door to him or her before you continue on your way. Let’s call it the Push and Transfer. Everyone ok with my assumptions and name-assigning so far? Good.
I made an excellent executive decision on which method to utilize when I went to Chipotle a couple of nights ago. As I pulled into a parking spot by the restaurant, I noticed a big van a couple of spots away. It stood out because at least a dozen young women with “Citrus College Basketball” on their sweatshirts got out of it and started walking toward the front door just as I was. I booked it to make sure that I arrived before them, because I knew full well how much extra time it would take for me to get my food if I were behind that group. The first woman of the group was just a couple of feet behind me as I approached the door, so I did what I had to do: I went for The Push and Transfer. I straightened my arm, forced the door open, established my place in front of them, and then said “Here you go” when she took the door from me. “Thanks,” she said, but the pleasure was truly all mine.
Before I ordered, I looked back at the gaggle of women basketball players. (They travel in gaggles, right?) I counted, and there were 17 people in their group. I mentally commended myself once more and stepped confidently up to the counter to place my order. It’s not easy to be thanked for being polite while performing a selfish action, but I managed to pull it off. And then I ate a kick ass burrito.