As we enter a new era of US imperialism, it is to be expected that we will have to embrace some annoying aspects of American life. Some are already here, of course, including the newfangled habit of aggressive tipping (for some bizarre reason, the Chiltern Fire House now asks you to tip your waitress twice); the hospitality industry’s inversion of service (“I can do that for you,” they say, as though they’re doing you a massive favour); and the worst of the lot, the scheduled phone call.
This, I would like to suggest, is the most egregious hangover from Covid, an irritating and completely irrational orthodoxy that was initiated by the necessity of Zoom calls during lockdown, but which has now become as natural as a bodily function.
