Chinatown backs Little Britain.
New York City is a crazy quilt of different ethnicities and different cultures, that’s what makes it such a special place. Every culture has qualities that are specific and unique to them and the different neighborhoods that have sprung up where concentrations of business and residents exist are wonderful and should be encouraged. Little Britain would be a great idea to help showcase the many aspects and qualities that our cousins across the pond possess. After all, us Anglophiles need to know where to get Lilt soda and Cornish pasty!
David Eng
Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation
The Brits are head and shoulders the worst tippers on the planet. Why would generations of hardworking immigrant chinese and italians who struggled to earn their place on the ny map give it to these rageing cheap alcoholics because they have a little extra money and the class system in England is dying. It sucks living in big Britain and there are no more servants to shove around(no mexicans) so why not take advantage of the fine American hospitality (whithout tipping) because the bars stay open to 4 unlike Britain where they close at 11pm because the brits are collasal pisstanks. 3 words servicecharge, servicecharge,servicecharege. Dont give it to them they havent earned it and they dont deserve it
Comment by mac — March 28, 2007 @ 2:41 pm
fine
Comment by mac — March 28, 2007 @ 2:42 pm
i know plenty of people who are bad tippers and they aren’t British or America - rash generalization mac.
Comment by frank — March 28, 2007 @ 5:19 pm
Not earned it?
1. We are America’s single largest investor and America is Britain’s biggest investor.
2. One million Americans go to work every day for UK companies based in the States and one million Britain’s go to work for American companies based in the UK.
3. The local *service* businesses who are leading this campaign from Virgin to T&S, and their supporters, have created jobs and wealth for the city for decades.
4. Yep, British culture isn’t based round tipping because they pay people who work in restaurants and bars a wage. When you come over here for the first time, to be honest, it’s slightly shocking that people are expected to live on tips alone, I worked in a bar in the UK, we are used to safety nets that don’t exist over here. However once you have been told how the system works every British person I know knows to “double the tax”. But of course every day there are Brits coming here for the first time…you need a campaign in the UK to educate people how it works here
Comment by CFLB — March 29, 2007 @ 7:39 am
As a brit living in the USA for over 20 years it didn’t take 20 to learn the ways and means of the wage system here. As The Joneses point out once here ‘everybody’ learns that system. I know a few locals who could use a leson in tipping! NExt time you buy a drink in the UK and leave a tip, the barman woman will tell you “you left your change….”
Comment by Harold — March 29, 2007 @ 8:30 am
As an Englishman who has lived in NYC since 1999 I’m afraid that I agree with whoever it was said ‘we don’t deserve it’. This campaign seems quite funny (’quite’ in the English sense, that is - meaning ‘moderately’, not the American sense ‘very’). It smacks to me of easy PR for Tea and Sympathy and Branson’s Virgin.
I know it’s a spoof but there is point to be made here: the ‘Little’ areas of other countries (Italy, China etc) were created by hardworking immigrants who had no money, felt utterly excluded by ‘mainstream’ American society and therefore worked hard amongst their own communities to bring themselves up to economic parity. Their ‘Little’ communties were symbols of the struggle they faced - and bravely overcame - in the New World. The majority of Brits here are rich (and, yes, bibulous) temporary residents who treat NYC as a place to make money and have a good time. I know, coz I’m one of ‘em. I do think this campaign is a little disrespectful to the struggle of real blue-collar immigrants who really struggled in the early years of the 20th century.
Comment by BrunoTheBear — March 31, 2007 @ 5:09 am
think you just got hoisted by your own petard, bruno! i’ve been here a similar length of time, as a green card holding self employed small business ower, and it’s tough, as i’m sure it was back in the day, and, ‘making it’ in america, speaking as an british immigrant who is staying, is as relevant a story.
you think ‘the majority are temporary residents…etc’ sounds like thats the circles you move in, but then thats all the evidence you need, isn’t it. i know your sort, relatively small in number but unfortunately loud, probably work in finance, you all sit around at dinner parties slagging everything off and then bugger off back to the uk whern your kids hit school age because you think amercian schools are crap.
i’m british but you don’t represent me or any of the reasons I upped sticks and moved here, i thought i was getting away from all the minor public school boy wankers who infest the london media scene unfortunately some of the very worst have come over here too, giving the genuine immigrant a bad name. i wish you’d all bugger off back to clapham.
vote for little britain? yes, because i got here under my own steam, my decision, my risk, not some lazy ‘oh i’ll try it for a couple of years company transfer’, i’m proud to live here *and* i’m proud to be british.
Comment by Pete — March 31, 2007 @ 6:42 am
and i think you’ll find that Nicky and Sean who started Tea and Sympathy have worked incredibly hard to make their business successful and 17 yrs later they’re still working just as hard, if not more.. and as for Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson created his business from scratch, I can’t imagine that was easy.
Pete, i dont know who you are but you took the words out of my mouth, i’m glad there are some Brits here who dont fit the AA Gill desciption.
Comment by frank — March 31, 2007 @ 7:55 am
you’re right brunothebear, *you* don’t deserve it because a] that’s a fucking retarded name and b]you’re over here on a jolly.
three cheers to the brit entreprenuers in nyc and the usa, big and small, because you are the genuine article and deserve it as much as any other nationality.
all you media and finance part timers and posh losers can sod off back to blighty.
Comment by darren — March 31, 2007 @ 9:32 am
While we understand this campaign might be contentious for some people we would kindly request that anyone leaving a comment refrains from swearing or cursing. Thanks
Comment by CFLB — March 31, 2007 @ 11:23 am
Walks in to blog, hands behind the back, whistling.
Mr Bruno the bear sounds like a right.. well you know what! Some of us came here with out much and worked our way up to where we are today by hard work. I don’t see the fact that it wasn’t a century ago has to do with anything. I am supporting this as an ex pat and ex New Yorker.
Okay nothing to see here then. Leaves blog, still whistling looking sheepish.
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