The last time I had a good experience with service staff in Singapore was in a Turkish restaurant in Shaw Plaza. Even though there were 7 of us, each ordering different dishes, he remembered every dish that was called including the person who ordered it. There was no need for any prompting from any of us on who called what dish. The food was of course great.
End result? I will recommend this restaurant to more of my friends if they have a sudden craving for Turkish food or some food out of the ordinary. That's the dividends that good service will give if practiced sincerely and I do not mean those half-hearted greetings when you enter the shop, or the memorised script that some service staff read out as if they were sitting for an exam. Whether the staff means what they say, you can read it all just by the tone of the voice.
When you're looking at good service level in general, you have to think longer term. You might not get the results you want immediately and people may also take advantage of you. Bear in mind though that there are always a few rotten eggs in the basket. You should not think of the few bad eggs and instead think of the other good ones, one of which may be a hidden golden egg. If just because of those few bad eggs and you decided not make an effort to provide good service, you'll not be able to differentiate your business from the rest and you can get ready to shuttle down your doors soon as you will lack customer loyalty.
Good service also need not necessary mean that you have to lose money. A small gesture on the business owners' part can sometimes go a long way. After coming back from Japan, I miss the service that I've encountered there. Bear in mind that they do not even have service charge!
One very simple example. Going into a restaurant or even a small shop, water will be served to you the moment you sit down. Menu will be given and the highlights will be briefly mentioned. All these was done even though there's no service charge. Over here, some businesses even charge for plain water. Good grief.
This is the kind of good service that people will remember and this in a way encourages customer loyalty. People will want to go back to that shop because they enjoy being serviced by the staff. What consumers want to know is that the business is really concerned on what they want and not just to earn a quick buck.
Do not under-estimate word-of-mouth advertisement. It can make or break a business.
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