> find letting go the door when they're half way through can be effective. >There's nothing like getting a face full of door for a wake up call.
But then those who wait until they're fully through to say thanks get punished for your snap judgement of them. Also, someone who has just learned they have 6 months to live, and are a little preoccupied with that, might end up having their misery compounded by a thick lip.
I think not thanking someone might be slightly lower on the social crime scale than assaulting someone with a door.
Personally I'll hold a door open for whoever, it doesn't bother me one whit if they thank me or not. Bad manners are their own punishment, it's a small sign of what the person is like in the rest of their life. If people go around being rude all the time then they get less help from customer service reps, their friends and family are less likely to go out of their way to help them. The perception of them in their work place or social settings is likely to be lower.
If I get up to give someone a seat on a bus and they treat it like it was their sacred right to have it, or if they are in some way rude, I don't get upset or annoyed. I smile to myself knowing that they are probably getting out of life what they put into it, and so am I.
If someone is usually polite, but they're having a bad day, then they will in generally be treated well by others. If someone is generally rude then they'll be treated worse by others. It doesn't bother me how they behaved in the one incident with me. I don't know if it was typical or not, but I do know that in the long run they'll get what they deserve, good or bad.
-Rd