Or customers might just vote with their feet, says Yeoh Siew Hoon. 

Something curious happened to me today.

I was having coffee at the lobby café of a top business hotel in Singapore, mainly because the person I was meeting was staying there.

We were both in the midst of an intense coversation when a waitress appeared with a form and a pen.

"Could you please fill this in for me?" she said, thrusting it into my friend's face.

The form had the words "Heartfelt Service" written on it. Guests are supposed to fill it and name the staff they think should win the heartfelt service award.

My friend asked, "Are we supposed to fill it now?"

She said, "No, whenever you have time. My name is …" She told us her name.

We both got back to our conversation. We then asked for the bill. A second waitress came with the bill, pointed to the card that was sitting on our table and said, "Would you mind filling it in please?"

She pointed to her name badge and spelt out her name. And she stood watch while he wrote down her name.

It made me think, this must be what vote buying is like.

Instead of being touched by the "heartfelt service" this employee initiative is obviously supposed to encourage, we felt rather indignant that we had been somehow coerced into voting. Sure, we could have said no but that wouldn't have been nice, we thought.

I told my friend, I guess it's like being told that we should tip.

"Yes, but tipping is inbuilt into the process of service. Being pressured to vote for someone is not," said my friend, a branding consultant.

It reminded me of the time when I was being driven in a limousine from Shanghai airport to my hotel and the driver handed me a form that he said I should fill before we get to the hotel. It asked me to nominate the person who should win a service award.

Since the driver was the first and only person I had met so far, there was no one else I could name but him.

I suppose I understand the point of service awards but there's a real danger the very thing it is supposed to reward gets lost in the name of competition and coercion.


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

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