Last Wednesday we were eating in a small bistro, around the corner of the living complex, when the sky started to cloud over. The whole day it was hot and humid, about 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), and just when we wanted to leave for home it started to rain. After talking a bit back and forth about whether we should go home or wait out the rain in the bistro, one of the waiters comes over to us with two umbrellas. I thought by myself: “ wow what a confidence in us”, but no, the guy offers us an umbrella and takes one himself and walks us home. Afterwards he walks back with the two umbrellas. He can’t miss the umbrellas but is willing to bring us home dry. He didn’t want to accept a tip and it couldn’t have been the amount of money we spent on food. The two of us spent, including half a liter of beer, about the equivalent of 1.50 Euro (about $2). Talking about service! The catering establishment in Holland could learn from this. 

In another situation, it comes down to the same thing, my wife asks, in the morning, information about the telephone connection in our apartment. An appointment is being made for that afternoon. A sales representative comes by who gives all the information and brings with him, and shows, all the telephone models available. Before he enters the room, he puts covers over his shoes. After explaining everything for about half an hour he leaves his card and a folder. This is service we don’t experience anymore. If I need something for my telephone connection or the telephone itself in Holland, I would have to go the store in the middle of town, where I can’t get to with my car, and wait there for at least an hour.

About those shoes, normally every Chinese, when entering a house, will take of his shoes in exchange for a pair of slippers. Although young people nowadays, with their baseball shoes, will often keep their shoes on. Everybody has at the front door, which - following the American system - leads to the living room, a shoe rack with slippers in all sizes and shapes. But this is of course not handy for a representative who is only in your house a short while. So the guy has plastic covers with him, the kind that is being used in our hospitals. 

Another example:

We’re in a big department store buying crockery. The composition of a place setting in China is a bit different than what we are used to because of the different way people eat here. You can buy complete sets but then it’s just a bit different from what you need. That is why you can buy all parts loose. So we start collecting. Four saucers here, 8 bowls there, a soup bowl, small cups, serving plates etc. Take note, this is taking us at least 20 minutes because each bowl and plate is being inspected very closely for inconsistencies. Which by the way is a very normal thing to do here. One bowl passes the test, another one fails. Finally we have collected everything we need and corresponding boxes are being located. Everything is being packed very carefully by a sales person who is helping us constantly. When, finally, everything is packed, Jinghua decides she’d rather have a different pattern and the whole ceremony starts all over again. The sales lady keeps on smiling and even offers attentively to take another plate or bowl. When we finally leave after about an hour, she is happy that she has made us satisfied. I haven’t encountered these types of sales people in Holland in the last 30 years. 

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