New York can really be summed up with one word: Attitude. It would be a difficult task to try not to notice it, because it’s everywhere. It’s everyone.
All of our visitors have noticed and commented on it, especially the most obvious and frequent source of attitude – sales assistants. I’m not sure why they’re called “assistants”, as they don’t really do any assisting. Take yesterday for example, when I was buying groceries at Associated. I started with my regular, friendly “‘owya goin’?” to which I received no reply. The “friendly assistant” (probably named Shawana or Breawana or something) then proceeded to scan my goods, and when she was done she just looked at me. No prompting for payment, just an empty gaze.
Figuring I had the game worked out, I held up my credit card and said nothing. Finally a word: “Credit?” she asked. I figured that now the silence had been broken, I could continue the trend, so I replied with “yes, please!”, and swiped my card. Alas, I didn’t have it figured at all. After the card had been processed, she simply handed me my receipt, plus the slip of paper to sign, and then she threw a pen at me. I was tempted to sign something ridiculous instead of my signature, but figured she didn’t care anyway, so I just signed my regular name, grabbed my double-bagged groceries (a single bag isn’t enough for some pasta and tomatoes?) and walked away with a friendly, “thanks very much for your help!”.
But the king of attitude? The FDNY. Sure, they’re hailed as heros since 9/11, but boy do they know it. Whenever they’re driving anywhere in their trucks, on go the sirens – yet I’m sure they’re not always on an emergency run. More likely, “they’re just running late for lunch” as Craig always says. The best example came yesterday as I was walking into Associated and a fire truck pulled up out the front (sirens blaring). And by “pulled up”, I mean parked over two lanes of 2nd Avenue – hence blocking those lanes from the rest of the cars stuck in peak hour traffic. And why? To rescue the customers from a fire? To save a kitten from a tree? To teach the checkout-chicks to be more friendly? No, none of these emergencies had arisen; the lads just wanted to buy some groceries.
New York Attitude.
. But I’m wondering why you still need a scanner? I have downloaded a great scanner app for my phone so I just take...
4 comments
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I still remember going up the coast to the Big Kart Track and being passed be an ambulance with lights and sirens blaring. I think to myself, there must be something serious if ambulances from Brisbane way are heading up the coast. When we get to the Big Kart Track and see the same ambulance I think, gee, someone must have really done something stupid on the track. Imagine my surprise when I see the Ambo’s racing around the track!<br><br>Lights and sirens are the same anywhere, an excuse to do regular things faster!
Hey! Buying those groceries may have been a life or death situation, you just never know! It reminds me of that scene in Miss Congeniality where they pull up to Starbucks…
Perhaps you might consider being a bit more friendly and greeting them with "Owya goin MATE" and get them pondering how come they are your mate!
What’s even funnier is when you ask them how they are going, or how they day is and the are shocked that someone actually spoke to them!