Are we in a Box?

I'm back to the Singapore posts. 

Singaporeans are notorious for being stuck in a box. Thinking creatively is not a strong suit. Either is customer service.

Here is a typical Singapore meal out:

-You have to ask to be seated
-If you get chips or nuts at the table, they'll charge you for them. Sometimes you're even charged for napkins. You don't know this of course until you go to pay your bill.
-You have to ask for water
-You have to specifically ask for ice water.
-When a waitress arrives to take your order, you order appetizers, drinks AND your meals because that may be the only time you'll see her that evening.
-You'll be served your meals at different times.
-You need to ask for your bill
-If you ask to split the bill, expect it to turn into the most complicated math problem you've ever tried to explain.
-Expect the bill to be FAR more than what you'd expect.

We went to dinner with Jill & Alex Friday night to one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants. Two orders of guacamole as an appetizer was $24. The chips to go with that guacamole was $6. We hit $30 before we even had our drinks and meals!

As I type this, Adam is ironically trying to order pizza. He is arguing with the man on the phone because he said they are unable to make a pizza with 1/2 cheese and 1/2 no cheese. Adam is trying to explain (quite impatiently) that "you just tell the person making the pizza to put cheese on it until they get half way, then just stop putting the cheese on." He lost the argument, they lost customers and an order is being placed elsewhere.

Thinking outside the box proves difficult here. To look on the bright side, it challenges us to think inside the box more often. If that makes any sense at all.