After you, Toronto tells Zurich - Courtesy competition

[AlexRS]

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=3fb3ab5c-ee5d-4508-aebb-b7469be9c2b1&k=55733

Toronto is the third most-courteous city in the world, 18 spots ahead of Montreal, says a survey released today by Reader's Digest. New York ranked first and Mumbai, India, last in the "world's biggest real-life test of common courtesy," which analyzed 2,160 real-life situations in 36 cities.

The study addressed and broke several cliches: that courtesy was a thing of the past, that big, busy cities produce louts, that service-industry workers are increasingly boorish, and that youngsters are losing respect for their elders -- globally, people older than 60 were the least courteous.

"Common courtesy isn't a thing of the past," said Reader's Digest editor Bonnie Munday, who performed the Toronto tests.

Reporters from Reader's Digest editions went undercover, dropping papers in busy corridors and waiting to see who would help pick them up. They shopped for small purchases and watched as clerks, money in hand, turned their backs without a thank you. They followed people through doors, sometimes getting it slammed in their faces, sometimes, having it held open by a stranger who stepped graciously aside.

The three types of tests were conducted 20 times a day over three days in March, meaning 60 people came to represent the manners of each city. The researchers awarded one point for each positive outcome and nothing for a negative one, giving each city a maximum score of 60. The cities averaged 54%.

Toronto scored 70%, while Montreal came in at 50%.

Second-placed Zurich ranked high thanks to its store clerks, who thanked the reporters for their purchases in every store they visited.

One-third of Torontonians tested stopped to hold a door. The ones who didn't had an excuse. "Their thing was, 'Oh, I didn't see you,' or 'I figured you could get the door,' " said freelance writer Ian Harvey, who accompanied Ms. Munday.

Mr. Harvey added, "We found that elderly people were less likely to stop and help people pick up stuff. And we found that younger people were very quick to stop.

"What really impressed me was the young people were almost lightning quick and courteous, at least the ones we encountered."

[techboy]

New York was first?

[mjah]

Well, if it's Reader's Digest, I guess the results are scientifically unassailable...

:laugh: