China leads the world in customer service, starting at its borders

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Last night I flew into Sanya, at the southernmost tip of China, to give the keynote at the NICE Interactions 2011 conference tomorrow.

When I walked up to give my passport to the immigration official, on the counter in front of me was a box with 4 large buttons. There were green 2 smiley faces saying you were happy or very happy with your interaction, and two sad faces saying you were unhappy with the service or that it was taking too long.

My passport was quickly processed and passed back to me with a genuine smile, so I pressed the happy button.

While the Chinese visa application process requires significant documentation, both times I have applied for Chinese visas in the last couple of months I was in and out of the visa application center within minutes – it was very efficient.

So, the big question is when US immigration will learn from Chinese lessons in excellence in customer service.