Glaswegians To Get Mickey Mouse Lessons, Charm school for Commonwealth Games Options

[GG]

Up to 10,000 Glaswegians are to be sent to charm school in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The move comes after Edinburgh-based quango bosses decided that the famous Glaswegian welcoming spirit was not good enough for receiving visitors to the city during the 2014 Games.

Glaswegians attending the one-day training event will – according to city bosses – be taught how to speak properly, be instructed how to stand in the right position when providing service, and become skilled in techniques to maintain eye contact while talking.

The 'Glasgow Welcomes' class, a joint project between VisitScotland and city tourism chiefs, is based on the principles created by the Walt Disney Company, including treating customers and tourists in a manner more associated with showbusiness.

Among other techniques trainees will learn over the next two years, is how to accept compliments gracefully, how to remember people's names, and how to offer tips about local tourist hotspots.

The £25 course will also include a quiz about Glasgow, requirements that attendees make personal pledges on how they can improve their future behaviour, and all staff will be told to use the American-style cheery "enjoy the rest of your day" sign-off.

The head of people development at Cordia said of the propgramme:

"It's about putting the customer first, listening to what they're saying and giving information that will help them."

However, not everyone is quite so impressed! Glasgow-based comedian Greg Hemphill, one half of TV duo Chewin' The Fat, said:

"I'm sure their initiative is well intentioned but I do think Glaswegians have a natural charm and if you polish off those edges too much you’re left with somebody from Edinburgh."

Glasgow comedian Janey Godley said:

"I was in the service industry for 15 years in a bar and I knew how to talk to people. Glaswegians are basically very chatty, straight-up people. We don’t need to be taught how to shake hands and make eye contact."

GG.

[droschke7]

Personally i think it's a damned cheek to tar all Glaswegians with the same brush, there are so many different accents in Glasgow, some less understandable than others, but most people in the "Service Industry" speak a perfectly understandable English while at work(some using their telephone voice/ accent). I notice that the idea came from Edinburgh. Typical of the old animosity, last time I was in Edinburgh I had problems understanding them, and I'm ex forces I've traveled all over and hardly have a Glasgow accent at all.

[**Peter Harte**]

I have been in canada coming up for fifty years I haven`t lost my accent and anytime I speak to strangers they always say I love your accent.

I still I still call myself a Govanite born and bred so we dont need any schooling to posh us up :d

[**Old Sailor**]

This has nothing to do with accent! Accents are tolerable in all countries when the provider's usage of language goes beyond two syllables and the conjugation of the verb is placed properly. The language that is predominant in the typical Glaswegian is a guttural comedic drone and is not pleasant to listeners.

[**jazzsaxman**]

Typical political bullshit. Next they will be telling us we are ruled by pompous twit in London

[**jazzsaxman**]

I also think that people in general could do with a bit of guidance on how to speak to and interact with their fellow human beings. People these days are just to busy with their own lives to have a care for anyone else. Some people can't even say thank you when you hold the door open for them. What happened to the milk of human kindness?

[weenorman]

complete and utter rubbish ,as stated before political trype , after the union of parliaments in 1707 the slow dismantling of all things scottish including language and dialects was played down and completely destroyed . in school we where told to speak properly and given the belt for speaking in our own broad scots tung ,there is legal documents written in broad scots in the glasgow history archives before. as far as im concerened broad scots is the langauge of glasgow

[eidas]

I'm thoroughly enjoying the majority of the comments on this subject. I've been gone from Scotland for 41 years and was considering my next trip back there to be during the Commonwealth games, but if I have to listen to some Americanised voice tell me to 'enjoy the rest of my day', I'm thinking I might go to America where I'm more likely to find a Glaswegian voice tell me 'huv a guid time while yer here hen'. As for a correct stance and eye contact, I learned these from my mammy in the 50's!

[droschke7]

This has nothing to do with accent! Accents are tolerable in all countries when the provider's usage of language goes beyond two syllables and the conjugation of the verb is placed properly. The language that is predominant in the typical Glaswegian is a guttural comedic drone and is not pleasant to listeners.

I beg to differ the Glaswegians you are describing are a very small minority who weren't brought up but dragged up by the scruffs of their necks.

[Agnes McManus]

I wonder how many people from Edinburhgh are going on this course. I come from Glasgow but when in Edinburgh I find I really have to listen, and sometimes have to ask the locals to repeat what they have said. I think they speak faster than us.

[*Guest*]

How cin thae visitors no' speak the Jelly Bean's Inglische, like wot we do

Nothing like a friendly Galswegian oan a call centre: "Whit dae ye'se waant?

[LizzieLou]

Lessons are a piece of nonsense, waste of time and badly needed resources should be used for other things. Our Scottish culture and accent are unique, people come from near and far to experience our hospitality. We don't need it to be eroded away by any "Good Ideas" from the overpaid hierarchy in Edinburgh or anywhare else!

[chas1937]

All I can add is that there are lot of Glaswegians who come on TV being interviewed and I cringe whenI hear them open their mouth.99.99% are fine but just that few that are a disgrace the way they speak and no I'm not a high falluting snob but just an ordinary guy of 75 who was born and bred here.I worked in yards,cleansing and also photograher so have always been in contact with all class of people.The ones that annoy me most are those with balls in their mouths and not a penny in their pockets

[Doug1]

complete and utter rubbish ,as stated before political trype , after the union of parliaments in 1707 the slow dismantling of all things scottish including language and dialects was played down and completely destroyed . in school we where told to speak properly and given the belt for speaking in our own broad scots tung ,there is legal documents written in broad scots in the glasgow history archives before. as far as im concerened broad scots is the langauge of glasgow

I'm not to sure what kind of school you went to to be belted for not speaking properly. I was brought up in Govan and spoke with a pretty normal glasgow accent but some of my classmates did speak with a stronger accent than me but i never heard of anyone being belted for that. However some english (english subject) teachers were quite strict about pupils being able to converse competently and clearly. You also say that broad scots is the language of glasgow. I would completely disagree with that. Glasgow is a melting pot of various accents ranging from the traditional heid, hame, and oot the noo variety up to very refined accents. I'm also not to sure about your premise about everything being dismantled after 1707. I seem to recall from my schooldays that this period of our history was one of great exploration and learning

PS welcome to GG
___________________

[JAGZ1876]

Just another easy money making scheme, they did a similar course for taxi drivers some years back, £45 for a day course in dealing with the public, a part of our job that most of us had mastered decades before.

Mickey mouse lessons.........Glaswegians should tell them to go and take a good Donald Duck to themselves.