"southern hospitality" myth or no?
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Try this story:
My Dad was a Methodist minister, so when we went on a family vacation, we'd always stop somewhere on Sunday morning to attend worship services. The denomination didn't matter much, just whichever 'brand' was nearby at church time.
In Oxford, Mississippi, we went to the Methodist Church. We sat down, and a gentleman introduced himself, Clyde Call-thop, with a heavy southern accent. (Later found out his surname was Colthorpe.)
He and his wife insisted that we visit their home after church for Sunday dinner. (That means lunch to y'all yankees.)
We went.
Fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, mashed taters, blackeyed peas, iced tea, and pecan pie for dessert -- all home made.
Never seen us before, but we were invited into their home to eat!
Now, THAT'S southern hospitality.
That's awesome, and true Christian hospitality.0 -
Looks like some Texans need geography lessons too. The South or Down South is the Southeast. Look it up. Down South existed before Texas was a state. And the War is over comment was a joke, but seriously I never heard Damn Yankees anywhere other than Texas. Hell, you say a pledge of allegiance to the state flag of Texas.
A great portion of Texas falls in the Southwest geographically, though there is debate about the Eastern portion of the state. I think its safe to say Texas is just Texas, neither South nor West.
Again, the labels of region are highly fluid... and I don't even know the pledge to the Texas flag... I don't know anyone that does, nor do I know any teacher that has their kids say it. And no, we fall into the South Central area of the country (unless you divide the continental United States up into quadrants then it would also include California, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma and Colorado)... cultural geographically speaking (which is what we are talking about.. the cultural geography of the South.. not the literal map based geography of the South)... trust me, I have my degree in Geography... But again, historically Texas is considered the South because it fought with the Confederacy in the Civil war...
Oh and by the way the US Census Bureau defines Texas as the South.
Well, if the government says so, it's got to be true!0 -
My experience from a call center perspective is that people everywhere can be really, really rude, especially if it involves money. I've had a couple people who clearly don't understand how credit cards work tell me that I "clearly" didn't know what I was talking about.I work at a call center too. I would say you are dead-on. Folks in the NE are too impatient and loud and they are always the ones that think everyone but them is an idiot.
When in reality they were just too stupid to know that pending charges are not processed charges.
But this happens with people from all over; I think the rudest, most entitled person I spoke to was an English woman calling from Vancouver, BC (where I once lived and found everyone I interacted with to be exceptionally polite) who wasn't smart enough to get her device working and then exclaimed "I want a -neeewww- one!" (With "new" being emphasized and in that high-pitched, spoiled brat tone.)
Southern women have been quite rude to me, and many a New Yorker has been ridiculously, exceptionally rude—but some have been really nice and great conversation, too.
Every time I've been in the south I've not met anyone who was nicer than anywhere else ...
Are you sure you don't work for the same company as me?
Yes, people can be rude from anywhere, but it seems like people from the NE area are rude when they are simply asking for a branch office phone number or something as simple as that. They don't even have to be mad necessarily.
But yeah, when it comes to money, they are all *kitten* and idiots. :laugh:
NO ONE ever reads the cardholder agreement! EVER! :grumble:0 -
I don't know if you can call this southern or maybe it's mid-west hospitality, then again this reminds me of growing up in Florida. I just came back again from Oklahoma. I was going to the post office with a hand full of boxes. An eight year old boy opens the door for me and when I say "thank you" I heard "your welcome". At walmart people don't leave items they don't want all over the store and you see carts being taken to the right places. Groceries are still carried out to the car too. When my Aunt's house was hit with lightening on Easter the fire department shows up, then all thier wifes with donuts and coffee, next comes the pastor and some church women. People called to ask what they could do. Maybe that's just small town living in the mid-west.When I leave the airport is the best! The stewardess and ride out of Oklahoma City is the best of any I have been in. I loved my last flight. We were all treated like first class. I started noticing more and more how little please, thank you and your welcome are used today. Those simple words go along ways. And the last thing to say is Thank you for reading
I agree with this. We need more please and thank you's! I'm from the North. Michigan to be exact.
You are welcome. Thank you for writing it:)0 -
Texas is quite large. Texas has been called the South, the Midwest, the Southwest, the Southeast. The only thing it's definately not is the North.
And you beat me to it.Why do people insist on calling Texas the South, Southwest yes, Down South no.
