kyorikan

As part of healthy human relations, it’s necessary to know just how much of a physical distance you should keep between yourself and someone you don’t know on an intimate level. If the distance is too great, there’s the risk that you’ll appear uneasy. Likewise, if you draw in so close that the other party can literally feel your breath on their face, you can forget about making any positive impressions.

Apparently, some McDonald’s customers in China are creating a reputation for themselves by exhibiting “overly familiar behavior” towards the staff. This problem became a hot topic online recently when someone snapped a customer completely ignoring the rules of distance etiquette.

Such behavior is reported to be occurring at the “mini” McDonald’s branches where soft cream, desserts, drinks and the like are served. These branches, while not so common in other areas of the world, are very popular in China. These restaurants are installed with a clear perspex screen, similar to that of a ticket booth office, that separates the customer and staff, with a tiny window for the exchange of money and delicious food and drink.

However, as can clearly be seen in the photo above, knowing no shame, one customer thrust their entire upper body through the small opening. Just quite how he pulled the feat off remains unclear but looking closely, you can see that he’s even managed to get his elbows right inside and seems to be waiting rather excitedly for his order to arrive.

It’s easy to imagine how the member of staff on duty at the time would be a little taken aback by the when turning around to discover that their customer has slipped through a hole no bigger than a household cap flap. Obviously from the employee’s point of view, this is clearly a breach of distance etiquette.

Keep your distance, boys and girls!
[ Read in Japanese ]