I love you! You're my absolute favorite person to bitch about Singapore with! You are my only oneeeee~~~!

You really to try service in the UK - by the sounds of things you'd be terrified. What you describe as rude (just saying "hi, how are you? That'll be x. Thanks goodbye" is genuinely considered excellent service in this country.

Although having said that we consider US style service where people want to be your friend and have a little chat to be intrusive and annoying so maybe we're just miserable.

@Neptune: I love you moreeeee!

@will_full: Yes, I have definitely been spoilt by the service in America, and I don't dispute the fact that just saying "hi, how are you? That'll be x. Thanks goodbye" is acceptable service, but in Singapore, even that doesn't happen. It's not only what they say ("x dollars. thanksbye") but also how they say it (usually impatient and hasty, like they're trying to get through the day with as little effort as possible) that really irks me. I don't even care much for people asking me how I am nowadays, as long as they don't sound like they're trying to get through the transaction with as little interaction with the customer as possible.

No! I wanted political rants! But I guess that's not really allowed, huh?

I feel your pain though, when it comes to weather. I live Washington, DC and I curse our founding fathers every day. Why did they build our capitol on a swamp?

By the way, Singaporean scientists apparently have developed a battery that's powered by pee.

Seemed appropriate.

@will_full: I have a Japanese friend (to the shame of every other Asian friend of mine but anyways) who loves the "American friendliness" and how we smile at random strangers on the street and such.

She knows we're faking it, but the fact that we're taking the time to act polite and fake it says a lot.

Capital, not capitol, damn it!

Lmao so true. But you have forgotten that Singapore is pwned. The ratio of foreigners to Singaporeans is probably 50:50.
I have foreigners serving me.
And I think they hate me.
:(
What did I do?
all I did was smile...

"I'd also get rid of all service charges (which currently pay lazy asses despite their lousy service) and replace it with the American tipping system."

Well, knowing how cheapskate Singaporeans at large are, no one's going to receive any tips! I suspect that's why they had to impose a standard service charge in the first place.

use vpost usa =)
https://www.vpost.com.sg

get any goods frm usa.

This is random but did you watch the National Day Rally? After having stayed in Singapore for 15 years, this is the first time I've watched it and it's by random - on the bus trip back home.

....yup, we're paying more to live here so that, to quote, we could do more big projects like the Formula 1 race, the IRs and blahs.

But service? Big projects? IRs? Like, totally. We pay for the IRs to pay the people who's service are [insert suitable, not so pleasing word here].

UHHH.
(this is a long comment, sry pl0x!)

Now I feel guilty for taking American service for granted.

;-;

It's funny how people view things differently. I don't want or expect much social interaction with cashiers. "Hi. Did you find everything ok?" or whatever is just fine by me. I cringe at obligatory small talk. It's so damn fake. (Screw stupid social conventions). I live in America btw. I worked as a cashier one summer, and I felt so damn fake. Rude is in the eye of the beholder.

hey,
There are 6 things i hate about singapore!
1. The milk! I don’t know what they feed the cows in Indonesia and Australia; it must be some strange stuff. And even when I find a brand that tastes okay, I have to drink whole milk. “Lowfat” milk doesn’t exist here; in its place is an appalling gooey substance called “Hi-Lo” milk
2.Dodgy home air-conditioning Singapore’s public buildings are thoroughly, reliably, even arctically air-conditioned. But rather than pay for aircon at home, people tend to suffer through the heat, so home air-conditioning systems are far behind the technology used in malls and offices.
3.Rude people. People who leave their extra sacks of garbage in my yard by my garbage can. People who back out of a driveway across the street and smash into my garbage can so hard it’s hurled across the lawn and then roar off, leaving it lying there. People who park right in front of our gate so we can’t get into or out of our home. People who “chope” (save) food-center tables for family members who won’t be showing up for an hour - and who refuse to allow us to sit, even when we promise to eat and leave within 15 minutes. People who leave the entire family’s freshly washed tennis shoes out to dry on our garden wall.
4.Loud motorcycles. Singapore has noise laws that prevent anyone from selling motorcycles fitted with engines big enough that they sound like jet planes. But that doesn’t stop motorcycle repair shops from refitting the bikes with bigger engines.
5.The 10-minute radius. Many “city” people, though not at all rude (see point 3), are politely aghast at where we live. We live less than 30 minutes’ drive away from even the far side of the city, but I’ve seen at least one person’s jaw literally drop when we told them how far east we live. It’s true that you can get everywhere in the city in less than 10 minutes, but 25 is still worth a visit!...Right?
. Workmen who don’t speak English. I’d sympathize if we had moved to China or Malaysia or Indonesia or something. But we’re in Singapore, where - as we’re constantly being told - “Everyone speaks English. It’s so easy to communicate!” We’ve mostly adjusted to the Singlish; at least it’s decipherable, even if you have to listen a little harder. But unfortunately the people I really need to speak any kind of English - repairmen, landscapers, the guy connecting the phone - do not.

Great post!
Cheers,
Kelly