Don’t be so rude

Joburg recently topped the list of the unfriendliest cities in the world.

As a friendly Joburger I find this hard to believe.

However, I have made an effort to watch people’s reactions while waiting in long queues and what they finally do when they reach the front.

On most occasions, they are irritated and rude to the cashier.

People don’t say ‘Hello’ or ‘Thank you’ anymore. We are all just in such a big rush that we forget our manners.

I had to renew my driver’s licence the other day and after sitting in the queue for nearly four hours, I decided to suck it up and be nice to the person doing the eye testing.

So when I got to the women in front, I smiled, greeted her and asked how her day was going. She was so shocked to see a friendly face and said, “Wow, what a nice person. You have made my day, thank you for caring how I am. It is not the usual reaction I get from people.” Looking around me, people were very grumpy and rushed to get out of there.

One thing we all should remember, the people providing a service, be it at a government institutions or at your local grocery store, are human too and they deserve to be treated with some respect. As do all of us.

I know we live in a fast-paced, busy world and we all have something to do or somewhere to go, but we shouldn’t forget basic manners.

So I challenge all Joburgers to put a smile on your face, even in the traffic, and be friendly to everyone you meet.

Let’s strip our amazing city of this terrible title.