USVI-On-Line

Good Topic. Part of the charm for the island is the slower pace I am able to achieve and expect when I get there...hence 'Island Time". I use the term frequently back in the mainland to remind myself to slow down and take it easy.

A lady apologized the other day in the grocery line to me for taking so long to write a check and I wasn't even upset...just smiling. To which I told her, it's ok I'm on Island Time. She laughed and gave me a knowing look and said what island and I said STJ...and she smiled and said her IT(Island Time) place is Aruba.

I also believe in the saying you get back what you put out. I wonder if people said Good Morning and really meant it instead of using it as a ploy or technique to obtain 'friendlier service, that the person might resond in kind.
Good Morning forum friends

Pete (Mr. Marcia) wrote:beg to differ...the Starfish check out women were routinely the most rude people we ever encountered. As I said, however, they seem to have improved.

While I agree with what everyone is saying about you get back what you give, I had to laugh out loud with what pete says here... We have gone to starfish many times, 5 days in a row once, and there was only one woman who was friendly.the rest didn't care who, what or why.
Now for the other side of the subject, while going to Rhumb lines for dinner one night, my daughter's friend rudely brushed by an elderly native woman, I apologized profusely, she was extremely gracious and said not to worry about it, with the way young adults are today she understood. Just my small story...

Most are friendly, just laid back. I encounter many angry people at my job daily but somehow when they leave my office they are OK. "Kill them with kindness", I say. On the other hand I can be shy at times and that, I have been told, can come across as rude, arrogant and stuck up and I am none of those at all. So like everyone said, people are people and you have a variety of personalities everywhere!

Seems like there are quite a number of people at Starfish who don't seem very happy to be there. Maybe there's a management issue behind this (yes, wild speculation on my part).

I like the comment made that most of the businesses tourists tend to frequent aren't owned/managed by West Indians. I'd be interested to hear what good locally owned businesses/restaurants there are on STJ. I'd make an effort to check 'em out and support them. Anyone have any suggestions?

pmk

The lack of friendliness of the locals was a minor disappointment on our first trip to St. John. I found the advice of saying "good morning", etc. was not so critical. I was very conscious of greeting people that way and they didn't seem to respond. The local custom was no more effective than any other polite greeting. I was also told that profanity was frowned upon. Well we had lunch at Aqua Bistro and there was a local at the bar spewing unbelievable filth. I'm a Navy man, but some other patrons (tourists) appeared uncomfortable. I think people are people. Most are nice, some aren't. Oh, I did meet an elderly West Indian couple at the ferry terminal in Red Hook, and they greeted me with "Good Afternoon". That was sweet. They were a beautiful couple.

I've really been much more bothered by the behavior of drunken tourists than by any interactions I've had with any St Johnians.

And just today here at home I had to deal with an unfriendly gas station attendant, a drug store clerk who was more interested in talking with her friend than in waiting on me and a bored, disinterested, rather surly guy at the movie theater concession stand. What would tourists make of these people?

Pete (Mr. Marcia) wrote:I said, "good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good anytime of day it might be" but the check out women at Starfish still looked at me like, "go away, I hate you."

I know exactly what you mean Pete. We've been to Starfish at least 20 times and the people there are consistently the most rude we find on STJ. We do our best to kill them with kindness and if it doesn't work then we just laugh about it later

Someone mentioned nice Jamaicans. At the resorts, they are wonderful, big smiles, it is all a show...but on the way to the Sandals, I remember more than one Jamaican flipping off our bus.

People are people... They are either happy or not.

