It has often been said that Eastern cultures tend to be more service oriented than those of their Western counterparts. I’ve often wondered what psychological factors contribute to the ability or willingness of certain populations to consistently be able to offer better customer service overall. According to author and psychologist Richard E. Nisbett of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, human cognition is not universally the same. In his book, Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why, Professor Nisbett explains that Asians and Westerners have vastly different thought processes, leading them to perceive things distinctly and thus act upon those perceptions in different ways during human interactions.

The research demonstrates that Westerners tend to pay more attention in a focused way, contrasted to Asians, who view their environment more broadly, focusing more on the surroundings and the relationship between the environment and the object. Obviously these contrasting characteristics are evident when the two cultures are engaged in customer service professions, where problem solving is dependent on the cognitive perceptions and the solution is based on that perception. When one issue is interpreted and acted upon so differently, our ability to problem solve in a universal manner is ineffective.

I find that seeing the world in different ways has such relevance on the effective delivery of airport customer service. If airport representatives perceive something based on their culture, and travelers from another culture see it totally different, the chance of being able to effectively communicate with that customer and mitigate their problem is compromised.

Let me share some observations from a very frequent traveler between the U.S. and Asia that highlights some of the cognitive and behavioral differences. For the past two decades, a long-time Los Angeles resident and frequent traveler, Robert P., whose business is based in China, has seen not just the subtle evolution of air travel, but also the more dramatic security screening regulatory changes implemented post-9/11. He related his airport travel experiences in both the U.S. and Asia about security screening and airport customer service practices to illustrate the cultural differences that airports and personnel can learn from.

Robert explains, “At U.S. airports, there are many TSA security screeners and supervisors in place and with what appears to be a strength-in-numbers strategy, air travelers are commonly suffocated by all the redundant processes that are implemented in the name of security. The interaction between traveler and security personnel is often like that of the prison guard and prisoner, sometimes rude and completely lacking basic customer service standards. Instead, travelers are left to feel like cattle, treated as though we are all terrorists.”

He added, “At airports in China, Hong Kong and Taipei, by contrast there seems to be less security personnel, and each appears to have been thoughtfully and thoroughly trained to carry out standardized interviews of each passenger to ensure all security measures are met. Personnel are kind, courteous and consistent, never forgetting to say ‘thank you’ to each person as we pass through checkpoints. By all accounts, the strategic approach to screening in Asia appears to be more efficient and effective, and certainly less stressful than stateside in my opinion. ”

Let’s look at this from the cultural perspective and Professor Nesbitt’s published work. In Western cultures security screeners are very focused on the objective/outcome of the screening task: screen passengers; do it quickly; make sure nothing gets past security that should not. With this Western cultural world view, screeners believe they are doing exactly what they are charged to do in order to protect the safety of air travelers.