Yeah, but you have to know how to interact with them to get them to be friendly. Boy, the stories I could tell and here's one.
Back in 1994 I made my first trip to NYC on business. I was working for an Executive Search Firm headquartered in NYC. I was installing their network and teaching the staff (120'ish people) how to use it. Lunchtime came and I was hungry so I headed out to find a nice Jewish deli that the CEO's admin recommended.
Line was out the door for the place and I probably waited a good 20 minutes to get to the counter and make my order.
This old man behind the counter barked "Well? What do you want!" at me. Not knowing what I wanted I started to ask a question. Bad move.
"Get out of line!"
What? I said.
"Get out of MY line!"
I was kinda dumbstruck.
"Get the fugoutta my line!" he yelled at me again so I turned and walked out of the deli.
I went back to the office, the CEO's admin asked if I'd gotten a sandwich from her favorite Jewish deli.
I said no. She asked why, so I told her what happened. She laughed. "You get your ass back to that deli and order a sandwich. This time you better know what the fug you want and yell it to the guy behind the counter.
What the hell, I was hungry and I didn't like some old guy behind a deli counter running me off so I went back. Stood in line twenty minutes again and got to the counter.
Same old man looked at me with this scowl as if to say "Well? What the fug do you want?!"
So I yelled my order at him. I said what kind of bread, meat, tomato, lettuce, onion, how much mayo and said that was it.
The old man smiled at me and said "Welcome to New Yawk!"
Best damn' sandwich I think I ever had.
Yeah... know enough to tell um what you want, and be able to half understand it yourself, and they’ll knock themselves out for you.
Expect them to plumb your fog ab initio, and you’re plumb outta luck.
Actually there’s a way to ask if you don’t know. Just confess that you don’t know what’s offered, and you want a sandwich but don’t see anything here about what is offered on them (assuming that was the case here — if there was a sign, there really was no excuse), so what can you get on your sandwich? Then choose quickly.
An interesting story. Don’t think I would like living there.