Voices

Time to serve up respect for fuwuyuan

By William Axford (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-30 07:49

Despite the fact that I've been in China for two months, I'm embarrassed to admit that I only know a handful of Chinese words. My vocabulary doe not go much beyond ni hao and xiexie.

But one word that's impossible to not learn while in China is fuwuyuan - a waiter or waitress. It's been ingrained into my mind from the numerous times I hear it screamed every time I go out to eat. It seems that the poor fuwuyuan is always receiving the brunt of the customer's wrath.

"Fuwuyuan! What do you mean I have to wait 20 minutes to be seated?"

"Fuwuyuan! Where is my drink?"

"Fuwuyuan! Where is my food? I want it now!"

And it goes on, the demands made on these poor people becoming more unreasonable as the night progresses. No matter how poorly they are treated, they simply shake their head and hurry so the customer will stop making a scene. I have yet to see a fuwuyuan explode in righteous rage and scream right back at a customer.

I'm still amazed that people can be so rude in a public place. I was always taught to respect my waiters or waitresses. When you're in a position such as ordering food, saying the wrong thing can lead to unknown consequences.

"You don't want to anger the person taking your order," my father always advised. "They could do anything to your food behind closed doors. You may end up with some extra unknown ingredients in your food."

As poorly as fuwuyuan are treated, I can only imagine what extra "ingredients" end up in an unruly customer's order.

But it's not just the Chinese that are rude to these people.

Expatriates have been quick to pick up the word too and feel just as inclined as the Chinese to scream it out loud. While out getting pizza with a few friends, a small crowd of American college kids decided to scream for the waiter all night, laughing and carrying on rudely. There was even a sign on the wall that said to please keep the noise down and respect other patrons. Their screaming completely destroyed my dining experience and made me embarrassed as I watched the fuwuyuan's face become increasingly frustrated with the English-speaking kids. The night ended with my friends and I exchanging a few choice words with the immature kids and then apologizing to the staff about the rude customers.

What is it about Beijingers screaming at the fuwuyuan all the time? Are people really that angry that they're inconvenienced for a small portion of their day? This city is fast-paced and there are always new places to go, things to do. It's easy to get overstressed and carry this stress everywhere.

But a public diner is no place to carry such a foul attitude. You're not just ruining the server's day when you start throwing a tantrum - you're destroying the whole atmosphere of companionship when family and friends shares a meal.

Yes, there are times where fuwuyuan deliberately slack off and your service is terrible. Sometimes complaints are warranted. But I've found that most fuwuyuan are more than sufficient at their job. Most people just have a short fuse and expect their service to be as quick as humanly possible.

But Beijing is a city of about 20 million people. There's bound to be some turbulence when you go out to eat. Take that 20-minute waiting time to look over the menu or examine the restaurant. Drink a little slower if you notice the service isn't as fast as you'd like it to be. Chat with a friend while you're waiting for your food.

But whatever you do, don't start screaming at some young person just because you have to wait for your food for a little while. If worse comes to worse, you can always leave and eat at the millions of other restaurants around the city.

So, before you decide to let your temper get the best of you, take a step back and realize that fuwuyuan are human. No one wants to watch you make a fool out of yourself in public. Save yourself the embarrassment and remember your manners.

Chances are, you probably don't want the mystery ingredient the fuwuyuan slipped into your food after you started berating them.

China Daily