The China lady serving dim sum at Greenwich Kopitiam must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
When an old customer ordered the chee chong fun set, the staff raised her voice in Mandarin and impatiently told the customer that there were many types of chee chong fun and to indicate to her which type he wanted. The old fellow did not fully understand her question (think his Mandarin was limited) and hesitated. Then, the same staff raised her voice again displaying negative body language (mind you there was no queue at all). Frightened and embarrassed the would be customer then left hurriedly without ordering his food.
I, myself had in the past been treated in like manner. To begin with, we do not need these rude people to work in Singapore. Singapore is a multi racial country and service staff must be able to communicate in English which is the working language. We have Indians, Malays, Westerners and many other races living and working in Singapore. Besides not all Chinese Singaporeans are able to communicate in Mandarin.
Perhaps, it is not the fault of the China staff. Most do not speak English and if employers want to recruit these people, they should teach them some basic English. English aside, they should be trained to be courteous and nice to their customers.
What do you think?
When an old customer ordered the chee chong fun set, the staff raised her voice in Mandarin and impatiently told the customer that there were many types of chee chong fun and to indicate to her which type he wanted. The old fellow did not fully understand her question (think his Mandarin was limited) and hesitated. Then, the same staff raised her voice again displaying negative body language (mind you there was no queue at all). Frightened and embarrassed the would be customer then left hurriedly without ordering his food.
I, myself had in the past been treated in like manner. To begin with, we do not need these rude people to work in Singapore. Singapore is a multi racial country and service staff must be able to communicate in English which is the working language. We have Indians, Malays, Westerners and many other races living and working in Singapore. Besides not all Chinese Singaporeans are able to communicate in Mandarin.
Perhaps, it is not the fault of the China staff. Most do not speak English and if employers want to recruit these people, they should teach them some basic English. English aside, they should be trained to be courteous and nice to their customers.
What do you think?
