Pakistan, Russia top list of ‘non-smiling’ nations

  Associated Press of Pakistan

Pakistan, Croatia and Russia have topped a list of countries where people sitting behind shop and office counters have a surly attitude and find it difficult to smile. Quoting a poll conducted by Nextep agency, Moscow News reported that only 34 percent of shop owners and officials in Croatia and Pakistan smile at people, while Russia came second with 65 percent. According to the poll, Russia has many stereotypes of the surly people behind the counter, who scowl at potential customers. The agency asked shoppers to look for hints of happiness as they bought their daily bread in shops across 14 countries, the report said. The people found a third of Russian and Pakistani staff were “stony-faced”, with 65 percent people scoring on the ‘smile-o-meter’. Tourism offices and guesthouses’ staff were among the least welcoming. The apparent misery behind such attitude of the people is a reflection of working conditions, particularly in the hard-pressed tourism sector and general stores, the report said. app