My friend and I were enjoying ourselves, taking a picture outside a bar in Xintiandi when a waitress abruptly gave us a menu and asked, "What do you want to drink?"

"Oh, no, thank you," said my friend, who was visiting from Suzhou, "We'll just take a couple of pictures and leave."

"I'm sorry," said the waitress coldly, "but we don't allow people to sit at our table without ordering."

The statement, though understandable, was very impolite. We were not going to stay long. One more picture would take a couple of more minutes and there were only two or three customers having their drinks in the outdoor section of the bar at the time. But our argument was in vain, and we were dismissed by the 20-something waitress.

We were of course very unhappy about the experience, especially my friend, who asked why Shanghainese were that mean. While I shared her anger, I don't think this is just a problem with Shanghainese. It's true of most Chinese in the service industry. Generally speaking, they don't have the right attitude toward serving the customer. By "the customer", I mean both existing and potential customers. It's true that existing customers, such as those who ordered at the bar, bring the business immediate income. But this does not mean those who do not order at the moment are never going to do so. If service people can wait a little while, they might find that if these people have a good experience, they might become even better customers later on.

In addition, the service industry is about branding. A good experience creates positive word-of-mouth, and that brings more customers. This is exactly why tourists always have books of recommendations. The waitress and her colleagues in the service industry are too short-sighted.

Still, this is not just a problem with the service industry; it's also a problem with the Chinese people in general. Due to the large population in China, resources are relatively scarce in this country. Chinese people are literally taught to fight for everything. No fight, no seat on the bus. No fight, no chance of walking through the crossroad. No fight, no job opportunities. When the whole nation is living with this attitude, there is no long-term thinking. Everyone is focusing on the short-term benefit. Nobody wants to wait. In fact, the Theory of Queuing says that if people can wait in a line, overall efficiency will be optimized. Often you can see cars switching lanes when the traffic is heavy. But in the end, the car busy switching is always at the same speed as those that don't. What's more, the frequent switching has made the driver crazy. The more worried a person, the more he or she wants to fight. Hence, the worse outcome.

Wait for a minute, and you can go through the road less hastily and with less danger. Wait for a minute, and you can find the line to get onto the bus more smoothly. Wait for a while and you can claim more customers and more profits. More importantly, by taking your time, you will be in a better mood, which is good for your health and efficiency at work. So, why not just wait for a little while?