"Singapore not where it wants to be yet for service culture: PM Lee - The Straits Times 18 May 2015
SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday that Singapore has focused on its businesses and workers in the past decade while building a strong service culture. But in the next decade, Singaporeans must strive to be good customers as well, he added.
PM Lee delivered a strongly-worded reminder in a speech at the 2015 Singapore Service Excellence Medallion awards on Monday night at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore. He said: "If the customer treats the service staff like dirt, it makes it much harder to serve with pride and give you good service. "Just because a person is serving us, does not mean he or she is a servant, or even worse, a slave.
He also delivered a reality check: When it comes to service, Singapore is still not quite where it wants to be yet.
He mentioned how he had screened two videos at the National Day Rally 10 years ago. The first was called "Tao Gay Not Enough" - showing a hawker who was rude to customers. The second video was "Tao Gay Never Enough" - showing the same hawker, this time serving a rude customer. He added that everyone had a role to play on the journey towards a service culture: Both the seller (businesses who are selling and service staff) and the buyer (customers and consumers)."
In recent times, PM Lee has been leading the charge to ACKNOWLEDGE and served as a 'Let's Examine Ourselves' invitation, hopefully not understood to be chiding, to Singaporeans & residents (now workers (white-collar and gold-collar included)) with the 'Garbage City' posting and now on this 'We are NOT there in Service' call.
This is to be applauded as acknowledgement of our deficiency is the first step to improving. I hope ESM Goh and Minister Vivian, both of them also brought up the 'Garbage City' issues after PM Lee's remarks, will take this up too. And the rest of the cabinet so that we can CREATE a momentum to inspire and move Singaporean and resident workers and employers to IMPROVE on Service Quality. Much like in the past whenever our late ex-PM/SM/MM Lee triggered a national movement, many echoed and THINGS MOVED!
It is a PIANFUL reminder that pm Lee had screened 2 video in that National Day Rally Speech 10 years ago on the importance of Service Quality and we are STILL NOT where we want to be!!
It takes great courage to acknowledge that.
So, let's try the following ideas, many of which I am sure some Service Quality experts and gurus had promulgated in the past:
1. start with the mind-set at HOME and at SCHOOL. Parents who are respectful and gracious will normally have positive influence on their kids' values and behaviours. Schools will reinforce that. And if the kids' parents are NOT as refine and graceful as they would like, they can BRING the 'gracious and respect' values from the schools to their HOMES! Yes. The YOUNG teaching the PARENTS! It will be a bit more challenging but should be tried.
2. at work, the employers must be respectful of their employees. Of course, their employees must be self-respecting type too. When a person has no self-respect, it is hard for him/her to respect others.
While employers must chant the "Customer is King/Queen/God" mantra and equipped their employees with excellent customer service skills, they must not forget to put up signs like: 'If YOU abused us, we are hurting too!" that I see at some PROGRESSIVE service organizations like SGH.
3. as customers, we have our rights. When we are right, we don't have to be angry. Of course it is hard to stay calm when you pay good money and the service is poor. Yet, because you have the 'how to be a firm and respectful customer when services are poor' skills, you will channel the unhappiness and frustration to the right channel in the appropriate manner without coming across as BULLIES, savages, customers from HELL!
Again, skills can be learned. YET, do anyone WANT TO BE an Excellent Service Provider or an Excellent Customers depends on the MIND-SET! Hopefully, if it is present in the home when one is young. At school when one is young. Maybe it will trickle to at WORK when we are NO LONG YOUNG!!
The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew lamented that he will not see gracefulness in his lifetime. This is one unfulfilled wish that perhaps we can try to fulfil for him?
Kudos to the Excellent Service Award winners - Organizations and Individual.
SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday that Singapore has focused on its businesses and workers in the past decade while building a strong service culture. But in the next decade, Singaporeans must strive to be good customers as well, he added.
PM Lee delivered a strongly-worded reminder in a speech at the 2015 Singapore Service Excellence Medallion awards on Monday night at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore. He said: "If the customer treats the service staff like dirt, it makes it much harder to serve with pride and give you good service. "Just because a person is serving us, does not mean he or she is a servant, or even worse, a slave.
He also delivered a reality check: When it comes to service, Singapore is still not quite where it wants to be yet.
He mentioned how he had screened two videos at the National Day Rally 10 years ago. The first was called "Tao Gay Not Enough" - showing a hawker who was rude to customers. The second video was "Tao Gay Never Enough" - showing the same hawker, this time serving a rude customer. He added that everyone had a role to play on the journey towards a service culture: Both the seller (businesses who are selling and service staff) and the buyer (customers and consumers)."
In recent times, PM Lee has been leading the charge to ACKNOWLEDGE and served as a 'Let's Examine Ourselves' invitation, hopefully not understood to be chiding, to Singaporeans & residents (now workers (white-collar and gold-collar included)) with the 'Garbage City' posting and now on this 'We are NOT there in Service' call.
This is to be applauded as acknowledgement of our deficiency is the first step to improving. I hope ESM Goh and Minister Vivian, both of them also brought up the 'Garbage City' issues after PM Lee's remarks, will take this up too. And the rest of the cabinet so that we can CREATE a momentum to inspire and move Singaporean and resident workers and employers to IMPROVE on Service Quality. Much like in the past whenever our late ex-PM/SM/MM Lee triggered a national movement, many echoed and THINGS MOVED!
It is a PIANFUL reminder that pm Lee had screened 2 video in that National Day Rally Speech 10 years ago on the importance of Service Quality and we are STILL NOT where we want to be!!
It takes great courage to acknowledge that.
So, let's try the following ideas, many of which I am sure some Service Quality experts and gurus had promulgated in the past:
1. start with the mind-set at HOME and at SCHOOL. Parents who are respectful and gracious will normally have positive influence on their kids' values and behaviours. Schools will reinforce that. And if the kids' parents are NOT as refine and graceful as they would like, they can BRING the 'gracious and respect' values from the schools to their HOMES! Yes. The YOUNG teaching the PARENTS! It will be a bit more challenging but should be tried.
2. at work, the employers must be respectful of their employees. Of course, their employees must be self-respecting type too. When a person has no self-respect, it is hard for him/her to respect others.
While employers must chant the "Customer is King/Queen/God" mantra and equipped their employees with excellent customer service skills, they must not forget to put up signs like: 'If YOU abused us, we are hurting too!" that I see at some PROGRESSIVE service organizations like SGH.
3. as customers, we have our rights. When we are right, we don't have to be angry. Of course it is hard to stay calm when you pay good money and the service is poor. Yet, because you have the 'how to be a firm and respectful customer when services are poor' skills, you will channel the unhappiness and frustration to the right channel in the appropriate manner without coming across as BULLIES, savages, customers from HELL!
Again, skills can be learned. YET, do anyone WANT TO BE an Excellent Service Provider or an Excellent Customers depends on the MIND-SET! Hopefully, if it is present in the home when one is young. At school when one is young. Maybe it will trickle to at WORK when we are NO LONG YOUNG!!
The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew lamented that he will not see gracefulness in his lifetime. This is one unfulfilled wish that perhaps we can try to fulfil for him?
Kudos to the Excellent Service Award winners - Organizations and Individual.
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