Sussed it - Now we know why he sits on the fence.

How your last name affects shopping decisions

If your last name begins with a letter near the end of the alphabet you’re more likely to have a twitchy finger anxious to hit the buy button, whether for clothes or concert tickets, a new study shows. People with names closer to the beginning of the alphabet tend to have more patience and may even pass up good deals as they weigh their options
So in other words, someone called "Alexei C" is unlikely to shoot from the hip.

Makes perfect sense.