Posts from — May 2009

My wife and I recently got back from a 4-day visit to NYC. This was the first time for both of us and we weren’t sure what to expect. I guess we both had some preconceptions of overcrowding, rude people, and all the problems that go along with having too many people being crammed into one place. Of course, we knew it was fun and vibrant city, but we expected some confusion, some trials, and perhaps a few tribulations.

First of all, we had an excellent visit. Not a problem. Not one. Nada. We landed, walked what felt like 100 miles through JFK to get to baggage claim, and somehow found ourselves standing outside waiting in a line for a taxi. The dispatchers kept people moving; waving the cabs up, handing passengers tickets, loading up the luggage, and sending them off. It seemed like you just had to walk and you would magically arrive where you needed to be. There was no headscratching, no asking for directions, no standing there wondering where you were and where you were supposed to go. Like a part on an assembly line you just kept moving along. Before too long, we were in front of our hotel in midtown Manhattan.

There were two things that really impressed me about New York: transit and customer service. The transit system in NYC is nothing short of amazing. Two dollars gets you from Brooklyn to the Bronx and all points in between, within very reasonable times. Live outside the city? The state? No problem, commuter trains run in all directions at all times of day. Here in Halifax, you’d be lucky to get anywhere without multiple transfers and having a lot of time to spare, even if your destination is only a 15-20 minute drive from your home. Yes, NYC has more people, more money, and more infrastructure. But they also have competent planners and visionaries.

As for customer service, you’d think waiters would be snappy, that retailers wouldn’t give you the time of day, or that your food/item would be tossed at you so they could quickly move along to the next task at hand. But we experienced great service that was not only courteous and respectful, but competent. I watched deli workers take order after order from a beehive of hungry customers and have everything coordinated to a “T”. You arrived at the cash at the same time as your food, which was actually prepared the way you asked for.

Here in Halifax, it often seems I can’t even get a coffee without having to repeat the order 2 or 3 times. And have you ever gone to a fast food restaurant at lunchtime? In HRM, if a place is busy, it is a goddamned disaster zone. The workers are confused, the customers are waiting and irritable, and the place is a mess with overflowing garbages and dirty tables. In NYC, every place we went to was clean, well-attended, and the service was top notch. You went to the bathroom and there was actually soap in the dispensers and paper towel in the bins. Wow, what a treat!

There is absolutely no doubt about it: in NYC, the immigrants are the lifeblood of the city. They are the ones sweeping the sidewalks in Times Square, driving the cabs, working the shops, preparing the food, serving the coffee, selling the papers.They take pride in their jobs, are happy to be there, and that makes all the difference.

Sure, we were tourists in a tourist-friendly city, and yes, if you hang around long enough you’re sure to find a mean and ugly side as well. But if NYC can make it work with millions and millions of people, why can’t a small city like Halifax get it together? I think our “planners” and “leaders” here need to study places like New York and take some much needed hints. But that might involve some effort and the ability to think beyond the next 5 minutes, so I wouldn’t count on it.