While the Restaurant Association of Singapore mulls over whether to introduce tipping, Lisa-Ann Lee wonders if the move will (finally) improve service standards. With additional reporting by Kurt Ganapathy, Arman Shah and Darryl Koe.
It’s one of those questions that never fail to spark a debate: To tip or not
to tip? For as long as anyone can remember, Singapore, like many other Asian
countries, has always been a tip-free zone. Indeed, in the ‘70s, it was
precisely because the government wanted to eradicate tipping that the 10 percent
service charge was introduced. Lately however, this looks set to change. While
they may be in the minority, a few cafes and restaurants have already begun
waiving the service charge. The Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) has
also been studying how tipping works in the US for several years and while
studies are still in the preliminary stage, it hopes to see how tipping might
help improve service standards here. Currently the 10 percent service charge
that customers pay in restaurants goes to the owners and helps cover staff’s
salaries and miscellaneous expenses. It is hoped that if the money goes directly
to the servers, this will motivate them to provide better service.
RAS
general manager Fong Kwok Shiung acknowledges that implementing it won’t be easy
in Singapore since the notion of good service is a subjective one. “It depends
on the diner’s perspective and as such, the yardstick can be quite varied. Also,
while studying the scene in the US, we noticed a problem—and that is as long as
you give the customer a fork and spoon, and a glass of water, it is considered
good service. We need to see how we can implement it so that service staff are
tipped for good service, and not just for performing their duties.”
Tipping: Will it really take off?
However, while the
idea of tipping might sound good on paper, many of those working in the
restaurant industry are ambivalent about whether it will actually work here.
Simon Phoon, a cook at Western café Food for Thought in Bugis and a seven-year
veteran in the industry, believes that tipping is a step forward but only if the
money collected goes back to the staff. “In my previous company, the management
used to cut into our tips to pay for repairs and other miscellaneous things.”
For others, the biggest obstacle lies in the fact that unlike the US, tipping is
not part of the culture in Singapore. Says Willin Low, chef-owner of Wild
Rocket, “I am not sure [this will take off] unless the government runs a
campaign to encourage tipping! Even then I don’t know if that will be effective
because culturally Singaporeans rarely tip and I think it is very hard to
convince them to do so.”
Others point to Singaporeans’ money-pinching ways.
Asks Edina Hong, co-owner of Saint Pierre, “How do you expect customers to tip
the wait staff when they’re asking us for a discount or requesting that we waive
the corkage?” Nick Iman, co-owner of The Smoke Shack in Tanjong Pagar, says
simply, “I don’t think Singaporeans will do this because we’re too cheap.”
Customers we interviewed also had mixed feelings about replacing the service
charge with tipping. Understandably, those with experience in the service
industry were more inclined to look favorably upon the idea. “From a service
point of view, I definitely think tipping is a good idea as servers will now
have an incentive to work harder and provide better service,” says flight
steward Rishibaraj Mohan. “But honestly, I don’t think Singaporeans are
appreciative enough to start tipping. Some will, but the service must be
ridiculously excellent (like a free drink on the server’s tab) for a Singaporean
customer to voluntarily tip a restaurant.”
And then there are those like
events executive Winnie Eng who feel that the service charge should remain and
that tips should be given at the discretion of the diner. “Servers should be
passionate about their jobs, and they shouldn’t just provide good service
because they think they will be tipped,” she says. Student Lim Chu Ern feels
that the poor standards of service in Singapore don’t warrant replacing the
service charge. “Why should I reward service staff for doing such a terrible job
of something that they ought to be good at? People will naturally tip if they
feel the service is worth it. There’s no need to make it a fixed rule to do so.”
Beyond monetary gains
But even if tipping were to gain a
foothold in Singapore, many feel that it takes more than monetary incentive to
improve service standards here. Indeed, the latest customer satisfaction survey
conducted by the SMU’s Institute of Service Excellence shows the country lagging
behind rivals Hong Kong and South Korea, with satisfaction levels for the
restaurant sector dipping for the third consecutive year. For some, this sad
state of affairs is hardly surprising and can be attributed to the lack of a
service culture. Says Jay Hequet of Fou de Fafa, “Good service isn’t just about
smiling and greeting a customer. There is an inner part of service that is part
of one’s culture, that is, you are taught from a young age how to serve and make
a visitor to your home feel welcome. For someone who’s been brought up in such a
culture, providing good service comes easily.” Her solution for this?
