On Service and Graciousness
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maybe, there is a problem somewhere called "focus"...
while it's true that service standards must be upheld in the service industry, what the hell is service standards and a whole lot of KPIs, awards and whatnots doing in industries like the Police?
they actually have a SQA award! -
In a nutshell, rude customers are a huge reason why bad service is rendered.Originally posted by dragg: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.
I've had to face both good and bad folks in my line of work. I find that whilst I can be quite a demoness with one group, I can be an angel to another. Basically, it's whether they approach you with their nose up in the air, talking down to you with their hoity-toity, 'bah-bahn' attitude, or if they are polite and considerate when approaching you.
We all go the extra mile for those who are gracious to us. And it's our joy to go beyond the call of duty for these folks. I have, and still do, keep in touch with a select few patients and their families, and I constantly keep them in my prayers.
Then, there are those who love to 'squeeze blood out of stone'. Sure, because the entire management is so darn freaking scared of complaint letters, nevermind if they do have grounds for complaint or not, we will end up doing their bidding, but we certainly do not like these folks and amongst us, much is said about these monsters.
Service staff or not, people are still people. No one is 'more important' than someone else just because he/she's a customer.
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Misguided... someone at the upper echelons of our govt is some paper-qualifications-wielding yuppy who places a high premium on 'looking good'.Originally posted by the Bear:maybe, there is a problem somewhere called "focus"...
while it's true that service standards must be upheld in the service industry, what the hell is service standards and a whole lot of KPIs, awards and whatnots doing in industries like the Police?
they actually have a SQA award! -
Just on TV, News at 9:30pm... a snippet where experts say that your attitude and tone of voice when you step into a shop determines the type of service you'll most likely get.
And then, someone suggested that we should smile more when we say 'Thank you!' to the service staff.
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man i can't agree with you more. right now the army is having the same "shift"Originally posted by Rhonda:Misguided... someone at the upper echelons of our govt is some paper-qualifications-wielding yuppy who places a high premium on 'looking good'.
all these crap about transformation in the army is a whole load of crap. right now everything is revolving around 'image' or 'looking good'
those who fail the BMI twice will be discharged from the army!!
Pity those who have contributed so much and are getting these "much" recognition....hai~ -
Yeah, at times I get comments like," I know your boss..you want me to talk to your boss." Go ahead, you may know my boss, but does my boss know you and want to talk to you?? That's another issue.Originally posted by Rhonda:I passed by a ward recently, and saw this newspaper copy of a quote by PM Lee pinned up on the notice board :
"If customers treat you like dirt, you are not going to serve with pride.
"And customers have to know that the person is serving you, it doesn't mean he or she is a slave or a servant.
I am in total agreement with this sentiment!! I am also mighty glad that our PM has brought this up!
Too many times, I've seen local customers abuse their status. I entered the healthcare sector, not realising that in Singapore, healthcare is interpreted to mean 'service'. Which means, instead of us prioritising our tasks depending on who is more critically ill and needs the medical / nursing attention more, we end up apportioning a great deal of our time towards pleasing demanding and unreasonable relatives.
I heard of a recent incident too, where a newly-graduated nurse was reprimanded badly by relatives who were angry that she didn't know the Consultant of a discipline that's totally different and unrelated to the nurse's ward discipline. They went overboard, shouting, "If you don't even know the doctors in your hospital, you might as well don't be a nurse! You're not fit to be a nurse!" What the!!!
There are HUNDREDS of doctors in the large public hospitals here. It is impossible to know ALL of them, especially if their discipline is not related to your ward's! Besides, the poor girl had just started her job as a nurse, it takes time to get to know her job well, much less know all the in's and out's and the nitty-gritties! Give her a break!!
I think when we're in the queue where a trainee cashier or trainee customer service staff is at work, we should also be a bit more patient. It takes time for newly-employed staff to get to know the ropes. Don't make life harder for them by making rude remarks, showing your impatience, being grouchy and verbally abusive!
And I feel we should stop complaining and demanding, "I want to see your supervisor / manager!" so often! No service personnel wants to deliberately make a customer displeased but sometimes, it's the customer who's obstinate, unreasonable, and unruly. I think we have to stop being selfish, and start being more reasonable and gracious.
Just because we're purchasing goods / services, doesn't give us the right to lord it over the poor staff!
We should start seeing this issue for what it is - abuse. Abuse of a perceived 'power' that isn't really justified.
Let's give the customer service folks a break! Let's bridge the gap between education and civilised behaviour for contrary to popular delusion, the two sure don't automatically go hand-in-hand in the local context!
Everyone can say they know someone. I know Brad Pitt too, what the heck. -
Yes, I have a better impression of Buddhists than Christians. Quite a number of Christians here are actually highly educated but totally downright ugly Singaporeans!Originally posted by Rhonda:Actually, let me share a few heartwarming incidents where our locals proved to be very gracious.
There have been two or three encounters I've had, where the relatives were so nice, that they would actually tend to the other patients in the room when they realised that we were shorthanded!
I mean, that's soooo rare, but sooo sweet!!
They do stuff like help us to feed an elderly patient, or they'll buy extra food for the other patients in the room, especially those with no visitors, or they'll bring them a cup of water when they ask. They would even sit beside the lonely patient and comfort them.
Hmm... coincidentally, on these rare occurences, the people who helped out were all Buddhists. (I'm not a Buddhist myself - it's purely an observation! ) -
In Switzerland, people would get their purchases out and put them on the conveyour belt themselves and stack the baskets nicely. Then they would put like a paperwieght thing, to indicate that it's the end of the their line of items, and the next customer behind them would do the same thing. They also bring their own bags to put their purchases. They don't distribute plastic bags there unless you request, and most people do not ask for that. The service was ok... (I wouldn't know that well, they spoke to me in German). But imagine the outcry here if supermarkets don't distribute plastic carriers.
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I worked in NTUC as a cashier before, it's horrible, all kinds of horrible people, but there were nice ones as well. One day I just lost my temper at this dumb rude woman, I told her to f u c k off. I was 18 then, about to go to uni in a few months, and yet these customers treated me like I'm more low class than them.Originally posted by the Bear:try working
holidays are near, go get a part-time job earning some pocket money flipping burgers or packing crates...
learn what it is like earning less than minimum wage, while being badgered by rude people
it would rip open your eyes to what it is like, and the value of hard work... -
when i say "i don't need a bag" in singapore here, sometimes, the cashier looks at me strangely
Originally posted by foxwalk:In Switzerland, people would get their purchases out and put them on the conveyour belt themselves and stack the baskets nicely. Then they would put like a paperwieght thing, to indicate that it's the end of the their line of items, and the next customer behind them would do the same thing. They also bring their own bags to put their purchases. They don't distribute plastic bags there unless you request, and most people do not ask for that. The service was ok... (I wouldn't know that well, they spoke to me in German). But imagine the outcry here if supermarkets don't distribute plastic carriers. -
okay.. there will soon be a "service index" soon..
that's good for the service industry... well, "good" in some ways..
however, for what i do, it's going to be a disaster when the management hears about it... where being able to intimidate serves us and everyone well, this may end up being detrimental to everyone except for the undesirables..
let's see how this goes... -
DisasterOriginally posted by the Bear:okay.. there will soon be a "service index" soon..
that's good for the service industry... well, "good" in some ways..
however, for what i do, it's going to be a disaster when the management hears about it... where being able to intimidate serves us and everyone well, this may end up being detrimental to everyone except for the undesirables..
let's see how this goes...
Some customer they are really rude
I heard from a ex-classmate, in the retail sector, the worst are the chinese tourist, they have a habit of throwing coins and notes