Coffee with a smile

The one thing that continues to impress me in the United States is the responsiveness and good cheer of the workers in hotels and restaurants -- in fact in most of the service industry. I have always wondered how the workers manage to deliver radiant smiles to customers, despite the fact that they are paid a pittance compared to white-collar corporate employees.
My question was partially answered when, by chance, I came across an article on the restaurant chain Pret A Manger. The brand is well known for the courteous attitude of its staff. Interestingly, the article revealed that the smiles of the waiters serving Pret's freshly baked croissants are an integral part of the company's performance criteria! The staff selection process ensures that workers are hired for qualities that contribute to customer wellbeing.
I must admit that my initial reaction to the write-up was negative. For me, whether it's happiness or sorrow the authenticity of feelings is important. Besides, the fact that workers' “happy behaviours” are monitored for measuring job performance gives a somewhat Orwellian twist to the idea of freedom of expression.
My discomfort about the faked joviality of service sector workers in the US persisted until I consciously started noticing the service culture in Dhaka during my recent visit. It appears that the concept of good customer service is not ingrained in the service industry as well as commercial establishments in Bangladesh. Let me illustrate my point by sharing an experience. Since my iPhone is restricted to American providers, I decided to buy a smart phone that I can use in Bangladesh. What should have been a straightforward exercise turned out to be an ordeal! Although I went to a dealer representing a respectable corporation, my request for transferring my phone directory to the new phone was refused because the “expert” was “out”! I braved the traffic and made a second trip but was subjected to the same frosty reception. After I threatened to make a formal complaint, the salesman gave me a hostile look and called the “expert” who arrived in 10 minutes and helped me with the applications. However, within days of using the phone I encountered problems and went back to get it fixed. I was asked to go to the service centre in some other part of town. No smiles. No “Sorry” -- not even a question about what was wrong with the phone. I dare not compare this incident with my pleasant experience of buying a phone in the Apple Store in Virginia since I will receive a lot of flak from some readers for comparing Bangladesh with the United States -- given the difference in salaries, education etc. But my question is: how much does a smile cost, and what level of education is required to be civil to a fellow human being?
The phone incident is emblematic of the overall lackadaisical attitude toward customers/clients in the country. The customer who is supposed to be king is often reduced to a mere supplicant. Try changing or returning something that you bought (even if the good was initially damaged) -- you will find yourself pleading helplessly. Your humiliation is intensified when you are subjected to suspicious glances from other customers and salesmen. As for a relaxed meal in a restaurant it can often become a test of patience. You need to wait to be served until you catch the eye of one of the “preoccupied” waiters who will try to ignore you for as long as they can and then make you feel grateful to be noticed!
I know that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the sales persons or service providers in Bangladesh. The basic instinct for helping out is inherent in most people, but the instinct needs to be honed and developed by proper training and systematic monitoring. Let me reinforce the point through a positive example. My husband and I frequently visit a coffee bar in a small hotel in Gulshan. While sipping our espressos we often notice with delight the ethos of “perfect” service in action. The hotel management has succeeded in inculcating a culture of courteousness and sense of "pride" among the staff. A casual coffee experience is thus greatly enhanced by the waiters' smiling faces associated with pleasantries like “May I help you? and “Thank you. Please come again”.
After some reflection I have come to the conclusion that there is something to be said about receiving warm smiles and encouraging words from people around you. Glum and depressing behaviour can turn us off by spreading negativity. Although driven by commercial considerations, Pret A Manger's managers do have a point about promoting the feel good factor. The private sector in Bangladesh would benefit from introducing similar hiring, training and supervision criteria.
Even if you are welcomed by artificial smiles -- a smile is a smile. And it surely can brighten your day!

The writer is a renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponent and a former employee of the World Bank. E-mail: [email protected]