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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Why Waiter/Waiteress Stand right on your head, the moment you take the chair in resturant?
I am really frustrated with this, because at least I need few minutes to see the menu and decided, if there are more people with me.. then i really need some more time..to discuss and finalize..
They are poorly trained. One of the more joyful dinners I've had in China was accidentally with a couple of complete strangers at an expat hangout. One guy was in the hospitality business, working for an American company that runs some hotels in China. His job, staff training. He said a very big hurdle to train staff for 5-star places is that the basic manners are so low, the people employed have never actually seen a properly run restaurant before so they literally start from rock bottom. That, combined with the fact there is an incredibly high staff turnover, and the owners of most restaurants suffer from the same manner problems, means there is no focus on getting staff trained. Most restaurants have a few key employees among the waiter staff, those who handle the money, they rest are just random people who've learned to recite stuff about the menu during the "fun teambuilding sessions" in front of the restaurant.
They usually do this to make you feel that you are being served properly. Sometimes they overdo it because they are afraid of losing their jobs. You'd probably don't understand this but each morning their supervisors will terrorize them about customer service. Next time just tell them to give you a few minutes and they will go away.
If I would open joint in China, my staff would have T-shirts with bilingual sign 'Hurry-up' in front.
icnif77:
There was a tread with intro song 'Roll another one, just like the other one....
http://answers.echinacities.com/question/directed-history-marijuana-meme
OP was, (I can hardly believe this!) me?
They are poorly trained. One of the more joyful dinners I've had in China was accidentally with a couple of complete strangers at an expat hangout. One guy was in the hospitality business, working for an American company that runs some hotels in China. His job, staff training. He said a very big hurdle to train staff for 5-star places is that the basic manners are so low, the people employed have never actually seen a properly run restaurant before so they literally start from rock bottom. That, combined with the fact there is an incredibly high staff turnover, and the owners of most restaurants suffer from the same manner problems, means there is no focus on getting staff trained. Most restaurants have a few key employees among the waiter staff, those who handle the money, they rest are just random people who've learned to recite stuff about the menu during the "fun teambuilding sessions" in front of the restaurant.
It could also be due to the expectations of the local customers, who want service NOW!
i have been in places here in China where it is impossible to get the attention of the waiting staff because as Scan says above, they are all temporary.
any of us who are not local have different expectations from the majority of customers.
It can be irritating, but i have seen Chinese restaurant customers in my home country get angry at staff who are behaving perfectly in my eyes
juanisaac:
Yes, you have the right reason why service people stand right by your side when you first arrive at a restaurant. People her are very impatient when it come to food.
Once a Chinese customer ripped a waiter because he served me water before him.
I've found a perfect way to deal with this. Ask them to wait 5 minutes. I'll then look through the menu in peace & when I'm ready to order I'll call the waitress over. My wife is also very understanding of my need not to be rushed when ordering food.
Chinese style...sweep in like royalty, order immediately in a very loud voice, complain in an even louder voice about this and that, wolf down food in a noisy, frenzied manner whilst ignoring partner and playing gameboy, scrutinize bill ever so closely, pay and leave without offering any thanks.
All this managed in less than 30 minutes.
Civilized style... well, you know what that is.
Scandinavian:
you forgot the bitching about not having used any of the provided napkins from the table !!!
royceH:
They don't provide napkins in any restaurants in Xinjiang. They did in Qingdao, but they sure as hell don't out here.
This applies to the expensive restaurants and the el-cheapo's alike.
If you want to use something other than the back of your hand, or your shirt, you've gotta buy a great big packet of napkins.
The price of these napkins is bugger all so...again...the question has got to be asked....... WHY???
Ya, I used to hate this too. But now, as I learn to speak more and more Chinese, I just ask them to give me a few minutes. Although if it's a place you go often and you know what you want then it's nice. Just sit down, order and then relax. As opposed to asking for a few minutes and then fighting to get the attention of the waitress.
Thanks for your answer.. How to say "Please give me 5 minutes in Pingyin" so that i can also try ..next time
DrMonkey:
"Qing gei wo wu fenz hong"
qing => like "tsing"
gei => like "gay"
wo => like the "who" part of "whore" (ldescending tone)
wu => like the "wu" part of "wunderbar" in German
fenz => hum... take "Fonzie", make it "fonz", and then "fenz"
hong => sounds like "rong"
voltasingh:
Thank You So much. Mr. ("I don't want to write Dr. Monkey here")
mike695ca:
Yeah robk is right. Dr monkey has no business monkeying around in the chinese department.
In lazy.....I normally just say "deng yi xia Wu Fen zhong" (wait 5 minutes)(Also not sure if I've typed the pinyin correctly!)
I saw some responses and here are the best course of action:
If they have already given you the menu, you can say:
Wo zai kan kan, deng yi xia. Wo jiao ni ba. (I am looking, wait a bit. I will call you.)
If they haven't given you the menu and you tell them to leave (it happens in China), then you should say this first:
Cai dan ba? (The menu?)
But even if you get the menu, most foreigners and even Chinese have no clue what it is... so you should ask simple questions like:
Shen me can you niu rou? (Which plate/meal has beef... or whatever you feel like eating).
If you already know what you want, then problem solved. Although there are some safe bets in Chinese restaurants that usually turn out pretty decent and almost all places have these plates:
- yu xiang rou si - fish flavored pork sliced
- gong bao ji ding - spicy diced chicken or King Pao Chicken
- tang cu li ji - sweet and sour pork
- yang rou chuan - chopped lamb meat on a stick
Tons of others, but this will help. And when you want to pay the bill it is - Mai dan.
Yes it can be annoying. What I find worse is being seated next to a table of locals (usually guys ) who eat so loudly, smoke (I'm a smoker but won't around food or kids, think its disgusting..) yelling & all getting pissed ( drunk ) as fast as possible. Very annoying, not a good ( re-civilised ) way to enjoy your meal !
I think it's laziness. They would rather stand there waiting for you and do nothing, than actually do work and wait on other tables at the same time. It's like when you call a waiter and the only one near you is busy taking someone's order, or rather watching them look at the menu.
Last night a revelation..... I was sitting in the restaurant, alone, and doing nothing other than drinking beer and reading. As I neared the end of my bottle of beer the waitress brought me another one. Unasked. And with that she opened it. Again, unasked.
This was much appreciated by me. Then, as I had almost emptied that bottle, she brought me another one, unasked for, and opened it.
I was staggered. What....someone who worked in a Chinese restaurant who was exercising initiative! Nah...surely I was dreaming. But I wasn't.
This is a true story.
Also true is the fact that the beers were room temperature. However, TIC.
I'll be going to this place again.
icnif77:
She was worried, you might get sore throat from coldy. You didn't ask: 'How's your fridge today?'
royceH:
And if I had've she'd have answered "it's empty" to which I'd have run away.
It's footy season.
8 years ago you were a good looking guy. I doubt she would stand on your head now that you are older