Everyone knows it’s polite to open the car door for your date — and we hope that everyone knows it’s a nice touch when women remember to do this, too. But what happens if you live in a city where you’re more likely to take a cab? If you hold the cab door open, your date will be forced to scoot across the entire back seat to make room for you. Not so polite now, huh?
So here’s some taxicab etiquette for you: Open the door, close it behind your date, and then walk around the other side to get in. Note to slow walkers: Impatient taxi drivers and busy city streets may cause you to lose track of your date during this maneuver. In this case, either say “I’ll get in the other side” to avoid any confusion — or simply get in the backseat first and scoot across. (People who don’t read this column may think you’re being rude, of course, so you might want to explain yourself the first time you do this.)
If you’re lucky enough to be treated to some proper taxicab etiquette, it’s a nice gesture to lean over and open your date’s door from the inside. Consider it the urban equivalent of unlocking the driver’s side door after you’ve been helped into the passenger seat.
Need a reason to practice good taxi manners? Because you’re more likely to get lucky once you’re inside the cab if you do. But getting busy has its own code of etiquette, too. We think limiting yourself to some sneaky handwork is the decent thing to do; unless, perhaps, one of you is already lying down resting your head in your partner’s lap.
Make no mistake, the cabbie totally knows what you’re up to. (But isn’t that kind of the point?) For something a little more full-on, consider renting a limo with a privacy screen instead — it’d be just like prom night but without all the teen drama and bad hairdos.
However busy you get, the most important rule of etiquette is this: Tip your driver!
Yikes. I feel like I do the regular old gentlemanly stuff by second nature. I’ll give this a try but seems somewhat extreme.