By: Warren E Carter
15 April 2009
Since moving to Singapore in 2001 I have seen all the programs come up to make Singapore a better place when dealing with people. I can not recall all of them but some were the drive for better customer service, standing to the left when on an escalator if you are not in rush, being kind and courteous, saying thank you and your welcome to others and so on.
All good programs to give Singapore a better image to the visitors of the country and I remember when I started coming here how very few people would say thanks if I held the door open for them. When in a restaurant the service seemed more like and inconvenience the workers then their job. People would push their way pass you without saying excuse me and vehicles would honk at you in the crosswalk even if you were still under green.
While some of these have gotten better over the 8 years there is still a long way to go. So the question is can government intervention really make much of an impact on the general public? Is it even the governments jobs is a better question.
If the grown work for manners, good behavior, and being courteous is not taught to the child at home how can you expect to teach them later on in life when their ways are already habit. Children learn from the example of the parents not by some flyer on the mail box.
Respect for others seems to be lacking to some degree throughout the population I feel. Again it starts at home, you can be walking the sidewalk and towards you come a group of school kids walking 3 a breast and very few will give way so you don’t have squeeze by them on walk on the grass. Drivers on rainy days will cut off people walking in the rain when pulling into or pulling out of driveways. Would the nice think to do, since it is raining is to let the person in the rain go first since you are in the comfort and dryness of your vehicle? But I see this happen all the time and it makes me sick when I see it happen.
Yesterday I was waiting for a bus when another bus pulled up, #106 on Jalan Kayu, the front of the bus was filled to the door packed tight with people standing, the middle of the bus about ¾ fill and the rear of the bus and few people standing. I thought to myself how messed up it was that people didn’t have the common sense to move towards the rear to make room for others getting on. Now I understand if your stop is coming up soon you want to be by the door, ok! But there come a time when you need to think of others and move out of the way. So here is another lack of caring about others.
I have traveled all over the world but I have never seen any place like this. Now don’t get me wrong there are many cases of people showing good manner and giving way to others but the numbers could be a lot high and in time I really hope they will come up. But if the parents are not setting the example and teaching the children now it will surely take a lot longer before a truly visible difference is seen.
