At least someone remembered "Service with a smile"

My journey to and fro work these two years have been heavily relying on the PUTRA LRT service. One of the most convenient way to travel to the heart of KL (not to mention one that can preserve the small thread of sanity that is left). One thing I noticed from my frequent trips was that the staff rotates from station to station. Especially the ones who checks our monthly passes at the turnstiles.

The Man

Day after day, with every looming commute, I find myself hoping to meet one single PUTRA staff. One lone man who preserves the "Service with a smile" motto.... and always seem to enjoy it.

This middle aged looking man always looks well groomed, shirt nicely ironed and hair well combed. Always standing (not sitting like a beca driver on the high stool) when passangers walk past the gate. But what struck me most... was that he is polite to EVERYONE.

Imagine a wave of people passing by him, and yet, he acknowledges everyone with a polite "Thank you". Not the mumbled "thank yous" that you get from a disgruntled cashier during the Isetan sale, but a loud appreciating "thank you". It comes in 2 different languages. This is how he sounds like

"Good morning", ir, ticket please", "This way ma'am", "Thank you", "Terima Kasih", "Silakan", "Thank you", "Ma'am, ticket please", .....

and all these with a smile to boot....

The reactions

A little politeness goes a long way. Nearly everyone that goes past him will actually look up and .... (I'm nearly too scared to mention this...)... but yes, they smile back! (Even at 7.30 in the morning, dragging their feet to office, dreading the imminent meeting)...

If it was some other guy at the gate, the commuters would just flash their passes, head stooped, feet shuffling. Not even bothering to look up and look at the guy (even if he had moustache like Mr. Pringles.... but that's a different story).


It always makes my day when I see this Mr. Service-with-a-smile.

So to you Mr. Service-with-a-smile... *slight curtsey*... Thank you.