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Toronto, Canada, came third among our 35 cities. In the trendy Queen Street West area we were helped with a dropped folder by Mike Parsons, a 28-year-old street artist. "I sit out here doing drawings all day and I find people to be really good and cheerful. Toronto is very tolerant, very polite."Litigation lawyer Mark Ellis, 48, agreed. "I've seen more politeness in Canada than in many other places I've been, particularly Europe," he told our male reporter after holding the door open in the financial district.
Still, two European cities – Berlin, Germany, and Zagreb, Croatia – did well in our tests, tying with São Paulo, Brazil, for fourth place. Zagreb residents were world leaders in helping with dropped papers. Josip, aged 72, tried to bend down to pick up our female reporter's documents despite having arthritis and a bad back. "I always help someone in trouble," he said, "if I can!"
In São Paulo, even petty criminals were polite. As we bought a pair of cheap sunglasses from a trader at an illegal market on 25 de Março Street, shouts rang out that the police were coming. The merchant gathered up his goods to flee -- but not before thanking us for our $2.
The region that most lacked courtesy: Asia. Eight out of nine cities there finished in the bottom 11.
In last place was Mumbai, India, where courtesy in shops was particularly lacking. When our female reporter bought a pair of plastic hair clips at a convenience store, sales assistant Shivlal Kumavat turned his back on her as soon as she paid. Asked why, the 31-year-old was unapologetic: "Madam, I am not an educated guy. I hand goods over to the customers and that's it."
In a government-run supermarket a young female employee lied that she hadn't seen what had happened when asked why she didn't help our reporter pick up his papers. Another worker stepped on them.
"That's nothing," said the store's security guard. "In Mumbai, they'll step over a person who has fallen in the street."
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