Improving Asian service

We often hear visitors sing praises of the service they receive in Asia. A quick look at Tripadvisor sees reviews about Thai’s hospitality with a smile, Filipino’s heartfelt concern, or Singapore Airlines’ gracious in-flight service.

A similar reputation for service has seen companies set up call centers in the Philippines. Aside from their stronger command of English, Filipinos are known for their attentive hospitality and attitude of care—valuable qualities when handling a torrent of complaints and queries. “Malasakit” or compassion is nurtured as a national value.

The Japanese, too, have turned customer service into an art form. Pride in anticipating and fulfilling guests’ needs in advance—known as omotenashi— is taught from a young age and becomes ingrained when it comes to serving customers.

Yet there have been instances of downright bad service in Asia. In the retail sector, there are numerous encounters with sales personnel who simply ignore customers. If a pair of jeans is not available at the store, they do not bother to check whether another branch carries it, or respond with a sullen “No” when asked to check. If one lingers too long without buying or bargains too hard, one will be told not to waste their time and to get out of the shop.

Once, I was taken aback when I visited a very popular breakfast eatery in Hong Kong—a must-try for tourists. The service was downright rude—staff ignored requests for assistance, shoving plates of food in front of customers and spilling drinks. Yet there was still a long line to get in.

Why this disparity? At least two factors are at play: Motivation and ability.

Staff need to be motivated to provide service excellence. Why would the restaurant staff be motivated if their livelihood is secure as long as people keep queueing? Customers should hold service providers accountable.

During the SARS crisis in 2002-2003, when business came to a grinding halt, Hong Kong’s service delivery improved tremendously. With the virus scare now long forgotten and the economy on a firmer footing, job security has blunted the mindfulness to serve customers well.

But surely we don’t need job insecurity to instill service excellence?

Education is necessary for people to understand service is critical. The lady who shouts at customers to get out of her shop for wasting her time has to learn that time spent with non-buying shoppers is part and parcel of cultivating a business.

This also means the need to recruit the right person as the frontline interface with customers. Personalities vary—some are more customer-centric to help others while others are less patient.

Training can also help people furnish above-par service. Staff in hotels, airlines and call centers undergo elaborate training where they practice the service regime over and over again. They are exposed to multiple scenarios so that they are not only prepared but also empathize from the customer’s perspective.

The staff at Jollibee are trained in soft skills such as listening to what customers want alongside hard skills like order taking and making sure the right food goes to the right customer.

With limited resources, service providers have to be trained to identify different customer profiles and manage interactions appropriately—a one-size-fits-all service regime doesn’t work.

Consistent, thorough training coupled with on-the-job practice and supervision can hardwire service attitude as part of the individual’s culture, much like how “malasakit” taught to the young in a noncommercial setting becomes ingrained in the Filipino service.

For small organizations where formal training is absent, precise instructions and close supervision become more important, and recruitment paramount.

For Asia to have service as one of its hallmarks, service must go beyond the usual confines of hotels and airlines, and cut across organizations at all levels.

But as Asia becomes more technology oriented, some of the ingrained service orientation may take a backseat. High tech replaces high touch.

While some Asian companies have effectively embraced technology with service, Japan’s Henn-na Hotel with 140 robots attending to guests from reception to housekeeping is an example, many companies just do not have the resources to do both well.

The need for a larger organization to champion service excellence becomes even more critical. The government may have to step up and be a driving force in upgrading service levels, including those involving technology.

SkillsFuture, for example, is a national movement in Singapore to provide its people with the opportunities to develop their fullest potential throughout life. The programmes offered are wide ranging and include training on using customer friendly language and fostering transformation through service redesign.

With consistent training offered concertedly at the national level, people will see training as the “default”—they have to always improve and put their best foot forward. Just like “malasakit,” training to improve becomes ingrained.

Ideally, corporations should take the lead to foster service attitude. But putting money where the mouth is may be challenging when resources are tight. A push from government to drive this initiative may be necessary for building a sustainable service culture in Asia. —CONTRIBUTED