I can say that Starfish has one extremely pleasant (tall) gentleman working the fish/meat counter and I've encountered this on several occasions. He couldn't be nicer and has always been right there with quick service. I can't comment on the clerks, as I've never really noticed either way. I can't say I've ever been treated rudely, except for this one waitress at The Balcony, an older lady actually, who was something very less than pleasant. I guess I think most people I've encountered in STJ have been friendly. (And to echo some others, the people in Aruba are genuine and extremely friendly, even when there's not a buck to be made.) I can also add that as a real estate legal assistant I've about had it with having to work with so many rude and unprofessional people. Those big bonuses must not be trickling down to the employees in the closing departments at those big lending institutions that's for sure. I guess it doesn't matter where we live, we are surrounded by the very pleasant as well as the very rude. Imagine all the wasted energy being spent on all that rudeness (their loss). Ali~

Ali...I love that guy!!! Always friendly! I get to see him in 25 days!!! Yippee!!!

Wow, I have not had any rudness from anyone on island.
Then again like Captn John said, I always say
good morning, good afternoon or good night.

The only thing I have ever seen that seemed rude was the ferry workers and throwing off people luggage instead of placing it.
They did yell at my friend when she took her bag off herself.

I'll go ahead and throw in my limited experience from our first trip.

1. The greeting custom definitely helps break the ice, but more importantly I think is your willingness to not force or rush into whatever business you might have with the "local" person. Unless they are in an absolute hurry (and I don't think we met any of those!) it was the art of simple conversation and your willingness to chat or talk about anything other than "I need you to do this for me". You'll get your business accomplished at the market, restaurant, gas station...all in good time. I found it extrememly refreshing.

2. Many have mentioned Starfish, but I found them to be pleasant and prompt without acting like they were ready to usher you back to your jeep. We shopped there a couple of times during our visit and had no issues.


3. Totally off subject except for the fact that it's an island...I found some of the most friendly locals of anwhere I've been to be in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I honestly don't think those folks have ever met a stranger.

djmom wrote:Someone mentioned nice Jamaicans. At the resorts, they are wonderful, big smiles, it is all a show...but on the way to the Sandals, I remember more than one Jamaican flipping off our bus.

People are people... They are either happy or not.

I mentioned how friendly the locals were in Jamaica and just wanted to clarify that we stayed at a local property in Negril, not an all inclusive resort. I personally just don't like the fenced off AI resorts. I figured if I didn't want to interact with the locals and see the real terrain, I'd just go to florida. I will say the AI's sadly actually encourage the attitude that they are safe but outside the gates is not. They do this to get you to spend all your money on their stuff and their excursions I suspect.

The folks at our tiny resort and those around Negril were very warm. And no, not just those offering us "smoke"!

We've never met a grumpy person at Starfish, either. We've only encountered one rude person on St. John and will avoid that person, now that we know.
I don't think it's fair to assume that anyone who receives poor service was unfriendly or ignoring the social mores of St. John. There are good and bad mannered people everywhere. I've seen no preponderance of either, at home or on St. John.

Like Big Cheeze mentioned, I completely file suit with being as patient as humanly possible regardless of my being on vaca or in the checkout line.When I run out of patience, I dig deeper for more, and 99.999% of the time I have more than enough. I actually have "Island Time" airbrushed on my grill bug deflector of my truck, fit with palm trees & a Hawksbill turtle.
Anyway,I've witnessed plenty of rude people on STJ, locals & tourists alike,but I don't let their attitudes change the way I personally conduct myself.
If anyone remembers my TR from last November, I actually had bigger issues with my travel companions than any locals that I've met on island. It was mortifying and frustrating.
I thought that they were more than inappropriate, and gave locals plenty of reasons to dislike tourists while we quite literally (as someone else said-) visit their home.
I hope I'm not contradicting myself here. I'm sure someone understands what I'm trying to say !
There are rude people everywhere, but it doesn't stop me from practicing kindness and patience. It's like a Zen that I learned how to nurture from STJ, and I carry it with me as much as I can. I dig it. Now if anyone can get My Sweet Amy from being irritated with me driving so slow, I'd truly appreciate it!
Good morning,Big Cheeze!
Love ya', Connie! Almost there!
Smiles-
MJ