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Comment by julianlam | Hacker News Reader

The Chinese really have efficiency down to an art form. The last time I was in HK, I had breakfast at Dai Ga Lok. I put in my order and by the time I ambled over to the next counter, my noodle soup and toast was already ready. It blew my mind just how fast they managed to put it out... and this was with an all-human staff!

It was like that scene in The Founder where Ray Kroc eats at McDonalds the first time and he doesn't understand how he could possibly get his burger ready so quickly.

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Did a trip through a bunch of East Asian countries once, the level of attentiveness and speed from service workers there is light and day compared to the US. Waiting for a cashier to finish chit chatting before spinning up their brain cells over a few minutes trying to work the cash register buttons just doesn't happen. The implications are disturbing though. Either East Asian service workers just have so much pride and drive in their minimum wage jobs that they're willing to work at 100% focus when they're on the clock, or there are so many warm bodies ready to take their jobs that only people who can work at 100% stay hired. I bet that's a big driving factor in why so many people in Asia want to emigrate to the US. When you grow up in a sea of competition like that, a place where you can work at 70% instead of 120% and still be considered a top worker probably looks like paradise.

You don't see behind the scenes, but the sacrifices of quality for speed are very apparent if you eat it all the time.

>>my noodle soup and toast was already ready.

This is easy, just a matter of plating. They probably have a very limited menu (serves 95% just fine) and the rest if just perfecting the system little by little

The little chengdu xiaochis I went to in Beijing often had my food up before I was done paying, I would hear the propane stove hose on just shortly after I said my order....

at the risk of sounding like an idiot: are Chinese /HK workers more attentive to their job? We've seen the McDonalds and other fast food workers here...not that they get paid to work faster, let's be honest.

Burgers and sandwiches should always be hot and ready to pack especially during peak times. Fries too. Others would replenish them as needed. Soda is what it is, so it should a matter of seconds if everyone worked like their livelihood depended on it. But they system is what it is: teenagers making believe they are working and employers making believe they are paying them. In the end, waiting just a few minutes is fast enough for the customer anyway, so no incentive to change the system.

At least in mainland China, labor costs are lower, so they have more workers. The chengdu xiaochi wouldn’t be so responsive if there wasn’t so much extra capacity (both in terms of workers and a lack of customers because of lots of competition).

I worked at McDonald’s as a teenager and we really did work. It was easy to get ahead of the game when things weren’t that busy, but often resources were simply over subscribed (not enough workers, too many customers, often both).

The GP mentioned Cafe de Coral, which has a menu size similar to any other fast food restaurant [1]. The thing is, this is a trend of a geographical region, not just a specific fast food restaurant. McDonald's in HK are always able to serve you your order way, way faster than any American or European McDonald's I've been to. Quite literally, most of the time once you've finished paying, the food is ready. In America, it's common to wait on average of 5 minutes for your order, standing around the order pick-up area.

https://static.hkej.com/eji/images/2017/11/21/1707152_eb3877...

It's the same in Vietnam. They will have like 10 people crammed into a tiny Church's Chicken = Texas Chicken kitchen, but wow are they fast.

Its not just Chinese. Same applies for restaurants / local fast food places in India. They're lightning fast. If you're used to the pace of service in US, your mind will be blown when you travel to Asia.

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