surly service in NYC

[tommy]

fox news bit.

[Lyle]

I really, rrrealllly love the South. But I've never had anyone act overtly rude towards me anywhere ever in NY. At least if they had nothing to gain. I can't be alone in this...

[beans]

Author Neil must not fare well in NYC or must need to vent publicly for validation of nothing that amounts up to a hill of *beans*!

[Lady T]

I also notice that author Neil wasn't acting like the customer that all servers dream of making happy.

The service people I encountered in NYC when I visited there last month were at the very least polite, and most often pretty genial. Now I begin to wonder if that's simply because I mostly remembered to preface requests with "When you get a moment..." or "Would it be possible to..."?

[tommy]

i can assure everyone that new yorkers can be nasty miserable people. and they can also be wonderful (like me). but, i do think that people overall are more pleasant in a lot of other places in the US, and the world for that matter. that, of course, is just one man's experience.

[Bux]

I also notice that author Neil wasn't acting like the customer that all servers dream of making happy.

The service people I encountered in NYC when I visited there last month were at the very least polite, and most often pretty genial.

Betcha didn't meet a lot of journalists.

All through that article I was wondering if that same service were experienced elsewhere, would the local journalist be too polite to write about it.

[Fat Guy]

Where the hell does he think all the servers in New York come from? New York? Not likely.

[tommy]

Where the hell does he think all the servers in New York come from? New York? Not likely.

do they live in jersey?

[vengroff]

Where the hell does he think all the servers in New York come from? New York? Not likely.

do they live in jersey?

They mostly come from wherever people dream of being actors, models, and artists, don't they?

[Fat Guy]

They're all from the South and Midwest and California and places like that -- even Canada. They send all their rude people to us and then make like New Yorkers are rude. Real New Yorkers are the nicest people in the world, and when I say New Yorkers I include people from Tommy's part of New Jersey. It's the carpetbaggers who give us a bad name.

[Lisa1349]

Here, here, FG! While working in NY it is hard to find people actually FROM NY. Everyone's there after something. I think it helps diversity.

BTW, no part of Jersey shall ever be considered NY, not even the town of West New York, NJ!!

Lisa

who loved NY so much she had to leave

[tommy]

yeah fat guy! eff the carpetbaggers!

[cakewalk]

They're all from the South and Midwest and California and places like that -- even Canada. They send all their rude people to us and then make like New Yorkers are rude. Real New Yorkers are the nicest people in the world, and when I say New Yorkers I include people from Tommy's part of New Jersey. It's the carpetbaggers who give us a bad name.

Oh my. This is one of my favorite tirades, I am so pleased to hear it coming from someone else!!

I insist (insist!!) that the rudest people on the streets of New York are the out-of-towners who moved here as young adults. I think they feel they have to "live up" to this "New York personality" they read about in their home-town newspapers (probably written by someone who was never in NY in his life). Those out-of-towners are nasty. They smile as they say fuck you. (A New Yorker would never -- two-faced we're not.) They are grabby. (New Yorkers have a sense of community I have never seen elsewhere.) Whenever I hear people complain about New Yorkers, I am sure they're referrring to the people who came here from Iowa who now call themselves New Yorkers, but ARE NOT!

So there.

[EJRothman]

In my opinion, it's not the New Yorkers who are rude, it's the rest of the country that is too goddamn nice. Any time I go to a restaurant outside of NY - FL, PA, OH most frequently - I get this sickly alien feeling produced by annoying and syruppy-sweet wait staffers. New Yorkers aren't rude, they are meerly respectful and honest people. The rest of the nation should use them as an example and cut the crap.

-Eric

Edited June 5, 2003 by EJRothman (log)

[elyse]

You know, this is so refreshing, I am much pleased.

I too am of the "the people who are rude here are NOT from here" camp. As some of you have seen, I have had this argument before and will till the day I die. But to be more precise, when people talk about NYers, it is the city to which they are referring, not the boroughs, meaning Manhattan. (Sorry Tommy). Again, people come here form the rest of the country, the rest of the boroughs, and can't deal.

Of course this isn't true of every person here, but in my experience, its quite weighty.

[tommy]

In my opinion, it's not the New Yorkers who are rude, it's the rest of the country that is too goddamn nice.  Any time I go to a restaurant outside of NY - FL, PA, OH most frequently - I get this sickly alien feeling produced by annoying and syruppy-sweet wait staffers.  New Yorkers aren't rude, they are meerly respectful and honest people.  The rest of the nation should use them as an example and cut the crap.

-Eric

perfect.

[Busboy]

In my opinion, it's not the New Yorkers who are rude, it's the rest of the country that is too goddamn nice.  Any time I go to a restaurant outside of NY - FL, PA, OH most frequently - I get this sickly alien feeling produced by annoying and syruppy-sweet wait staffers. 

-Eric

I lived in Denver for two years and they had the nicest darn servers you'd ever want to meet -- and every dinner was amateur hour (except in the formal dining room of the Brown Palace Hotel). They didn't know the food, they could bring the appetizers out on time and I actually had a bartender come out from behind the bar and put his arm around me, to console me when he had to announce that the entree I'd ordered was sold out. Ick.