Southern Hospitality is about making you feel welcome and yes I do think Southerners welcome strangers. I have seen my family in South Carolina do it, while my family in NY always looks at outsiders with a degree of skepticism. But I'm right there with them. I'm not going to act like I'm your best friend if I don't know you. Not to say that some Southerners aren't genuine, I like the what you see is what you get approach.
We are actually more "South Central" as we aren't in the West either... But I do believe it has something to do with us siding with the Confederates in the Civil War.
Actually Texans are considered both Southeastern and Southwestern...just because we can be!
I think it depends. Where I am in North Texas is not "southern" I consider this more Midwest (I am near the Oklahoma border).
When I go to South Texas or even East Texas that feels 'South' to me. I think that is where the debate comes in because of the sheer size of Texas. Then you get to places like El Paso and it is feels more "west" than South.0 -
it pays to be nice when everyone carries guns
Yes!0 -
I'm born and raised in Alabama. Never lived anywhere else. Yes there's nice people everywhere. "Southern Hospitality" doesn't mean everyone in the South (Southeastern U.S.) is nice. There's azzholes everywhere. But we are culturally different about manners, treating women like ladies, chivalry, etc. I think it's a good thing.
Totally agree!0 -
I'm southern - Born in Augusta Ga, and raised in Columbia SC. I DO think southerners are more friendly, based on what I've experienced. I've been all over the US, and the only state that compares (IMO) to the people in SC is Texas.
Having said that, I know lots of people from all over who are awesome friends and great people in general.
I have NEVER said "bless your heart" in my life. KMA would be more my style if I didn't like you. LOL0 -
Try this story:
My Dad was a Methodist minister, so when we went on a family vacation, we'd always stop somewhere on Sunday morning to attend worship services. The denomination didn't matter much, just whichever 'brand' was nearby at church time.
In Oxford, Mississippi, we went to the Methodist Church. We sat down, and a gentleman introduced himself, Clyde Call-thop, with a heavy southern accent. (Later found out his surname was Colthorpe.)
He and his wife insisted that we visit their home after church for Sunday dinner. (That means lunch to y'all yankees.)
We went.
Fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, mashed taters, blackeyed peas, iced tea, and pecan pie for dessert -- all home made.
Never seen us before, but we were invited into their home to eat!
Now, THAT'S southern hospitality.
Love this!0 -
We're just like you.... only prettier!
Bless your heart! 0 -
Try this story:
My Dad was a Methodist minister, so when we went on a family vacation, we'd always stop somewhere on Sunday morning to attend worship services. The denomination didn't matter much, just whichever 'brand' was nearby at church time.
In Oxford, Mississippi, we went to the Methodist Church. We sat down, and a gentleman introduced himself, Clyde Call-thop, with a heavy southern accent. (Later found out his surname was Colthorpe.)
He and his wife insisted that we visit their home after church for Sunday dinner. (That means lunch to y'all yankees.)
We went.
Fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, mashed taters, blackeyed peas, iced tea, and pecan pie for dessert -- all home made.
Never seen us before, but we were invited into their home to eat!
Now, THAT'S southern hospitality.
Love this!
That is a great story, but I think my parents ruined me by leaving SC and raising me in NY because as a New Yorker I would be suspicious of a stranger who invites me into their home for food and I probably wouldn't eat since I don't know them or their cooking habits. So wrong but so true.0 -
I think call centers are, unfortunately, all the same in respect to the callersAre you sure you don't work for the same company as me?
I once had a woman get exceptionally rude with me just asking if we would require a signature when her package was delivered. And when I explained to her that it's not our policy to request a signature, but it is at the discretion of her delivery person she became livid and demanded to know if they would require a signature or not. What does she not understand about "It's not our policy and we are not the delivery company"? (Oh, she was from NYC. But I've also had people who were completely the opposite, I'm just sayin'. And I've got stories just as bad from the south, as well as my state, haha.)Yes, people can be rude from anywhere, but it seems like people from the NE area are rude when they are simply asking for a branch office phone number or something as simple as that. They don't even have to be mad necessarily.
EVER! Seriously, that agreement that you signed stipulates exactly what you're griping about now. Maybe you should have read that agreement instead of just signing off on it. Amiright.NO ONE ever reads the cardholder agreement! EVER! :grumble:0 -
I'm Southern.
& i have southern hospitality.
but,if i dont like you,i dont like you.
i dont say bless your heart..
but i think that maybe southerners would be the first people to throw a punch?
