Skip to main content

Foreign customer service staff should speak English in Singapore

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I called up a service provider today, enquiring about some matters regarding service delivery.

Though I started off my enquiry in English, I was startled to hear the man on the other end of the line, a Chinese PRC, answering my enquiries in Mandarin.

Well, though the customer service officer might have known that I am a local Chinese from my voice, however, should he not converse in English with English being the official common language of Singapore?

I persisted in talking to the officer in English, however the latter insisted in replying my queries in Mandarin to my indignation that I have to speak to him in Mandarin too, as his spoken English, however few, was also hard to bear!

Should Singapore aim to raise the standard of spoken English here, the Singapore Government should really ensure foreigners fronting customer service desks be conversant in good spoken English and to use English as the medium for interacting with customers as the norm.

It is really no joking matter for the case I highlight above was definitely not my first experience. In departmental shops in major local shopping centres, I was really appalled to hear Chinese PRC customer service officers telling me that he or she cannot understand English and whether I can speak in Mandarin instead!

Hello, Customer Service Officers should learn to interact with customers and not the other way round: we customers have to learn to interact with the customer service officers! I believe tourists who visited Singapore and had experienced the same experience as I, would leave Singapore with a negative impression!

While I do not mind Singapore opening its gate to the flocks of foreigners, I hope the government can ensure these foreigners are able to communicate with Singaporeans and not dilute the standards of our common language, English. Beside Singlish (Singapore English), I do not want to see an emergence of a 'Chinasinglish English' or hybrid English.
Labels:

Comments

eastcoastlife said…
We Chinese Singaporeans are supposed to be bilingual in English and Mandarin. Take it as an opportunity to polish our Mandarin and practise it with the China nationals.

The Chinese language will be commonly used one day.
Mon Aug 31, 09:38:00 PM GMT+8
qa said…
You are right. But I wonder why the shops want to employ them if they think it would not be good for their business. There must be some good reasons, don't you think so?

But when they are able to speak English, it would be harder for locals to compete with them. I guess they are more hardworking and service-oriented.
Tue Sep 01, 06:20:00 PM GMT+8
Singapore Short Stories said…
Ya I understand EastCoastLife, but its so getting popular these days, the use of Mandarin. Even when I was in university, the China lecturers or post graduates would tend to speak in Chinese 'after sometime' with Singapore Chinese students.

QA, I believe one of the factors is that generally Singaporeans do not like customer service jobs as it entails long hours of standing and smiling, serving from the heart. Another point is that these jobs may not pay well, but to foreigners, due to the good currency exchange rates of SIN $, they are attractive to foreigners.
Tue Sep 01, 09:41:00 PM GMT+8
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vernon Leong Jun Wei

What happens to the 31 year old bride groom, Vernon Leong Jun Wei? As the news of this latest unnatural and bizzare death developed, it seemed that Vernon did not jump from the 24th storey of Hilton Hotel as was believed earlier. There were 3 video camera footages which might prove otherwises for the cause of Vernon's death. The first video footage showed Vernon at the 24th storey, making his way hurriedly into the fire escape staircase. The next video footage showed Vernon at the 2nd storey which also holds some shops and the final footage showed an unconscious Vernon motionless at the ground of the hotel. Vernon was cladded casually in a T-shirt and pants and have left his hotel room while his wife was taking a shower. It seemed that he might be escaping from something or somebody or that he might be chasing after something or somebody. What did Vernon see and experience at his last moments? The police is still investigating the case. It is really a very tragical and sad
Post a Comment
Read more

Kampong Lorong Buangkok

Amidst the blazing afternoon sun today, my Dear and I made our way to Kampong Lorong Buangkok. The visit was a timely one as there is such a high buzz being generated over the last kampong in modern Singapore. After alighting from Bus 854 from Eunos, it was not difficult to find our way to the kampong. The entrance of the kampong was distinct as you could see from the picture: the 'ulu-ness' (rural charm) is evident from the attap-roofed buildings and more unkempt conditions. A signboard with hand-written text welcome my Dear and I to the last kampong in Singapore: As we entered the kampong, I spotted a middle-aged woman talking to an old man. I had seen the old woman before on TV. She was none other than the owner of the kampong land. In the documentary, I learnt that the whole kampong land was passed to her by her late father. She has kept the land and have not gone on to sell the land to the government. If she were to sell the land, she would be an instant multi-millionair
Post a Comment
Read more

Performance Bonus

It is the time of the year civil servants receive their performance bonuses (PBs). In the coming two weeks, civil servants will not only receive their performance bonuses, special ‘growth bonuses’, would also await them for the very first time. These PBs and growth bonuses are only applicable to performers, defined as officers with assessed performance gradings above the ‘D’ grade. Typically, civil servants receive their performance bonuses in March, a 0.5 month of bonus in July and a 13th month plus AVC in December. Are all the bonuses good? To be frank, the bonuses dished out in Civil Service are averages at best. With the various bonuses being given out in these months: July, December and March, a civil servant who would like to quit would most likely try to find a ‘suitable’ month to quit so as not to forfeit his bonuses. The December bonus is generally the most generous portion. To quantify for this bonus, an officer would have to be in service till the end of January ne
1 comment
Read more