One reporter's thoughts on Ukraine...

[Muddy]

http://www.theworld.org/2008/07/14/jason-margolis-thoughts-on-ukraine/

[Vaughn]

From the essay:

I share my reflections with a Ukrainian professor over a cup of coffee. He offers another theory: It’s possible I’m getting a cold shoulder because “all Ukrainians” think “all Americans” are imbeciles. I’m not surprised to hear this, but I am rather surprised he said it to me. (After all, by definition, if all Americans are imbeciles, he has just informed me that I am an imbecile.) When I ask why he holds 300 million people in such low regard, he answers with another question: Why do Americans always smile for photos?

LMAO !!

The ice cream lady holds all the trump cards - that's so true - I once made the mistake of helping myself
to several ice cream bars out of the vault in a local store and thought the lady would call the cops! Yeah,
customer service over there is in its frontier days - an opportunity for those not afraid to appear imbecilic.

[ECOCKS]

They're learning. Evolution fighting paranoia and inexperience.

In Kyiv, you can correlate the succsessful western spots like Golden Gate, TGI Fridays, McDonald's, etc. with the uplift in customer service standards. As those companies set new standards in competition and employee training, the change takes more hold.

Already you can see how many children prefer their birthday at McDonald's versus Puzata Hata or Mr. Snack.

The wheel turns.

[kens1958]

I liked this reporters article. I recently returned from Ukraine where I visited Odessa, Nikolaev, and Yalta. I found an intreseting thing happen .... my first cab ride from Odessa to Nikolaev cost 2000 grv.. by the time I left the same ride cost me 300 grv.
Every day I bought Roses from a local florist... the first Bach cost 200 grv   after a few days I was paying 40 grv from the same shop.... I stayed several times at a hottel known to be a spot for American tourist.... the last time I checked in they would not take my money and simply told me to pay when I checked out..... and when I checked out the rate for the week was at least 20% less then my previous 2 stays.... at the cafe I would hang out at ... the waitress's after a few days would meet me with a big smile and serve me promptly with a lot of friendliness......
Now I will say that I am a nice guy and I always try to treat people well even if it is not returned.... I always tip at least 20% every time..... and I like people and I like to make new friends..... when I am visiting a new place .. I try to adopt the local way of life as best as I can...  Maybe I'm silly .... but I loved the people and the country and I felt that they also liked me wherever I went....

[Bluebell]

I liked this reporters article. I recently returned from Ukraine where I visited Odessa, Nikolaev, and Yalta. I found an intreseting thing happen .... my first cab ride from Odessa to Nikolaev cost 2000 grv.. by the time I left the same ride cost me 300 grv.
Every day I bought Roses from a local florist... the first Bach cost 200 grv   after a few days I was paying 40 grv from the same shop.... I stayed several times at a hottel known to be a spot for American tourist.... the last time I checked in they would not take my money and simply told me to pay when I checked out..... and when I checked out the rate for the week was at least 20% less then my previous 2 stays.... at the cafe I would hang out at ... the waitress's after a few days would meet me with a big smile and serve me promptly with a lot of friendliness......
Now I will say that I am a nice guy and I always try to treat people well even if it is not returned.... I always tip at least 20% every time..... and I like people and I like to make new friends..... when I am visiting a new place .. I try to adopt the local way of life as best as I can...  Maybe I'm silly .... but I loved the people and the country and I felt that they also liked me wherever I went....

Ken, what part of the USA are you?