Everybody is so concerned about unemployment and underemployment that somehow we overlook if anything ever gets done after we hire so many people. I have never seen so many salesgirls, so many waiters and waitresses, and so many civil servants at government offices. To me, their number or presence per se has never translated to better, faster, more efficient service. Far from it.
Have you ever stood, fidgeting impatiently, in a line at a department store or supermarket because the cashier is in animated conversation with the checker or bag boy? So have I, seventy percent of the time. How about dining in a restaurant where the food you ate has already been digested by the time you catch a waiter's attention for the check? By the time you get your receipt and change you're hungry again. In my case, I signaled three times to the waiters huddled by the kitchen counter for water. They acknowledged my request with a wave or nod. Thirty minutes later still no water. My throat parched, my patience wearing thin, I stood up and repeated my request, "wa-ter, pleeeease." That's when one of the waiters called out to a harried-looking waitress who was busy attending to the diners in the next table. She brought me a glass of water. There were eight people in our table. My seatmate asked for his water, too. She came back, still bringing only a glass of water. When I suggested that she bring us a pitcher instead, she rolled her eyes with an expression that seemed to say, "Jesus, why can't you people make up your minds what you want." I don't understand why she was the only one who went around the tables while those five or six waiters just stood in the corner.
Abroad, restaurants and shops are served by one or two people. Ditto for gas service stations. They attend to the customers, clean up the place including the toilets, and occasionally man the cash register. The service is quick and efficient, their mood polite and friendly. Now and then they would drop by your table to check if there's anything else you need. They would even venture a few suggestions, like "Are you ready to order your dessert now, madam?" and "Would you like to look around some more or would you like to pay now?" Sometimes they go overboard in their cheerfulness that it becomes suspiciously phony. But in our culture, customers can be equally haughty when we dismiss an over-eager waiter or salesgirl or gasoline boy for being makulit.
If we can only also make up our minds what kind of service we want. When we go out shopping we gripe about salesgirls who tail us as we browse around the display counters and racks. We feel slighted that we are suspected as shoplifters. We smirk at salesgirls who offer tips and suggestions, like "what makes this girl think I care about her taste?" Then again we also grumble about unmanned counters specially when we want to check out those cool shades inside the locked glass counter, or to find out if these shoes have a pair in our size.
Some establishments have struck a fair balance in training their staff when to give a customer space, and when to come to their aid. Like the Cebu Country Club. Mind you, I'm not a member and I don't know anybody there personally, but I have attended several functions as well as dined in their restaurant. The food is great, the prices reasonably lower than those of fancy hotels and restaurants, and the staff are efficient. Whenever I call to make inquiries or reservations for the company I work for, I have never been turned away or given the runaround, even when the call was made at twelve noon. Plus, they always return my calls. During one product launching at the ballroom, somebody in our table spilled his softdrink. In five seconds flat two waiters appeared from nowhere, one to clear the table, the other to wipe the spilled liquid. Okay, so they didn't come from nowhere, but from the corner about four tables away. The waiters gather there to remain as unobtrusive as possible, but their eyes remain alert on their assigned tables. If anybody lights a cigarette, the waiter is quick to place a clean ashtray.
Now if only the rest can provide this kind of efficient service.