Monday, July 27, 2009
GEMS
Go the Extra Mile for Service (GEMS) is a nationwide movement to improve service levels, particularly in the tourism, hospitality, food & beverage, retail and transport industries in Singapore.
Whereas for myself, this is how I would define 'GEMS':
"Providing the kind of service to customers which is beyond what is already expected of us (employees) by the basic code of conduct (being polite and etc) which individuals need to follow while servicing in the service industry."
Sounds logical, aye?
In order to make things simpler, let me quote an example or two...
On a Saturday, there was a lady who came over to the store and bought a car seat meant for toddlers. She wanted to arrange for delivery such that she won't have to worry carrying it back, so my colleague and I helped her to process the paperwork that are necessary. However, after the customer service staff checked on the earliest delivery date, the lady realised that it would have been a little too late. In the end, she wanted to forgo the delivery and bring the car seat home herself. Now, the problem is that she's unable to carry the car seat (which weighs rather heavy) to the carpark all by herself. As a result, my colleague and I went to get a trolley and helped the lady to bring the car seat to her BMW at the basement carpark.
According to my contract, it wasn't stated that I am obligated to help any one customer bring their item(s) which they have purchased to their car, the taxi stand, or the MRT station. However, going the extra mile in helping our customers is what my company have been emphasizing on. And I am sure that not just the customer will appreciate what we have done for them, but the company will also be benefited via the word of mouth (on the kind of service we provided) from these customers too.
On another occasion, there was a gentleman who bought a Star Wars Lego set (which cost $100++). He told my colleague that he's getting it as a gift for someone and he asked if we provide any gift wrapping service. Well, rightfully, we do not provide any gift wrapping service during the sales period since we do not have enough manpower. However, on this particular afternoon, there wasn't many people around. As a result, I told the customer that I will be more than glad to help him gift wrap his Lego set. So, I went to get some gift wrappers and when I came back to my counter...I GOT REPRIMANDED BY ANOTHER STAFF! She said that I wasn't suppose to agree to help any customer to do gift wrapping, blar blar blar...
At that instant, I was totally pissed off! I thought that the company kept emphasizing on going the extra mile?!
Then, my supervisor came. She resolved the whole matter by asking me to do the wrapping in the office. About half an hour later, the gentleman came back to collect his Lego set. He even joined the queue to get his item, and guess what? He passed my colleague a packet of chocolates from GODIVA. Woo-hoo~ G-O-D-I-V-A!!
I went to check out the chocolates at GODIVA during my dinner break and I was surprised by what I saw. 100g of chocolates cost $30? Wow! What did I do to deserve such goddess chocolates? So, at the end of the day after we closed the cashier and did settlements on our terminals, I shared the chocolates with my colleague. I took three pieces of the chocolates while my colleague took two.
But still, I am just unable to accept what the other staff said to me. Come on, if I don't do it, then who is? Moreover, the gentleman wanted to give the Lego set as a present in the evening. With that, the more I should help him with the gift wrapping. Don't you agree with me? Going the extra mile, aren't I right to say so?
In the end, I did a rather nasty thing on my last day of work. I actually went to the store manager to ask him if I am on the right track. True enough, the manager agreed with my acts and he even thank me for that.
On the bottom line, what I want to say is that GEMS is achievable by anyone in the service line industry. It's just a matter of whether the person is willing to go that extra mile in helping his/her customer(s). Also, it is important to note that there is no such thing as 'troublesome' when you are working in the servicing line. Cheers!
Whereas for myself, this is how I would define 'GEMS':
"Providing the kind of service to customers which is beyond what is already expected of us (employees) by the basic code of conduct (being polite and etc) which individuals need to follow while servicing in the service industry."
Sounds logical, aye?
In order to make things simpler, let me quote an example or two...
On a Saturday, there was a lady who came over to the store and bought a car seat meant for toddlers. She wanted to arrange for delivery such that she won't have to worry carrying it back, so my colleague and I helped her to process the paperwork that are necessary. However, after the customer service staff checked on the earliest delivery date, the lady realised that it would have been a little too late. In the end, she wanted to forgo the delivery and bring the car seat home herself. Now, the problem is that she's unable to carry the car seat (which weighs rather heavy) to the carpark all by herself. As a result, my colleague and I went to get a trolley and helped the lady to bring the car seat to her BMW at the basement carpark.
According to my contract, it wasn't stated that I am obligated to help any one customer bring their item(s) which they have purchased to their car, the taxi stand, or the MRT station. However, going the extra mile in helping our customers is what my company have been emphasizing on. And I am sure that not just the customer will appreciate what we have done for them, but the company will also be benefited via the word of mouth (on the kind of service we provided) from these customers too.
On another occasion, there was a gentleman who bought a Star Wars Lego set (which cost $100++). He told my colleague that he's getting it as a gift for someone and he asked if we provide any gift wrapping service. Well, rightfully, we do not provide any gift wrapping service during the sales period since we do not have enough manpower. However, on this particular afternoon, there wasn't many people around. As a result, I told the customer that I will be more than glad to help him gift wrap his Lego set. So, I went to get some gift wrappers and when I came back to my counter...I GOT REPRIMANDED BY ANOTHER STAFF! She said that I wasn't suppose to agree to help any customer to do gift wrapping, blar blar blar...
At that instant, I was totally pissed off! I thought that the company kept emphasizing on going the extra mile?!
Then, my supervisor came. She resolved the whole matter by asking me to do the wrapping in the office. About half an hour later, the gentleman came back to collect his Lego set. He even joined the queue to get his item, and guess what? He passed my colleague a packet of chocolates from GODIVA. Woo-hoo~ G-O-D-I-V-A!!
I went to check out the chocolates at GODIVA during my dinner break and I was surprised by what I saw. 100g of chocolates cost $30? Wow! What did I do to deserve such goddess chocolates? So, at the end of the day after we closed the cashier and did settlements on our terminals, I shared the chocolates with my colleague. I took three pieces of the chocolates while my colleague took two.
But still, I am just unable to accept what the other staff said to me. Come on, if I don't do it, then who is? Moreover, the gentleman wanted to give the Lego set as a present in the evening. With that, the more I should help him with the gift wrapping. Don't you agree with me? Going the extra mile, aren't I right to say so?
In the end, I did a rather nasty thing on my last day of work. I actually went to the store manager to ask him if I am on the right track. True enough, the manager agreed with my acts and he even thank me for that.
On the bottom line, what I want to say is that GEMS is achievable by anyone in the service line industry. It's just a matter of whether the person is willing to go that extra mile in helping his/her customer(s). Also, it is important to note that there is no such thing as 'troublesome' when you are working in the servicing line. Cheers!
# posted by yf and Sunny @ 2:51 PM 
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