If only they were the norm - not the exception - says Yeoh Siew Hoon

After writing my last column on "serve the person, not the process", I then, by coincidence, spent the whole week interviewing winners of Singapore's Tourism Awards 2005.

Included in the 30 awards were seven given to individuals for service excellence. Called the Tourism Host of the Year awards, they covered the categories of hotel, leisure attraction, restaurant, spa, retail, tour guiding and transport (taxi).

All had personal stories to share.

Winner in the retail category, Belle Tay Siew Ling from Giordano believes all service staff should have GST (Greeting, Smiling, and Thank you) genes "which should never go to sleep".

She says it is about taking the extra effort to help customers get what they want. "For example, I will specially take note of my customers' colors or styles preferences and contact them whenever we have new arrivals.

"If a specific product is not available in my store, I will arrange to transfer from other stores and deliver to my customers personally if it is not convenient for them to collect. There was once when I personally delivered merchandise to a tourist customer at the airport just before his departure."

To Benjamin Tan, who won in the restaurant category, it is about exceeding customer expectation by going the extra mile.
The assistant outlet manager of Blue Potato restaurant at Swissotel Merchant Court recalls an incident. An Australian couple in their late 50s was in Singapore for a five-day holiday. "During a conversation with them, I realized that they had not gone for any sightseeing as they did not know where and how to get started.

"I personally escorted them to places of interest and attractions after my

working hours. They had a wonderful and memorable time in Singapore and wrote to the hotel expressing their heartfelt thanks for my exemplary service and promising to return. It's how amazing that over the five days, the relationship changed from a guest to a friend."

Karen Lim Wai, senior attractions operations officer, Sentosa Leisure Group, who won under leisure attractions, says management must set the example by empowering staff to do their best for customers.

She cites the company's "I Did Good" service initiative, which provides centralised on-the-spot cash refunds for staff who incur out-of-pocket expenses. Each claim is capped at $100. Staff are immediately reimbursed when they make their claims at the Service Quality Department.

"Important lessons were learnt – when you trust people and give them some leeway to learn and grow, they take great pride and responsibility for whatever they do," she says.

I then talked to the winning tour guide. I have always had a soft spot for tour guides; they are truly at the frontline of our business.

Muhammad Razeen Chan Ying Loone of Journeys Ltd says service must be sincere. "In other words, it must be from one's heart. One can only be sincere if one actually regards people as people – not as paying customers to be dragged from one place to another.

"Our fast-paced lifestyle tends to breed impatience. And, unfortunately, in such an aggressive environment, sincerity tends to fade away like a wilting flower."

To him, there is no magic formula to being a great tour guide. "But I guess one can begin by treating your guests as friends. That's what most good guides do. Once your guests become your friends, you know you are on the right track."

I then caught the taxi driver at 11pm one evening. It was the only time Lee Khoon Swee, who drives for Yellow Top Cab, could do the interview. "I can't talk when I am driving," he says.

Khoon Swee has been driving taxis since 1996 and loves what he does because of the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. 

"If you drive someone and you don't talk, it's boring. If you talk, you can learn a lot of things from them. I always make sure I read the newspapers everyday so I can discuss different subjects with my customers. You have to know a little bit about everything and make the passenger feel comfortable so he enjoys the ride."

His motto: To do the best he can for his passengers.

When he picks up tourists, he tells them a little about Singapore and points out landmarks. "I want to make them feel welcome."

Once, he picked up a couple from the airport. They asked him for dining tips. He recommended a restaurant at Keppel Road. Being a Saturday night, he was worried they'd be full so he called the restaurant to make reservations.

"These are the small things that make people happy."

The only negative aspect of the job is the long hours. "But this can't be helped. Every job now has long hours. Look at you, you're still working at this time," he laughs.

If only folks like Khoon Swee, Belle, Karen and Ying Loone were the norm, not the exception, then we'd really have a service sector to be proud of.

Note: Thank you to those who sent in their comments to last week's article. One reader who's worked in Hong Kong and Singapore said he found that in Hong Kong, the attitude was "service will bring the returns" while in Singapore, "the focus is first on what return will we get".


The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection".

She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.

Contacts: Tel: 65-63424934, Mobile: 65-96801460

Check out Siew Hoon's new website, www.shy-connection.com, which features a newly-launched e-zine with a difference.