And so long as we remember this, our children may yet have their Pacific century. More damaging than you think The alliance between two airlines that simply ooze with pampering, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, brought to mind service in Asia. Or rather, that ordinary folks here don't see much of it. Without a doubt, there's a misunderstanding in Asia of what constitutes service. But were it just service, we would suggest just bearing with it.
Problem is, poor service is only one manifestation of a deeper malaise.
So there's more to it when a troop of tea pourers in a lunch outlet insists on topping up your cup after every sip, but won't take your order. Indeed, Asia seems to think that throwing lots of staff at consumers is service. Or when Kuala Lumpur builds the world's tallest building, but leaves a lavatory in the adjoining mall flooded from a ceiling leak. Or when a Hong Kong sales agent of a U.S. computer maker takes down details for an order of servers and laptops from an Internet company, but never comes back with a bid. Bad service causes frustration and can lose business.