By Fann Sim | Yahoo! Finance
Singapore – 23
hours ago
Do we really have bad service standards or are we just plain
demanding?
According to service experts, Singaporeans can be harder to
please compared to their counterparts in the region.
Ben Llewellyn, regional director of a global market research
company IPSOS, said that different countries accept different
levels of service, but there are those who are less tolerant of bad
service.
"If I compare it across the region, Singaporeans are typically a
little bit harder to please in general," said Llewellyn.
"I think this largely comes from there being such a strong
service culture in Singapore, and typically, you find that more
affluent people have higher standard levels and are often the
hardest customers to please," Llewellyn added.
He adds that because Singapore is a country where "everything
works", when something doesn't work, it stands out more and causes
more of a problem.
This is echoed by others working in the service industry.
Gordon Foo, coordinating director of operations at St James
Power Station, described Singaporeans as always expecting tip-top
service.
"Sometimes they expect five-star treatment, [such as] fine
dining restaurant service in a club environment, which is mostly
impossible. We try our best to provide that for our customers, but
if we're facing a full house, that will not be possible," Foo
said.
"Living in a first world country, most Singaporeans grow up
expecting a certain level of service standard as compared to the
rest living in Southeast Asia, where they're just out for a night
of fun. They don't expect such quality service so anything over and
above is a bonus for them," Foo added.
Ugly customer behaviour
Once, a female customer threw a chair at another female customer
at St James Power Station after witnessing her boyfriend flirting
with the other woman, Foo recalled.
In some cases, customers direct their aggression toward the
staff and start abusing them -- sometimes physically but mostly
verbally.
"It usually happens once or twice a week, quite common. Some
customers are quite aggressive in nature after a few drinks and
they react to almost anything," Foo said.
Llewellyn explains that the worst customer behaviour usually
comes from customers who have done something wrong, or those who
don't understand something so they end up trying to almost bully
the company into taking the blame.
"[Customers] have to remember that they are dealing with humans
who often don't have any say in corporate or company policy,"
Llewellyn added.
Yelling "I want to speak to your manager" does not work for
everyone too. Typically when customers ask to speak another person
in a higher position, managers will often take the same line as the
junior staff.
Companies might look at the value that you as a customer provide
to the company and decide how they will respond to you. For
instance, if it's an airline, they might look at your membership or
credit card and work out how valuable you are to the company.
Using the 'customer is always right' card
As much as the mantra "the customer is always right" goes, some
companies have actually stepped in to protect their employees
instead of siding customers.
"For us, I think the customer is always right until it gets
personal. If you start abusing a staff, his or her parents or
family, I think that is when we should step in to protect the
staff," Foo said.
In protecting service staff and pleasing customers, Thomas
Choong, executive director of Chinese fine dining restaurant Xi
Yan, said that the best protection is to prepare their staff for
foreseeable and unforeseeable circumstances.
"The reality is that the customer is not always right," Choong
said.
"A principle we try to adhere to is when others may be wrong, it
doesn't mean we have to be as well. We also believe that even when
a customer is mistaken, misunderstood, disrespectful or badly
behaved, it doesn't mean we should reciprocate in a similar way,"
Choong added.
Exactly WHAT is the purpose of this article ?
The author is "just sayin" ? Just complaining ??
He wants us to accept lower standard of service ?
He wants us to be less demanding ? Can, then don't charge so
MUCH lor...
if everything is free.. I will accept ZERO service... I'd just
SELF SERVICE lah.. can ?
And also.. what "region" is he comparing Singaporeans to ?
Another third world country ? Japan ? Korea ? Australia ? What ?
Can he be more specific ?
Only FOOLISH customers treat their service staff badly.
I personally witnessed a waitress spit into the food before she
served the dish to her nasty customer.
When I treat service staff well, I get better services from
them... some went above and beyond their job scope to please me. So
it's a win-win situation.
When you are nice to others, you are actually being nice to
yourself.
