‘Good afternoon’ preferred

Press, 24 May 1984, Page 8

‘Good afternoon’ preferred

Good afternoon, kia ora, or konnichi wa? Christchurch people seem to prefer the first greeting when answered by toll operators, if calls to the city’s exchange yesterday are anything to go by. The operators are generally in favour of the standard greeting also, according to the exchange’s manager,

Mr Rex Kennedy. Just how toll operators should greet inquiries has created national interest since the Post Office this week ordered an Auckland toll operator. Mrs Nadia Povey, not to answer calls with “Kia ora.”

Some Christchurch people have commented to toll operators that if “Kia ora”

was allowed, so should greetings from other languages. Greetings in Japanese might just be as appropriate as the Maori greeting, considering the number of Japanese tourists that visit the city.

“That is probably being a bit too ridiculous but it is some of the reaction we have been getting,” Mr Kennedy said. The use of the Maori greeting could also cause a further problem for toll operators and create confusion for the caller, he said.

Operators could find themselves having to explain the meaning of the expression, a time-consum-ing task, or find themselves caught in a conversation if the inquiry was from a Maori.

“While it would be nice to use it, it would create problems for the operators and the users,” he said. “Most (operators) would much rather prefer to get on with ‘good afternoon, morning, or evening’, and avoid being involved with a customer-operator hassle.”