Los Angeles
CHANGE MY LOCATION
Gary Stern
New York City ExaminerNative New Yorker Gary M. Stern has ghostwritten a book on Madison Square Garden, written for Investor's Business Daily, USA Weekend,the Robb Report, as well as profiled CEOs, chefs, tennis coaches and poets. He taught English in New York City’s public high schools, drove a taxi cab in college, and took acting classes at HB Acting Studio.
National Examiners
Paula Duffy
Sports Examiner
Most Recent Post
NFL ignores legal threats and suspends six players for use of Bumetanide
Sports Examiner
Most Recent Post
NFL ignores legal threats and suspends six players for use of Bumetanide
Michele Lerner
Residential Real Estate Examiner
Most Recent Post
Foreclosure crisis worsened by fine print in contracts
Residential Real Estate Examiner
Most Recent Post
Foreclosure crisis worsened by fine print in contracts
Send us your topic suggestions
Why a New York Minute Doesn't Last 60 Seconds
1 comment
by Gary Stern, New York City Examiner
When New Yorkers say “in a New York minute,” they’re also suggesting we’re going to exceed your expectations. And that’s a concept that anyone could learn something from. You matter so much to us that we’re going to take care of your needs pronto.
For example, when you enter most New York eateries and sit down to order, the waitperson immediately says, “Would you like a beverage with lunch?” The assumption is most people who dine, particularly in the steamy New York summers, are thirsty. When you reply “iced tea” or “beer,” the waiter will say “In a New York minute.” That means you’ll have the beverage lickety-split, in a moment, as fast as I can get to the beverage machine or refrigerator. Normally this takes 45 seconds, exceeding your expectations and quenching your thirst.
Not everyone loves the idea of a New York minute. Southerners, in particular, are known for taking their time and preferring something more leisurely. In many restaurants down South, particularly outside of cities and in rural areas, the patron enters the restaurant, sits down, and the desultory waitress can take 10 or 15 minutes just to bring the menu. Nothing wrong with a leisurely pace in the South, but that won’t cut it in New York.
In New York, the prevailing sentiment is time is money. New Yorkers are all about trying to accomplish as much as possible and knowing that our time on earth is short and nothing is guaranteed. Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg (the mega-billionaire who launched Bloomberg News and serves as the mayor of New York), Martha Stewart, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, exemplify the people who choose to work and mostly reside in New York. They are doers, and they don’t have the time to wait 20 minutes for the leisurely waitress to first bestow a menu on them.
Of course, the phrase New York minute can be adopted to any locale, as in, “in a San Diego, San Francisco or Miami minute.” But we in New York said it first and faster.
Subscribe
Feed
