Chinese Vs Indian Restaurants

One other thing I observed during my last cruise trip was the popularity of Chinese food aboard the ship. Every day they rotated with Italian, American, Caribbean (close to Indian taste), French etc. Yet the Chinese food was a constant feature on the menu. There were invariably long lines in front of the Chinese with more non-Orientals queuing up for food. Chinese know the business doing business. In America every strip Mall has a Chinese restaurant. They run successfully as they have managed to attract the local customer with quality and professionalism. This is exactly which we Indians lack in Restaurant business. Barring a few most of our restaurants serve stale, low quality food. Many put soda in the food at the buffets so that the eaters will soon feel filled up and can't intake more so that the left overs can roll over to the next day. Have a hearty lunch buffet in most Indian restaurants in America you will feel so bloated that you feel like a balloon ready to take off due to SODA KA KAMAAL (the magic of Baking Soda) in your stomach. Your entire evening would be spoiled munching antacids. On the customer service front  the least said is better. In 2007 I planned to celebrate my son's Birthday at the local Indian Restaurant for a change though I was aware it would be more expensive. I walked in one evening to negotiate with the owner about the menu, pricing etc. The owner stubbornly refused to give me any discount and accept credit card as a method of payment. We were still in the process of negotiation when he suddenly got up from his seat without excusing himself and walked out for a smoke. It was my foolishness to follow him and continue talking to him further. Outside he lit a cigarette, took a drag and puffed the smoke close to my face muttering "Why all want to pay by f***ing credit cards ?". That was the last straw. I felt like landing an instant punch on his face. I walked away saying "You don't know anything about doing a f***ing business. This deal is cancelled". He called me next morning and apologized. But it was too late for me to change my mind. I booked the party in a Chinese restaurant which was a whole lot better. On top of everything he gave me a 15% discount, accepted my credit card. As there were many vegetarians among the guests whenever ordered they promptly served veggie stir fries, Pizzas with no question asked and no additional fee charged. Cheaper quality product with an excellent customer service, What else does a customer want ? Not surprisingly Chinese restaurants are doing brisk business in America where as many Indian counterparts are going out of business ( Unsurprisingly this Indian restaurant was sold not long after the above incident). I marvel at the business acumen of the Chinese. India is still not there, not yet. It has a long way to catch up with its Asian neighbor. Mumbai will never be Shanghai, certainly not in our generation.