Two relatively recent topics in the ST Forum gave me food for thought.
The first was about bad service standards, especially discrimination against locals (in favour of Whites) in Singapore shops and restaurants.
The second was about racism and discrimination against Asians in Austrialia, and even some other European countries.
If both were true, then it's absolutely unfortunate for us Singaporeans to be victims almost everywhere in the world. What on earth have we done to deserve that??!!
I've actually been at all sides of the picture : customer in Singapore and overseas, a waiter twice in Singapore, an exhibition-booth presenter in Berlin, as well as numerous occasions to observe service situations involving one or more Singaporeans overseas.
My conclusion : many Singaporeans just do not deserve good service!
When I was a waiter, I definitely preferred serving foreigners. They smile, say "hi", "please", "thank you", and sometimes make small but interesting talk with us. Not forgetting the bigger tips. Many locals, especially the nouveau-riche ones, treated the staff like less-than-nothing.
In shops, Singaporeans walk in and out as if the sales assistants do not exist. Yes, we probably prefer to be left alone to browse, rather than the irritating "Can I help you?" But an eye contact upon entering, with a smile, maybe with a "Dun mind I take a look?", would be sufficient to acknowledge the presence and the service of the staff.
Our mass shopping culture probably made us forget that a shop is afterall a private space, and that all displayed goods do not belong to us until purchased. Singaporeans, as well as some East Asians, are guilty of entering boutiques in European cities without acknowledging the presence of the shopkeeper (very often the owner), and worse, guilty of touching the products without prior permission. This is where the bad service starts.
Service workers are first and foremost human beings, doing tiring, repetitive and monotonous work.
It is normal social reaction to reply rudely to someone of ill-mannered behaviour.
To expect good service, Singaporeans should show their due respect for the workers. Instead of moaning about the lack of a "service culture", we might want to try improving our "culture of being served".
