On Service and Graciousness
-
Nah.. the jewellery pple always top the chart. They r really GOOD.Originally posted by the Bear:well done!
looks like you get an award
for my efforts, i will get banished to the innards of the building on wednesday when the ISO idiots come audit us
I'll be happy so long as the ranking doesn't drop or my boss will come after me. -
i think if i was there, i'd give you 17 out of 10
that'll beat the jewellery peopleOriginally posted by Camellias4me:Nah.. the jewellery pple always top the chart. They r really GOOD.
I'll be happy so long as the ranking doesn't drop or my boss will come after me. -
And u'll probably give 25 out of 10 to the Perfume & Cosmetic pple.. they will flock to u!Originally posted by the Bear:i think if i was there, i'd give you 17 out of 10
that'll beat the jewellery people
All shops r trying to beat each other.
-
nahh.. just you
in other news, i usually get 0 out of 10
i'm not cut out for the service industry...
maybe you can teach me?Originally posted by Camellias4me:And u'll probably give 25 out of 10 to the Perfume & Cosmetic pple.. they will flock to u!
All shops r trying to beat each other. -
Im not cut out too.. my frens still thinks i'm in the wrong industry even after all these years... but i need to eat.Originally posted by the Bear:nahh.. just you
in other news, i usually get 0 out of 10
i'm not cut out for the service industry...
maybe you can teach me?
Coz the truth is, there's nothing else i can do.
-
aww... i don't believe that...
not a single moment -
Just to flip the coin back, there are a lot of unpublicised cases of customer abuse these days too.Originally posted by Rhonda:Just sit around at any M1 or SingTel shop... you're sure to see the irate customer making his / her unreasonable demands at some poor service staff.
Or, the next time you patronise a restaurant, look around at how the other patrons treat the service staff.
When you go on vacation, oh man, the ugly Singaporean really rears its head. They act all hoity-toity and are a general nuisance. I'm sure quite a large number of customer service personnel in our neighbouring countries think badly of the 'typical' Singaporean client. So pai seh!
So what if we have a steady, thriving economy? So what if we're literate and highly educated? Look at the way we're behaving... so much like boors!
Both parties must realise that they have to clap to make a good sounding noise.
We, should reward good service with honest thanks and smack lousy service back to where they came from.Especially those "tourist-oriented shops" that look at us locals as if we were the plague. -
Heard those mystery shoppers can be quite dif from normal shoppers, because they bother to see indv staff sv performance
-
Well, just many ppl dun understand... Insist they are given 'service'Originally posted by LazerLordz:Just to flip the coin back, there are a lot of unpublicised cases of customer abuse these days too.
Both parties must realise that they have to clap to make a good sounding noise.
We, should reward good service with honest thanks and smack lousy service back to where they came from.Especially those "tourist-oriented shops" that look at us locals as if we were the plague. -
Well, shy ppl should never be in the service industry then. let those extroverts go do the job. i've read a self-help book on introverts and shyness that most suitable jobs for shy are those which help other ppl but not in a service way.Originally posted by the Bear:i think herein, we may have isolated one of the causes of the problem..
there are people who have no contact with other people, working out there...
being too "shy" and refusing to do anything about it when younger, they finally go out there because they are forced to go get a job, then stressed to hell in a working environment, and ill-equipped with basic social skills, filled with self-loathing for being stressed when meeting people, they will never provide proper service....
what do you think?
like, teaching, therapist, psychiatrist.....etc. and also, u are born as an introvert or extrovert so u can't do too much abt it, maybe shyness can do something but introvertness cannot. -
oh yes, deathdude, you can change...
seriously!
back to the topic:
some guy on the radio this morning said something akin to this.. people think because they are there to spend money, that they have the right to lord over the service staff.. well they don't... they have responsibility too... and if you respect the service staff, they will respect you back and there, you will have a good experience at the shops..
made me think.. about those "mystery shoppers"... can we blame the staff if the staff tries and fails to serve the rude customers and the customer continues to be rude and unreasonable? should the management step in and blast the terrible customer?
i would think the dignity of the staff is at stake here.. and the management MUST step in.. this would actually increase the sense of pride the staff have in their work and elevate the prestige of the company... and ultimately, train both the staff and the customer to be respectful...
but i gather i'm alone in this way of thinking? -
Had the opportunity to sit beside this Japanese man many years ago
we were on a flight from Singapore to Australia
and he asked the flight stewardess for a glass of ... (i couldn't understand either because his accent was very strong)
she glared at him snootily and said "what did you say?!!!??"
he repeated again.
and he said in the same tone of voice "I don't understand you!!!"
he repeated again.
This time we both made out it was "slew liwer" or something like that
and she exclaimed VERY LOUDLY
"OH! YOu want a Screwdriver!!! Why don't you just SAY so properly then!?"
(forgot to add) AND she told him to REPEAT after her. 'Say SCREWDRIVER" a few times.. which .. he did.. patiently and calmly.
He smiled, thanked her profusely and took his drink.
I was shocked and stunned. Being about 17 then I didn't know what to do about it. The blatant racism for so shocking. The air stewardness even 'tsk'ed and shoved the drink the the Japanese businessmen.
After about 15 mins of angry simmering contemplation over the incident, I turned to him and said "I am sorry but that air stewardess was really rude. You've got to make a complain!"
The following conversation we had was something I remembered for a long time. Especially when I was faced with racism, bad service, or simply just bad behaviour.
"If you travel all over the world, you meet all sorts of people. Some who can control themselves, and some who can't. Often it isn't their fault, but their society and upbringing. Instead of complaining about them, SHOW them what is the right thing to do. When enough people show them this, one day they will learn that their environment have changed and they need to change too." -
I like that... it shows very mature thinking on his part indeed, instead of fuming and letting this ruin his day. It's something that we ought to do, but is harder to act on as our natural reaction would be to get angry and complain!Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:...
