A pearler of a conversation
Alright, so my Oystercard blue plastic wallet was getting a bit worn and falling apart. So much so, in fact, that once or twice the card itself had fallen out of the wallet into my pocket.
Therefore the next time I was passing through a tube station (which happened to be Temple), I went to the old guy at the window and had the following exchange with him:
Me: "Have you got any of those plastic Oystercard wallets?"
Him: "What's the magic word?"
Me: "Please?"
Him: [gets new wallet and pushes it under the glass, plus he may have said something like "That's better" but in honesty I cannot recall]
Me: "Thanks" [walks off]
I spent the remainder of the short walk to my office thinking about the exchange, and whether my opening question had been impolite. I have concluded that since I didn't actually know whether or not the guy had any wallets behind the desk, my question was a genuine 'fact-finder' and therefore didn't need to be adorned with P's or Q's. The guy probably thought I was directly asking for one (that would have been my next question) and therefore demanded politeness.
Does anyone concur or disagree with my analysis? If it is correct, I wonder what someone with (say) Asperger's Syndrome would do when asked for the magic word? Surely someone with such a strict literal interpretation of the world and language would be bemused, since they would not be able to make the link that the guy was inferring that they were asking for a wallet?!
I'll stop there.
6 comments:
I have some sympathy for your position. If one were to walk into a DIY shop to try and buy brass tacks one would not be expected to say "do you sell brass tacks please?" The English are quite obsessed by please and thank you. If you go to Italy for example it seems common practice to walk into a baker's and say "I want some bread" The bread will be handed over, cash is exchanged, and not a please or thank you is anywhere to be seen. No offence is taken or intended.
London Underground seems to have its fair share of eccentric and cantankerous employees. The work is extremely menial, but because of the high wages and good pensions it attracts people of a higher intellect and ability than you would expect. The result is you get a thinking man, who could do better things with his working life, sitting behind a counter or operating a train which, to all intents and purposes, drives itself. They are driven stir crazy by their humdrum work and outbursts like this are the outcome.
I remember visiting a Spanish family for dinner with another Brit. "Please will you pass the salt, thank you", "Can you give me the butter, please?"
After five minutes of this our host said "Joder. If you want the salt, say 'salt'".
Please and thank you are pretty pointless in a lot of conversations.
Yet.
I get miffed if someone doesn't use them with me when they want something off me.
I agree that you shouldn't have needed to say please.
However a quick "Excuse me" before asking the question would have been appropriate.
Why do people never say 'Whats the magic word please?'?
Sigh
hi, i found your blog, which is a great read, through (of all places) xperteleven.
May I please disagree with the previous comments? Haha. Actually, I don't disagree in particular in the straightforward sense, but I do wish to point out the complexity of the question (of which you may be aware). An analogous question to the one you posed would be "Hey mate, do you have a light?" In such cases, it is appropriate to ask (at least I think it is) "Do you have a light, please?" or even "Do you have the time, please?"
When you asked him the question "Do you have an Oystercard wallet?" you would not have expected him to answer "Why yes, I do" without him actually handing over said item. Your question is in fact a request for the plastic wallet. (In the same way that if you asked someone if they have a light or even the time, you wouldn't expect them to say yes, without actually fulfilling your request.)
For these reasons, I think that please is acceptable. HOWEVER, who actually asks, "Do you have a light, please?"
Interesting question, anyway!
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