Good morning

I met with a bus-driver yesterday who greeted me with a cheerful 'Good morning!' when I got on the bus. He did that with all other passengers. It's nice to hear such, particularly when you can sense the exclaimation mark in his greeting. Unfortunately, on observing those who got on after me, few acknowledged his greeting, lest to say reply him with a similar greeting. I thought the least you could do was smile back, thanking him in silence. Nay. That's how the Singaporean society is - heartwarming they claim, but not so.

 

Not forgetting the recent discussions on service standards. Customers claim the service provided is lousy; service providers claim the customers are horrible. Well, I think it works both ways. Many Sg customers do not bother to acknowledge the sales assistants' greetings. Some demand too much too. Some, worse still, curse and swear. On the other hand, some assistants feel they are not there to serve (eg they don't think they should take out shoe, put on floor for you to try. they just pass you the shoe and they sigh when you ask for another size). Though this can be due to their previous experiences of horrible customers. One is there to buy products, one is there to earn their hard cash. So, why can't they be nice to each other and achieve their objectives at the same time? If you acknowledge the person's help/greetings, they feel better serving you, and provide better service. Isn't it best of both worlds? I'm sure everyone have encountered polite/rude staff, or run into nice/unreasonable customers. Put these in your mind and we will have a nicer environment to live in.

 

As usual, I like to compare to NZ (since that's the only country I went to other than Malaysia). The staff there provides excellent service (never met with one that didn't in my 2 months there, seriously). They take pride in providing the service and are always ready to help. They don't stalk you in the shop but are always approachable (always, unlike Sg counterparts who will try to act busy and ignore you). They don't sigh when you ask for a different size. In fact, when you return the goods for refunds, they actually feel (okay, they seem) sorry that their goods weren't suitable. Talking about refunds, you can return the goods anytime (no time expiration) and at any branch in the country (imagine how BIG NZ is), even if you had opened the box and USED the product (but of course, you try to clean it up if it got dirty in the process). It's not like here when you can return only if it's faulty on their part and within 14 days. On the other hand, most customers smile at the staff, some chatting with them. Greetings are acknowledged (in fact, sometimes customers greet the staff first) and I haven't seen customers cursing and swearing. Is it us or is it the culture that led to the vast difference in shopping experiences?

 

Nonetheless, I'll try to be nice to staff in Sg still. I TRY.