So soz: Research reveals Leeds people apologise 4,416 times a year
The survey, by PiCKUP! the biscuit bar with attitude, found that two-thirds of Leeds residents had apologised when someone bumped into them, and one in five had even said sorry when someone stepped on their foot.
Nearly nine out of ten people quizzed in the city said they secretly judged those who didn’t say please or thank you, and the same number got annoyed when someone else didn’t say sorry for something they’d done wrong.
As a result, PiCKUP! is launching a nationwide campaign to tackle these traits, believing Brits would welcome the opportunity to act a little bolder.
From now right through to September, they will deliver more than 1.2m samples to the Great British public, along with a little tongue-in-cheek wisdom, as well as working with outgoing and outspoken social influencers to positively ‘pick up’ Britain.
The PiCKUP! tour includes visits to UK cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Sheffield, Nottingham and Bristol – and they'll be coming to York city centre from Wednesday, 3 July, to Sunday, 7 July.
“This summer we are on a mission to make Brits more bold as it is madness that so many people feel they are too polite and not outspoken enough,” says Claudia Eschbacher, senior brand manager for PiCKUP!
“We are touring the nation with our ‘Be More PiCKUP!’ campaign and sampling our delicious chocolate biscuit bars, as well as working with experts, influencers and social channels to get Britain on track to being bolder. From Blackpool Pleasure Beach to the Bullring in Birmingham, we are coming to a location near you!”
Other results from Leeds residents included:
• Being poorly paid – 75 per cent won’t ask for a raise at work, despite it being overdue
• Joining the queue – 28 per cent don’t say anything when people push in line
• Hold the door – one in three had been too polite to grumble when they'd held the door for someone who didn't thank them
• Noisy neighbour – 27 per cent stay quiet when their neighbours are making a racket
• Getting the credit – 23 per cent of people in Leeds hadn't piped up when a work colleague was praised for something they had done
So how can we Brits learn to stop being so painfully polite? Award-winning fashion, travel and music blogger Stephi LaReine has some simple but effective advice for that famous British trait, complaining about the weather.
She recommends: “See the silver lining of the situation and remember that it feeds the plants and makes everything smell amazing. Followed by one big rainbow.”