The East West Hospitality Scribe

The Chinese and Their Comfort Fetish

Anyone who has spent a lot of time in China can see that the Chinese take their comfort very seriously - especially when they visit Western restaurants, Cafe's or Cinemas.  Customers will sit for hours in Starbucks, local Coffee Houses (Kafei Dian), KFC and McDonald's , sipping on their drinks and surfing the net enjoying the sofas and booths, clean bathrooms and air conditioning. 

I must say that the Ta Chien Cinema really caught my attention on a recent visit to Taipei.  Cozy sofa for two with foot rest while watching Angels & Demons for NT$400 per person!  Isn't this going a bit too far?

Is There A Link Between Color Pepper Prices and Hotel Occupancy in China?

Zhang Yin, a Beijing-based analyst with Hu Jie Investment Advisory Service, seems to think so.  Color peppers are a key ingredient in the salad served in four and five star restaurants in China and could be a reliable index for the luxury hotels business.  Red peppers are meant of course to spice up food while green peppers add flavor and aroma.  In the past few weeks, the price of color peppers have been on the rise since hitting bottom in late 2008 according to the April 26 issue of the CHINA DAILY.  According to the article, color pepper vendors in Beijing had the worst year in 2008 despite the Olympic Games, forcing them to dump large quantities every few days because of the lack of demand.   

Dirty Money in China

You can tell a lot about a Country by its money and how it is used. In the USA for example, you hardly every see real money. That country is basically a cashless society with everyone paying for everything by credit card, even a latte at Starbucks. It is changing a little with the severe economic situation currently but Americans still rely on debt to pay most of the bills.  In Japan, cash is used for most basic purchases like a latte at Starbucks, a trip to the convenience store or an evening meal.  Japanese really do not like debt very much.  You do notice however, how clean the money is when you get it. Usually very crisp bills handed over to a customer at a retail store or Bank on a tray so the staff need not get their own hands dirty handling the cash.  In Japan, it is really considered downright rude to handle money by hand especially in a commercial transaction with a customer.

Where's The Sofa? What Comfort Means To The Chinese.

     Above:  A Typical "Western Restaurant" in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

We were all very excited about the opening of our first Italian Restaurant in Shenzhen in December 2006.  We had done our homework in terms of understanding price points and menu offerings and we felt pretty good about our ability to appeal to the local Chinese in the Futian area. We knew we would need to change some things after a few months and were eager for the feedback from our new customers.

The big opening day came and went and the business was slow. While the whole Mall was slow, our store was especially slow! Some Chinese customers would come in, take a look around and just leave without even looking at the menu. Day after day this was happening so I asked my staff to find out what was going on.  Why just come in for a look and then leave?  So I decided to approach a group of women who after taking  a look, were on their way out the door. "Why are you leaving," I asked?  "No Sofa!  Where's the Sofa?" one responded.  And then it began to hit me right between the eyes.  I had walked by many so-called "Western Restaurants" in Shenzhen and other cities in China and noticed that the Chinese customers were sitting awkwardly in giant sofas trying to eat their meal or have a drink.  It did not make a lot of sense to a "Westerner" like me who had lived in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore and was familiar with the typical cushioned booth or chair that was common in Western restaurants.  Surely these type of sofas made it difficult to digest a proper meal!