Gratefully overwhelmed by niceness

As part of The Chronicle’s coverage of the Warriors’ trip to China, beat writer Connor Letourneau is posting regular first-person accounts of what he observes.

SHENZHEN, China — Bleary-eyed from a fitful night of sleep, I accidentally almost dined and dashed this morning.

After feasting on a delicious breakfast buffet with several fellow NBA writers, I was walking out the door when I realized I hadn’t paid for my meal. Almost on cue, my waitress approached me with the bill.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

Caught off guard, I said quickly: “What do you mean? I’m the one who’s sorry.”

It was just one of a handful of times in the few days I’ve been here that someone has apologized to me for something that required no apology. I’ve traveled a decent amount, visiting 47 states, Europe, South America and now Asia, and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered nicer people than in Shenzhen.

The folks at NBA China have gone out of their way to track down interviews for me. When my pen broke during media availability Wednesday, a Chinese reporter immediately handed me one of his. Earlier in the week, when I discovered my cab didn’t take credit cards and I had no yuan, my driver told me not to worry about it.

When I ordered room service in my hotel Wednesday night, my server accidentally spilled hot sauce on my table. She was so apologetic that I thought she might cry.

I’m sure I’ll be ready to get home soon enough, but there is one thing I will definitely miss about China: the sincerity of the people.