MLAs jumping the queue

I’ve noticed on several occasions MLAs visiting the government building and demanding their personal applications be processed right away. Do you think they should get priority? They treat the staff with no respect.

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Auntie’s answer: Up front I will say that I have never had time for people who take advantage of their position or simply just decide that their time is more important than anyone else’s. Having acknowledged this pet peeve, I suppose there might be occasions when MLAs, who sometimes have to sit in the Legislative Assembly till late into the night, find themselves with a finite amount of time to get an application filed during regular office hours in the government building.

However, on balance I do not feel our elected officials should get to jump the queue. I am sure everyone waiting to hand in an application has other things they could be doing. If the MLA is at the government building on a personal chore then they should be willing to wait their turn.

In addition, if your depiction is accurate, I find it doubly annoying and unacceptable if the legislator is actually demanding to be served and is disrespectful to the clerks. Dealing with the public is never easy (and, full disclosure, I do not think the customer is always right). As a general rule, I always try to be polite and patient when asking for assistance, whether at a bank, the post office or any government department. In return, I expect to be treated in a respectful manner and dealt with fairly. Seems simple enough, though in practice not always so.

Clerks are people, too, and may be having a bad day or not feeling well. A rude customer just makes things worse.

So, to answer your question, I do not think MLAs should get priority and go directly to the counter to be served ahead of everyone else. If nothing else, our elected officials should consider how their attitude is viewed by the rest of the people waiting. They may have MLA before their name but they do work for us. Before being elected they could have been one of the people watching another MLA jump the queue, and they will certainly be in that position again at some point.

Treating others as you want to be treated could not be better applied.

Category: Ask Auntie, MLA Questions