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GEM seems to be the recent buzz word in the retail sector which I work for. In this modern & present age, not only has our economy been growing, but so has our appetite for service, quality & speed. Thus came the GEM (aka Go the Extra Mile) program – an initiative coined by the Singapore government to woo tourists in the retail sector.
However, a recent lunch at one of the restaurants in PS with the present ZJ core team seemed to reflect otherwise. The first thing that I notice when we sat down was the waitress who was serving us. Apparently she had difficulty understanding us when she took our order. This is understandably so since she seem to come from China as by the sound of her accent.
15min into our conversation, our food came – an order of 5 full main sets. What irked me was the way she served our food. She simply passed the plates to the one sitting at the edge of the table & expected us to pass our food down the table ourselves! It is ironic how after slapping us with service tax, we ended up serving ourselves! (PS : This restaurant used to have a self-service policy which explained why they do not charge for service fee) Talk about service!
Later as we were about to walk out from the restaurant, she stood by the narrow walkway, obstructing our passage. As this happen, my eyes began to roll. I walked past her, had a good look at her & was about to lash out my resentment about her. But the image that registered in my mind seemed to be that of a desperate China gal who is here to study and to earn some part-time income to supplement the high tuition fee.
For most part of my meal time I was only centered on my expectation of service par excellence. I have failed to look beyond her job title, her nationality to recognize that she is a fellow sister in need of my understanding & support. It is both scary & yet painfully true about my lack of empathy towards these foreign workers. I often look disinterestedly at the articles in the CN about the church’s needs to embrace foreign & migrant workers. Today, this impassiveness has infected my soul to display this lack of compassion. As much as I have lashed out against social injustice & discrimination, but I guess there’s still a Pharisee within me.
This Lenten period, I’m reminded once again to look at people around me through the eyes of Jesus. The passage during the recent Sun’s gospel reading of the Samaritan woman reminded me of Jesus’s approach to people. He looked beyond their culture, nationality, taboo, sinfulness & appearances to who they really are deep within – precious GEMs. That was the difference that changed the world and that is all that matters this day. And the ROI (return on investment) that resulted – a converted town!
However, a recent lunch at one of the restaurants in PS with the present ZJ core team seemed to reflect otherwise. The first thing that I notice when we sat down was the waitress who was serving us. Apparently she had difficulty understanding us when she took our order. This is understandably so since she seem to come from China as by the sound of her accent.
15min into our conversation, our food came – an order of 5 full main sets. What irked me was the way she served our food. She simply passed the plates to the one sitting at the edge of the table & expected us to pass our food down the table ourselves! It is ironic how after slapping us with service tax, we ended up serving ourselves! (PS : This restaurant used to have a self-service policy which explained why they do not charge for service fee) Talk about service!
Later as we were about to walk out from the restaurant, she stood by the narrow walkway, obstructing our passage. As this happen, my eyes began to roll. I walked past her, had a good look at her & was about to lash out my resentment about her. But the image that registered in my mind seemed to be that of a desperate China gal who is here to study and to earn some part-time income to supplement the high tuition fee.
For most part of my meal time I was only centered on my expectation of service par excellence. I have failed to look beyond her job title, her nationality to recognize that she is a fellow sister in need of my understanding & support. It is both scary & yet painfully true about my lack of empathy towards these foreign workers. I often look disinterestedly at the articles in the CN about the church’s needs to embrace foreign & migrant workers. Today, this impassiveness has infected my soul to display this lack of compassion. As much as I have lashed out against social injustice & discrimination, but I guess there’s still a Pharisee within me.
This Lenten period, I’m reminded once again to look at people around me through the eyes of Jesus. The passage during the recent Sun’s gospel reading of the Samaritan woman reminded me of Jesus’s approach to people. He looked beyond their culture, nationality, taboo, sinfulness & appearances to who they really are deep within – precious GEMs. That was the difference that changed the world and that is all that matters this day. And the ROI (return on investment) that resulted – a converted town!
"We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness"
~ Thomas Merton
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