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  • Way to encourage a stereotype

    Hi all, I'm a long time lurker and upon starting my newest job decided I really ought to get an account. Especially for stories like this.
    I work at a fast food place that is famous for its soup and its ability to toast everything. It was a steady sunday lunchrush, myself, R and the assistant manager (AM) were working when this couple placed their order and went to sit down.
    Now the female half of the couple started to get quite rude and snippy as their tray's were being prepared, snapping at R to make sure he didn't short them on their soup, and even so far as to go: "Where are the napkins?? THERE ARE NO NAPKINS!!" (That napking where on their tray, pinned under the bowls of soup.)
    All this would have been good and fine, us chuckling about 'rude americans' (They paid with american dollars, hence we knew where they were from).
    Thats when the , er, 'Lady' started yelling that the table was filthy and the chairs were wet. What it was was that they had chosen to sit right next to the pop fountain, wich is out of sight of the prep area and till. Aperently someone earlier had spilled a drink over there and neglected to let up know. After going out with a cloth to wipe down the seat and offer to wipe the talbe I was berated for "Not keeping the place clean, its filthy you know!" (All the tables were empty and had been wiped 5 minutes earlier by AM)
    The funniest part about all this, was once the couple had left I had to go and clear their table, its was filthy! soup everwhere and napkins all over the floor. For someone with a problem with filth she sure had no problem creating it.

  • #2
    Wow, a walking contradiction of an SC. Welcome!
    I don't get paid enough to kiss your a**! -Groezig 5/31/08
    Another day...another million braincells lost...-Sarlon 6/16/08
    Chivalry is not dead. It's just direly underappreciated. -Samaliel 9/15/09

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    • #3
      Dear friends and neighbors of the world community,

      There are two kinds of Americans found abroad.

      1. The traveling gentleman/lady adventurer, who has gone thither to experience the wonders of the world and has done a bit of reading so as to better appreciate the marvels about them in a strange and foreign place, who conducts themselves quietly and cheerfully, polite because this isn't their homeland nor do they know these people around them.

      2. (brace yourselves) The Amerrykin Toorist who is here ta see the castles and stuff, and wants more ketchup and mayo, and talks and points and swears LOUDLY everywhere, and yells about why nobody will "talk english" to them.

      These second ones we profoundly apologize for, because , if it makes you feel any better, when through with their VeeKayShun these people go HOME, and WE have to cope with them.
      We feel your pain.

      Respectfully,
      The Saner Half of the USA.
      Last edited by Sharsarannon; 06-08-2008, 11:42 PM.
      "Respect: to admit that something one may not enjoy or prefer might still have great value." ~L. Munoa

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      • #4
        Oh I understand, I do have familly in the states (Texas to be exact) and a number of friends from their. I really do beleive that the 'rude american' is an undeserved stereotype that is placed upon most of the populace.

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        • #5
          Quoth Sharsarannon View Post
          2. (brace yourselves) The Amerrykin Toorist who is here ta see the castles and stuff, and wants more ketchup and mayo, and talks and points and swears LOUDLY everywhere, and yells about why nobody will "talk english" to them.
          And gets laughed out of cafes in Italy for yelling at the wait staff for providing a glass of milk when asked for "a latte"

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          • #6
            When I was in college I went to Italy and Germany as a chaperone on a high school choir trip. Besides myself the other chaperones were some of the kids' parents; I have never been so embarrassed in my life.

            One guy asked our guide where an 'authentic, non-touristy' restaurant was and then complained when we went to one and the waitress didn't speak English.

            A mother asked me (I spoke German) why the Germans didn't act 'more grateful' to us. I looked puzzled and she explained they should be grateful to Americans for saving them from the Nazis in WWII. I couldn't help nut laugh in her face; I certainly wasn't around in the 1940's, and neither was she, and did she ever see those pictures of Berlin as a pile of rubble?
            https://www.facebook.com/authorpatriciacorrell/

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            • #7
              Quoth Sharsarannon View Post
              2. (brace yourselves) The Amerrykin Toorist who is here ta see the castles and stuff, and wants more ketchup and mayo, and talks and points and swears LOUDLY everywhere, and yells about why nobody will "talk english" to them.

              These second ones we profoundly apologize for, because , if it makes you feel any better, when through with their VeeKayShun these people go HOME, and WE have to cope with them.
              We feel your pain.

              Respectfully,
              The Saner Half of the USA.
              oh, Utah gets the Toorist on VeeKayShun too... I can't stand it when I'm walking around Temple Square and some tourist complains that they can't actually go into the Temple and it would be so much better an attraction if people could go into the Temple... it's like Hello, that's not a tourist attraction, that is a sacred place for a very good portion of the population.

