I was recently in a Benihana-type restaurant where the chefs prepare your food in front of you while performing a series of choreographed sophisticated moves involving cutlery, fire and ingredients. As I enjoyed my meal, it reminded me of a paper I wrote in business school that investigated the fast food industry’s entrance into the Asian market. One of the initial cultural stumbling blocks that the industry faced when first operating in Asian countries was the rejection of the “service with a smile” concept. A friendly, happy and smiling wait staff is something that Americans have come to expect when we enter into any kind of restaurant. To the shock of the original fast food pioneers in Asia, customers in that part of the world did not want to see happy and smiling workers in a restaurant. Rather, they preferred to see serious and concentrated workers as they felt food preparation (and any other profession actually) was a serious role, not to be taken lightly. Customer expectations were to see workers diligently fulfilling their roles. Smiling would have implied people having too much fun at work and therefore, lower quality products and service. Needless to say, this is no longer the case but I can only imagine how Asian customers would have reacted if they encountered a restaurant with chefs telling jokes and juggling utensils with food while preparing their dishes.
