Too posh to push in

Photo / Doug Sherring

It's a good story even if it is apocryphal: a frequent Air New Zealand flyer went to the head of a check-in queue and demanded immediate service.

"I'm sorry, sir," said the staff member. "You'll need to wait in line."

"But," spluttered the would-be VIP, "do you know who I am?"

Without missing a beat, the woman behind the counter switched on her microphone.

"There's a man here who doesn't know who he is," she boomed. "Anyone who can assist is asked to report to the check-in counter."

The story captures something that is good about our national character, which sometimes gets forgotten in our celebrity-obsessed culture: nobody is too important to wait their turn.

The management at Euro - unlike their counterparts at Soul last year - struck a blow for the New Zealand way of life when they turned away Katy Perry on Friday night.