Service Heros!!! We should learnt from them! Let us UP OUR SERVICE!

From yesterday onwards, every tuesday on channel 5, 7.30pm, there is a new show titled 'Spirit of Service'.

In this show, the host will actually interviewed the "Service Heros" - people who go extra miles for their customers and asked them what is service means to them and why they go extra miles for their customers. The host will also interviewed the customers and asked them why they liked this particular service personnel.

On top of that, the host will also interviewed the top management of a particular organisation on how they train their staff and present the environment to the customer so that not only the customer enjoys the experience in the store but also enjoys the services provided by the staff.

Towards the end of the show, Mr Ron Kaufman (The service guru that i mentioned in my previous post. He is also the author of 'Up your service!') will give some advice on services. Mr Ron Kaufman is also the series consultant for this show.

Therefore, I strongly encouraged you to watch this show every tuesday, on channel 5, 7.30pm. This is definitely an eye opener and educational programme for all of us. Regardless of whether we are working in the service line or not, all of us are service providers. We are the internal customers in our company. If all of us provide good service to our colleagues in the various departments, then the whole company will prosper as a whole as there is team spirit and unity in the company.

So people, what are you waiting for? Remember to UP YOUR SERVICE! and make your working place a better place for you, your colleagues and your customers!! Everybody gets to benefit from it! So Why Don't You Do It NOW! C'mon, take ACTION!

This is Mr Ron Kaufman himself in one of the seminars held recently in Singapore.

Grab This Chance Now! An Opportunity Not to be Missed!

Remember that time i mentioned in my previous post that I had been to Mr John Gray's seminar before? (Mr John Gray is the guru in understanding the differences in human behaviour between men and women, and he is the author of the series "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus").

He is back in Singapore again!!!

This is a rare chance and opportunity for you to learn from the man himself and understand opposite sex better.

It will definitely improves your relationships - from family, friends, colleagues, bosses and of cos, your lover.

So if you always have this question, "how come he or she behaves in such a way, or i just cant understand he or she?" This is a very good chance for you to increase your general knowledge and the next time, instead of asking yourself, "how come like this n like that", you will say, "oh, i understand why he or she behaves like this, because ... ...".

So if you always find that you have trouble communicating and understanding the opposite sex, or you have a burning question to ask Mr. John Gray for advice, this is a fantastic chance not to be missed!!

The details of the seminar is as follows: -

Date: September 30th, 2006

Time: 6pm to 10pm

Venue: Singapore Expo

Price: 3 seating categories with different prices - platinum, gold and general


Please note that generally speaking, there is this norm for seminars whereby the earlier you book, the cheaper it is. The closer to the date of the event, the higher it is.

So please dont think too much and ACT FAST!!

For those of you who are attached or married, it will be good for you to bring your lover along as it will be very educational and enriching for both of you =>

For those who are single and available, you can ask your friends to go along with you so that it will benefit all of you =>

Good things are worth to share =>

Please click here for the details of the seminar or you also can send an email to the person in charge for any information.

PS: Please note that I am not working in this company, and thus i do not earn any commissions from them. I inform you about this event is simply out of goodwill. No motive involved. Thanks.

Imagine Life Without the Tourism Industry ... So Sad N Bad

Today and tomorrow, there is a job fair for Vivo City - the new shopping experience besides Habourfront that is coming up in a few months time.

There are many job openings in both the retail industry and f&b industry and these companies are going to be the new tenants of Vivo City.

Recently, the government of Singapore has been emphasing alot on the tourism industry with its aim of dont-know-how many thousands or millions of tourists it aims to attract by dont-know-which year. The government also announced the launch of the intergrated resort in Singapore in the near future. Recently, there are many international bodies and organisations coming to Singapore for important meetings and conference such as IMF and World Bank.
Because of these plans and events coming up in the future, the government also recently set up a new team who consisted of a few top managers in the tourism industry and they set up "GEMS - Go Extra Mile for Service" and they come up with new ideas to improve our level of services in Singapore.

With these introductions, one can easily see that there will be a huge boost in the tourism industry with lots of new jobs openings in the various new set up shopping centres and resorts. This will be a very exciting industry to watch out for since this industry is going to boost our local economy.

However, sad to say, our local mindset, especially the older generation, do not think very positively to those working in the tourism industry. They see it as an industry where all those aunties and uncles work as they don't have much skills and education or a place for the young ones to work part time during the school holidays and definitely not a full time job especially if you are a graduate with a diploma and higher.

Because of this mindset, one can see that sometimes some customers are real nasty to the service staff even though it is of no fault of the service staff. Some customers are very proud of themselves for being so well educated and so well rich that they actually put up airs and look down on the service staff and belittled the service staff. They can actually twist their words and make complains to the managers as though it is the service staff who is at fault.

True that this industry is a tough line to be in with all the shift work and working in the public holidays and weekends too and dealing with the nasty customers. But don't forget, this industry does need these educated people with qualifications of diploma and above to hold the managerial positions and to come up with new and exciting ideas to bring the company to new heights.
If all of us hold this view that this industry is not suitable for those with higher education, then we will have a serious problem in this industry since we are lacking of new talents to improve the industry as a whole. If this industry remains stagnant, then it is useless for the government to have such an ambitious tourist target and plans to set up more resorts and attracting world renowned organisations to come to Singapore for meetings.

As what Mr Ron Kaufman (he is the Asia's leading champion for impeccable customer service and is the founder of "Up Your Service College") has said, there are 6 levels of services offered and there is still quite a distance away for the local tourism industry to reach the best service levels in the world. The 6 service levels are: Criminal (Worst), Basic, Expected, Desired, Surprising and lastly, Unbelievable! (Best - That means that you are so good that your customers will keep coming back to you again and again and again) =>

Furthermore, a lot of us are very interested to live a comfortable life after our retirement. It has been known that being an employee for the rest of our lives do not promise us to live comfortably, but starting our own successful business is one of the ways to live a comfortable life.
Comparing B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumers), it would be better for us to have a B2C business especially for a just start up firm. This is because your customers will pay you cash and you will have credit terms with your suppliers. It is a very important issue to manage the cashflow effectively for the company for basic survival.
The tourism industry is a very broad industry that consists of both the retail and f&b industry, therefore there are many options for you to choose from to start up your own business. But before you start up your own business, it's best for you to gain some experience first by working in the company that is in the same line which you want to set up your business.

Therefore, with this parting note, I hope that I can see more new talents especially the young ones in this industry so that we can boost the overall tourism industry in Singapore and make Singapore one of the must go destinations in the world for all purposes, be it for business or for leisure.

"Service begins with me"

"How you want others to treat you and you must treat the same way to others first" - please be a considerate customer if you want the service staff to treat you well. Relationship works two ways.

Thanks

Hope more talented people will join this industry :>