Feb 22 2010
The ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ about Singapore’s Service Standards
It all started with the escalator etiquette, which many Singaporeans seem oblivious to; I had a local question me why it has to be the left side when I walked up the right of the escalator behind him, & said “excuse me.”
Interestingly, shortly after that, this issue was mentioned in one of the speeches by our PM. After that, the proper escalator etiquette seemed more noticeable, especially at Raffles Place & Tanjong Pagar MRT stations.
Based on Hofstede, our culture is characterized by a reluctance to speak up (high PDI), but I believe that would actually perpetuate the bad habits even if we do not do it ourselves.
A huge gap in this effort to improve ourselves, was the almost ubiquitous lack of recognition & encouragement of good service and etiquette.
Thus, I started Sabisu http://sabisu.wordpress.com, with both types of experiences… though I guess with more entries on positive experiences, which isn’t too common.
Here’s an excerpt from my own experience with Singapore’s service standards:
Eating at Newton used to be quite an adventure in the past, when touting was prevalent, and fights as common as seafood there. This was especially true past midnight, with the main mix of post-party clubbers of varying soberness and bar/club staff going for supper after work. The government has since ‘cleaned up’ the place, even physically (a major renovation took place in 2007).
Just recently, I was there for dinner, and looked for my regular store and friendly guy to order from. Incidentally, we order from store No. 53, Guan Kee Seafood, and our friendly Din is pictured here. His service is prompt and sincere, and he’s quite hard-working (runs around like woody woodpecker). He actually remembers how you prefer some of your favourite dishes done after you’ve ordered from him a couple of times.
While we waited a short while for our dishes, we were observing all the tension and competition as different networks of seafood stores lurked around like vultures waiting for the tables to be vacated, while at the same time securing their new customers by ‘helping’ them find seats, whereby the latter could look at the former’s menu while they waited. Of course, you’re told you that can order from any store, but through their non-verbal body language for instance when they’re surrounding you. They seem especially excited about Caucasian customers, I wonder why…
Another funny thing to share about our Newton friend Din – he actually gave us some coins once when we didn’t have any and wanted to go to the washroom. And at our dinner recently, he helped us make up for a few cents in the bill so that we don’t have to bother with waiting for change if we used a $50 bill. If you’re looking for him, it shouldn’t be too hard. Just don’t hunt him down like a hawk!
Damian Sim is a 33 year old Project Manager at Swedish MICE & interior architecture firm, Space Production, with additional roles of branding, creative direction and business development. (www.SpaceProduction.SE) (E: Damian.Sim@SpaceProduction.SE )
