Thursday, June 22, 2006

Polite New York City

This rings true - I've only been there once, but I was really struck at how nice everyone was, at how people said 'excuse me' even when I was at fault, not them:
New Yorkers are a polite bunch.

No, really, they are. So says Reader's Digest.

The magazine sent reporters "undercover" to 36 cities, in 35 countries, to measure courtesy. New York was the only American city on the list.

...The reporters walked into buildings to see whether the people in front of them would hold the door open; bought small items in stores and recorded whether the salespeople said, "Thank you"; and dropped a folder full of papers in busy locations to see whether anyone would help pick them up.

New Yorkers turned out to be the most polite: 90 percent held the door open; 19 out of 20 store clerks said, "Thank you"; and 63 percent of men and 47 percent of women helped with the flying papers.

...The rudest continent is Asia, Readers Digest said. Eight out of nine cities tested there - including last place Mumbai, India - finished in the bottom 11. In Europe, Moscow and Bucharest ranked as the least polite.

Reader's Digest, which has editions in 21 languages, is publishing the results in its July issue.

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