Lessons in efficiency

Last night, Jen and I went for a movie-date night in an area with lots of shopping, Bugis Street.


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The area was buzzing with teenagers and holiday shoppers and the exterior of the Iluma @ Bugis Mall was covered in illuminated panes that changed color every few seconds. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera (a mistake we won't make again), so you'll have to use your imagination a little.

We went inside and proceeded up to the top floor where the cinema is (not to be confused with a theatre - that would be place to see a play or symphony) and got in line for tickets. Once we reached the counter, we asked for two tickets to Ninja Assassin (I obviously picked the movie) and the guy asked us which seats we wanted to sit in. Now, Jen had warned me about this but it still seems like a good (albeit strange) idea. To pick our seats, the guy pointed to his computer screen embedded in the counter that showed a map of the theatre and available seats. Everything was computerized and navigated with a mouse.

Next we proceeded to the ticket-taker, who stood in front of a short escalator that we took up to the our designated theatre. The seats were super ergonomic, yet obviously made for people smaller than myself. I only hope the people behind us didn't have their view obstructed by my large western noggin. After the exceptionally bloody and action-packed flick with Mandarin subtitles (if you haven't seen Ninja Assassin, it's full of gore and awesomeness. Dare I say, it is legend.... wait for it... DARY!) we were ushered out the exit next to the screen and not the door at the top where we entered. I guess Singaporeans don't want people seeing more movies than they paid for. Plus, the halls are narrow and this prevents traffic jams. We exited through service hallways and emerged back into the mall's food court. It was now time for dinner.

After perusing the various tastes available, Jen and I settled on sushi at a very ornate and fun-looking Japanese place. The hostess sat us at a table and presented us with HUGE menus full of pictures and descriptions of everything available. She then asked us if this was our first time. We nodded in confirmation and she showed us the unique and technologically advanced ordering system they employed. Each item in the menu had an optical sensor pertaining to it and she handed us a large, talking light pen that is used as a reader.  The sequence went like this:

1. Touch the item (the pen audibly confirms each selection)
2. Touch the quantity you want at the bottom of the menu
3. Touch "Enter"
4. Repeat for all following items.
5. Once done, touch "Review" (the pen reads your entire order)
6. If correct, touch "Send"

After touching send, a waiter comes by in about 1-2 minutes with drinks and a short printout of your order with a checkbox next to each. In Singapore, everything offered to you, from dining checks to business cards, is respectfully presented facing the patron and held carefully on the outside edges. Service here is, for lack of a better word, phenomenal! Over the next 5-10 minutes, several waiters came by with our items and checked each one off as delivered. Once we finished our delicious meal of Hamachi (Yellowtail Tuna), a salmon roll, dumplings, a baked whitefish roll, and 2 A&W root beers, we proceeded with our printout and completed customers service survey (very common for restaurants here) to the checkout counter to pay. On our way out, as it was while being seated, every employee we passed greeted us in a fashion reminiscent of "Welcome to Moe's". We were profusely thanked for dining with them.

During our meal, Jen and I pondered the efficiency in all of this - fewer waitstaff servicing all tables, faster service, and more accurate ordering. The culture on this side of the globe is so technologically driven, I was left wondering why we don't adopt the same types of innovation in the States. In my days as a software consultant, I know from experience that Americans are often hesitant toward change. Nearly every project I was involved in had workers who were so set in their ways that they viewed our new software as a threat, as opposed to seeing the efficiency in it.

On a final note, I also want to point out that competition for patronage is fierce. Every restaurant we approached to look at the menu had a host or hostess who immediately greeted us and offered us a bound menu to hold. Others would usher us over to take a look while asking us what we found appetizing. Customer service and presentation in Singapore is as important to businesses here as is efficiency, which leads me to believe that profits are earned by repeat patronage and not by jacking up prices. Also, the price on the menu is the price you pay... taxes are included. Tipping is not required and not expected; a habit that is very hard to break!

Tonight is our first weekend together in Singapore, so we're headed out to see the nightlife. There's a huge bar district (Tanjong Pagar) right next to our apartment where we had Indonesian food the other night (excellent!) and we'll be reporting next on what the city is like when the sun goes down.