Incidental contact

[twoton]

Last night I volunteered to work in a concession stand at a community event. It was busy and in cramped quarters. One of the women and I were working side-by-side at the counter, and we did our best to not bump into each other as we filled orders.

At one point I slid past her behind her, and as these things go, my entire front carriage brushed against her rear assembly. The whole of Charon's bark, from stem to stern and both bumper buoys, got pressed against her back bay dock.


I thought, 'Ooo....that was embarrassing,' and pretended nothing happened. I forgot about it until this morning, when I thought, 'I really, really hope she didn't notice.' Obviously this is not something to tell the wife--who happened to be working on the other side of the stand.

 

[Enid]

Uh, so don't? Tell the wife. That girl was probably more embarrassed than you!! And even wondering jeez did this dude mean it or what. Especially if you acted weird about it afterwards. Let it go, and be more careful/considerate in the future. If it's a tight space wait til she's clear before passing. It's not quantum mechanics here, just be mindful women face this shit all the time and then sometimes we are left to wonder omg wtf just happened

 

[twoton]

Good ideas, but there really was no room, and I'd already been doing yoga to keep open space between us. And it's precisely because I'm mindful of invading personal space that it bothered me to have had it happen.

 

[palakaorion]

It happens. In my experience it's best to just own it in the moment or soon after.

If you work together again, perhaps mention that it was pretty tight quarters last time and that you'll try to be careful. Then let it drop. That usually works for me.

 

[693987]

Reminds me of a scene in the movie Fight Club, where the guy is trying to decide whether to face towards or face away from a woman as he tries to scoot by to get out of their row on an airplane.

 

[Galloper]

If she didnt mention it, let it go. Was unintentional

Good ideas, but there really was no room, and I'd already been doing yoga to keep open space between us. And it's precisely because I'm mindful of invading personal space that it bothered me to have had it happen.

 

[Tight_N_Juicy]

Two co-workers of mine accidentally did this butt to butt. They're both men.

All day there were jokes about bumping donuts. All made in good taste, no harm done.

 

[MickeyLee]

Always scootch by butt to butt, never butt to crotch.

 

[TexanStar]

Last night I volunteered to work in a concession stand at a community event. It was busy and in cramped quarters. One of the women and I were working side-by-side at the counter, and we did our best to not bump into each other as we filled orders.

At one point I slid past her behind her, and as these things go, my entire front carriage brushed against her rear assembly. The whole of Charon's bark, from stem to stern and both bumper buoys, got pressed against her back bay dock.


I thought, 'Ooo....that was embarrassing,' and pretended nothing happened. I forgot about it until this morning, when I thought, 'I really, really hope she didn't notice.' Obviously this is not something to tell the wife--who happened to be working on the other side of the stand.

Saying something now would be more awkward, but if you'd offered a simple apology at the time you could've saved yourself (and possibly her) a fair amount of stress.

 

[Dave NoCal]

I agree with others that simply apologizing at the time would have been easiest. However, if she is an experienced food server, she may not have given it too much thought. Incidental contact in that work is kind of common. I was a waiter for a number of years and it was completely acceptable to signal one's presence by a hand on the shoulder. We squeezed by each other in the waiter;s station and at the service bar multiple times a night. Brushing each other was inevitable.