I 100% agree with this statement!0 -
We relocated from PA to NC and I will say that people here are 150% nicer than they are in PA. There are crappy people everywhere but the "general attitude" down here is a lot more relaxed........... of course living at the beach doesn't hurt that, either. Everyone's on "island time". The niceness sort of freaked me out at first but now I like it, it's sweet.
And yes, southern women are a lot more put together. They always look nice, haha. 0 -
I think call centers are, unfortunately, all the same in respect to the callersAre you sure you don't work for the same company as me?
I once had a woman get exceptionally rude with me just asking if we would require a signature when her package was delivered. And when I explained to her that it's not our policy to request a signature, but it is at the discretion of her delivery person she became livid and demanded to know if they would require a signature or not. What does she not understand about "It's not our policy and we are not the delivery company"? (Oh, she was from NYC. But I've also had people who were completely the opposite, I'm just sayin'. And I've got stories just as bad from the south, as well as my state, haha.)Yes, people can be rude from anywhere, but it seems like people from the NE area are rude when they are simply asking for a branch office phone number or something as simple as that. They don't even have to be mad necessarily.
EVER! Seriously, that agreement that you signed stipulates exactly what you're griping about now. Maybe you should have read that agreement instead of just signing off on it. Amiright.NO ONE ever reads the cardholder agreement! EVER! :grumble:
:laugh: Maybe if they sent one in plain (and concise) english along with the legal jargon one, then people might read it more... There is so much jargon in the TOS and cardholder agreements that even if someone did read it, they wouldn't know what they were reading... Not that y'all can do anything about that... I'm just sayin'.0 -
TEXAS just needs to secede from the union and become its own country.... We can you know??/0
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TEXAS just needs to secede from the union and become its own country.... We can you know??/
When I used to live in Texas, one of my co-workers who was a life long Texan would always call it the United State of Texas, it is really like its own country0 -
Why do people insist on calling Texas the South, Southwest yes, Down South no.
Why do I "insist" on calling it the south? Because I'm from New Jersey, so to me it's the south. Why wouldn't it be? It's further south than South Carolina.
Any place where outsiders are called "damn yankees" I consider the south. And I heard this many times in Texas. So I consider Texas the south.
There is a difference in Yankees and damn Yankees. Damn Yankees move down here, Yankees just visit.
Sorry. Just a little southern humor. Didn't mean to offend but if I did, Bless your heart.
:laugh: . I first heard of the yankee vs damn yankee thing back when they brought workers from the Chicago Wrigley's plant down to the one in Georgia where my dad works. That joke spread around like wildflowers then.
My husband is from Vermont and I was born and raised in Georgia. When he pisses me off, I call him a damn yankee. It wasn't until a few months ago he finally figured out why I laugh every time I call him that.:laugh:0 -
I live in Huntsville, AL, so we're a decent sized city but still southern! I love the way it's totally normal to say hi to strangers and even stop and make conversation with them, to ALWAYS be polite...unless they are just plain rude then you can say something if needed. My fiancee is from Arizona and we are totally different in alot of ways. His reaction to a gift is totally different than mine, his reaction makes me think he totally hates it but it's a normal reaction to a gift, whereas mine I make it very clear how appreciative I am of the gift to the person, even if I don't like it! I could come up with so many examples!! Does that stuff happen everywhere or just in the south?0
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I'm sure this isn't true for all of the south, but I don't really fit in with southern girls. They're so put together all the time, and it's what they've been taught from their mothers. Never leave the house without makeup, make sure your hair is nice, ect. Which I never do and subsequently I feel judged. Which is probably all me and not them.
<-- I'm not the typical southerner I suppose. Born and raised in Biloxi, MS. I leave the house without makeup fairly often (like... every day? LOL) I don't make it a habit of brushing my hair (in fact, the "before" pictures are the only pictures where I actually did more than ran my fingers through my hair and pinned it back out of my face... LOL). I have no accent. I don't use the word "ya'll" or "ain't" and I call soft drinks "soda" rather than calling everything "coke". However, when we moved to Kentucky (which btw is NOT the south.... it is a southern state, but I don't consider this the south... no offense to Kentuckians... I do like it here! LOL), I was made fun of by some people for my children saying "yes ma'am/no ma'am" and "yes sir/no sir" to everyone and also calling people "Mr." and "Ms." rather than just blurting out their first names as if they were their friends (My children call my friends Ms. Chrissy or Mr. Noah... not Chrissy and Noah).
