Founder Says She Can Tell If Someone’s From The East Or West Coast Just By Watching Them Place An Order
Her methodology seems to follow the general attitudes of East and West Coasters.
Blake Wisz | Unsplash We’ve all spent plenty of time in front of a cash register waiting to place an order and observed the behavior of those in line in front of us. Some people get right to the point, while others stand there for a few minutes, reviewing the menu.
This probably seems pretty inconsequential to most of us. However, one founder believes that the way you place an order at a cash register is actually an indication of which side of the country you’re from.
The founder of a travel company said that the way someone places an order reveals whether they’re from the East or West Coast.
Dr. N’Dea, known as @bmekween on Instagram, is the founder of the company Ace & Après, which organizes and sells “black ski trips, tennis events, and apparel,” according to its Instagram account. In a reel, N’Dea said, “I can tell if you’re from the East Coast or West Coast without ever having to talk to you, and it has, like, a 95% accuracy.”
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As we all know, there are two types of people. The first group orders quickly. “It’s when you get to the front of the line to make your order and you can say exactly what you want without the cash register person asking you any questions,” she said. “Or, if you don’t know what you want, you step to the side and let the person right behind you order instead, you are from the East Coast.”
On the other hand, if someone takes a long time to order, they must be from the other side of the country. She continued, “But if you get to the front of the line, and you stand and stare at the [expletive] menu as if it hasn’t been on that wall for the last 20 [expletive] minutes, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what I want,’ you’re from the West Coast.”
This distinction has to do with the differing attitudes of the two coasts.
Think of the East Coast. The first city that came to your mind was probably New York, which is known for its fast pace and being the “city that never sleeps.” This is why East Coasters order faster. “I know because you care about time,” N’Dea said. “You care about other people’s time and you are considerate.”
Now, contrast this with the West Coast. Los Angeles and the rest of sunny California probably popped into your head. There, everyone moves at a slower pace. As N’Dea explained, “You seem to think this is a game, and you can just take your sweet old time and that everybody’s waiting on you. You’re starting a conversation, probably with the cash register person, you’re asking how their day is going.”
People who had the experience of living on both coasts confirmed that this pattern is accurate.
BuzzFeed contributor Michele Bird gathered some observations from different people who experienced “culture shock” after moving from one side of the country to the other. One anonymous person stated, “People in California were really passive-aggressive, and that was how they used humor. Now I live on the East Coast, [and] people are much more direct and just tell you how they really feel.”
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This follows the point N’Dea made. East Coasters are more direct and to the point. When they order at a cash register, they just come right out and say what they want. There’s no beating around the bush. Meanwhile, West Coasters tend not to be as straightforward. They think they deserve to take their time, and they’re not afraid to do so.
All of this may be a bit of an overgeneralization of people from the East and West Coasts, but it seems accurate to N’Dea. Still, you can’t really determine where someone is from just by watching them place one order at a cash register.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
