Singaporeans slammed for being rude in Australian newspaper!

[night86mare]

If you read my post carefully, I'm not even asking for the cab driver to small talk with me. I'm not even asking him to greet me with a Hello or whatever, though that's expected for people in the service industry. Ok granted, in Singapore, some people don't like to talk much. But for goodness sake, a simple nod or OK will kill?

relax...

friendly discussion.....

anyways, i know what you mean about cab drivers sometimes.. you can't control other people, just have a more open mind. you can only control yourself - as long as YOU greet the cab driver with a cheery hello, and you tell him where to go in a nice manner, like "plaza singapura, please.", i'm sure at the very least he will be happy that he has gotten a polite customer even though he might not be the most polite person on earth.

courtesy begins with yourself - after a while i have adopted the attitude that when i want to help or do something that might benefit others, you shouldn't expect any thanks in return - because that's not why you do it right? same goes for being courteous.

everyone's definition of courtesy and manners varies from country to country. i for one, would love to see us singaporeans clearing our trays at fast food places. it is a norm here in london especially (not so much for some other european countries), and it is a good habit.

 

[night86mare]

I think it is too shallow to label people from other cultures as simply "rude", just becos they do not follow a particular set of behaviour that you are accustomed to. :nono:

It's just a cultural thing that you have to learn from whenever you go to other countries.

john,

i get what you mean, but i think you have mistaken what kiwi2 meant.

he didn't expect any greeting or small talk. i don't think anyone really does. in fact, sometimes i am really tired and i find it tiring to talk to talkative cab drivers, but just entertain them, since they are on the road most of the time, and the cab ride won't be too long anyways.

what he means is that the cab driver should at least show signs of having heard about the passenger's destination - some form of acknowledgement. putting it into a context of a restaurant, it is like you giving the waiter your orders, and then he just walks off.

 

[Jango]

What basic courtesy is common across all cultures (like in US, Britain, China, India,....)? Maybe, you can create a list.

This is one of the strangest questions I've come across EVER. Anyway since you asked, here are some suggestions:

- smiling, sometimes waving as well
- offering handshake when introduced
- giving way
- sharing
- being helpful even to strangers where possible - old folks, pregnant women, handicaps etc

And from Barney's videos:

- saying Please and Thank you
- learning when to use "indoor" and "outdoor" voice