The British, impolite? Golly gosh, what a thing to suggest.
Despite a reputation as the politest people on Earth, some Britons have decided it is time to give their compatriots a few lessons in manners so they are ready to extend a warm welcome to visitors to the London 2012 Olympics.
For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a national campaign was launched to teach the Chinese good behavior — don’t spit in public and don’t clear your throat in a restaurant loudly were just two examples on a long list — but surely such an initiative is not necessary in Britain, the birthplace of fair play and politeness, where the visitor finds doors are always opened for him and his hosts refuse to let him pay for a round of drinks?
Sadly, such ideas are misconceptions in this day and age, Peter Foot says.
The septuagenarian gentleman, who has the refined manners of an aristocrat, is the president of the National Campaign for Courtesy, which was founded in 1986.
“Our manners must improve if we want those visitors to leave with a high opinion of this nation,” Foot said. “Our behavior is definitely worse than in the past. We used to queue [line up] at the bus stop, but now it’s just like a free-for-all. We throw litter on the ground. You get into stores where you’re ignored, while two girls carry on chatting about the boys they dated last night. It’s worse than it’s ever been in the past.”
All this might be of little concern if the 2012 Olympics were not heading to London.
In March, the British capital won the dubious accolade of “rudest city in Britain” in a study carried out by hotel chain Jurys Inn.
London is braced for a million visitors during the Olympic Games and Foot’s group has launched a campaign to ensure his country is not lambasted for its bad manners.
“We’re starting our campaign now to ensure all foreign visitors are going to find they’re treated with respect,” he said.
With its minimal resources — the group has just 900 members — Foot is trying to “push the message out on radios and TVs” in order to “praise the good, as well as knock the bad.”
The organization already hands out certificates of good behavior on a regular basis to people it regards as role models. A bus driver who “sing songs and give sweets to passengers,” a post office clerk who is “so very helpful,” or receptionists “offering tea” to people waiting for appointments have all been the recipients of certificates, which Foot presents personally.
His message is simple: “smile, thank, say please,” he said. “I’d like to think when visitors get off their plane, there’s a big welcome for them. The same with taxi drivers, in shops, in restaurants, pubs.”
VisitBritain, the country’s tourism agency, also aims to extend “a warm welcome to overseas visitors in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics” and has just launched its own guide to avoiding gaffes when faced with visiting foreigners.
“Never call a Canadian an American,” “don’t snap your fingers if you are with a Belgian, it may be interpreted as impolite” and “don’t ask an Emirati whether they want bacon with their eggs” all figure on the list.
Sandie Dawe, the body’s chief executive, points out that “overseas visitors spend more than £16 billion (US$25 billion) a year in Britain.
“So giving our foreign visitors a friendly welcome is absolutely vital to our economy,” Dawe said.
Equally conscious of the financial gains to be had, Mayor of London Boris Johnson intends to recruit 8,000 volunteers to greet visitors during the Games in airports, train stations and at tourist and Olympic sites.
The main quality that these “ambassadors” must possess is to “be the smiling, happy, proud face of London,” Johnson said at the launch of the initiative last month.
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