April 22, 2003
Ducks and Mynahs
Many stores in Hong Kong often place employees just outside the store front to announce the amazing deals they have going on inside.
It just occured to me today what the constant patter of their pitches sounds like:
Ducks.
They sound exactly like quacking ducks.
But wait! There's more!
I've also noticed the employees inside the shops are all starting to sound the same. When I enter the shop, invariably at least one—usually more than one, most times—will greet me in an über-cheerful manner:
Halow!
That's the way they pronounce it. And they say it very quickly, sounding ever-so-much as a mynah bird.
The instant I step out the door, I'm given a chorus of farewells:
ByeBye!
Not. Hyphenated. It's all run together as one word. Very fast, as though they'll just explode if they don't get it out soon enough. And sometimes, they'll drag out the end, in the Cantonese way:
ByeByyyyyyyyye!
Is there some secret, mandatory course that retail employees are forced to take before they are loosed on unsuspecting consumers?
Posted by BWG at April 22, 2003 05:02 PM