Now, I will say my mom hates that I don't wear make up and my brother likes that I don't wear it. He says I'm naturally beautiful and don't need it while my mom just says "Marie doesn't care how she looks". Actually, I DO care how I look, I just don't feel like I have to be done up all the time to be presentable.
I am generally polite, but if I don't like someone, I don't talk to them. If I see them in public, I will smile, but I will not stop to hold a conversation and I kind of let it be known I don't intend to either.
I am from Biloxi too!:drinker: I still say Mr and Mrs for everyone. My daughter is being taught that and we are looked at like aliens here in North Texas. :laugh:0 -
Southern Hospitality means nice to your face, bless your heart. Insults just sound a little better with a Southern accent. :drinker:0
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I'm sure this isn't true for all of the south, but I don't really fit in with southern girls. They're so put together all the time, and it's what they've been taught from their mothers. Never leave the house without makeup, make sure your hair is nice, ect. Which I never do and subsequently I feel judged. Which is probably all me and not them.
<-- I'm not the typical southerner I suppose. Born and raised in Biloxi, MS. I leave the house without makeup fairly often (like... every day? LOL) I don't make it a habit of brushing my hair (in fact, the "before" pictures are the only pictures where I actually did more than ran my fingers through my hair and pinned it back out of my face... LOL). I have no accent. I don't use the word "ya'll" or "ain't" and I call soft drinks "soda" rather than calling everything "coke". However, when we moved to Kentucky (which btw is NOT the south.... it is a southern state, but I don't consider this the south... no offense to Kentuckians... I do like it here! LOL), I was made fun of by some people for my children saying "yes ma'am/no ma'am" and "yes sir/no sir" to everyone and also calling people "Mr." and "Ms." rather than just blurting out their first names as if they were their friends (My children call my friends Ms. Chrissy or Mr. Noah... not Chrissy and Noah).
Now, I will say my mom hates that I don't wear make up and my brother likes that I don't wear it. He says I'm naturally beautiful and don't need it while my mom just says "Marie doesn't care how she looks". Actually, I DO care how I look, I just don't feel like I have to be done up all the time to be presentable.
I am generally polite, but if I don't like someone, I don't talk to them. If I see them in public, I will smile, but I will not stop to hold a conversation and I kind of let it be known I don't intend to either.
I am from Biloxi too!:drinker: I still say Mr and Mrs for everyone. My daughter is being taught that and we are looked at like aliens here in North Texas. :laugh:
I've known people to move up north with their kids, and have their kids told in school to stop using "ma'am" and "sir" the way they were taught here. Seems up there they think the kids are being smarta**ed when they use it. I know one set of parents that told the people at the school that that is what they're taught, it's how we show respect to elders, and that their child will not be taught differently.0 -
I think call centers are, unfortunately, all the same in respect to the callersAre you sure you don't work for the same company as me?
I once had a woman get exceptionally rude with me just asking if we would require a signature when her package was delivered. And when I explained to her that it's not our policy to request a signature, but it is at the discretion of her delivery person she became livid and demanded to know if they would require a signature or not. What does she not understand about "It's not our policy and we are not the delivery company"? (Oh, she was from NYC. But I've also had people who were completely the opposite, I'm just sayin'. And I've got stories just as bad from the south, as well as my state, haha.)Yes, people can be rude from anywhere, but it seems like people from the NE area are rude when they are simply asking for a branch office phone number or something as simple as that. They don't even have to be mad necessarily.
EVER! Seriously, that agreement that you signed stipulates exactly what you're griping about now. Maybe you should have read that agreement instead of just signing off on it. Amiright.NO ONE ever reads the cardholder agreement! EVER! :grumble:
UGH! I can relate to this SOOO MUCH!
I work for a company that verifies energy contracts. So when you sign up for Direct Energy or IDT energy, you'll be speaking to me.
The absolute worst calls are ALWAYS from Bronx/NY/Flushing area of NY. I've never even been to that area personally (I'm from the south) but I know I neeeevvverrrr want to go there now. I once had a customer who was obviously stoned out of his mind yell at me for ten minutes because I asked if the agent was still with him (company policy) "WHY THE FU*K DO YOU CARE WHO'S AT MY HOUSE, WHAT'S YOUR NAME, I'M GONNA LOOK YOU UP!!" etc etc. Unfortunately I have to stay on the phone with them.
