Pita Problem

WASHINGTON -- This city sure has some rude people. \nI know -- I'm not a great person to gauge this. I'm a nice Midwestern boy who believes that it's rude not to say hello to someone if you two are the only people walking down the sidewalk on a college campus. \nNot here -- and definitely not downtown. If you smile and say hello, people wonder what the hell is wrong with you. Who is this guy? What does he want from me? Is he a terrorist? Is he a minority? \nIn restaurants the waiters/waitresses don't even pretend that they like you or their job -- and have no qualms about offending. And I've never had anyone argue over an order with me before. This may be confusing to some -- so, please, let me provide a quick example.\nAfter waiting for a half-hour to order, I ask for a bowl of the soup that they're advertising on the sign up front. I can't get it, because they're out -- so, I order chili instead. The chili never comes, and I tell them that I ordered a bowl. Here comes the kicker:\n"No, sir. You didn't order any chili!" \nWhy would a server want to argue about an order? That's not what you do in that job. You go into apologetic mode, get the customer what they want and shut the hell up. If you have to keep your pride, do it in the back room. \nI also couldn't help but die laughing when, in a food court, I got the pleasure of watching the most annoying free-sample salesman ever. \nYou've seen them. They lurk in front of food court restaurants with little plates and toothpicks, ready to pounce indiscriminately on unsuspecting customers, showering them with every type of chopped meat imaginable. \nThe Pita Peddler of Washington, D.C. has transcended these boundaries, becoming an oppressive force of shawarma. Taking a break from museums with my fellow interns, we slipped into the Old Post Office food court and got some food. After we sat down, the real show began, when a server from the Middle Eastern restaurant returned from a cellphone break in the back room.\nThis guy faithfully grabbed two samples on toothpicks and yelled at a guy just walking to the exit, "HEY! YOU! Try this! Take this free sample." \nStunned, the innocent man declined, but our Pita Peddler pressed on, "You have to try this, best roast beef in the city!" \nIt didn't matter whether you were actually browsing for food, or on the other side of the food court, the free samples were forced on you. One girl even said she was a vegetarian, only to be told that the veggie patty falafel was, of course, the "best in the city." \nBack at home the Pita Peddler's tactic would have resulted in him being fired -- but, in Washington, D.C., these people were so stunned they bought his falafel. It seems that, in this city, success and rudeness are somewhat intertwined.