MK - Successful Intercultural Communications

My family likes to go out to eat on weekends - which is about the only times we are all in the same place at the same time. One of our favorite places to go is MK (the suki restaurant chain). From an intercultural perspective MK is very interesting. They have blended a range of cultural attributes into a highly effective business model that, in my opinion works for people from anywhere.

There is an obvious Japanese influence to the place - in the way the staff greet you, the type of uniforms they where, to the 'MK Show' that they do at 18:00 hrs (a favorite of my son). MK's advertising also incorporates Japanese elements in terms of the theme music and why the staff present themselves. But this has been localized to replace the bow with the wai.

The super-efficient manner in which the restaurants are run, with the use of handheld devices to send orders back to the kitchen instantly and the use of centralized preparation centers, is almost Germanic. I have never been to a more organized restaurant anywhere.

But, we are in Thailand and in addition to localizing the menu, I find that the MK staff have not lost the friendliness and sincere hospitality that are hallmarks of the Thai service industries.

All in all I believe that MK has taken the best of several cultures and blended them into a single model is clearly communicated to its target audience.

Dressing Down On Holiday

The other night I had to wait around in the lobby of the Oriental Hotel for about an hour. During this time I had the opportunity to observe the various people who would come and go through the room on their way to their rooms, the restaurants, a wedding that was being held or out to the taxis up front.

In my opinion the Oriental is a fine hotel and I respected the fact that they have tried to maintain their standards of decorum in the face of the global trend toward more casual attire. For many years they enforced a dress code in their lobby that forbade short pants and flip-flops. While I think that this is not longer strictly enforced it is still an elegant place to sit and people watch.

What struck me is that for the most part the Thai people who were in the lobby - but were not staff - were dressed rather nicely (granted some were obviously going to a hi-so wedding party) in either formal or semi-formal outfits. On the other hand many of the westerners and non-Thai Asians who looked like guests of the hotel were mostly dressed in very casual attire - some looked like they would be more at home on Khao San Road. The thing is many of these people were middle age or older and I doubt they dress like this at home.

Thus, the question is - do we behave very differently when we are visiting a different country then we do at home. And if so, do we behave better or worse when we are on the road. In my opinion many people seem to feel that when they visit Thailand, they can at in ways that they would never act at home. This seems to be true even when they are staying at one of the most expensive hotels in Thailand (if not the region).