I believe some of you might have seen this video clip before which criticizes the lousy service standards in Singapore. Although Singapore strives to provide world class service standards, but there are always people who prevent us from achieving that goal, particularly those in the retail industry.
This video is not exaggerating because we do encounter people like this once in awhile. As you can see in the video, when the customer requested for more bean sprouts, the auntie pouts, widens her eyes with a stare and repeated the order. Immediately we can see how the customer reacts to the auntie's change in facial expression. This is an example of the non verbal cues like eye contact(Oculesics) and body language that people can spot which tells everyone that the auntie is unhappy. The behaviours of the stall owners had also given the rest of the customers queuing up a very bad impression. They were clearly shocked by such bad service standards and will likely "blacklist" the stall if they ever come back to the same hawker centre to eat. Such negatives effects are the results of the persistency of first impression in the customers. This makes perfect sense because bad services often lead to customers' reluctance to come back again.
There are also some who tries very hard to be customer centric but their non verbal cues just betrayed them. For example, previously I had encountered a retail salesperson who approached me to see if I needed any help on a product. Indeed, he did try to help but he does not look interested at all. His eyes were moody and he was just narrating all the information to me, with absolute zero enthusiasm. Was that considered quality service?
I can cite many examples of bad service encounters but we should never forget that there are always extremely helpful, friendly and engaging people around- Service oriented people who will go the extra mile for customers. I believe that people in the service industry must constantly keep themselves passionate about their jobs, about serving people. They should always strive to satisfy customers' needs to the best of their abilities, not forgetting to maintain the smile on their faces.
This video is not exaggerating because we do encounter people like this once in awhile. As you can see in the video, when the customer requested for more bean sprouts, the auntie pouts, widens her eyes with a stare and repeated the order. Immediately we can see how the customer reacts to the auntie's change in facial expression. This is an example of the non verbal cues like eye contact(Oculesics) and body language that people can spot which tells everyone that the auntie is unhappy. The behaviours of the stall owners had also given the rest of the customers queuing up a very bad impression. They were clearly shocked by such bad service standards and will likely "blacklist" the stall if they ever come back to the same hawker centre to eat. Such negatives effects are the results of the persistency of first impression in the customers. This makes perfect sense because bad services often lead to customers' reluctance to come back again.
There are also some who tries very hard to be customer centric but their non verbal cues just betrayed them. For example, previously I had encountered a retail salesperson who approached me to see if I needed any help on a product. Indeed, he did try to help but he does not look interested at all. His eyes were moody and he was just narrating all the information to me, with absolute zero enthusiasm. Was that considered quality service?
I can cite many examples of bad service encounters but we should never forget that there are always extremely helpful, friendly and engaging people around- Service oriented people who will go the extra mile for customers. I believe that people in the service industry must constantly keep themselves passionate about their jobs, about serving people. They should always strive to satisfy customers' needs to the best of their abilities, not forgetting to maintain the smile on their faces.
6 comments:
You get what you pay for! But even still, I believe its not about the service standards, but the attitude that the person serving you has. In the case of the video, it is almost an unspoken rule that with hawker stalls, you are not supposed to make your orders too complicated. The lady taking orders definitely could have acted more politely, but perhaps that could be their selling point?
I believe that you should not pass your judgment on the retail shop of the unenthusiastic salesperson too quickly. It could just be that salesperson alone having a bad attitude and other salespersons in that retail shop are much more passionate about their job.
Service is definitely an important factor that will determine the success of the business. Satisfied customers may pass around the wonderful experience they had to other potential customers, and perhaps even have another transaction with the business again.
This reminds me of my relatives that have a food stall too. My aunt's kind of like the stall auntie in the video. I think its all about "who's in whose shoes?"
Yes, as the consumer or rather a person on the street, to be treated with simple respect. Not to be snapped at or to be treated rudely because you weren't nasty to start.
From a hawker's point of view, "I woke up at 5am in the morning to prepare for the business; stood from since I opened for business (9am) till lunch. I hadn't even eaten a since thing since 5am; Faced the heat from the kitchen as well as from the weather. Now you tell me that you want more bean sprouts when I have been giving the same amount since I ever started to run the shop!"
Yes. I may sound rather bias. Here's the lowdown. In a restaurant , service is important. You are paying for it. There are waiters to attend to your needs. In the hawker centre, the auntie is probably the cook, waiter, dish-washer, manager and the cashier of the stall. She's over worked if you ask me. And at times there are those people who treat her like crap.
Yes. You are paying for the food but she's cooking it. My dad mentioned that when he was in the army, the cooks would put in some "extra" ingredients to the meals of people they hate. Be grateful she's not doing so.
I think its more of the lacking in basic courtesy. Maybe the government should relaunch Singa the courteous lion.
i think it all boils down to the attitude of the service crew. i had a personal experience with with a saleswoman at a shop. i wanted to purchase a photoframe, and a rather expensive photoframe at that! ($60 to be exact :/) i contemplated for a long while, troubling the lady to take it dowm fromt the shelf, holding and inspecting it for a long time while pondering aloud if i should pay so much for it. the lady patiently stood there smiling, explaining to me the origins and reasons for the expensive price.
When i finally was about 90% sure i was going to get it, i asked her if i could get a discount, seeing it was a pretty pricy sum to pay. She gave me an apologectic smile, and looked geniuinely sorry when she said she was only hired help and was in no position to give a discount unless i bought more. When she sensed my disappointment, she apologized more and said she knew it was a tad expensive, and could understand why i wouldnt want to get it. I thought about it for awhile more and finally decided to get it.
I bought it because i thought it was pretty and unigue, but my decision was swayed considerable by her genuine service and patience. Despite not getting a discount, i was happy to pay the full price because she gave such great service!
I totally agree with you.
As much as Singapore is trying its best to improve service standards there are still the few black sheep out there that keep Singapore from achieving what we would like to term as world-class service standard.
& you are also spot-on in terms of facial expression when serving a customer.
Many a time service staff go through the motions and you cannot see the sincerity in their asking if you need help. Their eyes look dead and they look like they'd rather be somewhere else.
I guess sometimes these people need a reminder how crucial their roles are as frontline service staff. In terms of PR, they are one of the first points of brand contact. Imagine, if the service staff can;t even answer your questions in a sincere, enthusiastic manner; Horror of horrors! How will it be when you need to send your laptop in for servicing?
So yes, as much as its good that service staff are 'going through the motions' and at least doing the minimum, they need to push harder and actually be sincerely enthusiastic in doing their job.
Yes bryan, im just citing an example on how facial expressions can reveal our genuine mood to people.
Zelda, it is good that you can look into the situation by putting yourself in the shoes of others. However in reality no one actually take into account how bad your mood is when they order the food. They are NOT expecting world class service, but to face their foul mood and attitude is simply intolerable.
on the contrary, i think the service standards in singapore is quite up to par with international standards. i'm sure your experiences are those who are the so called "bad apples" of society
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