Originally posted by OzTennis
I'll second those observations Jon. I find the same thing with shop assistants UK vs Melbourne. And why does it always seem to be here that when you want help there is no shop assistant to be seen but when you just want to have a browse they are at you like vultures?

The British obsession with queueing never ceases to amaze me. For example, I recently went to the butcher's in our local town and it was p****g down. There was a queue from the counter out into the street. I came along and thought s*d this, I'm not standing in the rain. I asked whether it would not be better for everyone to go inside the shop as there was room for everyone and I said surely you know who is first and so on. You should have seen the looks I got for having the temerity to suggest something so outlandish. And yes, they kept queueing in the rain so I went to do some other things and came back later.

OzTennis

Originally posted by Fuzzyness
english people complain when they go into a shop and get asked if they need any help when they dont and also complain when they dont get enough help when they do actually need some help. you just cant please everyone can you.

Originally posted by Timber Floor Au
Im still looking up the word TEMERITY

lol

Surely a , Hey hows it going is a tad easier to deal with than may i help you sir....
perhaps people see it the same , im afraid i dont !

Originally posted by Fuzzyness
is that attitude not contributing to why shop assistants now hardly bother to acknowledge their customers for fear of pissing them off. i find it easy to say "no thanks" when i'm asked. if people are polite to you then i have no problem with being polite back, however much it may annoy me being asked in the first place. i mean they are only doing their job and for that i feel deserve at a least common curtesy.

Originally posted by userjay
sorry have to respond to wat seemed to be a good chunk of thread from stormz,was reading with interest until hte part where it says 'aboriganies get every thing' does this include caucasion disease, alcaholism,poverty & humiliation?? now i am just an ignorant outsider & av never efen been to oz,but from wat i know if i was an ozzy & I had nothing posative to say about these ppl i would take comfort in embarassed silence.like i said its just my opinion & if any 1 can tell me something to contradict my opinion i will listen with interest.p.s not tryiing to srtir,its an opinion is all

Originally posted by Stormz
As an Aussie who has lived in the UK for the last 10 years, I hope I can make some observations:

Aussies are much more forward, and WILL complain or make their point known if you please or displease them. The English (as I can`t speak for the Scots or Welsh), will just put up with any old crap from the govt., shop assistants, taxi drivers, whatever....
Sometimes this means the Aussies come across as being rude.... I prefer to think we are just more matter-of-fact about things, and straight-forward. I constantly see the English being stuck in a rut (as with the queu in the rain mentioned by OzTennis)... with little common sense.

As part of the above, Aussies also say things and don`t hold a grudge, eg if an Aussie is pissed off about something, he`ll say so at the first opportunity, and then he`ll forget about it and get on with his life. It`s not a personal thing... it`s just a statement of fact. In England, people REALLY hold grudges for centuries over the stupidest of things. My wife`s family in the UK are a perfect example of sections not speaking to the others for 40 years because of an argument way back when..... grow up ppl.

I`m a real stickler for good manners, and generally in the UK I think ppl (outside of stores) have better manners (from what I remember of Aus 10 yrs ago). Of course, there are still LOADS of rude and ignorant people here also.... my wife works for Jessops and she get`s her fair share of really shitty customers.... and it makes her sick. I think staff in stores in Aus are generally better behaved as they know the customers wouldn`t have a problem shouting at them (as they are more straight-forward).

I think the education system is better in Oz.

I think the chocolate is better in Aus (more cocoa), and believe it or not there is much more choice.... which shocked me when I came here as I thought the UK would have had more choice.

Travel is definitely better and cheaper in Oz (trains and buses that is).

Aborigines (on the whole) are what let Aus down, possibly because they get everything or perhaps because they are bitter at whites taking over their country. Also the attitudes of many of the Italian immigrants who are stuck in their ways. The 2nd generation of those Italians will be able to be more open-minded though, so it`ll all work out.... much the same as it is working out with 2nd/3rd generation Pakistanis in England.

At least in Oz the street signs aren`t in Chinese or anything yet (are they?), like the Urdu here in Slough and Southall.
Probably sounds like I`m racist, but I`m not. Just being truthful. I have Indian, Pakistani and black friends btw.

I think the Aus media is disgusting when it comes to sports and stuff..... quite immature and derogatory. They let themselves down and don`t speak for a nation. The UK sports press are alot fairer, whereas the Aus press is very arrogant. Dissapoints me alot and I feel quite ashamed.

Originally posted by gavo
UserJay,

You're right. Aboriginies do get Western Disease, this can't be helped. But tell me, what can we do with the aboriginal couple that get drunk and pass out, every night on the doorstep of my workplace? I work night shifts, and if I want to go outside for any reason, I need to step over them to get outside. Being the younger, built male of the workplace, I am the one who escorts the girls to the train station when they finish their shift because the aboriginals make it unsafe for them to go by themselves. Admittedly, I do nightshift in what is considered the "Red Light District" of Brisbane.

Being vocal about issues, which seems to be the concensus about us aussies in this post is exactly what the post is about. Aboriginies get their own public welfare system. Example: Caucasion students get Austudy. Aboriginals get Abstudy.

Getting back to the point, aboriginies get a lot more handed to them than caucasions, and what do they do with it? Piss it up against the wall. They unfortunately seem to be stuck in a culture where they know they can get away with this sort of behaviour because they are aboriginal. It is reverse-racism.

With this taken into account, there is also a share of the native population who do manage to make something of themselves.

You would think this would give younger aboriginies something to aspire to, but no. While they keep getting their higher than normal welfare, they continue to live off it. Put them back on the breadline like other families on welfare and let's see what happens.

Ok I've rambled enough.

Originally posted by gavo
They unfortunately seem to be stuck in a culture where they know they can get away with this sort of behaviour because they are aboriginal.

With this taken into account, there is also a share of the native population who do manage to make something of themselves.

Originally posted by gavo
UserJay,

You're right. Aboriginies do get Western Disease, this can't be helped. But tell me, what can we do with the aboriginal couple that get drunk and pass out, every night on the doorstep of my workplace? I work night shifts, and if I want to go outside for any reason, I need to step over them to get outside. Being the younger, built male of the workplace, I am the one who escorts the girls to the train station when they finish their shift because the aboriginals make it unsafe for them to go by themselves. Admittedly, I do nightshift in what is considered the "Red Light District" of Brisbane.

Being vocal about issues, which seems to be the concensus about us aussies in this post is exactly what the post is about. Aboriginies get their own public welfare system. Example: Caucasion students get Austudy. Aboriginals get Abstudy.

Getting back to the point, aboriginies get a lot more handed to them than caucasions, and what do they do with it? Piss it up against the wall. They unfortunately seem to be stuck in a culture where they know they can get away with this sort of behaviour because they are aboriginal. It is reverse-racism.

With this taken into account, there is also a share of the native population who do manage to make something of themselves.

You would think this would give younger aboriginies something to aspire to, but no. While they keep getting their higher than normal welfare, they continue to live off it. Put them back on the breadline like other families on welfare and let's see what happens.

Ok I've rambled enough.

Originally posted by jandjuk
maybe that's because it's not their culture? i.e. They're trying to adopt the way they've lived for centuries to the culture of a bunch a freshly arrived white folk who live in an entirely different culture.



those would be the ones who've adapted to the western way and fit into the style of society which happens to match yours....