A little stereotyping...

Blimey! I think I've been a wee bit spoiled living in Japan, where customer is God. I'm used to being showered in politeness and fussed over from the moment you step into the shop to the moment you leave (which, of course, can be as annoying as hell when you're 'just looking'!).

The Brits can't really be arsed, they'll hover in the background then creep up behind you and reluctantly mutter, 'Can I help you?', cos it's just too much trouble.

But the Taiwanese do it a little differently, that is, they don't do it at all. Or, it could be argued that they do it with amazing efficiency. Now, 3 days spent in Taiwan doesn't make me a cultural expert, but everytime I entered a shop or restaurant I was pounced on by someone who wanted my money and wanted me out as soon as possible! Scenario A; restaurant - we were quickly ushered to a table, thrust a menu and asked what we'd like to eat/drink before we'd even drew breath. Quite scary. Scenario B; shoe shop - after eying a pair of shoes I was asked what size I needed, my foot was shoved into a shoe, and then I was hustled in front of mirror and asked, 'Would you like the box?'. Also quite scary. Scenario C; outdoor food market; we were hollared at, 'Eat this, it's good! Sit here!', then the money was snatched from my hand. At this point it was no longer scary, just bloody funny!

Interesting.