Common Courtesy.........Yeah Right

[Quarks]

Singaporeans, if you go to use the ATM and the first message you see after you insert your card is "This ATM cannot dispense cash" rather than getting your card back and walking away, would it kill you to turn around and tell the dozen people behind you??? It seems in Singapore the answer is YES. Because time and time again this has happened where 6 or more people ahead of me will use the ATM and walk away, then the next social misfit does the same, so on and so forth....I guess their only way to "save face"" is by screwing someone right after you got screwed. Well done. Btw, I still turn around and tell the ones behind me...you can take me out of the civilized world but...you know the rest.

[NorrinRadd]

To be fair, I've had this happen to me about half, maybe more than half of the time here.

Some good people ('normal" people elsewhere) did tip me or the other people in queue off. Maybe half of the time is stretching it to give them the benefit of the doubt.

What concerns me is my unconscious adoption of some of this behaviour after long term exposure to it.

[sensei_]

you trying to talk sense into singaporeans regarding courtesy?

until today, they cannot even board/alight from a train without f***king it up.

[zzm9980]

This has happened to me also at least four or five times. One time, one person, tried to warn me. But their English was so terrible I had no idea what they were saying so I just walked up and figured it out myself. When I realized, they smiled at me.

[Strong Eagle]

Did it ever occur to you that they might be thinking that there is something wrong with their card, their account, and not the ATM machine itself?

[sundaymorningstaple]

If it were a POSB machine, they would know it wasn't their card as the machines screw up regularly. We used to have one that couldn't last a week near where I live.

[local lad]

Not too long ago, the machine failed to dispense cash on me. I told the customer next on line and she told me I probably do not know how to use the machine. WTF ?!?!...how clever can she get? I stood not too far away to witness her anguish as I saw her walking away grumbling a few seconds later from the machine. Served her right..

[nakatago]

Not too long ago, the machine failed to dispense cash on me. I told the customer next on line and she told me I probably do not know how to use the machine. WTF ?!?!...how clever can she get? I stood not too far away to witness her anguish as I saw her walking away grumbling a few seconds later from the machine. Served her right..

Because you're a dirty, uneducated foreigner that's why she told you you don't know how to use an ATM.

[BillyB]

The locals are getting a bit of a bashing at present - something smells fishy..........

[JR8]

Yah... couple of new 'doppels' have shown up this week and are having a pop.

[local lad]

Because you're a dirty, uneducated foreigner that's why she told you you don't know how to use an ATM.

I rest my case...

[nakatago]

Yah... couple of new 'doppels' have shown up this week and are having a pop.

Looks like someone from the TR or other forums will be giving us another shout-out.

[the lynx]

To be honest, the ATM bit is way over-exaggerated. Why the hoo-haa over telling/not-telling the person next in line if the machine is not working?

Firstly, I still would tell the person next in line, whether it would make me look stupid or not. Because I know well enough that I am fully capable of handling ATM and knowing for sure if it gets funny or not.

Secondly, had I been the person being told about the machine breakdown, my first instinct would be to thank the person for letting me know, and trying the ATM and see for myself.

So guys, give it a rest. I get it if you guys talk about rude taxi drivers and MRT/bus passengers but this is very trivial!

Note: And OP, to be objective, not all rude Singaporean-looking people are in fact Singaporeans (look at Malaysians and some PRCs). And other foreigners who are of different ethnicities can be jerks also (just to be fair).

[rickjames]

honestly I think it has more to do with them just not thinking rather than out and out rudeness. Lots of people here seem to be on weird 'automatic pilot' type of brain functioning -so they don't ever get to the thought process of informing the next person in line.

But common sense seems to be missing sometimes, or so I've noticed. Personally that is how I would have interpreted that situation- not as rudeness but as non thinking (again). (of course some people are just out and out rude though).

[BigSis]

The ATM not working has only happened to me a handful of times in 10 years and I honestly can't remember if someone in front said anything or not.

but I'd be like the Lynx and probably still try it to see if it worked for me.

Tried to top up an ez-link card today and it wouldn't do it in the ATM I used so I tried the next one in line and it worked. There wasn't a queue so there was nobody to mention it to, however, if I had, chances are the people behind me would have been using it for some other kind of transaction anyway.

People don't only use them to get cash.