Taiwanese hospitality

Like I said earlier, the Taiwanese are very friendly people, sometimes TOO friendly. I frequently visit a McDonald's nearby where I lived. As soon as someone entered the building, immediately each staffmember shouted "wan ing guang lin", which means something like "welcome to my humble adobe". This is standard procedure in about every restaurant and shop. The fun part is, that it is a bit like hospitality, which has become more like a habit. The staffmembers of the 7-eleven for example are trained (or better brainwashed) in a way, that whenever the door opens (a nice music will sound), they will greet the customer in above mentioned way, without even looking up from their work. Therefore this is also mentioned to customers LEAVING the place, because that music is playing. And since they don't see if someone is entering or leaving, they just say it whenever the music sounds. This means that those well-meant and friendly words dissappear without any effect.

Same story in the Starbucks nearby. Greeting of the customer entering the store is so much of a policy, that EVERY staffmember, even the ones all the way at the back, is welcoming you into their fine establishment. Also they know the needs of their regulars. I have been a regular for a little while now here, but already after 4 or 5 times they already knew I was going to order a "Grande Cappucino". So after a while they didn't ask what I wanted to order, but comfirming what I wanted to order. Same goes for my favorite dining place.

Also department stores are excellent in providing this kind of service. The other day I went into a department store right after opening. And at the top of each escalator, believe it or not, there were 4 employees, who as soon as I reached the top, greeted me with a humble bow. And on each department there was an employee standing in front of it, doing the same thing. And this is standard procedure. Everywhere you walk, on each department, you will hear the same words. AND...if you are lucky they even trow in a bow. When you leave they will trow a friendly "bye bye".

What also is worth mentioning in the department stores is the presence of "elevator girls". In the old days (and even now in some expensive hotels) you had those famous "bell-boys", those young boys opreating the elevator. In Taiwan, these are 20+ year old girls (and an occasional boy), who in colorfull but stiff uniform, operate the elevators. They ask you while you are waiting, which floor you need to go to, and when you enter, the lady outside will tell the lady inside. The girl inside welcomes you, and presses the button for the desired floor. This is done with white velvet gloves, so no fingerprints are left on the panel. All this with a smile that would make a man's heart run faster.

As soon as the elevator hits the floor you need to be, the lady anounces which floor you are on, and everyone who wants to go out, can go out. And while you walk out, the lady friendly thanks you for your patience (“and thank you for flying Sogo Elevator Airlines” or something like that).



As you can read, they all are very service-minded, which is quite admirable. When you ask for something in a store, they will do anything for you. That is, when they understand you. If they do, and they know, or suspect, that they have what you asked for, no stone is left unturned, untill they find it. Sometimes they are searching so hard, and so long that you almost feel obligated to buy it.

Like in the Carrefour the other day. I was looking for some items, but couldn't find them. So, I stepped to one of the employees, who went searching high and low, all around, got his boss, who in his turn did the same. After turning the whole place upside down, they reluctantly admitted, that they didn’t had that article in stock (no wonder, I went with the wrong brochure into the wrong store…oops)

Still, shopping in a department store can be annoying. The sales staff is working partially on provision basis. This means in general that relaxed shopping is impossible, since there will be an employee hunting you down like a shark. He is hoping to make the deal of the century, so pointing to something, will result in the person breathing in your neck while explaining how good that product is.

For example, I wanted to buy some earplugs the other day, since it can be quite noisy where I stayed. I was served by 2 (!) employees, who told me (crossed their heart and hope to die) that those where the best earplugs they had in stock. They even threw in a second pair for good measure. All this, the earplugs AND the excellent service had cost me no more than NTD 20,- which is about USD 0,30. I was stunned by this kind of service.

However, no matter how long you live in Taiwan, you will NEVER be completely accepted by the Taiwanese. You are and always will be a “wai gwo ren”. The president of the language center I was attending classes lived there for 15 years, and still his Chinese wasn’t “understood”. And they didn’t ask him to repeat, but they asked his wife what he just had said.