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Don't ignore the janitor

happychasing.substack.com

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Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#231

Post by garciasn »

kradeelav wrote: post #206
dakial1 wrote: post #203

Do people here from outside the US think this is the case everywhere? Because I'm from Latin America (more specifically Brazil) and I don't think ignoring the lower paid staff is the status quo. Actually it is considered pretty rude not to at least acknowledge them and say the usual pleasantries (Good Morning, Hey Jon!, etc...). Having been to the US I'd say I don't think that is a fact everywhere also. In NYC for su…

Very much agreed ... was raised in a mixed Southern and Spanish household and think this topic is saying a lot more about certain people and casual apathy towards their own fellow people than they probably would like. The line that I was told was to always treat the CEO and the janitor the same (with the understood: because they're humans). Funnily enough, my Colombian grandfather had a memorable related quip as far…

I grew up in a middle class blue-collar household and I was taught to treat service folks well; I try to do so today.

That said, in Minnesota where I reside, acknowledging and talking to strangers is generally seen as something you do not do socially. For recent transplants I am sure it's alienating and uncomfortable; however, that's just the culture here.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#232

Post by pronik »

plaguepilled wrote: post #71

As someone who has worked a few service jobs: oh god please don't start a conversation with me if I'm on my lonesome. This advice needs a huge sticker that says 'mileage may vary'. Not everyone wants the silence to be punctuated with smalltalk.

I think the best bet is to just acknowledge, no need to smalltalk. Just smile and say "good morning" or even just nod at them when you run by, no matter who that is, CEO or the janitor. That will be enough for a people yearning to get noticed to feel noticed, but won't unnerve the occasional person who wants to be left alone.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#233

Post by namelessoracle »

If I am a janitor i REALLY don't want the rich guy bugging me in an office setting. That interaction has a high chance of getting me fired/in trouble, either via me making a wrong comment (or even the right comment but not the right degree of enthusiasm) or me getting slowed down in my work because the rich person wants to chit chat with the plebes. One of the few benefits of janitorial work is the fact that you can just do your job and not play fake nice all day.

If we are talking about personal home cleaning, the personal interactions are more important and would be welcome because building those personal relationships is very important to maintain clients.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#234

Post by tomerv »

engineer_22 wrote: post #224
dakial1 wrote: post #203

Do people here from outside the US think this is the case everywhere? Because I'm from Latin America (more specifically Brazil) and I don't think ignoring the lower paid staff is the status quo. Actually it is considered pretty rude not to at least acknowledge them and say the usual pleasantries (Good Morning, Hey Jon!, etc...). Having been to the US I'd say I don't think that is a fact everywhere also. In NYC for su…

Using first name is patronizing unless you're already on a first-name basis.

That really depends on the local culture. Don't Assume all cultures are like yours.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#235

Post by greenhearth »

dakial1 wrote: post #203

Do people here from outside the US think this is the case everywhere? Because I'm from Latin America (more specifically Brazil) and I don't think ignoring the lower paid staff is the status quo. Actually it is considered pretty rude not to at least acknowledge them and say the usual pleasantries (Good Morning, Hey Jon!, etc...). Having been to the US I'd say I don't think that is a fact everywhere also. In NYC for su…

The article mentions Norway, not really the U.S.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#236

Post by rocqua »

implements wrote: post #182
rocqua wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to be a result of they as a gender neutral singular pronoun. Which has a long history. Here oneself also works, perhaps even is more correct, but with the increased prominence of them as a singular pronoun, I can see why people write it like this.

Hesitates to venture that "more correct" isn't itself great English ... :)

I prefer it over correcter, and happen to believe there are various degrees of correct.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#237

Post by golergka »

lupire wrote: post #215
RHSeeger wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Clients are friendly and ask how you are. Cleaners then answer honestly This is not unique to interactions between the well off and not well off. It's true that in most case, when people ask "how are you", they're not looking for a detailed answer. It's a pleasantry, and the expected answer are of a more general form ("ok", "great", "not great, but getting by", "not a great day", etc). As a side note, I have a clea…

Usually when someone has some trouble, if you can help you do your part, and the trouble isn't your fault. But when the issue is wealth inequality, the wealthier person can help, but doesn't want to, out of selfish greed, and is on the "team" that is at fault. The wealthy person is either wracked with guilt (and a hypocrite for not acting) or is an entitled jerk. Unless the employer are paying the cleaner a good wage…

> is on the "team" that is at fault

He's not.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#239

Post by nonameiguess »

inglor_cz wrote: post #114
lambdasquirrel wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the janitors in my high school once gave us a lecture on linear algebra. I don't know what he did before he left the former Warsaw Pact country he was from, but it was one of those whoa kind of experiences.

In the 1990s, when the former USSR had gone to shit, you could meet a lot of menial workers from the ex-Soviet republics who had academic degrees and could hold a conversation to prove it. I studied mathematics in Prague in 1996-2003. More than once I met a janitor or a taxi driver who, albeit with a heavy Russian or Ukrainian accent, knew what a uniformly continuous function was and what does the Chinese Remainder T…

This is why, of all the schools I've gone to, LA City College remains the hardest, even after later graduating from a top ten engineering school. I was originally a biology major, and with Los Angeles flooded with refugees and immigrants, a whole lot of medical doctors and research scientists from former Soviet republics found themselves in a country where their licenses and degrees were not accepted, and they had to start over. Many of them ended up totally obliterating the curves in all of the underclass bio courses in various Los Angeles community colleges.

Re: Don't ignore the janitor

#240

Post by magicalhippo »

_8j50 wrote: post #106

I try to avoid strangers. If I was a janitor I wouldn't want people bothering me, especially because they feel bad for me or they feel guilty. You shouldn't be rude and I have no problem with and do nod/smile at cleaning/security/service staff but I am not good at smalltalk or whatever so I treat everyone the same and ignore people unless I know them and have something to talk about. I really dislike insincere or for…

I always greet the cleaning staff, janitor or similar. Might just be nod if they're wearing headphones, otherwise I'll say hi. I try to avoid smalltalk unless they initiate though.

Nothing forced though. I greet my colleagues, they provide a valuable service, so they're equal in that regard.

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