My friend a professor of journalism with the University of Iowa has decided to replace the carpet in her bedrooms with wooden floorboards and has chosen Branchini Hardwood Flooring in Iowa City to do the job.

She took me along to visit the company's store to select her new flooring. The showroom is paved in such a way that customers can tell the differences in the types and categories of wooden flooring.

It is both easy and hard to make a decision. It is easy because we immediately see with our mind's eye what these floors would look like in the bedrooms. But it is difficult because most of the different types of flooring are tempting.

In the end, my friend chose hickory and wanted the floorboards a little wider than the standard 3 and a quarter inches.

Throughout our discussion with the company manager, he was very encouraging in helping my friend make up her mind without forcing his judgement upon her.

Any type in any category is fine as long as my friend feels comfortable and happy with it, he said, as he offered each of us a cup of coffee.

We left, satisfied with our coffees and my friend satisfied with her selection, and with me thinking a lot about the salespeople I've met over the years as shopping has become so routine in our daily lives in China.

In big urban centres in China, we have no fewer choices than our peers in Iowa City. The salespeople in our stores are also encouraging, but often with very judgmental recommendations. Many try to persuade customers to buy the most expensive merchandize they peddle, and they seem irritated when customers do not follow their advice.

Worse, some divide customers into haves and have-nots, treating the haves with broad smiles and eagerness and dismissing the seemingly have-nots sometimes rudely.

The other day when I was asking to look at a cashmere sweater at a major department store in Xidan in Beijing, the saleswoman just showed me the photos. She said the photos would tell me whether I liked it or not, making me feel that I was not up to the standard of her other customers.

Some restaurant waiters seem worse when they only mention the best seafood as the speciality of their eatery. Very few recommend the low-cost chefs' specials that may be more savoury than the often bland seafood at exorbitant prices.

I believe that everywhere in the world, including the United States, there are shop assistants who treat customers unfairly and with prejudice. Many Chinese tourists have received their fair share of discrimination when they travel around the world, even though they are known to be big spenders.

That is why I think the Branchini manager stands out as a role model for all in the service industry as he knows how to encourage his customers to come to their decisions independently and with satisfaction.

As he said, every type in every category of the wooden floorboards he sells is good as long as his customers are happy. He will make sure that the work he and his employees do will make the floorboards durable. They don't want their customers to regret their choices once the flooring is in place.

In no way did he offer a class distinction of different wood types or categories, such as one is more decent than the other, or with higher status attached.

In so doing, he treats his customers with respect and encouragement, which everyone needs not only in their work but also during shopping sprees.

Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/13/2006 page4)