The Value of Service

One of my biggest pet peeves in the United States is when I go to a store, say Home Depot, and I can’t find any form of customer service. I can wonder the aisles aimlessly and not find a person to help. But in Vietnam, there is the complete opposite of this problem. Every store you go into, you are treated as a celebrity. In the bigger stores there are easily enough staff for each member of our class and more. The amount of service also shows one of Vietnam’s problems as a developing nation, a surplus of labor. The more people working there, the less the individuals are being paid. The desire to move from the countryside and into the cities and tourist centers is a common theme around the world and has been seen in the U.S. as well. Vietnam is no different, but when the workers migrate, they are met with heavy competition. As we discussed in a recent class meeting, the Vietnamese are adapting to where they see the money coming from. But when everyone wants money from the same source, there is an overflow of workers. It is fascinating to be able to see a country that has yet to work out the kinks in their system. In the U.S. everything runs like a dream compared to Vietnam. For example we can complain about how our traffic is horrible and maybe some of our roads could be better planned out. But the bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay was four hours for 30 miles. It takes me four hours to drive from Washington DC to Elon, almost 300 miles. So when you have a developing system like in Vietnam, it stands to reason that the work force has yet to catch up to the standards set by western countries. Although, I do have to say I love the service. I certainly have not felt ignored in this country. There is a lot of pride in the service here and the willingness to help is always present. If the United States had 1% the level of service Vietnam has, I believe the nation would benefit tremendously.

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