I was recently sitting in a Starbucks cafe one morning, sipping a ritual espresso, when I heard shouting outdoors. The raucous startled service staff, too. One of the barristas went outside to see what was the clatter. He returned to report it was the staff of the Taiwanese Chamate restaurant/tea house exercising and chanting before the start of work. The cheer leading went on for several minutes more, during which I just had to see for myself. A single line of green-uniformed staff faced a huddle of employees in which members were trying to outshout each other. Dark-suited big bosses watched on in pride. Eventually, winded, exhausted the huddle broke with a great “hurumph!” and applause.

I returned to the Starbucks, where staff was still talking about the din. I told them that despite not doing calisthenics every morning, chanting and marching, I believed Starbucks still had amongst the highest, most consistent service delivery across the dozen or so Chinese cities in which I had sipped a demitasse of their espresso. I left the last Chamate – in fact, the very one in front of which staff had been gleefully cheering – in disgust after being chased out by six year old kids who were literally dancing on the tables, nary a mother nor service staff to set limits on behavior and ambiance. The Chamate staff simply waited for a big boss to say or do something, which one never did. In Starbucks, on the other hand, on numerous occasions in numerous locations, staff have directly and politely and assertively told ignorant customers they couldn’t smoke in the place.

One day Asian business will figure out that treating staff like grunts will only elicit the same level of guttural thinking and service.