I have mentioned in a few postings how much I value speed of service and how some organizations put so much effort into making things simple and efficient. So it came as somewhat of a surprise to me to be writing this blog as a result of being refused entry to a country and being put on a boat back to Hong Kong; oh and at the same time abandoning my children to their fates.
So the award for great speed of service goes to the Macau immigration authorities.
By way of background my children had come to visit me for a week in Hong Kong and my wife and I decided to spend the weekend with them in Macau; another of China’s Special Administration Zones. And it is the words Special Administration Zone that caused me the problem as rather naively and perhaps typically (I am English after all) I assumed that all Zones were the same and having an entry permit into one would guarantee you access to all. And I convinced my wife of the same thing.
Some of you will be hearing the sound of squealing brakes at this point as the inevitable car crash of my desire to get into Macau collided with the absolutely correct actions of the Macau immigration services.
‘I’m sorry do you have your passport?’ is one of those innocuous questions that I didn’t realize was so important until
a) the answer was obviously going to ‘No I don’t’ and
b) I could see my sons disappearing through immigration with me not being able to follow them.
However important or not there was no way my wife and I were entering Macau.
The immigration team were exceptionally nice to us, spoke great English but implacable which I fully understand as I was clearly, once they explained it to me in writing, in breach of the requirement to have a valid passport with me. At this point in time the service aspect really kicked in. The immigration officer walked me through the security gates, took me to see my children, explained to them the problem and even showed them where the bus stop was for their connection to the hotel. My children, unlike me, were of course very relaxed and happy and last seen disappearing off towards their transport.
My wife and I disappeared off towards ours – the ferry back to Hong Kong.
But we weren’t just put into the departure lounge – we were walked to the front of the queue and taken to our own seats. We were wished well and hoped to be seen in Macau again once we had the right documentation. We were even offered and apology and a drink by the immigration officer before he left us on the ferry. Great service and unexpected.
Shame it only happened because I made a mess of things…..
Oh and the children – when we found them they were happily enjoying themselves at the swim up bar at the hotel having checked themselves in using my credit card details that I didn’t know they had.
The Burble 