JohnMitchell 16
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Remster 30
QuoteQuote
"Hmm, check it out. THAT boat is STILL sunk. Pretty impressive."
Remi, that's bad!!
Hey! Don't blame me for Bill's cultural insensitivities!
Remster
wolfriverjoe 1,523
QuoteQuotemy friends assure me it's quite normal to start with "hello" and not go straight to "please may I have a croissant."
I've found this to be true in several asian countries, I'm told this is true in many euro countries, I find it true in a lot of regions in the US as well.
Seems to me to be common sense. I always try to greet people and ask if they are well before initiating the direct purpose of my visit. The response has ALWAYS been very positive. That's during international trips, or going to the store a few blocks from house.
It's less about rudeness, it's more about treating the other person as an individual deserving respect who happens to have a job..... instead of just a vendor of a service or product with no other purpose (no matter how polite the delivery of the request).
It's really hard for me to remember to do this, I'm very mission focused, so a little bit of pleasantry seems inefficient to me. But the payoff has been good in terms of quality of service and just getting a lot more smiles.
I don't care where you are from, most people seem to appreciate it. The outliers that operate like the Seinfeld "soup nazi" are the exceptions, not the rule.
^This. Big time.
As a truck driver, I depend on the goodwill of the people in the shipping/receiving office and on the forklifts to get loaded or unloaded in a timely manner.
A nice smile, a pleasant "Good Morning" (or afternoon, evening, whatever) and a "How are you doing?" generate a far, far more positive response in those people than just walking in and saying something like "Here's your shit, what dock should I back into."
And yes, I've seen drivers do that.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy
"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo
"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo
QuoteQuotemy friends assure me it's quite normal to start with "hello" and not go straight to "please may I have a croissant."
I've found this to be true in several asian countries, I'm told this is true in many euro countries, I find it true in a lot of regions in the US as well.
Seems to me to be common sense. I always try to greet people and ask if they are well before initiating the direct purpose of my visit. The response has ALWAYS been very positive. That's during international trips, or going to the store a few blocks from house.
It's less about rudeness, it's more about treating the other person as an individual deserving respect who happens to have a job..... instead of just a vendor of a service or product with no other purpose (no matter how polite the delivery of the request).
It's really hard for me to remember to do this, I'm very mission focused, so a little bit of pleasantry seems inefficient to me. But the payoff has been good in terms of quality of service and just getting a lot more smiles.
I don't care where you are from, most people seem to appreciate it. The outliers that operate like the Seinfeld "soup nazi" are the exceptions, not the rule.
for my job i have a shitload of contacts with vendors, salespeople, suppliers and what not to do; usually i'm asking them to offer me stuff - i always start with "how's the weather there, how are you, bla-bla-bla.." then i get straight to the point of what i WANT from them. i have VERY good contacts with pretty much everyone; it's a POLITE thing to do, in EVERY culture; people want to be valued and acknowledged!
“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda
rehmwa 2
QuoteQuoteQuote
"Hmm, check it out. THAT boat is STILL sunk. Pretty impressive."
Remi, that's bad!!
Hey! Don't blame me for Bill's cultural insensitivities!
damn straight, those are mine. not that you don't have talent, but it's like getting credit for someone else's fart - it hurts everyone's pride
...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants
Andy9o8 2
QuoteQuoteAlso I've noticed different cultures seem to have different boundaries as to how friendly and formal you're expected to be with others: eye contact, personal space, how direct (or indirect) you're expected to be, etc.. Thus people from some cultures seem aloof, while others seem "in your face."
Yep. French-Canadians are WAY less formal than the French and I do have the occasional slip-up where I default to "tu" (informal) to say "you" and it irks (or even offends) the other person because I'm "clearly" not on their level and/or I don't know them well enough... Either way, I should have used the more formal "vous." Hmmm...
Here's an analog to that in English, which has no informal/formal form of "you". I find this to be impolite: I'll make a business call - sometimes in a professional capacity, sometimes just as a customer/consumer to a store or company, and after having identified myself by full name, the person on the other end of the line will presume to address me by my first name, rather than "Mr." (and/or just plain "Sir"). Vaguely disrespectful, or at least presumptuous, IMO, if for no other reason than because I'm a total stranger.
Now, this depends on the context. If I was calling, say, a DZ I'd never been to before as a prospective jumper/customer, and was speaking to the manifest clerk, that's a collegial environment, so we all address each other by first name. But in most other types of business contexts, if you don't know the person, show them some protocol.
Remi, that's bad!!
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