At 02:08 PM 6/30/04 +0000, Jules wrote:
On Wed, 2004-06-30 at 11:58, Joe R. wrote:
I have found
that service in some European counties and in some places in Canada is
LOUSY! They act like they're doing you a favor to wait on you or to sell
you anything. They only thing that I can says about that is that they would
not have a job long here with their attitudes.
Now that's interesting. My view is that they *are* doing you a favour,
just as I'd expect someone to be polite to me if I were serving them in
some way and not take me for granted.
I'm not talking about bossing them around or taking them for granted. I'm
talking about ordinary manners and reasonable service. THE worst service
that I had anywhere in the world was in London. And it wasn't jsut once or
twice but it was consistantly bad. In the restraunts you had to wait and
wait for them to bring a menu. When they did they just threw it on the
table and left without saying a word. The service was just as bad all the
way through the meals. Is that they way that you'd treat someone in your
home???
Maybe that does highlight a big
difference between the US and European attitudes (plus
Austalia and NZ)
to service.
One thing I do find is that people often visit foreign countries and
expect to be treated just as they're used to at home (I'm not suggesting
that about you, it's just a general observation). For me, part of the
challenge and fun of going overseas is to experience other beliefs,
cultures and ways of doing things, and adjusting to the locals' way of
doing things.
French Canada (Montreal
specificly) was particularly interesting. They REALLY push the French
language there and they are required by law to greet you in French and to
try and initiate the conversation in French.
Presumably because it's French Canada? :-)
Is it really FRENCH Canada? If I remember my history, the British took
over from the French in the early to mid 1700s! (We call it the French and
Indians Wars) Exactly how long are the locals supposed to keep their own
language and refuse to speak a common language? Let's see, the US is home
to over 200 different American Indian languages and dialects, then add in
French (ex-French Canadians from Arcadia that settled in Lousianna),
Spanish (this is Florida) then add in all the immgrants; English, Italians,
Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Germans, Irish, Scots, French, dozens of
African langauges, etc etc etc etc etc etc. We would literally have a land
of Babal if everyone only spoke their original language. Since I'm in
Florida I guess that means I should speak only Spanish and refuse to speak
any other langauge. But wait a minute! What about the people and language
that was there before the French Canadians (or Spanish)?
People generally take pride
in their language and often don't like others
making assumptions about
what language they should speak. (Although I'm not sure how comfortable
I'd be if I were forced to greet people in a particular tongue - I
suppose the intention of the law there is to just try and protect the
local heritage though)
Exactly but it's gotten well past that point. As I said, it's now
required by law now. It's gotten to the point that it is actually illegal
to post a sign on English! And I've seen many cases where they would
actually refuse to speak to someone in English even though they spoke it
perfectly well. That isn't protecting your heritage, it's just plain rude.
As a footnote, I'll just say that they (the French Canadians) sure
didn't give any consideration to the rights or desires of the ORIGINAL
inhabitants (the Mohawk Indians). I've been to their reservation south of
Montreal and seen what a dump it is and how they've lost everything.
Joe
cheers,
Jules