It took me a while to get used to this, and I'm not exactly sure why, but the lengths that people will go to not disappoint you in Indonesia has a horrible habit of ending in disappointment.
'Yes' is generally a positive word, it can even be symbolised by a 'thumbs up' in body language (although this also means "I want to go up because I've run out of air" when scuba diving). 'No', on the other hand, is more commonly thought of as negative. Positivity fills us with a feeling that creates a smile, a skip in the step and even an air of optimism. Negativity is the party pooper who sits in the corner, the person who walks through life with that metaphorical cloud above their head.
I like to think that the British attitudes towards Yes and No have changed greatly and are continuing to change. The UK, once the home to defensive behaviour and 'the blame game', has learned a lot from the corporate giants in the USA who harnessed motivational speakers to drive their workforce. That land of plenty where the American Dream of success continues to birth generations of 'can do' people.
The phrase "The answer is yes, now what's the question" has been attributed to a man by the name of Winston Schuler, a retaurateur, educator and football coach. This simple idea of giving the customer what they want has stuck to this day and results in the professionalism of the American hospitality industry. If you want something a certain way, just ask for it. You may have to pay extra for it, but you can have it.
There is an old joke about a guy who walks into a restaurant that is advertising a slogan 'Whatever you want, you can have'. He asks for 'elephant's testicles on toast', certain in the knowledge that this request can never be fulfilled and is comforted by the look of dismay on the face of the waiter as he returns from the kitchen. "You win sir" says the waiter, "the kitchen has run out of bread". Asking for the impossible is not what Schuler meant, what he meant was keeping the customer happy and using a positivity to do it. Don't say no to requests that are simple to resolve.
Indonesia is a country where some things you might expect, such as an advertised service or something on a menu, is often met with the response "tidak bisa" meaning simply 'cannot'. No further explanation is given and requests for further information are met with the phrase repeated, sometimes with an added smile, sometimes even with laughter. This can be frustrating but no more so than having been brought a menu in a British pub and the waitress returns to take your order and tells you that the first 3 things you ask for aren't available. And responds to your telepathically posed question of "Why didn't you tell me that when you brought me the menu 10 minutes ago?" with an expression that says "I'm still getting paid for this shift whether you tip me or not". One of the key differences between the British system and the professionalised waiter or waitress in the USA who relies on the tips for excellent service to pay the rent.
All of this bringing me to my reason for this post. We have a state of the art shopping mall five minutes from where I live. The place has a variety of parking areas for vehicles, a cornucopia of restaurants and food courts and door entry staff that insist on waving a wand at you as you enter but, beep or not, still smile positively at you.
In this season of the World Cup, we are beset by the problem of timing. What with it being held in Brazil and all, the times of the matches are not conducive to a healthy sleep pattern. So, with the England-Italy game kicking off at 5am, it was only worth checking in advance as to whether the mall would be showing it on one of their huge screens. Leaving nothing to chance, a friend still double checked that as well as showing the football, there would be something open serving food and drink. All of this was yes, yes and thrice yes.
Indonesians hate to disappoint you. They used to much rather say nothing than say no and this has since turned into the habit of saying yes......when they mean no.
This is not a criticism of Indonesia or its people, rather an observation that may come in handy for future visitors to the country. Be careful what you ask for.....
'Yes' is generally a positive word, it can even be symbolised by a 'thumbs up' in body language (although this also means "I want to go up because I've run out of air" when scuba diving). 'No', on the other hand, is more commonly thought of as negative. Positivity fills us with a feeling that creates a smile, a skip in the step and even an air of optimism. Negativity is the party pooper who sits in the corner, the person who walks through life with that metaphorical cloud above their head.
I like to think that the British attitudes towards Yes and No have changed greatly and are continuing to change. The UK, once the home to defensive behaviour and 'the blame game', has learned a lot from the corporate giants in the USA who harnessed motivational speakers to drive their workforce. That land of plenty where the American Dream of success continues to birth generations of 'can do' people.
The phrase "The answer is yes, now what's the question" has been attributed to a man by the name of Winston Schuler, a retaurateur, educator and football coach. This simple idea of giving the customer what they want has stuck to this day and results in the professionalism of the American hospitality industry. If you want something a certain way, just ask for it. You may have to pay extra for it, but you can have it.
There is an old joke about a guy who walks into a restaurant that is advertising a slogan 'Whatever you want, you can have'. He asks for 'elephant's testicles on toast', certain in the knowledge that this request can never be fulfilled and is comforted by the look of dismay on the face of the waiter as he returns from the kitchen. "You win sir" says the waiter, "the kitchen has run out of bread". Asking for the impossible is not what Schuler meant, what he meant was keeping the customer happy and using a positivity to do it. Don't say no to requests that are simple to resolve.
Indonesia is a country where some things you might expect, such as an advertised service or something on a menu, is often met with the response "tidak bisa" meaning simply 'cannot'. No further explanation is given and requests for further information are met with the phrase repeated, sometimes with an added smile, sometimes even with laughter. This can be frustrating but no more so than having been brought a menu in a British pub and the waitress returns to take your order and tells you that the first 3 things you ask for aren't available. And responds to your telepathically posed question of "Why didn't you tell me that when you brought me the menu 10 minutes ago?" with an expression that says "I'm still getting paid for this shift whether you tip me or not". One of the key differences between the British system and the professionalised waiter or waitress in the USA who relies on the tips for excellent service to pay the rent.
All of this bringing me to my reason for this post. We have a state of the art shopping mall five minutes from where I live. The place has a variety of parking areas for vehicles, a cornucopia of restaurants and food courts and door entry staff that insist on waving a wand at you as you enter but, beep or not, still smile positively at you.
In this season of the World Cup, we are beset by the problem of timing. What with it being held in Brazil and all, the times of the matches are not conducive to a healthy sleep pattern. So, with the England-Italy game kicking off at 5am, it was only worth checking in advance as to whether the mall would be showing it on one of their huge screens. Leaving nothing to chance, a friend still double checked that as well as showing the football, there would be something open serving food and drink. All of this was yes, yes and thrice yes.
50 people sat in front of the screen in the otherwise closed mall
Indonesians hate to disappoint you. They used to much rather say nothing than say no and this has since turned into the habit of saying yes......when they mean no.
This is not a criticism of Indonesia or its people, rather an observation that may come in handy for future visitors to the country. Be careful what you ask for.....
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