The Big Apple

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to New York City to visit our office location there. I try to visit our offices frequently during the year, but for various reasons had not been to New York in quite some time. Now, I know that New Yorkers have a reputation for not being the nicest people. They are usually portrayed as surly, uncaring, and rude. I wanted to take a few minutes to tell everyone that I did not find any of that to be true. In fact, I found New York City to be one of the friendliest places I have ever visited, with some of the smartest business minds, especially with regards to marketing.

What really stood out as a prime example of just how friendly they are happened to me while walking back to my hotel one night. Most streets in the city are one way, and I was walking on the sidewalk, facing traffic. About one block from my hotel, an SUV pulled over and the driver said something to me as I walked past. I did not hear her at first, so I turned around and walked to the car, asking her to repeat what she had said, and she did:

“You look like you could use a massage.”

“How did you know?” I responded. I was amazed at how friendly these three women were. And what a smart way to market yourself as a professional masseuse, driving around the city, finding someone who needs a massage, and just asking them. They gave me their card and we started to discuss some additional details. Turns out, these women do a lot more than just massages. They also sell cars, as evidenced by their asking me if I wanted to get inside for a test drive.

I have enough trouble working one job, but these women had two. Actually, they have a third, I believe it is a cleaning business. I did not see any cleaning supplies in the back, but there must have been a vacuum around because they kept talking about the use of suction in order to get the job done right. Honestly, do you know of any other city that has people as friendly as this?

Their prices seemed a little high, though, and I didn’t have anything for them to clean, nor did I need a new car. So, I had to pass on the massage as well. They seemed very nice about it, and told me that I could call them the next time I was in town, or if I just wanted to chat. Turns out they also run some kind of answering service.

I seem to have lost their card, but I am definitely looking forward to my next trip to New York City. And with people as friendly as that, it is no wonder so many people want to live there.