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Customs of the past forgotten

Like travelers on the highway looking for free air at service stations, railroad travelers pass daily into Grand Central Station, in New York City, looking for a free fountain of ice-cold water.

Neither one is easily found-today.

Yes, the local garage offers free air to its customers, and yes, the Grand Hyatt Hotel will offer you a free bottle of water when asked.

These reasons ensure good customer relations on one hand and welcome visitors to New York City on the other.

This reminds me of when I was at the Oyster Bar Saloon at Grand Central Station earlier this month and I asked Robert, the bartender, and André, the maître d’hôtel, for a house account.

In the good old days of billing the guest, the house account was offered – long before credit cards – and it carried over when businesses did not want to pay a merchant fee on credit card usage and rather allowed their special customers the privilege of a house account. The key was that the restaurant would bill their good customers monthly. Others paid with cash.

Their reaction: They both chuckled at the idea – and wished me well.

Times change, but the loss of free water for personal consumption – dryness, a moment of instability or just being plain thirsty – and free air for one’s tires seems odd today even with our respect for tourism and carrying for our neighbors/visitors.

The no house account with an Oyster imprint in a major traffic port seems odd, but one of them asked if I had a platinum card. Even in small town America convenience stores have replaced repair stations…and in today’s economy, cash and credit cards have replaced the promise to pay.

However, the interaction of the bartender and the maitre d’hotel brought forth a smile and for a moment, the thought of yesterday.

In the city, there is still a friendly, helping hand – but limited free water. Thanks for the memory, New York!

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Posted by on June 13, 2013. Filed under Editorials,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
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