When asked how long they would wait before walking off in a strop, five out of ten men would wait up to a minute, but only one in ten women said they would leave this quickly.

Yet when each gender was asked if they would describe themselves as a patient person, only four out of ten women agreed, against six out of ten men claiming they were patient.

On average, Brits’ patience lasts just two and a half minutes before they snap. After this we start huffing and puffing, sighing impatiently and muttering to ourselves.

The survey of 3,000 Brits, which was commissioned by online parcel delivery company myhermes.co.uk, found that a quarter have even lost money as a result of their impatience, refusing to wait in a queue or stay on hold.

A slow internet connection was the thing most likely to get Brits shouting with impatience, followed by slow drivers and being told their phone call is in a queue.

This was followed by traffic jams, friends who are always late, waiting in for a delivery and queuing at the Post Office.

Jon Tobbell, from myHermes, said: "We already thought that people were becoming less patient and that they don’t like queuing or waiting around, but it’s surprising to see the extent of how impatient people really are.

"We all lead busy lives and time is precious to everyone. The last thing you want is to be kept hanging around because of other people. Especially when you are paying your internet provider or a store for their service.

No-one likes to lose their cool.

"To think that a quarter of people would lose out on money as they couldn’t wait any longer in a queue or stay on hold is shocking, but people nowadays just want good customer service and don’t want to be hanging around for any longer than expected.

"With waiting  in for a delivery being a major factor, at least sending parcels by myHermes, which is quick to load and order, will mean no queuing at post offices or waiting for deliveries – we collect from your door and
we’re the only company who'll keep trying to redeliver to you until you’re in!

More than twice that amount have got in to an argument over the phone with someone working in a call centre.

A third of Brits have been embarrassed after an outburst wishing they were more patient while eight out of ten say they have given up doing something or buying something because they haven’t got the patience to wait for it.

Top 10 Things That Make Us Lose Our Cool
 
1.      Slow Internet
2.      People who walk or drive slow
3.      Being on hold
4.      Traffic
5.      Waiting for people who are late
6.      People Ignoring your calls
7.      People not listening
8.      Waiting in for a Delivery
9.      Queuing at the post office
10.    Bad spelling and Grammar