Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:16 am
[quote="bigfatgit"]I've found that a lot of the Americans in Cairo don't seem to know the words "please" or "thank you"
A perfect example is that well known lemonade stall called the ACE Club in Maadi
Americans tend to walk up to the bar and just say, "Give me a Sakara" and get met with a chorus of "Please" from the Brits sitting at the bar
Is that standard for Americans or is it because of the colour of the bar staff?
I once had a strange incident when I offered 2 American staff a lift in my taxi to Road 9. At the time, the fare was 2LE (about 40 cents). When I got out of the taxi and paid, the 2 Americans went mad because I gave the taxi driver 3LE. "It's because of you, that people have to pay more and get ripped off", they shouted as they walked off from their free ride!!![/quote]
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I apologize on behalf of Yanks everywhere. I don't know if I am typical of Americans, but I tend to please and thank you people to death. In a foreign country, they are among the first words of the language I try to learn.
You also ran across some very cheap Americans. I too tend to tip taxi drivers. I never had a problem in Alex with taxi drivers. I gave them a reasonable amount and they generally never complained or asked for more. One driver tried to complain after I gave him 15 LE for taking us to Carrefour (perfectly fine and a bit generous for 2006). As soon as he started with some faux anger, I gave him a look and started to laugh at him. Even he then had to laugh and look a bit sheepish.
A perfect example is that well known lemonade stall called the ACE Club in Maadi
Americans tend to walk up to the bar and just say, "Give me a Sakara" and get met with a chorus of "Please" from the Brits sitting at the bar
Is that standard for Americans or is it because of the colour of the bar staff?
I once had a strange incident when I offered 2 American staff a lift in my taxi to Road 9. At the time, the fare was 2LE (about 40 cents). When I got out of the taxi and paid, the 2 Americans went mad because I gave the taxi driver 3LE. "It's because of you, that people have to pay more and get ripped off", they shouted as they walked off from their free ride!!![/quote]
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I apologize on behalf of Yanks everywhere. I don't know if I am typical of Americans, but I tend to please and thank you people to death. In a foreign country, they are among the first words of the language I try to learn.
You also ran across some very cheap Americans. I too tend to tip taxi drivers. I never had a problem in Alex with taxi drivers. I gave them a reasonable amount and they generally never complained or asked for more. One driver tried to complain after I gave him 15 LE for taking us to Carrefour (perfectly fine and a bit generous for 2006). As soon as he started with some faux anger, I gave him a look and started to laugh at him. Even he then had to laugh and look a bit sheepish.