Cincinnati Customs

Cincinnati Customs

Growing up in Chicago, my mother (from Cincinnati) always told me it wasn't polite to say "What?" when you didn't catch what someone was saying. Instead, it was polite to say "Pardon me", "Sorry?" or "Please?."

Somehow, Please stuck. And To this day, my auto response is Please?

This afternoon I went to visit the HR Head at a HUGE engineering & construction firm in Mumbai. The global HQ is in the suburbs and is somewhat like a film studio. In other words, there are 6 gates, behind which large manufacturing / assembly plants coexists with corporate offices. There is even a bus service emblazoned with the corporations name ferrying employees from one gate to the next.

At the main security gate, I waited in line with the delivery men & cab drivers for a gate pass until the guard felt sorry for this pale skinned foreigner & pushed me to the front of the line. The woman behind the counter asked for my name, I handed my card to her. She replied with what I now assume was "Your name is Mr. Scott Helmes?"

Unable to hear her clearly, I responded "please?".

2 minutes later, I was handed a temporary ID card for:
Mr Scott Helmesplease