June 29th, 2008Wow… New York sucks THAT MUCH?!
As a person who has grown up in New York, I’m used to walking into a store without greetings from the sales people, not being followed by sales reps asking if I need anything, walking into the restrooms of malls and seeing some little kid spraying the water everywhere and wasting the paper towels just for fun, having pens and anything removable fastened or nailed into the counters so that they’re not stolen or thrown across the room… This is the world I lived in. As I traveled out of country to my birthplace - Hong Kong, I always noted the difference in their society. Children are better behaved, scissors, pens, etc are left in their holders for other customers to use without chains attached, gum is not being stuck underneath railings, sales people greet you, follow you around and practically suggest you try this and that to match your style… (That freaked me out when I was in Hong Kong BTW. I felt bad leaving a store and not buying anything or not even tipping them. 0__o) I must say I am used to being left alone to browse stores with plenty of free space. Asking a disgruntle sales rep in New York to find you something requires two shouts for another person who actually knows something about that section to help you.
Anyway, it struck me yesterday that America wasn’t all like this. I was with my parents on a shopping spree in Pennsylvania Outlets and realized that their sinks weren’t saturated with water, their flowers and vases were still present in the restrooms of their malls and heck, parents actually told their children to behave in public… I had traveled to Pennsylvania and many other states South and West before , but it hit me only yesterday that service and people in places outside New York were all drastically different. My father kept insisting that the waitress to our dinner at Olive Garden in Pennsylvania was being really nice to receive a big tip at first. Then one of his friends (the shopping spree was between my parents, a few of my dad’s friends who knew directions, and I) said that they were ALWAYS like that… Makes the service in New York rather irrelevant. Now don’t get me wrong, I have friends who were waiters and waitresses and I’ve been in sales before - we ARE trained to do our best, but for some reason… We just don’t pull it off or we just get really pissed, really easily… It’s not even like the Olive Garden I went to in Pennsylvania was less busy than any restaurant I eat in New York. Their waiters had the same amount of running around for customers and their needs. *shrugs*
The waitress we had received 20% for her awesome service. (By our crappy New Yorker standards.) By the sound of her “WOW!” I’m assuming 20% isn’t what she’s normally tipped - much less by a bunch of Asian customers. XD
New York - too many people that are brought together for the purpose of their business and ignoring the social issues? People forgetting to teach their kids to open and hold doors for the elderly? (You have no idea how many times I get onto a bus in New York and see teenagers sitting idly in their seats while a senior citizen dangles from the bars, trying desperately to hold on as the bus moves… I feel like smacking those children…)
Oh, but the amount of light pollution, condensed amount of cars on the highway, car horns going off constantly - it was good to be home at 1 AM after the shopping spree… Home Sweet Home…
Mehehe. And if you’re wondering what I bought… Or what my parents bought for me (early college graduation present they said):
A dress pant and suit/jacket to match for the purpose of future interviews and job, some clothes, some pants, a sneaker, two sandals and a GUESS watch that’s a bit more feminine than my black-banded chunky rocker one… My parents spoil me. No doubt.
