These days, as soon as I step foot in a cafe or restaurant, I am warmly welcomed and greeted by the workers. It seems like all of a sudden, servers at these eateries have adopted a high level of professionalism; one can say that customer service certainly has improved post-lockdown in Malaysia.
And if we were to take a closer look at these workers, most of them would be in their 20s. Even at traditional kopitiam joints – where in the past, most of the servers and helpers were migrant workers – are now filled with these twentysomethings. They are the ones making our kopitiam favourites like Hainanese coffee, shredded chicken hor fun, curry noodles and more.