5 ms·

Yea I mostly agree. For example not greeting cleaning lady has nothing to do with being rich or poor. It is just manners and some of us do it and some don't.

rubyn00bie 5y ago
Sorry to say, but you’re being extremely naive if you think you’re right. People are awful to supporting staff and show them no respect on the regular.
- omosubi 5y ago
  And this is across class lines, no?
  - phone8675309 5y ago
    It happens across class lines _but_ I find that it's not the same degree. I find that the more used you are to people cleaning up after you the less that you thank them/acknowledge them for doing so. The teenage "I can leave my trash here - they have cleaning staff to clean it up!" mentality seems to be more prevalent the higher income your background is. I say hello to the cleaning staff, security staff, delivery drivers, food service workers, etc at work. I can't get my job done unless they're there, and I am acutely aware that our professional experience and treatment by management is significantly different.
TulliusCicero 5y ago
Manners? I don't say hi to the cleaning staff for the same reason I don't say hi to most people I see in the office: I don't know them. If I did, then I would say hi. Do others greet every single person they see in the building?
- xyzelement 5y ago
  Yes. You are working late, someone comes by your desk to empty your trash. You say hi and thank you. Especially once to realize you see the same person every night.
  - kyawzazaw 5y ago
    That's a different thing. I'd say thank you if they are around me and they are doing something for me. Would I say hi to the landscaper who is working on the garden while I was walking on the path? No. Unless we know each other, a nod is all fine.
- LAC-Tech 5y ago
  > Do others greet every single person they see in the building? Yes I always did. Would get into some long chats with one of the cleaning ladies actually. And if someone came into my office to do maintenance on the aircon unit I'd of course greet them.
- daddylongstroke 5y ago
  I actually greet every person I see. This means waving at people driving by, and walking by. Very strange that this is not seen as a normal custom it seems. I wonder when did this change.
bryanlarsen 5y ago
30 years ago the cleaning lady was staff and had a very small number of stock options and had time to chat with the people pulling all-nighters at work. I even dated her daughter a couple of times. Today the cleaning person works for an agency, is a different person every night and has 4 hours to do 8 hours worth of work.
augustk 5y ago
A member of the real (old money) upper class would certainly greet the cleaning lady, as the servants are seen as part of the family.
princeb 5y ago
this actually reminds me of an article i read on nyt some time ago, about poor college students or first gen students in top colleges. the parents were invited to the school to meet the faculty and the parents who were college educated or those went to the same type of schools understood the song and dance - the mingling with the adminstrative staff, the dean of students, the professors and lecturers - and the parents who were not educated or were part of the lower class didn't know what to do, so they hung out with the cafeteria staff, asked the cafeteria staff to take care of their kids. those were the people their families and relatives knew and understood. and the first gen students also understood that they belonged to the same social strata as the cafeteria staff, and things like office hours or asking for help from the professors or the TAs were something that they could not possibly be entitled to.

rubyn00bie 5y ago

Sorry to say, but you’re being extremely naive if you think you’re right. People are awful to supporting staff and show them no respect on the regular.

omosubi 5y ago
And this is across class lines, no?
- phone8675309 5y ago
  It happens across class lines _but_ I find that it's not the same degree. I find that the more used you are to people cleaning up after you the less that you thank them/acknowledge them for doing so. The teenage "I can leave my trash here - they have cleaning staff to clean it up!" mentality seems to be more prevalent the higher income your background is. I say hello to the cleaning staff, security staff, delivery drivers, food service workers, etc at work. I can't get my job done unless they're there, and I am acutely aware that our professional experience and treatment by management is significantly different.

TulliusCicero 5y ago

Manners? I don't say hi to the cleaning staff for the same reason I don't say hi to most people I see in the office: I don't know them. If I did, then I would say hi. Do others greet every single person they see in the building?

xyzelement 5y ago
Yes. You are working late, someone comes by your desk to empty your trash. You say hi and thank you. Especially once to realize you see the same person every night.
- kyawzazaw 5y ago
  That's a different thing. I'd say thank you if they are around me and they are doing something for me. Would I say hi to the landscaper who is working on the garden while I was walking on the path? No. Unless we know each other, a nod is all fine.
LAC-Tech 5y ago
> Do others greet every single person they see in the building? Yes I always did. Would get into some long chats with one of the cleaning ladies actually. And if someone came into my office to do maintenance on the aircon unit I'd of course greet them.
daddylongstroke 5y ago
I actually greet every person I see. This means waving at people driving by, and walking by. Very strange that this is not seen as a normal custom it seems. I wonder when did this change.

bryanlarsen 5y ago

30 years ago the cleaning lady was staff and had a very small number of stock options and had time to chat with the people pulling all-nighters at work. I even dated her daughter a couple of times. Today the cleaning person works for an agency, is a different person every night and has 4 hours to do 8 hours worth of work.

augustk 5y ago

A member of the real (old money) upper class would certainly greet the cleaning lady, as the servants are seen as part of the family.

princeb 5y ago

this actually reminds me of an article i read on nyt some time ago, about poor college students or first gen students in top colleges. the parents were invited to the school to meet the faculty and the parents who were college educated or those went to the same type of schools understood the song and dance - the mingling with the adminstrative staff, the dean of students, the professors and lecturers - and the parents who were not educated or were part of the lower class didn't know what to do, so they hung out with the cafeteria staff, asked the cafeteria staff to take care of their kids. those were the people their families and relatives knew and understood. and the first gen students also understood that they belonged to the same social strata as the cafeteria staff, and things like office hours or asking for help from the professors or the TAs were something that they could not possibly be entitled to.