How Polite Are We? (page 2 of 6)

Our Three Tests

The young man risking a broken nose, the customer in Korea, and the woman with the unwieldy documents were no ordinary members of the public. Each was a Reader's Digest researcher taking part in a unique test to see how polite people are around the world.

From Thailand to Finland, from Buenos Aires to London, people worry that courtesy is becoming a thing of the past. Service in shops has become surly, they say, youngsters have lost respect for their elders. Lynne Truss, in her international best-seller Talk to the Hand, claims that we live in "an age of lazy moral relativism combined with aggressive social insolence" where common courtesies are "practically extinct."

But is such pessimism justified?

We sent undercover reporters -- half of them men, half women -- from Reader's Digest editions in 35 countries to assess the citizens of their most populous city. In each location we conducted three tests:

• We walked into public buildings 20 times behind people to see if they would hold the door open for us.



• We bought small items from 20 shops and recorded whether the sales assistants said "Thank you".



• We dropped a folder full of papers in 20 busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up.

To let us compare cities, we awarded one point for each positive outcome and nothing for a negative one, giving each city a maximum score of 60. We did not attempt a strict scientific survey; it was the world's biggest real-life test of common courtesy, with more than 2,000 separate tests of actual behavior. Here's what we discovered.

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• Uncommon Courtesy
• We keep hearing about the death of civility -- but it's alive and well in a place you'd least expect.
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• Quiz: How Polite Are You?
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• Cultivate Better Bonds With Neighbors and Friends
• 11 ways to maintain a healthy circle around you.
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• How to Raise Polite Kids in a Rude World
• How to raise polite children in today's society.
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• Whatever Happened to Customer Service?
• Customers, sales personnel and industry experts examine the prevalence of customer-service deficiencies and the reasons behind them.
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• De-Stress Your Commute
• 21 tips for a happier journey.
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• Defuse Stress for a More Enjoyable Day
• 37 ways to calm down fast.
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