I met up with a Japanese friend whom I havent seen since she got married in Hawaii earlier this week. We got on to speaking about my holiday to China, of which the usual 「どうして中国に行くの? 気をつけてね。」, with the usual strained translation in English straight afterwards "BE CAREFUL!" was said. "China isnt a holiday, its very dirty and the service is too bad. You should go to Hawaii!" she said. She went on to explain in detail about the horrible experiences she had when she visited Shanghai 5 years ago... We spoke about how good Japanese service was compaired to English service. "Japan is number 1!" she comically said.
We spoke about the tube prices going up and yet the tubes seem to go to sleep at weekends, and die if there is any sign of over-crowdedness. I can never understand how stopping people who want to change to the Central line at Liverpool Street from going down the escalator, can ease congestion? It just means that when you do let all these people down the escalator, theres going to be a tad of overcrowding on the platform as hundreds of people are arriving at the same time...! It makes no sense to me...
We talked about London service and how you have to pay rediculously high prices for bad service or bad produce. Go to a cheap restaurant in Japan and you still can get reasonably good food for reasonably good service. Go to an expensive restaurant in London and expect worse service/food than you would from the cheap restaurant in Japan.
In a jokey manner I said "Oh well, if it is that bad in China, at least when I get back I might appreciate English service more!"
It suddenly hit her and she scolded me.
"Karen, you cant speak about your own country like that! Its not good!"
...Why not when its obviously true?
When I first got back from Japan it ate away at me. How bad things were here. But now Ive returned to my normal London self and it doesnt bother me. Its London. Get used to it or laugh about it, otherwise you'll turn into a wreck.
But Im not going to lie about it. I cant stick up for London.
The service here is crap and everyone knows it.
You can read what she had to say here.
3 件のコメント:
...damn I am a grumpy old woman arent i?!! Ive just re-read my last 2 posts and all I do is moan, moan, moan!!
...thank god im going to uni soon!
Service in general, and trains are what Britain really sucks at in comparison to Japan.
I got back from Japan recently and there was one single moment when I knew I was back in good ol' blighty. The plane had landed and was taxi-ing up to the gate, and on the little screen in the seat in front of me I was watching the video from the nose-mounted camera. So there's tarmac, and the bottom of the building. You know how in all the films there are a load of workmen waving the plane in, and then telling it where to stop? Well I could see those workmen, but because it was Britain, one was having a cigarette and watching the hundred-thousand-pound plane just roll up to the gate. The other was just standing around. Hurrah for England!
That being said, the number of people employed in Japan doing absolutely pointless/unnecessary jobs is shocking. There were so many times in the last few weeks when I thought "Your job could be done by a machine." Old men waving flags where in Britain they'd have a temporary traffic light system. Some young guy in the airport saying the same lines over and over advertising the shop he was standing outside, when the same thing could be done by a tape.
I understand that there's the impression of better service, and that there's an aging population over there etc. etc. But I really pity the poor people who have to do mind-numbing jobs like that :(
- Ben
I knew I was back on London at passport control - in Japan at least they looked at my passport photo and my face... when back in London, the guy, trying to be friendly said "Have a nice holiday?" whilst he didnt seem a bit interested in my passport.
Anyway, did you have a nice time in Japan? :) Where abouts did you go?
Pointless jobs are a plenty in Japan! Elevator girls, men waving traffic on (although, illuminated cardboard cut-outs are becoming popular too now), people advertising the shops they are standing outside from,! ... but in a way, i suppose its good as at least its giving them a job and a wage. Think about how many people in England are jobless and how hard it is to find even the most mundane of jobs. (well, maybe it was just cos nobody wanted to employ ME...)
Everybody who is on benefits that could in fact work - make them elevator boys and girls. it might spur them into getting a proper job!
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