Service.....What Service?

Hi All,

It is very difficult to get good service anywhere! It is my humble opinion that all service staff should show some empathy especially those dealing with people.

I had a bad experience in a a polyclinic where I brought my father who is 80 years old for his check up. The Doctor's first question was does my father have any vomiting problem? I was amazed at how this Doctor was like a "robot" going through a factory line of patients did not even care about asking dad "How are you today, sir?" or "how can I be of help to you today?". I had to explain that my father is here for his regular check up and that he needed to do his blood test as he had not done one for 6 months. We had waited for more than two hours and we were out in 10 minutes. My dad, despite his old age & medical problems, can be a chatty person. But on this day, he did not even utter a word to the doctor. I guess for this Doctor it is just a job that pays him a lot of money but one he does not enjoy doing because he did not seem to care much for the patient's well being. At least, that's how I would interpret it from the way he dealt with my dad.

I admire Doctors who care for the patients and who can bring a smile to their faces. The medicine only cures the symptoms some of the time but a smile on the faces of patients can make them forget their pain for that moment.Sometimes the symptoms are imaginary and they just need a listening ear.

And later that afternoon, my family and I left for a short holiday to Phuket. On that flight, I met two American ladies who had a wonderful time in Singapore. But their wonderful trip was ruined by bad service from Tiger Airways according to them. They had bought toys for a orphanage in Phuket called "Happy Homes" near Holiday Inn Hotel and they did not realize that they had to pay excess luggage fee of S$1,500 for the toys. I can't remember if they had some documentation to proof that the toys were meant for the orphanage. The Tiger Airways staff tried to help but no one could get any clearance. To top that, the credit card machine could not work at the counter. Finally, after much frustration, a Tiger Airways staff came and said that the tax will be reduced to S$500 and she manged to withdraw the amount from the ATM machine. But she was disappointed that she had to spend that money on taxes because they were planning to buy additional foodstuff for the home.

I had to sit there and defend service standards in Singapore. I told them that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. This may not have happened on Singapore Airlines. But I told them that the Tiger Airways staff were merely doing their job and that they should contact the management at Tiger Airways since they are bringing the toys for a charitable cause. I told the ladies that Tiger Airways should go out its way to help them since it is for a good cause. I wished the two ladies best of luck and hoped that they get back some of the money back from the budget airline! I wonder if "Budget Airlines" equals to "No Service" or "Canceled Flights"?

It is sad that selected individuals have no pride in their work. If you are in the service industry please pass this message to your colleagues and friends. Be nice to customers you serve and they in turn will be nice to you. And they may even leave a handsome tip.

Up Your Service!

Have a great Day!

Cheers,
Mark