Do You Think We British Are Rude?

jakeblu said:
I always exchange good mornings when walking the dogs, I don't always get one in return though.
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I think you have to work at it. I said good morning to someone I passed everyday, took a few months until I got a grunt, now I at least get a 'morning'. :D
 
Not sure about rude, maybe impatient or time poor. Brings to mind a joke from Mickey Flanagan about saying hello to the neighbours and being afraid to leave the house, hahahaha.
 
LASTOLITE said:
None of the people I associate with are like this:)...so there are at least two sets of people then;)...the set I know and the rest! although I am sure there are plenty of other people who are polite and well mannered ......I was generalising about society in general. of course!
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Because that's the intelligent use of evidence.

'Everyone I know is nice and polite, but society generally is horrible, I haven't got any experience of this, but I know it to be true.
 
Phil V said:
Because that's the intelligent use of evidence.

'Everyone I know is nice and polite, but society generally is horrible, I haven't got any experience of this, but I know it to be true.
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And tongue was in my cheek too

I find Brits are all decent until you meet the wrong ones :eek:
 
LASTOLITE said:
And tongue was in my cheek too

I find Brits are all decent until you meet the wrong ones :eek:
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I've found the same to be true of the people in the majority of countries I've visited.....one or two exceptions. ;)
 
First time I went to Kazakhstan I thought my GF was having a blazing row with a waitress in a restaurant and when the waitress had gone I asked what it was all about and the reply was that they were chatting about the weather. The Kazakhs just seemed to bark at each other and it looked so aggressive... so just as I'd got the wrong opinion of Kazakhs maybe any foreigners who think us Brits are rude have just got it wrong and should p!ss of home.

(That's a :D )
 
When my Wife and I 1st started together, I would be walking down the road and would often speak to other people we passed by "nice day/weather, raining again "and "nice Dog" etc and she would say who`s that and when I said that I`ve no idea she would say then why speak to them??

But that's the Cornish way, my Wife who comes from across the Border in England (Hampshire) said but we never do, so the Moral is if you want to meet nice People come to Cornwall but make sure it`s a Local you speak to.
 
Although it cost's nothing, just a few seconds, of your time, I think people are just too busy these day's to interact with other people TBH.
I had dogs for years, and would always speak to other dog walkers while out and about, I made a few friends that way, as "we" had a common interest.
I spend a lot of time at the local zoo with the camera, occasionally other photographers would acknowledge a comment, but alas, a lot also either grunt or move on.
And yet we, like the dog walkers have a common interest.

Its the pace of life and today's society I guess :(
 
woof woof said:
First time I went to Kazakhstan I thought my GF was having a blazing row with a waitress in a restaurant and when the waitress had gone I asked what it was all about and the reply was that they were chatting about the weather. The Kazakhs just seemed to bark at each other and it looked so aggressive... so just as I'd got the wrong opinion of Kazakhs maybe any foreigners who think us Brits are rude have just got it wrong and should p!ss of home.

(That's a :D )
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That's true with a lot of countries, when i first met my ex husband i was only 18, he introduced me to his family one day and we were staying for dinner, they are Italian and didn't speak English so when his mum came in and we were sitting close together,she started shouting..I panicked and got really worried thinking she didn't like us sitting together until he said she was just saying she'd chopped the onions... :LOL: very expressive they are!
 
woof woof said:
First time I went to Kazakhstan I thought my GF was having a blazing row with a waitress in a restaurant and when the waitress had gone I asked what it was all about and the reply was that they were chatting about the weather. The Kazakhs just seemed to bark at each other and it looked so aggressive... so just as I'd got the wrong opinion of Kazakhs maybe any foreigners who think us Brits are rude have just got it wrong and should p!ss of home.

(That's a :D )
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And that is the crux of it to me. A little bit of cultural awareness does wonders. Saying you pleases and thank you doesn't make anyone polite if it is habitual in my opinion.
 
dejongj said:
Saying you pleases and thank you doesn't make anyone polite if it is habitual in my opinion.
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And yes, its part of our culture, we are taught from an early age ( or were at least ;) ) that its rude not to say please when asking for something, be that a tangible object, or help,
and thank you when you receive it.
 
Cobra said:
And yes, its part of our culture, we are taught from an early age ( or were at least ;) ) that its rude not to say please when asking for something, be that a tangible object, or help,
and thank you when you receive it.
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Oh it still is being taught. My point being that just because someone adds a please or thank you that doesn't just make it polite if they don't mean it. For many it is habitual and meaningless, as you say a cultural thing. Something they just do because you have to and are supposed to, not because it is meant. A bit like people saying sorry when someone else bumps into them.