But, you have to admit, New Yorkers are, at least, brusque on a regular basis.

[joler]

In my most recent visit to NYC, I did not encounter a single rude person other than the cabbie's (again, not New Yorkers). In fact, everyone was most eager to help with directions, dinner reservations, shopping, whatever. I love NY. Living in the South gives me the means to enjoy the city more than I ever could when I was living there though (paying exhorbitant rent).

[EJRothman]

In my opinion, it's not the New Yorkers who are rude, it's the rest of the country that is too goddamn nice.  Any time I go to a restaurant outside of NY - FL, PA, OH most frequently - I get this sickly alien feeling produced by annoying and syruppy-sweet wait staffers. 

-Eric

I lived in Denver for two years and they had the nicest darn servers you'd ever want to meet -- and every dinner was amateur hour (except in the formal dining room of the Brown Palace Hotel). They didn't know the food, they could bring the appetizers out on time and I actually had a bartender come out from behind the bar and put his arm around me, to console me when he had to announce that the entree I'd ordered was sold out. Ick.

But, you have to admit, New Yorkers are, at least, brusque on a regular basis.

Maybe out-of-towners see New Yorkers as "brusque", but to New Yorkers - me, at least - I think this is respect. I don't want a waiter to tell me about his or her personal life, I don't need to be consoled when my entree is sold out, I don't appreciate a silly ear-to-ear grin from my server like he/she is honored to serve me. I do need a waiter who comes over answers questions, makes sugesstions -if prompted- brings the food when it's ready, and comes over once to check on how the meal is going.

On a related notes a couple of pet peeves: 1) Don't stick the dessert menu in my face, ask me if I want any - I almost never do, and 2) after the initial pouring, let me pour my own fucking wine refills (this one is really my father's pet peeve, but I am beginning to appreciate it).

-Eric

Edited June 5, 2003 by EJRothman (log)

[Busboy]

In my opinion, it's not the New Yorkers who are rude, it's the rest of the country that is too goddamn nice.  Any time I go to a restaurant outside of NY - FL, PA, OH most frequently - I get this sickly alien feeling produced by annoying and syruppy-sweet wait staffers. 

-Eric

I lived in Denver for two years and they had the nicest darn servers you'd ever want to meet -- and every dinner was amateur hour (except in the formal dining room of the Brown Palace Hotel). They didn't know the food, they could bring the appetizers out on time and I actually had a bartender come out from behind the bar and put his arm around me, to console me when he had to announce that the entree I'd ordered was sold out. Ick.

But, you have to admit, New Yorkers are, at least, brusque on a regular basis.

I don't want a waiter to tell me about his or her personal life, I don't need to be consoled when my entree is sold out, I don't appreciate a silly ear-to-ear grin from my server like he/she is honored to serve me. I

FG -- You would hate Denver. Amazing how irritatating people who want to be your best buddy can be. Actually, we weren't to keen on it either, and moved back East. My wife lost 15 pounds in two years and still maintains that there is no food worth eating in that city.

Brusque isn't necessarily a bad thing -- change it to gruff and it's damn near heartwarming -- but I'm not always convinced that the guy giving me the "hurry up, buddy, I got better things to do" attitude is rushing me along out of respect for my busy schedule.

Don't get me wrong -- last time I was in New York I was almost late for an appointment because the guy behind the counter at the 2nd Avenue Deli (native, judging by the accent) spent so long explaining the pros and cons of the different subway routes to where I was going, I almost couldn't get to the station on time. And he through in the pickles and mustard for free.

And of course, you can't get pastrami like that out here in the sticks.

[elyse]

Brusque isn't necessarily a bad thing -- change it to gruff and it's damn near heartwarming -- but I'm not always convinced that the guy giving me the "hurry up, buddy, I got better things to do" attitude is rushing me along out of respect for my busy schedule.

Don't get me wrong -- last time I was in New York I was almost late for an appointment because the guy behind the counter at the 2nd Avenue Deli (native, judging by the accent) spent so long explaining the pros and cons of the different subway routes to where I was going, I almost couldn't get to the station on time.  And he through in the pickles and mustard for free. 

And of course, you can't get pastrami like that out here in the sticks.

I'll bet you anything these people were not from the city. People from the island have little to no accent.

[tommy]

I'll bet you anything these people were not from the city.  People from the island have little to no accent.

"from the island"? you mean like born and raised in manhattan?

[KatieLoeb]

I once had a server very like the one in the Fox News report. After tolerating her snarkiness far longer than I should have, I said to her (in a voice loud enough for other customers and management to hear") "Look - I really don't know what your problem today is. But whether your dog died, you had a fight with your husband, you hate your job, or you hate your whole miserable effing life, IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I just got here so stop misdirecting your anger at me."

She was a lot more pleasant after that...

[GordonCooks]

Other than a minor "interaction" at a Cosi - my experiences have been positive - Re: Fine dining, coffee counter, hot dog cart, parking attendant, etc. To an indigenous Southerner, the interaction may seem impersonal - I find it efficient. It could also be that I have this “don’t fuck with me” scowl as my normal face.

[elyse]

I'll bet you anything these people were not from the city.  People from the island have little to no accent.

"from the island"? you mean like born and raised in manhattan?

Yes.