The following conversation we had was something I remembered for a long time. Especially when I was faced with racism, bad service, or simply just bad behaviour.
"If you travel all over the world, you meet all sorts of people. Some who can control themselves, and some who can't. Often it isn't their fault, but their society and upbringing. Instead of complaining about them, SHOW them what is the right thing to do. When enough people show them this, one day they will learn that their environment have changed and they need to change too." -
Depends sometime the nurse young young pretty,i give very good service..But sometime i kana woken up by some old rag..WAH..
-
someone wrote to the forum comparing the service of SIA to restaurants and shops.
it is a ridiculous comparison. -
Gee, thanks! Nice to know you have been listening when I talk!Originally posted by the Bear:oh yes, deathdude, you can change...
seriously!
back to the topic:
some guy on the radio this morning said something akin to this.. people think because they are there to spend money, that they have the right to lord over the service staff.. well they don't... they have responsibility too... and if you respect the service staff, they will respect you back and there, you will have a good experience at the shops..
made me think.. about those "mystery shoppers"... can we blame the staff if the staff tries and fails to serve the rude customers and the customer continues to be rude and unreasonable? should the management step in and blast the terrible customer?
i would think the dignity of the staff is at stake here.. and the management MUST step in.. this would actually increase the sense of pride the staff have in their work and elevate the prestige of the company... and ultimately, train both the staff and the customer to be respectful...
but i gather i'm alone in this way of thinking?
-
i used to work for a major japanese department store. frankly singaporean's attitude sucks.
i remember once there was a sales and it was so crowded the carpark was jammed. a man came in and started shouting. he commented that the management should have asked the traffic police to come direct traffic. can you believe he actually got angry coz his car's aircon broke down? like we were responsible.
he should have gone there via public transport. -
at my place of work, it's our fault that they are stuck in a jam too
and when we supply a tow-truck free-of-charge, it's our fault tooOriginally posted by dragg:i used to work for a major japanese department store. frankly singaporean's attitude sucks.
i remember once there was a sales and it was so crowded the carpark was jammed. a man came in and started shouting. he commented that the management should have asked the traffic police to come direct traffic. can you believe he actually got angry coz his car's aircon broke down? like we were responsible.
he should have gone there via public transport. -
there are a lot of arguments about good service in the papers recently. i find many comments ridiculous.
sales assistants and waiters are paid a pittance, say $1k or slightly more. they work long and irregular hours. what can we expect from them? some even pass comments like 'if you dont like service job you shouldnt join'. do they really believe that people actually become waiters or sales assistant because they like the job?
how many people actually make a living out of something they like? i think most people dont. -
i would quote the line from Kevin Smith's wonderful movie, Clerks..
Just because they serve you... doesn't mean they like you. -
i pity the waiters and sales assistants.
generally we have a very weak service culture. most singaporeans are cold, rude and demanding. employees of restaurants and shops are not the only guilty ones. the service provided by most companies are very poor too. i dare say that those who complained about poor service are themselves probably guilty of providing poor service to their customers. the only difference is their company is not under public scrutiny. -
yeah..
put those who criticise the most in the shoes of those who serve them, and i think they'll fare even worse...
sadly, the spineless management have let those who make the most noise get away with it.. and these asswipes learn that the squeaky wheel gets the grease... -
Some customers, although rarely do you meet them, can make the day good for the service staffs. Just say a simple "thank you" and you can make them feel happy (sorry, I counldn't think of a better word because of my limited vocabulary) Sometimes, if you see the service staff a little blur blur, give them some time to learn, they most probably new staffs, given that most fast-food restuarants seem to depend on part-timers. Even if they may serve you slower, they are already trying their best to be fast liao.
Read on newspaper about the so called "service DNA" or "fu wu DNA" in Chinese. Sometimes, it is not the service staffs' fault for being rude. Some customers simply get on your nerves and made you want to shout back at them.
My experience recently, got an old lady came and ordered a meal, because the product could not be served yet (still cooking), I told her I sent her meal in about 5 to 10 minutes. After that, I continued to take orders (about 2 to 3 customers, assuming that one customer I took 1 minute to serve or slightly more), I brought up the food to the old lady. When I serve her, she said rudely to me: " I thought this is a fast-food restaurant and you call this fast?" I turned my back and walked away muttering some expletives under my breath (my fault, I should not be doing that). If she want her food to be serve fast, I can... but I cannot gurantee it is fully cooked. Cooking one fish take about 4 minutes, so if you can't wait, why bother to eat, wouldn't it be better for you to cook your own meals yourself?
I am not that good at service because I can suddenly become bad temper especially when I meet such customers. But sometimes, I just wish customers realise one thing. They worked for maybe 10 hours a day. We worked for 6 hours until sometimes we reach home at midnight and before that, we still attend school in the morning and afternoon. Some more, we still need to go to school the next day.
And to death, I am also a shy person. Personally if I speak to another person, he or she might not be able to hear what I am saying sometimes even though the person may be right beside me, even now. But I still go out to work. I changed after I start working as a service staff. When I just started working, customers would sometimes say they can't hear what I'm speaking but now I can speak louder. You got to take the first step out or you will always be what you are now. I used to work in a factory but stopped because of schooling, maybe you can try it, not really much contact with other people, maybe only with a few very closed colleagues as compared to service industry where you got to meet all sorts of people. -
Most of the cases I suggest are customers that caused the poor sv
-
it is a typical singaporean mentality.
they expect to be served well as customers but when they are at work and serving others they provide shItty service.
waiters and salespeople in retail are just unlucky to be under scrutiny. i have worked for more than 15 years and frankly the service provided by most companies (not retail, thus not under public scrutiny) sucks too.