Brassed off Britain

[geoffw]

From a TV series in England- http://www.bbc.co.uk/bob/

The top ten things which brass off Brits- up there are estate agents. Apparently they're not licenced in the UK, so there's a lot of room for shoddy practices- but overquoting (or underquoting in some circumstances) a re mentioned.

Banks are in there, for many reasons whick would brass off Aussies (or should that be "bronze off"?)

The other items in the top ten are:
Call Centres
Deliveries
Holidays
Home Improvements
Junk Mail
Mobile Phone Companies
New Cars
Railways

[Ecogirl]

Incompetent drivers
Bad service
Tourists who think everything is bigger and better back home

[qaz]

Are "American's" anywhere on that list?

I can imagine their on everybodies lists.

[geoffw]

Are "American's" anywhere on that list?

I can imagine their on everybodies lists.People you encounter in the US are some of the most generous helpful people in the world.

The sort of US citizen you might meet on the streets here are just a small subset of the majority.

I lived in the US for a year, and found many many wonderful people.

I revisited a few years ago.

A few small examples.

1. I ordered a particular drink with my meal. I was served the meal, but not the drink. I asked again for the drink- no fuss, and given immediately. The drink was not charged, because it was not served with the order. (in a similar situation in Australia last month, I was actually charged more. We had ordered a bottle of wine- halfway through the meal it had not arrived, so the people ordered just a few glasses- it cost more than the bottle we ordered).

2. That same day, I bought some stamps at a newsagent for postcards. The stamps were 50c, but only 25c was required (there were 8 postcards). I was only charged 25c each for the 50c cards, because it was their fault they did not have the stamps

3. When I asked directions, people really took time to explain exactly how to get to a destination. One person made me repeat the instructions (I found my way). Another took me miles out of his way just to find where I was going.

(Sorry, a BTW. We often refer to "Americans" which means, to us, US citizens. But the term really covers residents of two continents. Even Mexico is "North American", even if a part of Latin America- a pity the phone companies don't give rates to Mexico the rates they advertise as "North America".

Sorry for the mini rant. MrsW is, of course, from Mexico).

[Sim]

Spend enough time hanging out in asian airports like HKG, SIN, PEK, etc, and you will see way too many rude, arrogant, annoying, and just plain STUPID "US citizens" (though they might not be - they just speak with an American accent, they may even be Canadians for all I know !). They will be the ones trying to get from gate 19 to gate 50 in HKG and asking for directions every 5 metres in a loud and obnoxious manner. I'm sure it's not just asian airports, but those are the ones I spend most of my time in outside Australia.

The problem is that these people are so obviously (US) American, that they lead everyone to believe Americans are all like this. The thing is that the "normal" people from the US are as quiet and considerate (and smart) as the rest of us, and so go as unnoticed as the rest of us do too, thus perpetuating the myth that all Americans are like the bad ones.

Not a lot you can do about that apart from somehow banning the obnoxious ones from obtaining passports !

[Les]

G'day all,

The "loud American" comment reminds me of a favourite joke.....

The yank went into a coffee bar and ordered from the waitress (in that well-known, loud, US voice):-

"Give me a carfee, love"

The waitress replied "How would you like it, Sir?"

The answer came "Ah like mah coffee just like ah like mah women - hot and sweet!!"

The waitress smiled - "Black, or white, Sir?"



I have also found that the "yank at home" is a very unassuming, helpful, generous, "just-plain-nice" individual. As it happens, some of us can become "other people" when in another country. I've been embarrassed by (a couple of) Aussies that were loud, rude, and just bloody obnoxious when in the US, while, at home, they were very pleasant blokes. Surprised me, really.....

Regards,

[geoffw]

I've been embarrassed by (a couple of) Aussies that were loud, rude, and just bloody obnoxious when in the US, while, at home, they were very pleasant blokes. Yep, Aussies abroad can be a bad bunch.

I once travelled to the US in a plane with the entire Brisbane Broncos team.

Nuff said.

[Aceyducey]

Ditto the above sentiments,

I haven't known a US citizen I haven't liked, but I've encountered many who I wouldn't want to get to know.

My most treasured encounter was with a Texan lady I sat next to on a train to Heathrow about to fly to Italy. We were chatting about the amount of historical stuff in the UK and Europe.

She told me I should go to the US, I said that it wasn't on my current travel plans, but maybe sometime in the future.

She said that I really really should go...because they have so much more history in the US than in Europe.

hmmmmmmmm

Cheers,

Aceyducey

[Sim]

That sounds exactly like a lot of Texans I've met Acey.