Encourage service with a smile
I agree with the sentiments expressed by Gareth D. R. Jones in his letter headlined, 'Surly Kai Tak staff should be more polite' (South China Morning Post, November 24).
However, criticisms must include suggestions for making improvements.
It is a thankless task sitting in a cubicle and facing hundreds of people every day checking their documents etc. I am one of the many who groan when I have to go through the process every time I go in and out of Hong Kong.
Immigration rules should state that the officer should take care of the person with the problem and ask that they use another counter the next time.
There are three lines when leaving Hong Kong - non-Hong Kong residents, Hong Kong residents and permanent residents. Usually, the permanent residents line is empty, in which case, this person could be proactive and ask some of the people in the Hong Kong residents line to move over so the process can be sped up. The same could be done for incoming passengers.
I also suggest that passengers be given a form to fill in, which asks a few questions like: How long did you have to wait in line? Was your immigration officer very helpful, courteous, okay, discourteous, rude or unhelpful? What about using scanners for Hong Kong residents who carry passports? If the scan is okay, then forego the stamp in the passport, if there is a stamp saying right of entry for a passenger who has a stamp allowing him or her to stay for the duration of his/her passport's validity.
Does the Immigration Department have scanners for international passports? With all of these suggestions, hopefully many of these technological items will be available at the new airport at Chek Lap Kok, but courtesy could start right now, by introducing these simple questionnaires. The next step is to award individual immigration officials who do give exceptional service.
Are the booths numbered, or do they have names showing who the person is? Immigration officials are people, not machines, and when the Immigration Department personalises each officer, it would add a human touch to what is a mechanical job.
Why don't the Hong Kong Tourist Association and the Immigration Department get together to discuss campaigns which will help visitors coming to Hong Kong? McDonald's restaurants produce training videos for the people who face the public to take their orders. These are basic human behaviour tapes, showing examples of order taking, teaching personnel how to deal with difficult customers and how to perform proper customer service duties.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we on occasion heard a 'thank you and welcome to Hong Kong' from the immigration officials? GERHARD KUTT Causeway Bay
