People, Service and a Puppy

I've been reflecting a lot on things lately, perhaps it's because another year is coming to an end, a year which has been extremely painful and difficult for me. Maybe I've been reflecting because I'm about to turn a year older and I feel like I've hit  dead end in my life  and it's made me think of how I... you... we relate to people in general. 

Looking  at the state of the world today, it's plain to see that things are pretty messed up. I mean we're at a point where some people in the public eye even take glee in bragging about the abhorrent things they've said and done and then they get applauded for that. 

But that's the big picture and we should look on the smaller scale of things and focus on how we interact with others on a daily basis, be it our family members,  classmates, colleagues or complete strangers.  

Besides our own families, who we can occasion be pretty horrible to, we come in contact on a daily basis with people who work in the Service Industry, be it the bus or taxi drivers, the cashiers at the supermarket, the department store or even a Starbucks.

Now in Singapore, where everything is done efficiently and effectively  people have criticised the service industry here and compared it unfavourably to other countries. But that's one perspective. It could be also said that the the service providees aren't as grateful as they could be.

For example, a couple of months ago, a woman was taped yelling at a handicapped food court worker for and the worker took it like a man!  A couple of years ago, a man was filmed yelling *expletives* at a taxi driver who was waiting for him at the wrong location. Both the worker and driver maintained a polite decorum in spite of the very, very unpleasant situation they found themselves in.

Is it no wonder that most people in the service industry are disgruntled? Heck, I've taken our own housekeeper for granted at times. Sorry, Marylene :)!!!!!

People in the service industry here have a hard job. It's not easy standing around for hours on end and then smiling  even when they have the most demanding and difficult patrons. Who's been a difficult customer, hands up?  I confess I've been Guilty. Guilty of Being Difficult in the First Degree! So if you're guilty ask yourself what would you do if the roles were reversed. My answer: If I had a customer like me, I'd throw the towel at me, along with the plates, forks, knives and kitchen sink.

Also, if you're in a food court, shopping mall or a restaurant or any place where someone  is wearing a name tag, try to address them by their names.Their name tags aren't there as decorations. We're all given our names and our names are important to us. So if someone has done you a service, remember to address them by their name and if you don't know it ask for it and Thank them.


I've been trying to remember the names of the team members at the establishments I frequent  and I haven't gotten them all down, but will eventually. So Thank you,  Serene from Harvey Norman, Suresh from Takashimaya Toy Department, James from the Hilton, Thank you Sandra, Molly, Hairul, Lorenzo and Rockwell from Gastranomia, Thank you Saat from American Club. PS I'm sorry if my unpractised smile looked deranged and freaked you out. Just to confirm I'm not a lunatic.

Anyway, as the sermon in Church said, we all have jobs to do, and no matter what let's appreciate the job that each and everyone does and try to accept the fact that not every job is perfect and not everything will be 100% to our liking. But that's life, innit?

Oh if you're wondering why there's a video of my puppy in this posting, that's because I'm his service provider. And let me just say he's not a difficult customer. He's always happy to see me when I come to his service. He's always very grateful for the service provided and he never complains when it's late.

On this occasion his breakfast service was slow and so he decided to help himself. And he didn't complain,  though he did pee on the floor after that.

So if you're ever tempted to complain about others, ask yourself what have others to complain about you. I've been asking that of myself to. Basically we're all here to help one another and be kind, though I'd like to say teasing should be allowed occasionally -otherwise life might get a little boring for my editor and Marketing Manager.