              So yes, I too will apologize for the stupid Americans and give you the assurance that we have to deal with them to.
              If you wish to find meaning, listen to the music not the song

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              • #8
                Quoth Sharsarannon View Post
                The Amerrykin Toorist who is here ta see the castles and stuff, and wants more ketchup and mayo

                I thought it was pronounced The Amurrkin Turist. I live in a touristy state called Florida, so not only do I get to deal with snowbirds, retirees, but also tourists.....*sigh*
                I don't get paid enough to kiss your a**! -Groezig 5/31/08
                Another day...another million braincells lost...-Sarlon 6/16/08
                Chivalry is not dead. It's just direly underappreciated. -Samaliel 9/15/09

                Comment


                • #9
                  And the saddest thing about this stereotype is that I KNOW that USA tourists are not the suckiest ones out of our national borders. No particular country has that claim to fame. We earned that moniker in the heyday of modern tourism - just after WWII when we were just about the only ones in the world who could afford to go abroad and were understandably arrogant about what our place in the world was.

                  Plus, we have a cultural background of volubility and exuberance combined with several identifiable traits. We often speak only one second language, haltingly. But why would we speak more? The only foreign languages at our borders are French and Spanish. The former is a small minority of an enormous (English speaking) country, the latter is one that is heavily dependent and invested in our economy, and hence strident about accommodating our language.

                  Plus, we have numbers. If every country in the world sends 10% of its population abroad in tourism, we are only over represented by a few nations. So if half of them are idiots, there are 1.5 million dumb ass USians out there for people to gawk at. Sure, that means there are 6.6 million dumb ass Chinese too, but their culture is less frantic. Brazilians are perhaps more expressive, but by the same math there are less than a million of the Brazilian DA's out there disgracing their country. ('course if you've ever been to disney world, you've seen EVERY culture poorly represented.)

                  Plus. We've had money. And the desire to spend it. And many countries seem willing to accept it. I know for a fact that in every "tourist trap" in the world that it absolutely DOES NOT MATTER what country/region/state/county the idiot is from - if he's throwing out money, it's my job as a local to leech every bit of it that I can from him

                  Please forgive my soapboxing in this thread, but I'm just a little worn out with the whole concept of "Ugly American." As a people, we are rarely more ugly than those from other countries. As a people, we are probably a little more ignorant (in the educational sense) and a little too affable (in the international community as a whole's sense of personal space or propriety.) But we are by NO means the extreme on any of these scales and it's time we stopped apologizing as though we were. SCism knows no national borders.

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                  • #10
                    Quoth Sharsarannon View Post
                    These second ones we profoundly apologize for, because , if it makes you feel any better, when through with their VeeKayShun these people go HOME, and WE have to cope with them.
                    We feel your pain.

                    Respectfully,
                    The Saner Half of the USA.
                    Well said!

                    If I ever get the chance to travel outside the USA, I promise I will be on my best behavior, polite and interested in the local color, and not be a self-centered boor.
                    I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
                    My LiveJournal
                    A page we can all agree with!

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                    • #11
                      Quoth tropicsgoddess View Post
                      I thought it was pronounced The Amurrkin Turist. I live in a touristy state called Florida, so not only do I get to deal with snowbirds, retirees, but also tourists.....*sigh*
                      You're preaching to the choir!

                      Yes, people actually do live and work in Santa Fe year-round. They're not there just in the summer for you to make rude remarks to and speak condescendingly to the people selling jewelry on the porch at the Palace (seriously, some of the could buy and sell you dumbass).

                      Yes, we're still trying to get to work and live our lives in ABQ during the 10 days of the Balloon Fiesta....and we'll still be here after you pull your land yacht out. And for the love of <insert deity of your choice here>, if you're going to watch the balloons, pull off the damn road!
                      It's floating wicker propelled by fire!

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                      • #12
                        Geez, if you're in England ... skip the ketchup and POUR ON THE HP!
                        "Always stand near the door." -- Doctor Who

                        Kuya's Kitchen -- Cooking, Cooking Gadgets, and Food Related Blather from a Transplanted Foodie

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                        • #13
                          Quoth edible_hat View Post
                          And gets laughed out of cafes in Italy for yelling at the wait staff for providing a glass of milk when asked for "a latte"
                          Cafe o latte is what you should ask for


                          ...right?

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                          • #14
                            Quoth Pagan View Post
                            You're preaching to the choir!

                            Yes, people actually do live and work in Santa Fe year-round. They're not there just in the summer for you to make rude remarks to and speak condescendingly to the people selling jewelry on the porch at the Palace (seriously, some of the could buy and sell you dumbass).

                            Yes, we're still trying to get to work and live our lives in ABQ during the 10 days of the Balloon Fiesta....and we'll still be here after you pull your land yacht out. And for the love of <insert deity of your choice here>, if you're going to watch the balloons, pull off the damn road!
                            that reminds me of living in Reno, when tourists would complain about how high gas prices are and residents should be ashamed of their city for taking advantage of tourists by having high prices... it's like, hello asshole, guess what you will pay those prices for a week, we will pay those prices every week of every month of the year. Or do they think that all we have to do is walk into the station and tell the clerk "bob johnson" and the price magically goes down 30cents.
                            If you wish to find meaning, listen to the music not the song

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                            • #15
                              See, I have met quite a few people from many different places. So far, I think it's the entire North American continent that has horrible people...uh...everywhere It's people...people are the downfall of society
                              When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers. ---Colleen C. Barrett---

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