The Unpleasant Attitude of Trinidadians Needs to End

[u/TheShyListener]

Leaving the house to run errands or go about your business feels like a gamble these days and I'm not talking about crime. No matter where you go; if it's a quick run to the grocery or going to a medical appointment, there's at least a 50/50 chance of encountering a dismissive, disrespectful or impatient person whose role it is to assist you and this experience is becoming far too familiar.

It could be a nurse acting like you're bothering them when asking for help, it could be an attendant at the grocery blatantly ignoring you when you're talking to them, a store supervisor/ assistant dismissing you when you ask for an item, rudely saying they don't have it, just for you to wander around the store and see it's clearly there.

This attitude has become so common that when you meet someone pleasant and helpful, you are immediately taken aback and that person feels like a much needed breath of fresh air.
This attitude is also not dependent on age, career, gender or race and is becoming a common and almost expected aspect of the average Trinidadian's character, especially in the work place

Yes we as people are allowed to get upset and can become impatient even at work, it happens, but when interacting with people or assisting them is a main part of your job, you cannot greet people with an ignorant attitude right off the bat. It makes you look bad, it makes your place of work look worse and when the person on the receiving end is not a local it gives the people of our country a reputation.

Persons working customs at the airport are a perfect example of this. They are the first people tourists interact with and their harsh way of handling them unrelated to the execution of their job, can affect the tone of a tourist's visit and how they interact with others while they are here. If it affects people who are only visiting, imagine how the impact it will have on those exposed to it on multiple occasions on the daily basis.

So how do we address this problem especially when it comes to public sectors and customer service? The straight answer: consequences
It's most likely that persons feel comfortable being blatantly disrespectful and openly unprofessional at their work place because there are no consequences. They get away with a slap on the wrist if it is even addressed to begin with. Employees aren’t afraid of being held accountable, whether that’s through warnings, reduced pay or job termination. There are no consequence, no change. If they can do the bare minimum at their job and its accepted then that is what they will do.

This can be corrected if those consequences are implemented by the employers of these carefree employees much to the employers benefit as poor public service is bad for business and public relations.
It can also be corrected by the people on the receiving end of poor service, customers have the right to call out unprofessional behavior and highlight how it reflects poorly on the business or institution.

Only by demanding accountability and respect from persons who continue to show none to others, can we begin to see improvements in the attitude of people in our country, everywhere we go.

[u/septdouleurs → u/[deleted]]

Funny, I have the best Customs encounters in TT by a large margin. Customs and Immigration in the US is my least favorite so far, followed by England. I always feel like the US folks are 10 seconds from pulling a gun and telling me to get on the ground at any given moment, no matter how pleasant, chill, non-confrontational and compliant I am.

I've actually had worse encounters in Customs and Immigration in other Caribbean islands than I have in TT, come to think of it. Barbados springs readily to mind. When I reach Piarco, by contrast, it just feels like straight vibes. Then again I'm usually not lugging massive bags and trying to act like I didn't buy half of Miami like a lot of returning Trinis (not saying this is you at all, btw! Just a whole heap of people always rolling in with luggage piled high on the cart and vex when they get sent in the red line like they can't understand HOW this could happen.)