Li has been a shop assistant for only two years, yet she has already been given the title of a "Zhang Binggui-type sales assistant," which places higher demands on performance than the title of pacesetter. More than 30 assistants have been granted the title of excellence since Zhang's recent death from cancer. One of them Du Xuechang said, "The store doesn't only depend on bonuses to induce assistants to work efficiently. What is more important is fostering a willingness to serve the people well."

Checks and supervision from various circles aid greatly towards improving the store's service. The assistants explained that they often underwent various checks from the authorities in charge of the store, from the store leadership and from other stores. During work hours, every assistant should wear a number plaque. Any fault found in an assistant is subject to review and criticism and may lead to a cut in bonus. At the end of each month, all assistants are evaluated, using customers' comments, usually in written forms, as one of the bases on which the appraisal is made.

"Does higher sales volume mean good service?" This was the most hotly debated question at a forum on service held by the store a year ago. The side for the affirmative argued that higher sales were obvious proof that an assistant has done a good job. The opposing viewpoint was that higher sales volumes can be due to the competitiveness of the goods themselves and need not necessarily indicate a good attitude to service. The debate attracted a large number of staff, especially the younger members.

After-Hour Life

Young sales assistants often carry their concern for their work into their spare time. Wang Wenlin, for instance, studies books on psychology and sociology. He said, "As a shop assistant, I come into contact with all kinds of people. How can I deal with them if I don't understand them?" He uses his reading for coping with new situations at work. Applying consumer psychology, he often speaks first of the shortcomings of goods he is selling when introducing them to the buyers, which wins him the faith of his customers. Wang is one of many dedicated young workers at the department store. Some are studying English, some business management. A total of 155 of the store's employees have taken up courses offered by Beijing's TV university or study in their spare time in various vocational schools and colleges.

About 70 percent of the staff are below the age of 30. Most enjoy recreational or sports activities in their spare time. One salesgirl said, "We work eight hours a day on our feet and walk a distance of about 30 kilometres a day fetching goods for customers. So I dance in the evening to relax."

Small contests held before or after work hours attract many staff members. The programmes include table tennis, badminton, basketball, football, tug-of-war, skating, ballroom dancing, Chinese chess and bridge. At 7:30 every morning from May to June last year, passers-by saw groups of young salesgirls performing artistic gymnastics to lively music in the small square in front of the department store. This was a callisthenics contest for which each group had spent a month or so rehearsing.

Older assistants also have their interests. For more than 20 years, Dong Kelu has never missed a chance to enter Chinese chess contests in his free time. Another assistant Yan Liankui is a good hand at gardening. Orchids, kaffirlilies and maiden-hair fern thrive on the balcony of his apartment.

Unlike their young and old colleagues, employees in the middle-aged group have less time to spare for these activities, as they are heavily burdened with household duties. Those with children are busier still. During the last decade, as a sales' assistant, 42-year-old Guo Qingxia had to cook, wash, and take care of her child in the evening. She had no time to watch TV or listen to music. If she had any free time, she would rather lie down and rest.

In the store's rest room, mothers discuss sending their children to kindergarten and extending their living quarters. Women staff members make up over 60 percent of the store's total work force. The store and its immediate superior, the Beijing No. 1 Commercial Bureau, have made efforts to help solve their problems. New kindergartens have been opened in recent years, and graduates majoring in preschool education have been invited to teach in these kindergardens.

An employee of the department store since the mid-50s, Huang Jun and the three other members of his family used to crowd into a seven-square-metre room. In 1984, they moved to a new apartment with a floor space of 40 square metres and are more than pleased with the low rent of the new apartment - around 6 percent of Huang's monthly pay. In China, most apartments are provided by the unit one works with. The department store began to direct funds to constructing apartment buildings for its staff in 1979. Today, almost all senior assistants have moved into the newly built, spacious apartments.

The problem now is providing housing for younger staff members. Many young newly wedded couples are still on the waiting list for an apartment. They are not kidding when they say, "It's more difficult to get an apartment than to find a spouse!"

(NO. 4, 1988)