Canada is a wonderful and highly rated country, deservedly so.  Highly rated in standard of living, freedom , multiculturalism, health care and the list goes on.

I feel lucky and proud to be Canadian.  It does puzzle me though,  for some reason, in spite all the good things about living in Canada, culturally we have great difficulty giving service to others (not free or chairitable services but paid services.)

Stereotypically Polite

There is a strong stereotype about Canadians being polite.  This is held both by citizen of the country and many foriegners.  Canadians are known to be quick to apologize and work hard not to offend.

In spite of this polite and mainly respectful attitude, as a populous we find it difficult to perform paid services for others when it is our role and we are expected and compensated to do it.

Whether recieving a service from a store, restaurant or just a home delivery to name a few of the most common types I always feel the service provider is sending me a message, whether spoken or by body language, “I am doing you a favour buddy, so suck it up and consider yourselve lucky I am helping you at all.”

In this fabulous country, where life is good, why can’t we sincerly want to do what we are paid for with joy and pleasure.  Those we serve are not doing us a favour and mostly we are being compensated for doing it.

Today’s Rant

Today’s rant is brought to you by Canada post.  To my mail delivery person, I am not doing you a favour by using the mail.  When you ring my bell wait a minute for me to answer, I am old and it takes a few minutes to get to the door.

When I get to the door and call out to you as you are walking away, don’t ignore me.  It may take you a few minutes to turn around but for me the fake deafness results in a trip to the post office, a wait in a long line and more dissinterested service.