Incorporate the notion of service as part of people’s education in schools so
that it comes more naturally to them when they enter the industry.
But by
far, everyone we spoke to agreed that the most pressing issue that needs to be
addressed is the image of the service industry. Says Ben Bousnina, general
manager of Rasa Sentosa Resort, “Working in the service industry is not a
blue-collar vocation that anyone can do. We need to change the image of service
personnel and draw people who have the aptitude and the right attitude. Service
is an attitude. Good service is good not because of the act of the service, but
the thought behind it.”
However, attracting the right people is easier said
than done. As Hong points out, “The ones who can give good service—we’re talking
about those who like to meet and talk to people—are not in this industry.
They’ve all become doctors and lawyers. You will never get them because service
staff here are treated so poorly.” As such, many believe there needs to be a
change in the public’s mindset if things are to improve. Says Low, “I think we
need to have a mindset change at three levels. First, business owners need to
take action to ensure that service staff are trained and taught that proper
service and politeness should be a way of life. Second, service staff must be
made to feel that their job is just as respectable as any other so they can take
pride in their jobs and do it well. Third, customers must treat service staff
with respect. If you were to go to someone’s house to eat and they serve you,
would you be rude to them?”
Would it help to increase the pay of service
industry workers? Hong believes that though this sounds ideal, it is not without
its own problems. “If you pay people better, you have to start charging a higher
price and the expectations of customers will also increase in turn.”
Unlike
the retail industry which has GEMS, a movement set up to improve service
standards in the retail industry, the F&B industry has no such program. Will
it help to implement something similar? The opinions are mixed. While many
acknowledge that implementing such a program is a step in the right direction,
some like Hequet question whether it will actually change anything. “We have to
look at what we want to get out of it and whether it’s results driven. If it is
done on a superficial level, meaning that all you do is give out stars, it won’t
really change things at all. Someone who’s really good at giving good service
will have no problems being “Employee of the Month” but what about the rest of
the staff? However, if it is done on a deeper level, and it is accredited, then
yes, it will be helpful.”
To return to the question: Can service standards
here be improved? While solutions abound, it looks like the answers are far from
easy. What is certain, however, is that something has to be done soon if we
don’t want to keep lagging behind our Asian neighbors. While the RAS may still
be gathering feedback from its studies, at least there’s hope that change is
slowly, but surely, taking place. The point to be made about tipping is that
it’s not really about the money. It’s about showing that you appreciate your
server, as many of those in the service industry whom we interviewed have
pointed out. If someone has done a really good job, shouldn’t the 10 percent go
to him or her instead of to the restaurant? This idea seems generally well
received but whether tipping actually takes off depends on whether most of us
would actually do it. Given our famously tight-fisted ways, how many people
would honestly leave a tip if there wasn’t a service charge and if tipping
wasn’t made mandatory?
If Singapore is ever going to be a world-class city
with world-class service, perhaps it’s time we acknowledged that we too have a
role to play in making things better both for ourselves and the people serving
us, and that we shouldn’t just wait for the government to turn things
around.
Bad service: Are we to blame?
While much has been said about falling service standards, should customers shoulder some of the blame as well?
For every complaint about Singapore’s service professionals, there are just
as many about local customers. Indeed, ask anyone in the service industry and
they’ll tell you Singaporean customers can be a difficult lot to please. Says
Sunyah Riduan, a part-time Starbucks shift manager, “Locals are worse [than
foreigners] because they make sure that every cent they spend is worth it. They
can be nasty, especially when there are service charges involved and some expect
to be served like kings and queens.”
For many that we spoke to, these
demanding attitudes are further compounded by Singaporeans’ kiasu mentality.
Observes Winnie Eng, “When traveling, Singaporeans never fail to ask for early
check-in and late check out.
They tend to make full use of the amenities and
facilities they are entitled to. If their request fails to get fulfilled,
Singaporeans will find their ways to get hold of any ‘FOC apology
gift’.
