Rulz, Schmulz
So, which city emerged as the most polite and which as the rudest? Here’s what we discovered:
The Top Three: New York, Zurich, Toronto
They have a reputation for being big-headed, but New Yorkers showed they are big-hearted, too, by finishing first in our global courtesy ratings. They placed in the top five in all three tests and were particularly polite when it came to holding doors open, with only two people failing to do so.
“I don’t even think about it,” said syndications assistant Kirsten Chieco, who held the door of one of the Starbucks coffee shops where the tests were done. “Most New Yorkers are courteous.”
Surprised? Not former Mayor Ed Koch. Asked to react to our findings, Koch pointed to a rise in New York niceness since the terrorist attacks on the city five years ago. “After 9/11, New Yorkers are more caring. They understand the shortness of life.”
The second most courteous place: prosperous Zurich. In a feat matched only in Stockholm, Zurich store assistants thanked us for our purchase in every store we visited. Old-fashioned customer service was very much in evidence.
“I am friendly to people whether they are dressed shabbily or are wearing an expensive fur coat,” said Frieda Lütolf after we purchased $2 worth of chocolate from exclusive confectioner Sprüngli’s. “Everyone I deal with is served attentively—even those who are rude to me.”
Swiss shop workers’ good manners were often inspired by pride in their work. “I have been here for 40 years,” explained tobacconist manager Ursula Gross. “I like it, so I have always arrived on time and have always been friendly and courteous.”
Toronto came third among all the cities we tested. On a cold day in the trendy Queen Street West area, we were helped with a dropped folder by Mike Parsons, a 28-year-old street artist, sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk, sketching. “I sit out here doing my drawings all day, and I find people to be really good and cheerful,” he told us. “ Toronto is very tolerant, very polite.”
Litigation lawyer Mark Ellis, in a dark trench coat, Blackberry clipped to his belt, agreed. “I’ve seen more politeness in Canada than in many other places I’ve been, particularly Europe,” the 48-year-old told our male reporter after holding the door and stepping elaborately to one side to let him enter Bell Canada Enterprises Place in the financial district.
Still, two European cities— Berlin and Zagreb—did well in our tests, tying with São Paulo for fourth place. Zagreb residents were world leaders in helping with dropped papers. Seventy-two-year-old Josip tried to bend down to pick up our female reporter’s documents despite having arthritis and a bad back. “I always help someone in trouble,” he said, “if I can!”
In São Paulo, even petty criminals were polite. As we bought a pair of cheap sunglasses from a trader at an illegal market on 25 de Março Street, shouts rang out that the police were coming. The merchant gathered up his goods to flee—but not before thanking us for our $2.
Somewhere in the middle of the rankings was Amsterdam, at 20th. Montreal, at 21st, came in just below the global average. There, while store assistants were almost unfailingly courteous to customers, the general public didn’t do so well in helping others out. In Montreal’s Central Train Station, a well-dressed man in his mid-50s failed to hold a door for our female researcher, offering the excuse that “I just held the door for someone downstairs” before continuing on his way. At the McGill subway sta-tion, another well-dressed man, who looked to be in his late 20s, steered himself around our researcher, who had dropped papers in his path. He seemed peeved to find out it was staged. “Why didn’t I stop? I’m not even supposed to be out of my office right now!”
The region that most consistently lacked courtesy: Asia. Eight out of nine cities there finished in the bottom 11.
Last in our rankings was Mumbai, where courtesy in stores was particularly lacking. When our female reporter bought a pair of plastic hair clips at a convenience store, sales assistant Shivlal Kumavat turned his back on her as soon as she had paid. Asked why, the 31-year-old was unapologetic. “Madam, I am not an educated guy. I hand goods over to the customers, and that’s it.”
Oops. That was somewhat rude, wasn’t it? Sorry.
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