just being nice

And yet, while traveling around Japan with a group of journalists, I've also continually encountered what seem to be exquisitely engineered inefficiencies. There are a large number of people whose jobs seem to be standing around and calling out greetings and gesturing the way to enter stores, restaurants, hotels, and office buildings.

- Why Does Japan, the World's Most Efficient Economy, Have So Many Elevator Operators and Gas Station Attendants?