Hi Huneybees,
Customer service in Singapore does not seem to be good enough, according to a new survey. The toughest on lacklustre service quality were local customers with 56 per cent of those interviewed indicating that service staff could ‘go beyond the call of duty’ to make their service experience more memorable.
The survey was carried out by market research group Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) to get a better insight on the service debate in Singapore. With a representative sample size of over 460 participants, the survey was conducted earlier this year over a period of one month. The survey is supported by the Go the Extra Mile for Service (GEMS) Up project, a joint movement involving SPRING Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University, and the National Trades Union Congress.
About 60 per cent or more of local customers, service staff and managers surveyed considered service in Singapore to be just acceptable, and nothing more. These results could concern those working to position Singapore as one of the world’s leading global cities, where service plays an integral part of the overall experience.
A more positive picture was painted by tourists visiting the Lion City. Some 74 per cent of the tourists interviewed acknowledged that service in Singapore was ‘above average’, with almost half – 49 per cent – going as far as saying the service in Singapore was better than in their home country (in Asia, the UK and the United States).
The managers and service staff attribute this to demanding customers. Some 73 per cent of managers and 64 per cent of service staff said increasingly demanding clientele was the main barrier to delivering good service.
They also believe that the government has a role to play. Some 87 per cent of managers and
91 per cent of the service staff agreed that the government can help drive service quality by promoting service-sector businesses as an employer of choice, attracting more talent into the industry.
Reinforcing this point, 53 per cent of managers said finding the right staff was the main obstacle in providing quality service. As a result, even though almost all agreed that service quality is important to their business profitability and customer loyalty, more than half were reluctant to invest in training their existing talent pool as the return did not merit the extra effort.
The survey brings to light one of the biggest challenges facing the service industry, and highlights the gap in the understanding of the role that everyone (customers, service staff, managers and the public sector) plays in the overall service quality equation.
All in all, the survey suggests the need for an attitudinal change where customers, managers and service staff need to play their part towards understanding and acknowledging the importance of quality service as well as work towards building a culture of compliment.
After travelling to several countries, I would love to say, Singapore is one of the best countries in terms of service level. I'm not being bias 'coz this is my home country, but seriously we do have more pros than cons as far as I have experienced.
Like the video above from Sam Driscoll, Singaporeans would try to go the extra mile to please the customers. I know in certain countries, I would have been shoved out of the restaurant if I had asked for more stuffs or if made the waitress walk a few more steps, I would feel her backstabbing knife!
The service level in Singapore has been improving over the years and I applaud those working the service lines. One such good example happened to me just a couple of weeks back when I visited Kinokuniya at Liang Court. I've been searching for a particular book and all I had was a coverpage image, the staff immediately recognize the book (she definitely know her thing) and checked her inventory telling me that she found 1 in their Ngee Ann City branch and have made a reservation for me. She then went on to recommend more books in the same genre to me and so, I was a happy customer.
I went back the next week as my friend wanted another copy of the book and the staff greeted me, knowing exactly who I was and which book I was referring to. (Thank you lady!) This is an example of good service where it was not just displayed in the shop, but going the extra mile in after sales service.
Just 1 thing to point out though, maybe it will be nice if the staffs greet us like the Japanese do? A "Good day, welcome to our shop!" would definitely brighten my day more and raise our service level a notch up?
So what do think of Singapore's service level? Any stories to share?
Customer service in Singapore does not seem to be good enough, according to a new survey. The toughest on lacklustre service quality were local customers with 56 per cent of those interviewed indicating that service staff could ‘go beyond the call of duty’ to make their service experience more memorable.
The survey was carried out by market research group Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) to get a better insight on the service debate in Singapore. With a representative sample size of over 460 participants, the survey was conducted earlier this year over a period of one month. The survey is supported by the Go the Extra Mile for Service (GEMS) Up project, a joint movement involving SPRING Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University, and the National Trades Union Congress.
About 60 per cent or more of local customers, service staff and managers surveyed considered service in Singapore to be just acceptable, and nothing more. These results could concern those working to position Singapore as one of the world’s leading global cities, where service plays an integral part of the overall experience.
A more positive picture was painted by tourists visiting the Lion City. Some 74 per cent of the tourists interviewed acknowledged that service in Singapore was ‘above average’, with almost half – 49 per cent – going as far as saying the service in Singapore was better than in their home country (in Asia, the UK and the United States).
What is the root cause for the apathetic attitude to one of Singapore’s more important industries?
The managers and service staff attribute this to demanding customers. Some 73 per cent of managers and 64 per cent of service staff said increasingly demanding clientele was the main barrier to delivering good service.
They also believe that the government has a role to play. Some 87 per cent of managers and
91 per cent of the service staff agreed that the government can help drive service quality by promoting service-sector businesses as an employer of choice, attracting more talent into the industry.
Reinforcing this point, 53 per cent of managers said finding the right staff was the main obstacle in providing quality service. As a result, even though almost all agreed that service quality is important to their business profitability and customer loyalty, more than half were reluctant to invest in training their existing talent pool as the return did not merit the extra effort.
The survey brings to light one of the biggest challenges facing the service industry, and highlights the gap in the understanding of the role that everyone (customers, service staff, managers and the public sector) plays in the overall service quality equation.
All in all, the survey suggests the need for an attitudinal change where customers, managers and service staff need to play their part towards understanding and acknowledging the importance of quality service as well as work towards building a culture of compliment.
