I'd like free smiles please...

Shortly after I arrived in Korea the first time, I was very surprised with the level of service offered in Korean establishments.  Wherever I went, the service provided by most employees was top-notch.

One time at a family restaurant, I was enjoying some pasta with a cup of cola.  I was taking my time with my drink when the waitress lady took my half-full (or half-empty, whatever) cup and started walking away.  I yelled after her telling her that I wasn't done with my drink then she told she was refiling it.  When she returned with a full cup, I asked her why she was refilling it at half-full.  She told me it was because the ice had melted and watered down the drink.  I was actually shocked by the level of consideration which was totally unnecessary, in my opinion.  Some places have servers crouch down next to tables to make sure their eye levels are below yours.

Same level of service quality can be witnessed in hair salons... not even posh hair salons.  Even regular hair salons bring you drinks and wash your hair before and after a simple haircut.  Some places even take some time to massage your scalp for a few minutes as they wash your hair.  All for like half the cost of hair cuts I used to get back in Toronto.

The fact that there is no tipping culture in Korea makes it even more remarkable.

All of this service provided at no tips (most of these part-time jobs pay around 4000 won per hour... about US$3 now) makes you wonder how difficult it is to make a few bucks in Korea.  It IS probably the only way to survive in this competitive environment.

Not only will we  give you a free smile, we'll pamper you so much that you yourself will die from oversmileage.