Why do US TV audiences of "The View" or "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" give the hosts a standing ovation before the shows even start? Why do many folks in the US say "Thank you SO much" (emphasis theirs) instead of just "Thank you" or at most "Thank you very much"? And why are thoroughly ordinary events in everyday America sometimes treated with "Awesome!". By contrast, praise in the UK is much less effusive. And in working-class Scotland, a simple lack of a slap on the head is considered a mark of great admiration.
I'm not sure I know why the difference exists, but the overall effect is to create a sort of "praise inflation" in the US. Presumably someone once decided that "Thank you very much" simply wasn't good enough, and so "Thank you SO much" was born. But talk is cheap, and so now a simple "Thanks" risks being seen as lukewarm by comparison. And that becomes even more pronounced when everyone around you in a theater gets on their feet at the end, and all you want to do is sit in your seat, arms folded, brow furrowed, with a polite but dismissive "Aye, OK, it wisnae completely rubbitch" kind of clap.
On the other hand, I think part of the reason is that people in the US are generally more positive, and more willing to expose that to others; about business, family, and life in general. (Granted that observation is not based on current market sentiments.) For example, I've never seen any indication that someone in the UK has a family member in the military. Whereas here in Texas, yellow ribbon bumper stickers about military dads (and mums) and sons (and daughters) are common. I even saw someone once with a sticker in their rear window saying: "My son-in-law is a US Marine". If one of your kids does well at school, you're supposed to put a sticker up about that (and you'll feel like a bad parent if you don't). If you have a PhD, you tell people. And so on. I like all of that. I'm still not completely comfortable with it - but I like it.
So, I think I'll call this one a draw.
UK 2, US 1
You should comment on customer service - e.g. in a supermarket. I now nostalgically remember the cashiers in Scotland. No "Have a nice day", no "chats" with customers when there were people waiting behind them, no attempts to find our your name so they can be "personal". I much preferred it to synthetic, company-ordered, mandatory orders to employees to be "nice", "friendly" etc. Give me indifference to synthetic friendliness any day! Maybe this is a sign that I am just an old grump .... or becoming one.
Posted by: Grant Martin | April 12, 2009 at 03:49 PM