LettersService with a smile in China, what a change from surly Hong Kong

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Mainland tourists go out shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui on Labour Day, at the start of the four-day mini-Golden Week holiday in May. But service standards are likely to be much better back home. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 1:00pm, 27 May 2019Updated: 1:00pm, 27 May 2019

A recent trip to Beijing was a delightful experience, largely because of the attentive and amiable service received all around, at businesses including restaurants and retail stores. The pleasant visit offered a stark contrast to the deteriorating customer service in our city (“Grumpy taxi drivers and poor service top gripes from Hong Kong tourists”, May 15).

Our week-long stay included mesmerising visits to the well-preserved historical relics and time-tested culture that have shaped and continue to define the capital city. But more than that, the warm service standards – from the wait staff at restaurants, to the shop assistants in department stores and even the taxi drivers – made me feel welcomed and pampered.

Take shopping. As soon as we entered the stores, the sales assistants welcomed us with hearty smiles and queries as to what we were looking for. If I were to check out a dress, a sales assistant would come over, introduce the material and cut, and suggest what to pair it with. They even encouraged me to try on things, even when I was unsure about buying. I was worried that this might annoy them but my concern proved unfounded. Even though I did not buy anything and left a pile of garments for the staff to sort out, they still sent me off with smiles, and a lot of guilt. I would not deny that the shop assistants’ attitude must have been part of sales tactics, but we, as customers, did feel good about the experience.

Taxi drivers with their rich Beijing accents would strike up casual conversations, and masseuses practising traditional Chinese medicine would talk us through the process to make it feel less painful, all the while offering a lot of wellness tips.

This feel-at-home experience is hard to come by in Hong Kong, but it did not always used to be this way.

Staff in the retail or catering businesses appear to have lost the enthusiasm that is crucial in the service industry. Moreover, their attitudes to Hong Kong locals and to the mainland people are distinguishable. And you have every chance of seeing a sullen face if you were to try on many garments but buy nothing in the end.