The land of efficiency

Taiwan really is the land of efficiency. Everything is done to get you in and out with the minimum of both human contact and hassle, and they usually are connected in some way.

First off there are no lines in banks. You walk in and immediately grab a number, sit down and wait for your number to be called. There is a person at the door to greet you and direct you to the appropriate desk according to the type of transaction you wish to carry out. Even for a foreigner like me who doesn't speak the language, very quickly they find someone who speaks English and they kindly direct me to the appropriate area. Compare that to banks in Toronto where you have to stand in line like cattle and wait for a teller, who is busy chatting to their coworker, to decide they are going to actually work today.

The second is restaurants and bars. Here you don't have to call the server over and ask for the cheque and then wait 20 minutes while they try to figure out what you ordered that night and finally bring your cheque over, as if it's a privelage that they allow you to pay for your meal. When you are ready to pay for your meal here you just walk up to the cashier and your cheque is ready there for you so you can pay and be out in less than a minute if you want. It's great. Oh and of course there is my favourite part about Taiwan, no tipping! I have always hated the whole idea of tipping. (If you've ever seen Reivoir Dogs you know where I'm going with this). Why is it that some people who provide a service to you, not all services only some, deserve a tip for performing their job competently. So if I go to a restaurant and order a meal and it doesn't take an hour to show up and I have actually received exactly what I ordered, the server gets something on top of their salary. Wow good for you, you didn't totally fu** up my order, congradulations for not being totally incompetent. And why don't the servers at McDonalds get tips, if anything I say their jobs are actually harder, they have to get your meal to you in less than 30 seconds or you start complaining that it's taking too long. I enjoy the fact that here you pay the price on the bill, not the price plus some extra gratutity for actually performing your job the way it was intented to be performed.

I am officially in love with the MRT (subway) here in Taipei. It is so efficient it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. First off there are signs everywhere, in both Chinese and English so it's almost impossible to get lost. Secondly there is no putting cash in the box and waiting in line to get into the MRT. Everything is done by one time tokens you purchase at machines or cards you buy and put money on akin to the metropass at the TTC. However you can put money on whenever you wish and the card doesn't expire. Also there is no stupid stripe to swipe, it's all magnetic so you just flash it in front of the machine and keep walking right on through. I've never seen a line up to get in or out of the MRT here. Then of course there are the trains themselves. First of all they always stop at designated spots so the doors always open in the same spot so there is no guessing where the doors will stop then all cramming towards them so no one can get off the cars. Here people line up in front of the lines on the ground nice and orderly. Secondly there are electronic signs above every door inside the cars that tell you what stop you just came from, what the next stop is, and the stop after that, and the stop at the end of the particular line you are on. And the signs are in Chinese and English. The signs also tell you when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Thirdly they announce the next stop in 4 different languages, one of them being English, and also announce when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Fourthly the signs showing all the differnet lines and stops also at every door inside the cars are always oriented so they are facing the correct way. This way no matter which side of the car you are looking at, the sign is always facing the way the train is going. It's a small thing but once again it is designed to be uber efficient. Fifthly there are electronic signs everywhere in the stations telling you exactly when the next train is coming so you know if you need to run to catch it or if you can take your time getting to the platform.

I have taken the MRT here many time and haven't gotten lost yet, and I really don't see how I could. I have seen advertisements claiming that the Taipei MRT has been rated the most reliable in the world for 3 years straight, and I can believe it. It really does put the TTC to shame. I have always hated the TTC for its absolute lack of efficiency and seeing possibly the best system in the world really makes me realize the TTC is a big pile of steaming horse sh**.

We in the west can really learn a lot from the 'uncivilized' people in 'backward' Asia. Efficiency is the word and the economist in me loves it!

Enjoy your inefficiencies westerners.