Are Canadians loosing their famous friendly manners?
Canadians are known throughout the world as one of the most down to earth, polite and friendly people. Magic words like, thank you and welcome are a must for Canadians. The National saying is “If you don’t have to say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”, well that might be thing of the past. Many of us have seen shift in behaviour in recent years.
‘Are you dumb?: Man yells at Metro Vancouver Tim Hortons staff in viral TikTok
The Surrey RCMP received a report on Sunday, February 5, at around 9:20 a.m. that a man had verbally abused customers at the Tim Hortons drive-thru in the 15200-block of 56 Avenue, going so far as to step out of his truck (before getting back in).
In the footage, a man yells at the workers, asking them to “hurry up” and “give me my [expletive] coffee,” among other things.
At one point, he exits his truck and then enters it again, driving onto a curb.
According to Const. Vanessa Munn, a spokesperson for the Surrey RCMP, the responding officer followed up with the caller and identified the suspect driver. As part of an ongoing investigation, police will also follow up with other people implicated.
According to Munn, officers searched the area during patrols but were unable to find the vehicle.
She declared that the driver’s behaviour towards a Tim Hortons employee in the video was “clearly improper.” “If someone is feeling unsafe or feels that a situation is escalating we encourage them to err on the side of caution and call police.”
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Change of attitude in recent years
Like the comment on TikTok says “I don’t care how badly you want your coffee……” this has become Canadian number 1 saying “I don’t care”! Canadians shifted from polite “Don’t say anything negative” to the new hype “I don’t care”!
Social media, COVID restrictions, vaccine mandates, 24/7 pandemic news scare, inflation, mortgage interest hikes, are among major contributors in behaviour shift among Canadians. Political polarization in recent years have increased frictions in Canada among Canadians as well.
Labour shortages created a big gap in service during COVID, many skilled people, nurses and services employees like those in restaurants have been laid off due to closures and mandates. Many employees have changed their employment strategies as they have learned the hard way what it means to have no job due to pandemic restrictions and closures. Restaurants on the other sides have to employ less skilled and perhaps less willing to work personnel in order to fill the gap. Emergency room and walk in clinic wait times have increased in recent months, production and construction industry is struggling with finding skilled trade employees especially in urban centres as Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton and Vancouver areas.
Perhaps the whole picture isn’t as rosy as it used to be?!
Recent survey shows the rudeness trend in Canada
According to a recent online study by Research Co., 52% of respondents believe that people today are “less polite” than they were five years ago.
According to Mario Canseco, head of Research Co., “almost half of Canadians aged 18 to 34 (46%) say they encounter rudeness on social media a few times a week.” Only 12% of Millennials in Canada claim to encounter rudeness on social media no more than a few times per year.
More over four in five Canadians believe that improper parenting is “certainly” or “probably” to blame for the misbehaviour of their children.
Television programmes, social media, and “politicians engaged in personal attacks” are also being blamed. Only 33% of those surveyed believe that Canadians are still courteous today compared to 2014, with only 8% of respondents believing that Canadians have become more polite since then.The majority of Canadians report encountering unpleasant or unfriendly behaviour when shopping, at work, driving or riding in a car, in public transportation, or while walking on the street.
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Whatever the survey might say and whatever someones behaviour might be, the golden rule is “What goes around, comes around”. How we behave and what we say effects everyone, and it comes back to us in one way or another.
