civilised society?
disclaimer: the following is based on anecdotal evidence, so they may not be representative.
does anyone think that we are becoming more mercenary as a people? based on my experiences in singapore, courtesy is part of the service package. you'll get smiles and the arsewiping from people in the service industry simply because they want your money. it's a quid pro quo arrangement. for my bowing and scraping right NOW, i expect you patronage right NOW. and you hardly ever get sales assistants recommending that you direct your custom to their company's rival, because they offer a better quality product or it's cheaper. you tend to get recommended elsewhere only if they've exhausted all inferior substitutions. and is it so bloody hard for people to say "please" and "thank you"? sure, the customer is entitled to service, but that does not mean that sales staff are treated as minions, to carry out te customer's every whim and fancy. and if the person executes their job well, is saying "thank you" gonna cost you anything more than a second or 2 of your (the customer's/client's) precious time? people complain about the quality of service in singapore. it takes 2. you get what you give, and all that jazz.
ok, the reason for this post is basically i've been comparing the above situations to my own experiences here in sydney. on a regular basis, i've had sales staff telling me to get what i want from elsewhere. basically they recommend what they themselves as educated consumers would do. and when you board buses, quite a lot of drivers do say greet the passengers, and the passengers thank the drivers as they alight. greeting passengers and saying thank you to the drivers have no tangible value, but it does aid in decreasing the detachment we feel from our fellow humans, i believe.
after all, did jesus not bid his followers to love their neighbours as themselves? and don't read it literally. neighbours refers to anyone who comes in contact with us.
does anyone think that we are becoming more mercenary as a people? based on my experiences in singapore, courtesy is part of the service package. you'll get smiles and the arsewiping from people in the service industry simply because they want your money. it's a quid pro quo arrangement. for my bowing and scraping right NOW, i expect you patronage right NOW. and you hardly ever get sales assistants recommending that you direct your custom to their company's rival, because they offer a better quality product or it's cheaper. you tend to get recommended elsewhere only if they've exhausted all inferior substitutions. and is it so bloody hard for people to say "please" and "thank you"? sure, the customer is entitled to service, but that does not mean that sales staff are treated as minions, to carry out te customer's every whim and fancy. and if the person executes their job well, is saying "thank you" gonna cost you anything more than a second or 2 of your (the customer's/client's) precious time? people complain about the quality of service in singapore. it takes 2. you get what you give, and all that jazz.
ok, the reason for this post is basically i've been comparing the above situations to my own experiences here in sydney. on a regular basis, i've had sales staff telling me to get what i want from elsewhere. basically they recommend what they themselves as educated consumers would do. and when you board buses, quite a lot of drivers do say greet the passengers, and the passengers thank the drivers as they alight. greeting passengers and saying thank you to the drivers have no tangible value, but it does aid in decreasing the detachment we feel from our fellow humans, i believe.
after all, did jesus not bid his followers to love their neighbours as themselves? and don't read it literally. neighbours refers to anyone who comes in contact with us.
