Being an old fashioned guy - any comment made when I step back and allow someone to go first, hold the door open or give up my seat. (I do it because that's what I was taught to do!)
What does annoy me is if someone less worthy than the one I've offered it too dives in without a thank you
(I'm likely to make a very public statement!)

My biggest pet peeve is people who insist on popping their gum as they gnaw away at it. Doing it in bookstores or libraries or church seems especially annoying. Snoring is another thing...Yikes, it makes me crazy! (I may or may not do it but that doesn't count since I don't have to hear myself as I go ).

Linda - the very rare "thank you" is always welcome!

It's not rare if it's done for me! I'll always thank someone who does something nice for me like this.

My pet peeve at the moment is men who insist on calling me "babe" and "doll." If you don't know me personally, please do not call me by such names. I don't mind it when my friends do it, but I can't stand it when total strangers insist on calling me things like this.

People who hang up without saying goodbye tend to get me a bit miffed too.

Oh, and my newest pet peeve, people who insist on standing over my shoulder and reading out loud what I'm typing.

Along the same line, Indie, I can't stand when a strange man puts his hand on my back when I'm talking to him.

Maybe it's only Italian-American men in NYC that do that.

Just hate it.

Effective solution to unwanted touching:
"Excuse me?" in your most indignant voice and a very long hard stare at the offending hand. You may not get an apology but the message will be very clearly sent home.

I must give off some kind of anti-touch aura, because people rarely do that. Or maybe it's just where I'm from. People here are very friendly, and they smile a lot, but they don't go about touching other people. (Unless, perhaps, they've had a few.) However, once you're pregnant, all bets are off. Anyone and their mother think they have the right to fondle your belly. It drove me nuts. I always wanted to tell people, "Yes, there's a reason she's kicking you. If you're not careful, I might too."

My biggest pet peeve is people touching my stuff without asking. I'm a college student, and sometimes I have stuff out on my desk. I absolutely hate it when someone next to me starts touching my stuff or picking up my papers without asking if they can look at them.

There is one guy in particular who always does this. Once in class we got a quiz back. I didn't do very well, so of course I wasn't broadcasting my work to my friends. The guy asked me what I got and I told him. He says something to the effect of "What's the matter with you? What'd you do wrong?", which didn't make me feel any better, and then proceeds to grab my quiz away from me. I told him no and put it away in my binder. He then proceeds to try to take it OUT of my binder, after which I got a bit snippy with him. So you see, I don't like it when people touch or grab my stuff!

Oh, this does not necessarily apply to people I know well, as I am more familiar with them and I actually like them!

My pet peeves? hoo boy, here’s my list:

Rude people who don’t say “thank you” when I’ve held open a door for them. I am not a doorman. And speaking of which, I am getting sick and tired of being politically correct. If I want to say doorMAN, or chairMAN, I will and I’ll thank you for not telling me it’s chairPERSON.

I’m really enjoying not having to smell cigarette smoke in public buildings and now, in some States, smoking is prohibited in restaurants and bars. Hallelujah! But in order to get into these businesses, we now have to walk through a cloud of smoke as people will smoke right next to the front doors. I HATE having cigarette smoke in my hair and clothing.

People who use the word “basically” in every other sentence. Basically it really gets on my nerves.

People who drive with their fog lights on, when there’s no fog – day and night.

When I call for computer, telephone, credit card, or any other kind of “service” and I get a person who can’t speak or understand English. I mean, I’m supposed to be calling a service representative in the USA to help me and the telephone number I’ve dialed is transferred to a foreign country. I realize it’s a good job for these people, but it DOESN’T HELP ME ONE BIT. I once told the person on the other end that his accent was so strong I couldn’t understand him and he put another person on the line that sounded just like him (probably sitting at the next desk). After being frustrated with a technical problem to begin with and being “on hold” for half an hour, this really doesn’t put me in a good mood.

People who ask me how much money I make. I was raised that that was nobody’s business. Heck, I’m in my….(cough) 40’s now and I STILL don’t know how much money my parents made.

Add another one for cellular phones. I used to be an adult trainer too, teaching courses on management, leadership, and public speaking just to name a few. I told my students that if they couldn’t part from their phones, they should go back to their offices and forget about taking the course. If they absolutely, positively, HAD to be “on call”, they could put their pagers on vibrate.

When I receive countless messages in my email telling me to forward on the message to everyone I know AND send a copy back to them.

When I order a salad for lunch or dinner and have someone say to me “you don’t need to lose weight, you’re making the rest of us look bad”. Well, sorry, but I have been thin and I have been fat. And now that I’m back to being thin again, it’s because I worked HARD to loose the weight and I want to keep it off. Just because you feel bad about your weight, don’t make the assumption that all thin people have always been thin. I’m proud of my body now and it got this way by exercise and cutting calories. No gimmicks, just hard work. And if you think I’m looking at you with disgust, I’m not. I just remember what it was like to be heavy too.

Dang, that DOES feel better.

Children who go in my local library and make nuisances of themselves to the other users and the librarians. Try to avoid my local library (which is a shame!) during the school holidays!

I don't really remember a librarian "shushing" people but my local library is very close, go at least once or twice a week, to use the computers, even though I have my own, and am good friends with the librarians there. I wouldn't want total silence but just pleasant people who know how to behave!!

I hate it when I go to the library and people's phones are ringing constantly, despite the "NO CELL PHONES" signs everywhere! I mean, I have a cell phone too, but I turn it off! Also, when they talk on the phone, they talk so loudly the whole darn building can hear what they're saying. Funny, they don't talk that loudly in regular conversation.

Sometimes you need your phone on but people deliberately talk into them loudly wherever they are!!

I totally agree CRyan! It's like they're saying, "Look at me! I have a cell phone and I'm special!" News flash: a lot of people have cell phones now, so you're not special!

Of course, I realize sometimes there is bad reception and that you need to talk loudly. This is when you go OUTSIDE, like when you have a crying child that just won't calm down!

Crying kids - another peeve. Not usually the childs fault of course but sometimes the parents!

Some years ago, I was at a restaurant called Two Boots (Cajun-Italian) and there were a few kids running about. After a few minutes, the hostess loudly asked a waitress, "Remember the time that child bumped into the waitress with the coffee pot and got burned?" You never saw parents scoop up kids so fast.

Nice idea!