Sandra said: “These recorded messages tend to be in an English accent.  I have nothing against that of course but we have our own way of meeting and greeting and why shouldn’t we be proud of that?  That’s why the “Glasgow’s miles better” campaign was so successful – it was directly relevant to who we are and was embraced by Glaswegians for being so.

Whilst it is a bit of fun, there is also a serious business side to it.  Survey after survey tells us that the Scottish accent along with that of the North east of England have the most trustworthy voices.  That is why call centres are always keen to employ people from these areas.  Our accent is an asset and we should be using it.

I agree with the manager of the Carmelite Hotel who says that “the traditional English-sounding pre recorded lift voice seemed a wee bit out of place”  There are plenty of agencies and establishments in Glasgow who should be on to this and I call on them all to do what they can to push this forward.  Why not do as the Carmelite did and launch a competition to see what tone should be used, or whose voice should be heard?  My personal choice would be Elaine C Smith.  I would stop short of “This is pure dead floor four” but we can have plenty of fun with this.

Glasgow is rightly seen as one of the friendliest cities in the world and we should be welcoming people in our own style”