The sales agents in the north are scummy. SO many time's ive had sales agents that misinformed the customer, TOLD the customer what to answer during the verification call (illegal!), and impersonated the customer (ILLEEEGAAALLL!). I recently heard about a couple of agents who got fired because they were signing up people for the same energy plan twice, even three times. Ugh
Yet, for some reason, I never have this issue with calls out of Illinois, Ohio, Texas, or Canada.
People from NY - get your act together! (if you're a sales agent, lol)0 -
I think call centers are, unfortunately, all the same in respect to the callersAre you sure you don't work for the same company as me?
I once had a woman get exceptionally rude with me just asking if we would require a signature when her package was delivered. And when I explained to her that it's not our policy to request a signature, but it is at the discretion of her delivery person she became livid and demanded to know if they would require a signature or not. What does she not understand about "It's not our policy and we are not the delivery company"? (Oh, she was from NYC. But I've also had people who were completely the opposite, I'm just sayin'. And I've got stories just as bad from the south, as well as my state, haha.)Yes, people can be rude from anywhere, but it seems like people from the NE area are rude when they are simply asking for a branch office phone number or something as simple as that. They don't even have to be mad necessarily.
EVER! Seriously, that agreement that you signed stipulates exactly what you're griping about now. Maybe you should have read that agreement instead of just signing off on it. Amiright.NO ONE ever reads the cardholder agreement! EVER! :grumble:
:laugh: Maybe if they sent one in plain (and concise) english along with the legal jargon one, then people might read it more... There is so much jargon in the TOS and cardholder agreements that even if someone did read it, they wouldn't know what they were reading... Not that y'all can do anything about that... I'm just sayin'.
Not our fault people can't understand the jargon!
The lawyers who write up the contracts/scripts for us are absolute idiots. Spelling "for" like "four", leaving out words, including extra words, wrong punctuation, RUN ON SENTENCES etc etc... and I'll lose my job if I dont read it verbatim, so it's no wonder customers are confused... I'm reading a paragraph made up of one sentence that somehow is a statement AND a question at the same time!
The best one is "You will receive a confirmation within one business from today".... one business WHAT? week? day? year? minute? uggggggh! so glad my last day is saturday!0 -
TEXAS just needs to secede from the union and become its own country.... We can you know??/
THAT WE CAN!
It would certainly end this whole debate!0 -
Texans are not southern, aside from geographically being so. I'm from Texas, so I know. I've lived in Georgia and Mississippi over the past twelve years, so I know the difference. That being said, I've also travelled all over the world (being in the military). Everyone is different, and labeling people doesn't set anyone up for success. Of all the places I could have retired in the world, I chose to make my home in Mississippi. I absolutely love it here.0
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TEXAS just needs to secede from the union and become its own country.... We can you know??/
When I used to live in Texas, one of my co-workers who was a life long Texan would always call it the United State of Texas, it is really like its own country
Gulf of Mexico is also known as Lake Texas by some.0 -
Hey Ya'll, there ain't nothing greater than sippin' tea at sundown on the front porch in Va. So come on over whenever your in town, Ya Hear !!0
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Virginia born and bred...and there are miles and miles of difference between most Yankees and a southerner. I deal with a lot of people up north and a lot in the midwest...those people up north just don't know what it means to be pleasant. They're short, terse and mostly just downright unpleasant. My midwest folks are much nicer...those damn yankees just hang up on the phone and have a cow if you say sir or m'am. Now here in the south we wave to people we don't know, hold the doors open, always have a smile or a pleasant word for ya even if we're irritated beyond belief-that's just how it's done here. Y'all see what I'm saying? :flowerforyou:
(and no offense to anyone up north-I have met a few nice ones)0 -
Southern hospitality is alive and well. We don't "pretend" to like people, we are raised to respect people..............UNTIL given a reason not to. So if your a stranger you are treated with hospitality and graciousness until we believe you don't deserve it. Then, the guns come out. Because we do all have one........or ten. We are taught to respect our elders, not to ask for handouts, to get dirty if and when necessary (sometimes just because we want to), and to work hard for what we have. In my neck of the woods in SC, the girls are taught how to act like ladies, how to hunt and skin animals, and how to fight like men. All that being said, you have our respect until you abuse it, then we can whoop your *kitten*, gut you like a hog, and hide you in the swamp.:devil: 0
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