Has the world went to hell in a hand basket?

After carefully perusing this thread I think it's safe to say, in answer to the original question. "Yes. We have went there"

Don't they say any kind of pleasantries after a purchase?

I think they say. "Your purchases sir. Now bugger off".

hee hee

Au, maybe Boston is a little worse tha other places, but it's been like that for me in all the places I've lived. Unless you're a regular, or a friend, or something.

"Have a nice day" or its equivalent is considered very American, and mentioning it to any American expat will get you an indignant outburst about European service workers' lack of pleasant- and politeness

That said, slowly but gradually, it's coming ... McDonalds employees for example are obliged to say "Have a nice day" (tho the ones downtown here do no such thing). In small/family-owned shops they're usually more loquatiously polite than in chains (up to the point of saying "dag" (bye) where you would say "have a nice day" - or even actually saying "have a nice weekend", if it happens to be Friday). And I have noticed more of the supermarket clerks at Albert Heijn starting to actually say "a pleasant day still", or the like ... but only about half, max.

The usual is still:

- [optional: Hello/good afternoon
- Hello/good afternoon]
- That is twelve twenty-five
- Here you are
- [optional: Thank you,] here you are (giving change)
- Thank you
- [optional: Do you want the receipt?]
END

Thank you works for me.

littlek
Only kidding.

I think the service in general in Boston is good at restaurants. At least compared to when I went to New Orleans, they are some slow-moving mo-fo's.

Sometimes slow is a good thing. I was in a restaurant in Waltham last night and we had to be out in 1.5 hours. Half our party arrived late. We weren't exactly rushed, but under other circumstances, I might like to linger.

Well, here in Austin you hear the ...nice day, thank you, come back soon. The waitresses, even neighbors, still call perfect strangers darlin', honey and sweety. Can't help but like it, especially those who get personal, prefacing every sentence with "you guys."

Slappy, they may have been slow, but I bet they were very polite and even friendly.

I don't get paid enough to put up with some of my clients but I am never ever rude. When you are in the customer service business, you suck it up and deal with it.

My profession has also given me the liberty (yes, I believe the liberty) to be a little bit harsh on others in the customer service business. I put up with bs with a smile every day....so I expect others to do the same. I hate my job sometimes but I slap on a stupid grin and pretend I just LOVE being at work. It isn't the customers fault your cat threw up last night and you stepped in it this morning. Or that I am stuck in a dead end job I hate.

I am far less rude than a lot of customers and if I get treated the same way an undesirable customer does, I am going to say something. And I refuse to pay for bad service. Now, there is a difference between the service I expect from McDonalds and a high end restaurant. I won't pitch a fit over slightly over cooked fries but I will send back a steak that isn't cooked the way I specified.

I've sucked it up enough that I oughta look like a beached whale. But you get those few...just a few that you can't help but dish out the ignorant attitude that they are dishing out at you. Of course, I do it with sarcastic wit and they end up laughing at it...and I'm thinking..."if you only knew what I was really thinking, you'd bitch slap me"..lol

We make things easy on people...they make it harder on you. They will do everything in thier power to go out of thier way to make you go out of your way.

My job is stressful and there is alot of pressure to go to great lengths to please people, in which I do. But when the ungrateful louse your feeding wants to act like its the end of the world cause he's one french fry short of a what he thinks is a full order, those are the ones that make you want to just slap the living hell out of. Or those that want to explain to you how to cook thier food. I have laughed at them and told them, "the kitchen is that way...make yourself at home."

But what bothers me the most, is when you go to extremes to please people, they just smirk...walk away and can't even act like its appreciated. What happen to a simple, "Thank you".

We probably have 30 regulars at the cafe, that I feed every morning. One or two in particular will ask me what the lunch special is for the day? I tell them,...they start raising hell at me, cause it might have salt/ pepper or some spice on it. So...then again...I go out of my way to cook part of it and leave it bland, with no spices...as to please the old codgers.....But its when they get ugly about it, thats when my mind is saying.."Hey...its not my fault your an alcoholic and your stomach is eat up with ulcers, so don't go being hateful to me, cause I don't cook bland food!"

I have threatened to get aprons with smartass sayings on them...ha, one in particular is.."If you want NURSING HOME FOOD, its up the hill on the left!" And the other one is.."I'm not to blame for your ULCERS".

If I didn't have a sense of humor like I did, I wouldn't have the return costumers I have and I wouldn't have lasted as long as I have lasted in that cafe.

Which reminds me of my McDonalds Story..lol

Cashier at drive through: Welcome to McD's..blah blah..

WE order.......but before we can even finish getting out the first order, he interupts with..

ARE YOU FINISHED YET?

I replied...."No, I'm not".

I repeat myself...and move on to the next order..

In MidStream...same thing..."Is that it?"...very hateful.

And again..........we do the order..

Finally , the 3rd time...I told him.."Hell no I'm not done yet....when I'm finished, I'll let you know".

When I got to the first window, I requested a manager and had the boy removed from the window.'

CHA CHING!!!!