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''SERVICE''
WITH ASNEER
(Contin11ed from page 7)
eral public bathe every day, and
maintain dean, inviting taxicabs, in–
stead of the incredibly filthy interiors
that are becorning comrnonplace?
1 think not. After all, the passenger
is expected to pay - and, in the case of
New York, about double what he is
used to paying. Presumably, that hike in
cab cates was predicated solely upon the
assumption that cab drivers were under–
paid for their present performance, and
did not represent to the public that it
was now able to expect better service,
cleaner cabs, or more pleasant drivers.
Service With a Smile -
"Old-Fashioned"
lt
wasn't always this way. Back in the
1930's, for instance, a service job -
ANY
job for that matter - was a pre–
cious treasure to cling to. In
The Invis–
ible Scar,
a study of the Great
Depression, Caroline Bird described the
services of the 1930's:
"Shopping was a pleasure ... The
salespeople knew the stock and enjoyed
showing it. . . Barbees carne to the
house
if
desired ... Mail and milk were
delivered along with the newspaper in
time for breakfast ... Elevators were run
by operators who said 'Good Mornin¿,,'
reported the weather, and took in mes–
sages and parcels." What a contrast!
Of course, not very many people were
able to afford such services during the
Depression, but today even the
rich
can't buy a smile from an elevator oper–
ator, store clerk, taxi driver, hotel clerk,
or telephone operator. Huge tips merely
buy the mínimum of service.
A vice president of A.T.&T. echoed
the words of Caroline Bird. Thirty years
ago, he said, a young girl "with high–
school diploma clutched in her hand
carne to us eager to conforrn to our stan–
dards of servicc. But today it's differ–
ent," he explained. "At the first sign of
pressure from a superior, or a customer
fireback, they quit." He said they don't
subscribe any longer to the rnotto
The
PLAIN TRUTH
"the customer is always right ."
Even the connotation of "service" has
dramatically changed. In the early
1900's, wben production-line factory
employees outnumbered servants two-to–
one, it was deemed an honor to serve.
Today tbe ratios are reversed, and the
very term "service" is considered "old–
fashioned" to many.
But l'll take the "old-fashioned" or
"quaint" attitude of service any day.
Regrettably, though, there is no choice
available.
Take smoking.
Smoking, Skunk Oil , and
Other Sensual H abits
One time in Texarkana, a group of us
wanted to be taken downtown from the
airport.
It
was one of those cooler days,
when a "Norther" has chilled the East
Texas area, making it entirely out of the
question to ride with all the cab win–
dows rolled clown.
As
the cab pulled to a stop, I noticed
the driver pull one of the new, "silly
millimeter longer'' types out of his shirt
pocket pack, and snap his lighter.
I walked around to his side.
"l'm sorry, but my wife and I both
are nauseated by cigarette smoke -
could you please refrain frorn smoking
for this one trip ?"
There was no answer. He was struck
dumb.
It
6nally dawned on him that I
was serious. He did a slow buen, care–
fully twisted the ember off the freshly
lit extra-long cigarette, and placed it
behind his ear.
We rode into town in silence.
I
understood, though. For paying
passengers to interfere with the sensual
habits of cab drivers is just too much.
How thankful we can all be that most
cab drivers don't openly smoke hashish
-
oc
tbe spectácle of businessmen with
briefcases reeling out of closed cabs
with half-sick expressions, and then at–
ternpting to climb the nearest lamp post
would be commonplace.
Personal gratification of lustful, sen–
sual habits always takes precedence over
everything else. You would think
people would understand, then, if I
were to haul out of rny pocket a vial of
animal scent, heavily laced with skunk
oil, and inhale it with gt1sto. J've
threatened to
try
it, just as a test
August 1971
case of human nature
in
action.
Can you imagine the scene?
What if you were seated in a
crowded airplane, alongside severa!
people who were smoking, and you, the
gagging non-srnoker, pulled out a vial
of skunk oil, and took a deep whiff.
As the terribly penetrating stink
reached their noses, they would no
doubt quickly register expressions of
amazement, disbelief, anger, and nausea
in that order.
They would, I am sure, demand that
the vial be dosed up and put away, and
then begin making various and sundry
remarks about the utter crassness of any–
one who would dare stink up someone
else's environment by indulging in such
an incredibly obnoxious babit.
The reply could be a beautiful
squelch: "Look, man, you've got your
habit, J've got mine!"
Two IGnds of Air Pollution
I have attended many scientific meet–
ings on ecology and changing environ–
rnent. Jt was witb amazement that 1 sat,
nearly gagging, in a densely smoke–
filled, tightly packed room during the
"Governor's Conference on California's
Changing Environment" at the Ambas–
sador Hotel in Los Angeles.
1 was there to obtain information for
the radio and television progcams.
The conference room was labelled
"Air." Simultaneously, there were rneet–
ings on "Water" and other areas of
concern.
The sign didn't mean anything.
There we were, along with Governor
Ronald Reagan, listening to serious dis–
cussions on the terrible smog problems
of Los Angeles, and every other Califor–
nia city - and the majority of the
concerned people in the room were
dragging douds of total pollution into
their lungs with feverisb intensity. They
were decrying the factories, the automo–
biles, the forest fires and blowing dust
that were contributing to the growing
problem of air pollution in California.
It seemed somebow ironic.
And then there was the trip from the
Americana hotel in Manhattan to the
old Madison Square Garden for sorne
finals in the oational collegiate basket–
ball tournament.
It was snowing.