IT was evening and we were leaving for a nearby sports club when we met him. I have, perhaps, not seen a broader smile than that of that man, whose name too we discourteous people didn't bother to ask. He introduced himself as a census enumerator and asked if we had five minutes for giving him our details.

He then went on and took our details patiently, talking in the softest tone possible, and smiling always. He apologized for holding us up and thanked before we departed. What need not be mentioned is we talked about him all the way to the club, lamenting that we should have at least invited him in and offered him a drink.

Soft skills were probably the most noticeable aspect, in my view, of the Fourth National Census (April 28-May12). Saudi enumerators – the officials taking census on the field – were the kind you rarely hear about.

We weren't the only ones who experienced this. My colleagues too had similar stories to tell. They were all clearly impressed. A colleague of mine did invite him in and spoke to him over tea. Another letter of praise from a Saudi Gazette reader in Riyadh was all I needed to be sure that this conduct was not an exception, but a norm for the census enumerators.

This, I think, is a landmark shift -- the most phenomenal change for good that Saudi Arabia has experienced. And little has been talked about it.

Hats off to the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI) that trained a staff of over 40,000! What capability and professionalism it has shown!

Among other instructions, the census officials were asked to revisit a house "for at least ten times until they made sure that the house was really unoccupied."

I have personally seen our own enumerator twice wondering why he was near our place again.

Thousands of unemployed people were hired for two-three months. But they were used only for clerical work, and not for the field job, which demands more responsibility and credibility.

Among other census tales we treated to, I recall the story of one enumerator in Hail who was forced by a 70-year-old shepherdess to count and register her sheep :-) The official was unable to convince her that census was only for human beings. "She kept a close eye on me as I counted them to make sure I didn't miss one," he said.

Anyways, the point is: It would be a pity if don't let this "disease" of courtesy spread into other government departments as well. Airports should be the place to start with.

How about bringing in the CDIS to train the airport staff because the airport authorities don't seem to get it? That would derail their egos for sure. OK, that was a joke.

But airport officials seriously need some soft skills and dedication in the work they do. Again, not all are in the same boat. There are good ones too.

What seems to be lacking is a policy of treating travelers well -- a strong policy that makes courtesy a norm, and not an exception at airports.

It's such a shame that every time a visitor visits Saudi Arabia there is a very good chance he would end up with an official who would not fail to mistreat him. From the stories one would hear, it seems almost like officials have a duty to humiliate people, particularly those coming from third world countries.

If we were to have airport officials like "our enumerator" -- smiling from cheek to cheek, speaking in soft words, and greeting in courteous words, then imagine what impact it would have. Saudi Arabia would start winning the hearts and minds of people. Its international image would improve.

Actually, let's not talk about the benefits. There should be no justification to do this. This is something so basic that a country doesn't have an option to do otherwise. Being an Islamic country, Saudi Arabia's responsibility is higher. Anything that it does will be – for the non-Muslim world – associated with Islam.

Being a Muslim country, it is obligated to implement Islamic rules in submission to God. But the responsibility is much greater when it represents the image of Islam.

And rudeness, hostility, and sloppy work are the perfect opposites of what Islam stands for. Wasn't it the Muslim traders' honesty, truthfulness and character that influenced multitudes of people to Islam? Indonesia, the country with the most Muslim population, embraced Islam through traders. No Muslim army set its foot there.

In conclusion, the census authorities deserve praise for bringing about a much-needed landmark shift in the way people should be treated. And it's sincerely hoped that this will be replicated in airports, passport offices, police departments, labor offices, and all government departments soon.