Customer Service
In today's Straits Times, there was an article on Singapore's Service Industry, namely customer service in the retail business. PM Lee ever spoke about the standards of service in Singapore and talks about who's the baddie (customers or service staff) have been around for awhile. In the article, it spoke about perhaps the person isn't rude or arrogant but perhaps the staff does not understand the language or articulate him or herself well.
Perhaps language is a barrier and a challenge for most of our service staff who consists mainly of Uncles and Aunties. I would assume only a small percentage of these sales staff are English educated or are able to converse in English, whereas the rest, rely on the mother tongue or dialects, which to my opinion, does not serve well in the service industry if they are targetting foreigners. English being the main language in almost every country, it is crucial for sales staff especially to learn and converse well in English.
It is unfortunate that not every educated person in Singapore would want to be sales staff, unlike in Australia (taking it as an example) educated students are rushing to get jobs at most of the retail outlet and they are proud to be working for them, even if it's like Kmart or Target. There might be factors that are hindering Singapore servive learning:
1. Low Pay
Comparing it to Australia , despite high taxes, Australians or Casuals earn an average $12.00 p/hr and this is a minimum wage. Weekends, service staff might earn more perhaps up to $17 or even $20 p/hr. In Singapore, my knowledge is a sales staff could only earn an average $7 p/hr perhaps inclusive of CPF too.
I feel Singaporeans being an Asian country posses Asian mentality such as pride or 'face' value and perhaps because we being the slightly more educated society, snobbishness becomes apparant. Thus, we such mentalities and arrogance in the air, how would someone (educated for that matter) be willing to work at a $7/hr (or even lesser) job.
2. Degrading
As I've mentioned, Singaporeans can be quite snobbish and arrogant, and so to Singaporeans, we might think being a sale staff isn't all that great and something to be proud off. It seems Singaporeans embraces the sayin "Customers are always right". Ugly Singaporean syndrome seems apparant in almost every service line. Perhaps it is with this mentality that many sales staff feel ashamed of but because they need the $$, they force themselves to work but of coz with shame and no pride in the work they do.
3. Lack of Professionalism
To me, in everything you do, you have to do it well, even how much you hate it. That's professionalism isn't it? And so the problem of Singapore's service industry could also boil down to the lack of professionalism. As mentioned, sales staffs feel degraded or ashamed and so this might lead to lack of professionalism. They do not put on that bright smile with sincerity and genuinity. I guess this problem can only be solved from Management. Management has to constantly train their staff, investment on the human capital is crucial in Singapore's context and so management's no. 1 priority should be Training for staff.
The benefits are aplenty:
1. Staff will feel valued as they feel the company cares for them and are willing to
invest time and money on them
2. Staff will feel loyal towards the company and thus lead to better service
3. Staff will be more well informed and educated about the products they sell. By
possesing good product knowledge, a sale staff would then feel more confident to
promote the product and will feel more accomplished if a purchase is performed
because of their good product persuasion.
By building service staff self-esteem and self-confidence, the results will thus lead to greater benefits such as an increase in professionalism, better customer response and feedback, and definately a note-worthy mentioned as being the company that has the best service.
I guess the service industry can be regarded as a reflection of the human resource management of each company. I believe results will be fruitful if a company cares. If a company still feels sales is much more important than their employees, perhaps it's time to change that old school thinking and start moving ahead with the times.
Something must be done soon as the service industry is just too important for Singapore's economy.
