Service with a smile

When things go wrong don't shout at the person on the frontline

WHEN things go awry, it is human nature for us to lash out at the person on the frontline. I have seen many instances of people getting angry with the waiters when the service is not up to mark. Or giving the cashier at the hypermarket a mouthful when the bills don't tally.

In this modern era of virtual customer service, whether by phone or online, many also rant and rave at the unseen and unknown person at the other end of the line only to realise at the end of it all that they shouldn't take it out on that poor individual.

I was recently at a restaurant where the waitress who took my orders got it all mixed-up. But I could see that she was new to the job, and obviously struggling to get it right. She needed encouragement, not criticism. And, as the rabbit Thumper said in the Disney animated classic Bambi, “if you ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all.”

Let me give an example of how a complaint can have consequences. I know someone who runs a high-end shop who related to me how a customer, a man of some standing, came to his outlet and was served by a fairly new worker who was still learning the ropes. He was not pleased with the service and so he called up my friend to tell him so.

So what did you do? I asked. He was still on probation, so I fired him, of course, he replied.

This was some years ago but the impression it left me is that many employers are not exactly sensitive to the welfare of their frontline staff. When there is a situation, they tend to operate by the maxim that “the customer is always right”.

I do not like poor service either but when you consider that those who serve at the frontline have to deal with so many different people in a day and handle difficult and irrational requests at times, it is good to cut them some slack.

We have to make a distinction between poor service and unethical behaviour. Certainly, if a frontline staff is demanding a bribe to get things going, he or she should be reported. But if it is just a case of you getting iced lemon tea instead of Earl Grey, or being offered chicken breast instead of drumstick, surely there is no need to make a hue and cry over the service.

Some of you who read this column work in the front line. But all of us, no matter what position we hold, have to deal with frontline staff on a daily basis. Whether it is the bank teller, the toll attendant, the customer relations officer, the restaurant waiter or the civil servant, it is good to remind ourselves that everyone is entitled to a bad hair day.

And let us also apply this same principle to the unseen workers who work in our offices, getting things done right in the background all the time. They probably do not get a pat on the back for 99% of their work, so go gently on them if they falter on the 1%. To err is human, to forgive, divine.

This article was featured on The Star paper and written by Deputy executive editor Soo Ewe Jin who is thankful for reminders from his wife, his better half for 25 years, to go easy on frontliners and to “go placidly amid the noise and haste”.

At Hailam Kopitiam we do our best to serve our customer with a smile.