In China, customer is always right

Ah, to live in a place where good customer service is the standard, not mere lip service. Sounds divine, doesn't it? I got a glimpse of such a world during my two-week trip to China.

And to a point, it's a way of doing business that more U.S. companies should adopt.

When I wandered into a China CITIC Bank in Beijing to exchange some currency, instead of standing in a long line, looking at empty booths -- or even worse, seeing tellers with "closed" signs in front of them -- I was greeted by a gracious hostess. She directed me to pull a number and take a seat in a cushioned chair.

In less than five minutes, my number was called, and I was directed to a cozy chair in front of the teller's window.

An English-speaking employee quickly came to my side and made sure I was understood by the teller.

At hotels, I got similar treatment. Every request got immediate attention. If the first person I asked didn't know the answer, someone who could help me was quickly found.

I'm sure it helped that I was obviously American, part of a group of MBA students from Meredith College. Still, the emphasis that the Chinese put on customer care offers some lessons on how to accommodate people and make them want to return.

Take China's airports. As we traveled from Shanghai to Dalian to Beijing, there were no long lines, no taking off shoes, jackets, sweatshirts. The pat down was more like a mini massage. Honestly, a couple of times I lingered and had to be nudged along by the security officer. (I wasn't the only one.)

With a population of approximately 1.3 billion people, the Chinese seem more motivated to be efficient and eliminate the bottlenecks that poor customer service causes.

But it's possible to take things too far. Apparently, when a Chinese employee doesn't provide good customer care, there can be severe consequences.

When I arrived in Beijing, I purchased a ticket to a Chinese acrobatic show, along with three other travel-mates from Meredith. We were told to meet 6 p.m. in the lobby. When the tour guide hadn't arrived by 6:20 p.m., fatigue and hunger got the best of us, and we decided to cancel and ask for a refund.

The request set off a flurry of activity in the tourism office. We were worried that we had breached some security policy.

We called the Chinese professor who was traveling with us for help. She explained that the young tour guide would have to pay for all of our tickets if we canceled because she was late.

When the tour guide arrived, she was on the verge of tears. She apologized repeatedly, blaming traffic for her tardiness and asking us not to cancel. My offer to give her money to pay for the tickets was adamantly refused. "You didn't see the show," she said. "I can't accept your money."

Three of us decided to go to the show. The fourth agreed to write a letter to the tour guide's boss, explaining that she didn't hold the young employee responsible for the delay.

Perform or pay

I had heard about China's practice of assessing financial penalties for poor performance, but it was sobering to experience it firsthand.

While touring a computer manufacturing plant, I noticed that a bulletin board at the end of one of the assembly lines had a drawing of a bunch of grapes. Some grapes were purple, others were red.

"What happens if someone gets too many red grapes?" I asked our guide.

"They get financial penalty," he said. "The job requires three seconds to complete. If it's done in four seconds, they get penalty, and if it's done in two seconds, they get penalty." He said doing a job too fast can throw off the entire assembly line.

I also noticed that at some banks, customers can give instant feedback on the teller's performance by pressing a button near the window. If a teller gets too many unsatisfactory ratings, he or she gets a financial penalty or is dismissed, according to one of our hosts.

And at another Chinese company we visited, we learned about its mandatory standard operating procedures. The company used the procedures to ensure customer satisfaction. The company had standard operating procedures for every facet of the job, including how to organize files. If those aren't followed to the letter, the employee is likely told to leave. "We make it very clear," our host said.

What was clear to me is that many Americans -- myself included -- would have a difficult time keeping a job in China.

How many times has an unexpected traffic jam caused someone to be late for a meeting? Or a hard-to-reach source, contractor or client made you miss a deadline? And what if everyone you served got a chance to rate your performance on the spot?

I thought about this when I returned to Dulles International Airport and encountered a long, winding line at customs. There were about a dozen booths, but only two people were working.

I really got irritated when I noticed that one of the two agents was making small talk with one of the travelers as the line grew longer.

I knew exactly what would help him to focus on his job: a financial penalty.