To me it's just unnecessary packaging unless it is truly meant that way.
 
dejongj said:
. Something they just do because you have to and are supposed to, not because it is meant.
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But when you buy me that coffee Saturday, and I don't say thank you, will you be in a rush to buy me another one?


dejongj said:
A bit like people saying sorry when someone else bumps into them.
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Ah that's a different matter all together :D
 
Cobra said:
But when you buy me that coffee Saturday, and I don't say thank you, will you be in a rush to buy me another one?
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No but neither would I if you did say thank you :p

Besides I thought it was Nod buying the coffee and me bringing the Krispy Kreme doughnuts :)


Ah that's a different matter all together :D
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Bloody foreign logic :) if you please ...

And that ladies and gentlemen is exactly why I love England so much. :thumbs:
 
Cobra said:
:p


Nod's bottled it, he heard you were coming :D


And there we have it, damned foreigners coming over here and telling us how to behave

:D
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How rude :) :p
 
dejongj said:
Bloody foreign logic :) if you please ...

And that ladies and gentlemen is exactly why I love England so much. (y)
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We is quirky, int we? :D
 
When I lived in a small village everyone always acknowledged anyone they met as everyone knew just about everyone in the village. When in a bigger town I would automatically do the same and would get a response sometimes. On visiting London and going on the tube I could not understand why know one would make eye contact and I got strange looks if I passed a greeting. I did not consider it rude more a case of differing local customs?
 
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Nod said:
You've met me then! ;) :D :p

Next time I'm up that way for a meet, I will get a coffee in - you can hold me to that!
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You really must stop harassing other fellas for cuddles :D
 
You know I'm just a big cuddly bear. ;) :P :D
 
Ricardodaforce said:
I think you missed my point. What I said was that I was used to a friendly culture where on entering a shop, you greeted the person that you saw there. Here on entering my shop, people literally act if we are not there, refusing to acknowledge us with a friendly hello. We always say "good morning/afternoon" followed by "Welcome to etc" at which point a grudging acknowledgement is received. There is a huge difference in friendliness between the Spanish and the Welsh. I base my opinion on my personal experience. What I was wondering is, why are we like this?
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If I entered a shop and one of the staff greeted me with 'good morning welcome to...' I'd see that more as a sales pitch rather than being naturally polite, i.e. something management has clearly told them they must greet customers with.
The most friendly place I have been to was Canada, with only one exception everyone was very helpful and naturally friendly. We entered a shop and the staff would say hello if we were near them and then they would leave us alone to get on with our browsing unless we asked for anything. People in the centre of Torronto would stop and offer help with directions every time we had a map unfolded, I do mean every time (sometimes more than one person would offer help before we folded the map back up).

As for us Brits, some are rude no doubt, but most are friendly enough in my experience. In the larger cities everyone seems to be in more of a rush though!
 
Wee man said:
When I lived in a small village everyone always acknowledged anyone they met as everyone knew just about everyone in the village. When in a bigger town I would automatically do the same and would get a response sometimes. On visiting London and going on the tube I could not understand why know one would make eye contact and I got strange looks if I passed a greeting. I did not consider it rude more a case of differing local customs?
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sounds like the scene in crocodile dundee where he starts greeting strangers in nyc lol - i only live in a small town but luckily not so small that everybody knows everybody (apart from the "born and bred" types). i'd hate to constantly be greeting people in the street
 
I used to work in a casino as a croupier and used to hate it when people would treat me like an object rather than a person. Even a simple please and thank you would have been nice. I have to admit, though, that rudeness was not restricted to just the English although I found our high roller Middle Eastern customers to be amongst the friendliest and politest.

However, I do remember one English punter; quite arrogant, rude, and demanding, who 'ordered' the Brazilian waitress to get him a ham sandwich and make sure it had 'enough' mustard in it. Now, I'm sure it was a genuine mistake because she was also quite new to the job and probably didn't know better, but the sandwich she delivered had one slice of ham and about a quarter inch thick of English mustard in the filling. He didn't even acknowledge her but just snatched it off the plate and took a huge bite. She didn't bother waiting for a tip.
 
PaulF said:
If I entered a shop and one of the staff greeted me with 'good morning welcome to...' I'd see that more as a sales pitch rather than being naturally polite, i.e. something management has clearly told them they must greet customers with.
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And there we have the problem. A friendly hello is automatically seen as a cynical sales pitch. Whereas what I am used to is a friendly hello is just that, a friendly hello.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
And there we have the problem. A friendly hello is automatically seen as a cynical sales pitch. Whereas what I am used to is a friendly hello is just that, a friendly hello.
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Not quite, a friendly natural hello is fine, and I'd respond in kind. A greeting that staff have been instructed to give is not a friendly hello, it's an order from management and that is not the same thing in my opinion.
 
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