John Gonzalez - SOUTH KOREA: The Price of Efficiency and Success

SOUTH KOREA: The Price of Efficiency and Success

Copyright 2019 by John Gonzalez and Young Lee, skoreaefficiency@gmail.com

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopy, recording, etc., or used in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Independently published
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2019

Cover by Enrique Arredondo (ArsDesigns)
Typesetting by Allan Ytac (Angelleigh)

ISBN: 978-1-67-423215-7

For the victims of the Sewol ferry tragedy.

Introduction

My Journey to Korea

I began visiting Korea in the 1990s. Before stepping foot on Korean soil, I had made a few friends who told me how beautiful their country was, so I wanted to see it for myself. Some of those trips included meditation tours that enabled me to visit Buddhist temples in rural areas. When the tours had concluded, I would take the time to visit large cities, like Seoul and Busan, on my own to get a different perspective.

As I visited Korea for the first time, the countrys technological advancements impressed me to no end. I recall how convenient it was for me, even way back then, to rent a cellular phone at the airport so I could be in touch with friends and family members both in the country and back home. I also recall how impressive it was to walk around in Seoul, where I saw many people using cell phones in the late 1990s. Back in the States, it seemed to me that a smaller percentage of people owned one. After thinking about it, I realized that it made total financial sense for a country, like Korea, which was undergoing a technological transformation, to skip the concept of expanding landlines and embrace the buildup of broadband and wireless technology. After all, it is more efficient.

On my first visit, the talking elevators in my hotel also impressed me. I was accustomed to silent elevators back home, where I pushed the button to summon it. While waiting for the elevator, especially if I was in a hurry, I would watch the light panel indicating where the elevator was so I could prepare myself to board. When these silent American elevators arrived, the doors would open and I would enter. I would push the button to choose the floor where I was going, and the doors closed. During the ride, I would keep an eye on the light panel to make sure that I did not miss my floor. When I arrived at the requested floor, the doors opened, and I walked out. That was the extent of my interaction with elevators.

In Korea, however, riding elevators was a different experience. I pushed the button to summon it. As it arrived, it announced itself by calling my floor number in an electronic voice coming from a speaker inside the elevator. Although I did not understand Korean, I assumed the next phrase I heard was: The doors are opening. I walked in and chose the floor of my destination. The elevator called out loud the floor number I had selected. I later found out that in Korea I could un-do the floor number if I made a mistake, something I could not do in the United States. I recall that back home, the unavailability of this function was a source of frustration, particularly when I was in a hurry because if I made a mistake, the elevator had to make an undesired stop. In Korea, after I chose my destination, the elevator moved up or down. Just before arriving at the floor I had selected, it called the floor number out loud and indicated that the doors were opening. The doors opened; I got out. It was like taking a guided tour. I could imagine what an efficient experience it must have been to ride those elevators for people who understood Korean. They could engage in other activities while in the elevator, thus skipping the inefficiency of watching a lit-up floor indicator on the elevator panel. This talking elevator feature was and continues to be an excellent tool for individuals who may be physically challenged or visually impaired. Nowadays, in Korea, elevator riders can check their email or favorite social network account, check their makeup in the elevator mirrors or make sure that their complexion is glowing and every hair is in place while the talking elevator is guiding them to their destination.

The efficient use of technology continued to impress me even at restaurants, where I noticed inconspicuous buttons at the end of each table that customers used for summoning a server. While conducting research for this book, I found that these devices are known in the industry as push-for-service systems. When customers pressed the button on their table, a bell sounded and a server immediately said something aloud to acknowledge the call. The server signaled to the client who had pressed the button that someone would be arriving any second to find out how they could be of service. Based on my personal observations alone, the use of this system appears to have expanded since I started visiting Korea. This use of technology, of course, is meant to enhance customer service, but the button was first and foremost efficiency-driven. The customer promptly gets a servers attention; the servers immediately know which table needs assistance; the customers needs are promptly met, and they can get on with the business of consuming the meal. What a difference between this experience and one in the States where it may take a great deal of effort to flag a server in a busy restaurant! In most American restaurants, a server is assigned to specific tables, meaning that other servers may or may not be able to help you.

One technological apparatus that has found its way into restaurants in the U.S. is a gadget called a table tracker. It is square with one side curved, about 3 to 4 inches on each side. According to LRS, one of the makers of this device, table trackers increase productivity and efficiency and boost customer satisfaction. The use of the technology eliminates the servers responsibility of taking orders and the restaurant avoids the need to hire a host/ess who is normally responsible for showing customers to their table. Instead, menus are available at the entrance and a person is hired to take orders and issue table trackers to all customers. After the order is placed, customers proceed with tracker in hand to pay at the cashier, also located near the entrance. After paying for their meal, they move on to select a table. The system informs the cooks and servers what the customers ordered, and it notifies the servers where the customers are seated. Once the meals are prepared, the servers deliver the food to the customers and retrieve the trackers. When customers are done with their meal, the servers clear the tables. In essence, servers are relegated to delivering food to customers and busing tables. In this scenario, the servers perform the duties of both servers, except for taking orders, and busboys/busgirls, thus generating additional savings for the restaurant owner. In this example, the concepts of efficiency and automation are clearly evident.

Some U.S. restaurants which do not accept reservations and are located in and around shopping malls are now making use of a similar electronic instrument called guest pager. Guest pagers are also square 3 to 4 inches on each side with rounded corners. According to LRS, the guest pager is one of their guest management solutions. The guest pager provides restaurant patrons in the type of environment described above, the opportunity to enhance their outing experience by going out for a stroll or window shopping while avoiding the grueling wait at a restaurant lobby after checking in. Similarly, restaurant owners avoid having a crowded lobby full of hungry customers waiting for their name to be called. I have used this system myself and I found it to be quite liberating when the customer stays within the signal range of the system.