Other service industry insiders say that there is also the issue of
respect (or lack thereof) surrounding customers’ attitudes towards people in the
service industry. Customers have a role to play if they want good service, and
this begins with respecting, or at the very least, acknowledging the servers,
instead of expecting it just because one is a paying customer. However, getting
this mutual respect is easier said than done given the poor regard most people
have for jobs in the service industry. Says Fou de Fafa’s Jay Hequet, “In
Europe, waiters are well-respected professionals. However, over here, being a
waiter or a restaurant manager is seen as a loser’s job; you do it because you
need the extra money or because you can’t find anything better.” It also doesn’t
help that most Singaporeans in general are very demanding or that some of them
treat waiters like servants. Sums up Saint Pierre’s Edina Hong: “If you don’t
respect the people serving you, how do you expect to get good service in
return?”
Worst. Experience. Ever.
You can be sure these people won’t be leaving a tip.
"After being ignored for five minutes, I finally managed to get the
waitress’ attention and ask for a glass of water. Her response? “Yah, I know.”
One menu item wasn’t available, and she got visibly pissed off waiting for us to
choose a replacement. When it was time to pay, the cashier punched in the
numbers and stared blankly at me; I had to ask for the price, and after paying,
of course, there was no “thank you”".—Goh Wei Siang
I called to order a pizza, and asked the phone operator about their
specials. After listening to him ramble on for 10 minutes, I said I was ready to
order, and the operator asked, “Does that mean you want to order now?” When I
said I did, he said, “Hello welcome to XXX, my name is YYY”, as if our previous
conversation had never happened.—Kit Katharine Ho
I
was at a Thai eatery with my sister, and just as she was about to eat her Pad
Thai, she noticed that there was a lizard in it. Shocked, we informed the staff,
and they gave us a new one, but still charged us for it. Needless to say, we
haven’t gone back since.—Swathi Avadhani
A GEM of an idea
We have campaigns telling us to be courteous, to speak good English and to
get married and have children. It was only a matter of time before someone came
up with the idea for the Go the Extra Mile Movement (GEMS) campaign. But how
effective has it really been?
Launched in October 2005, GEMS’ goal was to
increase the nation’s standards of service through a variety of measures
including training programs and leadership seminars (If you’re Singaporean, you
know the drill.) But has it really improved matters? The answer depends on how
much you enjoy crunching numbers. In a press release issued by the Singapore
Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in 2007, its list of achievements includes a
65 percent increase in sales growth at 10 pilot companies a year after launching
the Customer Centric Initiative (CCI) for the retail sector and providing more
than 400 SMEs in the heartlands with WSQ “Provide GEMS Service” training since
April 2006.
If one’s criterion for measuring good service involves sending as
many people as possible for training courses and then issuing them a certificate
stating that they have successfully completed the course, then yes, GEMS has
been a resounding success. But if what we’re interested in are results, then the
answer becomes less straightforward. How exactly does one measure good
service—by the number of greetings or smiles we get when we enter a shop? If a
sales rep smiles and greets you but tells you to refer to the company’s website
or marketing brochure when you ask a question, is this considered good service
or is it a superficial facsimile of what service should really be about?
This in turn begs the question: Can service be taught? Bernice Wilson,
section head of Temasek Polytechnic’s Diploma in Culinary & Catering
Management program, thinks so. “It is possible for good service to be taught and
learned,” she says. “It’s about making sure that a habit forms. At Temasek
Polytechnic, we start with the very basics. We insist on formal greetings. Not a
casual “Morning” but “Good Morning Sir” or “Good Morning Ma’am”, and if you know
the person’s name, you refer to them by their name.” But she also acknowledges
that inculcating good service is something that requires time and commitment. “
Service was mostly bad 10 years ago, but now it’s 50/50. There is more
awareness, and attempts at providing good customer service, but the delivery is
sometimes lacking. There is some “slapping of the wrist;” for example if a
customer wants a change in an item on the menu, service staff may accept, then
say, ‘Okay, but next time don’t. This time I’ll let it go.’”
Last year, the
government launched the next phase of the GEMS movement. Called GEMS Up, the
goal is to raise service standards even further, changing the public’s
perception of the service industry by profiling service role models and making
the overall service industry “cheaper, better and faster” so the country can
remain competitive. Spearheading this phase are Changi Airport Group, ION
Orchard, and Sentosa Development Corporation, which have pledged to show
“visible transformation” by next year.
Will we see a dramatic transformation
in service standards and more importantly, will Singaporeans be attracted to a
career in the service industry? It’s anybody’s guess but suffice to say, check
back next year to find out.
