Are there more rude people in Taipei these days or is it just me?

I’ve never noticed that in Taiwan. I get it a lot in the Philippines. It takes one of two forms: (1) a mouthbreathing guy or girl who follows you around saying ‘socks sir’ or ‘grenades sir’ depending on what you’re looking at or (2) a helpful chap or chapess who asks what you’re looking for, and on being told that one needs a dozen M3 bolts and locknuts, comes back with a can of engine oil and a hammer.

It’s entertaining the first or second time, but I’m just so grateful neither one happens here, ever.

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You’ve go to be joking about this. When Taiwanese follow you around the store, it is because they think you as a non-Taiwanese will steal something. I still get this after living here for years, more so outside Taipei. You know, the kind of behavior where the clerk follows you and pretends to adjust inventory on the shelf.

I can have some fun with this by picking something off the shelf, going to pay and when the clerk goes to the cash register, I change my mind and go put it back on the shelf and start looking for something else. Sometimes they will follow me back doing the same inventory adjusting behavior, sometimes not. It’s more fun when they follow you back as you can do it again.

I doubt it’s because you’re a foreigner, specifically. You don’t have a spiderweb tattoo on your face, do you?

…or they get commission for helping you or making a sale

You’d have to be pretty dumb to try to steal something from any store nowadays with CCTVs everywhere. Remember this thread…

I actually believe that Realtraveller is most likely a native Mandarin speaker - from China - and saying the kinds of things that outsiders have been known to say about their experiences in Chinese cities. Seriously. No joke. It would explain a few things to me, such as the way he uses ‘white’ and the use of language in the post.

White

You’re misattributing, sister @ironlady said that, not moi.

sorry organisational skills are off

Hey, man…gotta have that “wild flavor.”

So glad MaPoDoFu was never one of my fav dishes.

Safe.

Are you really so offended at the idea of white people mentioning that they’re white?

No offense, but have you met Taiwanese people? They’re not exactly shy about race.

You realise they do this to Taiwanese people as well, right?

I read through this once and couldn’t understand this lols

OP aside, can any long-termers say if Taipei has become unfriendlier over the past 10+ years or not?

i arrived only 6 years ago —
so just my 2 cents—
Taipei or any other big capital are becoming not unfriendly but just — don’t know how to say ----
maybe less talkative
there are less and less eye contact
it is getting kind of more cold
and one of the major reason is people being stuck to the screen of their phone —
that is killing human society as we used to know it —
but for the young blood — it is totally normal as it is the only thing they know—
for the youth, meeting someone in the street is awkward — but online is normal

hope you get my point with my broken english
:bowing:

Yeah, I mean I’ve been here 5 years, so I can’t say if it’s changed much in Taipei. I don’t feel like it has, though when I first got here random middle-aged people would wave and say “Hello” but that ended after only a few months, so it’s not like it lasted for years.

Not sure if these are serious questions and if I should answer them sarcastically or not.

i guess society in general are getting more shy, more conservative, more closed —
every one has his group—private circle —
maybe it is the competitive scene or just evolution of man–
but still think that all those smartphone are not helping in getting the atmosphere warmer
:bowing:

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Yes people have got significantly more withdrawn and afraid or unused to interaction with strangers, especially of speaking with strangers. Even the taxi drivers are significantly less chatty. They used to always ask me about my views of this or that…very rare now although I speak much better Chinese. We are talking around 15 years ago. About 10 years ago society started getting a little less ‘farmery’ and by 5 years ago smartphones just clobbered the old chattiness. I find my home country still has a lot better conversational skills amongst the general public.
Also in my home country people started doing hugs and embracing whereas in Taiwan interaction between friends and family is still quite stiff.

My wife gets a bit more random interactions mostly from older ladies who like to share their past child raising experiences or they are simply more open to chatting with strangers perhaps.

People would even talk to each other a little bit on the MRT, that doesn’t really happen now. Too hurried and crowded is one problem.

Mainly it’s the smartphone and people connecting through social media instead of through random or real-life interactions. I don’t think young people or people In general really approach each other in coffeeshops or bars as much as before. I honestly think it used to be a lot better even with the irritation of ‘halloos’ and the ppl who just wanted to practice English.

I mean Taiwan culture has always been about in groups and out groups but the in group phenomenon through introductions has probably got worse due to social media and then people lose the skill and confidence in talking with strangers. The worst bit is I am probably suffering from this as well.

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There’re 23 million people packing this tiny island.
1% insensitive, rude, badly-behaved assholes will still be up to 230 thousand people.
So, not surprising if you meet those 1% people.

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