Who was right, me or my wife?

... you pretty much covered it.
to start with the back seats is considerate.
first come first serve gets you first pick.
no right or wrong.
on a slow day, maybe the van will not even be near capacity. you may climb to the back for no reason.
perhaps the ideal thing to do, would be for the bus driver to politely suggest boarding back to front.

 

Easy to judge when you don't know the variables. Were the second couple elderly or do you know if one of them may or may not have had some kind of handicap problem where he felt more comfortable to sit in the front? I have a friend who had hip replacement surgery. He is only in his 40's and he looks and walks fine but he gets lots of stares and comments when he parks in the handicap stall. Because he recently had the surgery his dr. told him not to walk to far and gave approval for his handicap pass.

Also I notice that people from some countries will just take the front seat. To us it may seem rude but it may be a societal norm for their county.

As for who is right, I would let your wife have this one, I don't think it is worth keeping "score" or trying to gloat who is right or wrong.

 

lol @C0usineddie

Married. 19 years. I've never understood quips like, "My wife has two opinions, hers and mine."

 

I'm with her, if you are first to board you get your choice, you chose to board from the rear. If it were a rule then the driver would ask this of you.

 

I love when my hubby does stuff like this, as old-world manners really mean a lot to me, never lose this considerate streak!

But while it was very considerate of you (kudos!), it also sounds like she doesnt want you putting her behind everyone else though. (Not just literally.)

In a "he won/she won" contest, if someone "wins," you both usually lose...just find a compromise for next time.

You now know she wants the front, and she now knows you want the back...just compromise and go for the middle next time.

You get to leave seats open for others, but she doesn't feel crammed in the very back.

Or, better yet, go for uber for the same price!

 

and you are closer to the pisser if you drink beer like i do

 

It is a trivial matter and not worth fighting or trying to see who is right.

But it tells me something about you. Something that even your wife believes to be "old fashioned" but is sorely needed today.

It's called consideration. Something I don't see much of nowadays but oh so refreshing to know that some people still believe and practice it.

 

Couldn't agree more (married for 3 years).

 

I side with boarding to the back of the van as the polite thing to do.

 

I'm amazed that in this day and age there are people who would even consider filling the bus up from the back. I'll be honest,that idea never even entered my head ,nice to give those choice seats up front to the old folks(like me)

 

Well, this certainly wasn't a fight between my wife and I and was not something I was getting worked up over. I just thought it would be fun to see what other people thought and to see if once again she was right and I was wrong. (that happens a lot)
My pride will cling to those who said I was right, but the husband side of me agrees with those who said whatever she says goes! You would think that by now I would have remembered that, especially since I have to learn that same lesson over and over......

 

The SWA boarding protocol isn't an apt comparison point. The airline caste system be it First Class or whatever still allows for those who need help to get a bit of help. We're talking buses and shuttles where there isn't an assigned seating priority other than those who think first in time is first in right and to hell with everyone else regardless circumstances.

 

I would take a back seat under the assumption that someone frailer than I might need an easier time getting on and off. I also leave choice non handicap parking spots and park a little further away when I go to a store. Yah, that's probably going a bit overboard, but I need the exercise anyway.

 

Ha ha, your comment made me laugh. I had knee surgery about 20 years ago (ACL). The first 6 months when I went to rehab and my dr. gave approval for me to have a handicap pass. I got real spoiled parking right in front of everything and got used to it.

After the 6 months passed I asked my dr. if I could get a new handicap parking pass. His comment - you're okay now so you don't need to park in the handicap stall. In fact, he said that I should park as far as possible to get more exercise on the leg.

 

We do the same on parking spots Aaisack. We just went to Sharies last night (think a west coast IHOP) which is less popular with a younger crowd. There was a prime spot up front but we parked in the nose-bleed section, just to make sure it was open for someone who might need it. (Don't comment on the Sharies choice, it wast our pick.)

It didn't feel right snagging a prime spot at a restaurant that is popular with a crowd than can be frailer than we are

On SW though I am all over a or b seating. we never get first 10 seats, but try for mid plane with side by side seats.

 

I didn't even read your post, but after 26 years of wedded bliss, the wife is always right.

My wife would have made me take a cab or an uber. She's not a shuttle kind of gal.

 

Actually, the original post didn't mention that there were any passengers that needed additional help in getting seated. It just mentioned that it is harder for people to get to the back seats going past people who are up front. In this case it is the same as a plane where people who take the front seats first, require people behind them to wait for them to load the overhead compartment and get seated.

I really don't have an opinion on this, and thought I'd just join in this conversation. Some people think one way, others think another. I guess I just never really thought about it.

 

Its open seating, right?
Never heard of the rule that buses are to filled from back to front.
What if you and your wife walk on a bus and there are 2 separate seats in the back next to 2 fat, smelly, drunk people and 2 open seats next to each other in the front?
Based on your statement of filling the back first you two are expected to be placed in uncomfortable positions and possibly a dangerous one.
Sorry you feel so inclined to put your wife through that but I won't. We would choose the seats up front.
Chalk this up as a point for your wife. You get -1 for putting her next to the smelly drunk person.

 

Happy wife happy life

 

You are right, everyone is going to the same place it is faster and easier to load the back first. The driver also knows when he is full so it is being nice to him also. That being said do what the wife wants it is better for the marriage and that should last longer than the shuttle ride.