In Which Jo has to Agree
According to a recent survey done by Reader's Digest, Malaysia (the city in which I live in) is one of the most rudest countries in the world.
Way to go, Malaysia.
But to be fair, this really isn't completely international. It's only where Reader's Digest is sold at. So riding on this recent report, a friend of mine who is a reporter at a local newspaper writes an article on how Malaysians treat the service industry and she interviewed me and a few others who work in the service industry.
‘Faceless’ service staff feel it at the receiving end
PETALING JAYA: It's a vicious cycle. Customers treat those in the service industry poorly but are upset when they in turn get poor service.
Customer service officer Hanim Razak, 35, described it as a lack of “faceless manners”.
“Customers feel they can scream at service staff because they are faceless' strangers behind counters and helplines.
“Some people actually like their work in the service industry, but constantly being shouted at and insulted can be very de-motivating and can make usually polite people snap,” she said.
Hanim said phone operators tried to be polite as the conversations were recorded and their jobs literally depended on providing customers a good experience.
“It's a matter of doing their job; it's their responsibility to be polite.
“However, not all call centres provide adequate training, so it's unfair to judge every operator based on a few bad apples,” she said.
Part-time barista Joanna Van, 27, said many customers tended to show a “we pay your salary” attitude.
The degree holder said it was insulting to assume service staff were “uneducated secondary school dropouts”, as many graduates took on the job to supplement their incomes.
“Just treat us as equals. A simple please and thank you will be most appreciated,” she said.
Overall, it's pretty much unanimous that customers in Malaysia feel extremely privileged. Yes, I've experience being yelled at, being told off, getting money thrown at us, and just overall "so-not-nice-dude". But looking back, I've realised that the majority of the service comes from local residents while the foreigners have the tendency to say "please" and "thank you" and even return trays and clean their own table.
I'm not sure really what Malaysians can do to improve. Spoiled brats we are.
Way to go, Malaysia.
But to be fair, this really isn't completely international. It's only where Reader's Digest is sold at. So riding on this recent report, a friend of mine who is a reporter at a local newspaper writes an article on how Malaysians treat the service industry and she interviewed me and a few others who work in the service industry.
‘Faceless’ service staff feel it at the receiving end
PETALING JAYA: It's a vicious cycle. Customers treat those in the service industry poorly but are upset when they in turn get poor service.
Customer service officer Hanim Razak, 35, described it as a lack of “faceless manners”.
“Customers feel they can scream at service staff because they are faceless' strangers behind counters and helplines.
“Some people actually like their work in the service industry, but constantly being shouted at and insulted can be very de-motivating and can make usually polite people snap,” she said.
Hanim said phone operators tried to be polite as the conversations were recorded and their jobs literally depended on providing customers a good experience.
“It's a matter of doing their job; it's their responsibility to be polite.
“However, not all call centres provide adequate training, so it's unfair to judge every operator based on a few bad apples,” she said.
Part-time barista Joanna Van, 27, said many customers tended to show a “we pay your salary” attitude.
The degree holder said it was insulting to assume service staff were “uneducated secondary school dropouts”, as many graduates took on the job to supplement their incomes.
“Just treat us as equals. A simple please and thank you will be most appreciated,” she said.
Overall, it's pretty much unanimous that customers in Malaysia feel extremely privileged. Yes, I've experience being yelled at, being told off, getting money thrown at us, and just overall "so-not-nice-dude". But looking back, I've realised that the majority of the service comes from local residents while the foreigners have the tendency to say "please" and "thank you" and even return trays and clean their own table.
I'm not sure really what Malaysians can do to improve. Spoiled brats we are.