Kwa Liang Hao

The subject Business Etiquette & Service Excellence is a module that's compulsory for me to complete my course of study with Temasek Polytechnic's Hospitality and Tourism Management course, just like any other modules that one have to undertake in the course.

But what makes this module so special and unique, is the 3 hour duration. 3 hours straight in a tutorial class is no joke. What makes it crazier, is the compulsory dress code that the subject calls for - a blazer, long sleeved shirt, tie and leather shoes.

However.

There's more to it.

Dressing up as a professional takes a lot of work. And it also takes a professional too. Thankfully, i had a wonderful tutor who, in my opinion, did a fantastic job of grooming us into professionals through demonstration. We had a 3 hour lesson each week, and he will have it too. We have to dress up to standards every week, and he will have to do so too. And in fact, i remembered the first lesson where everyone shook hands when entering the class with our tutor. That moment impressed me so greatly, that this module isn't just about tests and exams, it's about my own personality and shaping my mindset into a better person and individual, i would say.

After the first lesson, i learned an importance lesson - dressing up. Dressing up takes a lot more than just grabbing what's in the wardrobe and putting on the right size. It's about the colour, the contrast, the patterns and even down to the texture and designs of the clothes we wear. It's about matching them and making sure they compliment each other to project a professional image. It's about looking good and smart whilst looking professional and impressive. Gradients of the tie, shirt and blazer colour affect each other and the whole outlook as a whole too!

I learned how there's a need to ensure i don't wear a black tie, black shirt together with a black blazer! Imagine how awkward and foolish i would have appeared to be, wearing that in formal occasions.

And speaking of formal occasions, after the first lecture - Professional Presence - i learned about the different events and the different dress codes for them. For example, black tie events, white tie events and cocktail parties. I didn't even know the difference between the many events they stated and was truly enlightened. I mean, i can't even imagine dressing wrongly for the occasion, if i were to be invited to an event and either under-dressing or over-dressing - both of which is going to end up with me looking like a fool!

Because of the first lecture, i learned important points and notes about dressing which is applicable to not only the 3 hour lesson every week, but also in life when i go into the corporate world. Where first impression is much more important and every single detail counts in contributing to a positive first impression.

So because i stated previously how it was a lifelong skill i've learned in dressing myself up, let me share with you an example of how this useful lecture has been applied in my daily life.

For one, presentations in Cross-Disciplinary Skill class. I daresay because of this module and lecture, i've learned how to dress nicer, neater and much more presentable than other courses around Temasek Polytechnic! Fortunately for us (htm students), this course guided us into dressing appropraitely and because of our neat, colourful self-presentation, we've created an impact and thereafter boosting our marks for presentations.

In fact, i've even overhear other lecturers claiming how properly dressed HTM students are and it sort of gives me a sense of pride in being in the course itself.

Next up will be for interviews. For interviews, i understand that we're competing with thousands just for a particular job, and this is especially true in my most recent interview with Hard Rock Hotel by the manager of the hotel. Because it's a formal interview, i decided to dress up the way i dressed up for BESE lessons usually and at the interview, the manager actually made a comment on the way i was dressed. He was impressed and felt that unlike most students, i was able to match the right shirt with tie appropriately and decently.

All in all, learning the how-tos in dressing up is vital in creating an impression - especially the first impression.

Learning about the ways to dress properly and creating a professional presence is important and has definitely created a life-long impact on me. Not only shaping my sense of fashion, it has also allow me to learn the importance of it.

Clothes aren't just what you wear on the outside, they represent you on the inside.

CUSTOMER PERCEPTION

Now, after creating a professional presence in both the workplace and as an individual, there is a need for one to know how to move from just being a professional on the outside, but also on the inside. Thus, we learn about Customer Perception, which teaches us how to deal with customers and people as a whole on a basic level - by understanding them.

If there's any word that's being brought up more often than not throughout the BESE workshops and lecturers, it'll be the word Customer. Over the short period spent in the workshops, i learned that customers aren't just people who patronize and buy products and services from your company. Customers are people who will, in time to come, become your friend and essentially become an asset of the company. This means that the value of the customers is likened to the value of the company itself.

Thus, learning about what customers perceive, think and want, is an important lesson for any individual.

When applying it to my own personal life, i would say my customers are friends and family and basically anyone who interacts with me. They might not be paying me money, or having a business with me, but they are still my customers.

And the reason why i would say they are my customers, is because these people have an impact on me, and is considerably an "asset" to me. In another way of putting it, these are the people i value and will want to keep by my side for the rest of my life. Thus, i would say, they are my customers, they are important and when i want to treasure them, there are issue to take note as well as things to avoid doing or to do to please them more.

Therefore, the topic of customer perception kicks in.

This topic taught me the ways and whys of how people form opinions and see things. In a way, it taught me to see things from another person's point of view, as well as putting myself in others' shoes. This is an important lesson to learn.

Because only by putting yourself in others' shoes, will you then understand exactly how the person is feeling and know exactly what the person want and need. In doing so, you're stepping further than just good service, you're in fact providing a much more personalized and excellent service. When one is willing to put themselves in others' shoes, it shows to customer not only sincerity but also the effort that you're putting in in helping them. Thus, understanding how others form opinions of certain items is useful and important.

Let's not overlook another main topic highlighted within this lecture - service recovery and the use of excuses.

Service recovery isn't about covering up one's mistake. It's about doing something about it. From what i learned, service recovery is not an indication of hopelessness for the company, but instead, is a ray of hope from the dark sky, guiding the company towards a brighter future IF the company is willing to follow the ray of light. And these rays of light are not to be taken literally, of course. They come in the form of complaints, remarks and dissatisfaction from customers.

I learned that when customers make a remark about your company, or when they even bother to make a complaint, it means they care.

Initially, this sounded odd too.

If you really care for me, why make a complain? Isn't it odd and hypocritical?

But after giving it a much deeper thought (yes, i admit to being a bit dense earlier on), i realized that customers' complaints are indeed signs and "hidden" messages of love for the company. Because they would want to see you improve, they would want to see a better you, that's why they complain and tell you so.

Applying this to my personal life. I would say, it's very true.

Personally, i would definitely want my friends to tell me if i have a bad temper! I would definitely want my family to tell me if something is wrong about me! Cause if they tell me, at least i will be able to make amendments and make changes and improve and thereby becoming a better individual. Isn't this better than your family and friends disliking you further and further until they shun you and cutting off ties and relationships with you without letting you know the reason why?

In summary of these paragraphs is one short line - because they love you, that's why they hurt you first before you get hurt much more badly.

Then the point about excuses.

Excuses, i learned, are just ways and methods of us escaping from responsibility.
I remember how people always use excuses to get away with things and it annoys me. Thus, in a way, i understand the importance of not using excuses. Rather than just finding excuses, why not make amendments? Service recovery shows that one cares, but if otherwise, as one use an excuse, it shows that one does not care about the customer and does not intend to do anything about it.

Likewise, friends and family doesn't like to be acquainted with someone of ill responsibility. If one isn't courageous and right enough to bear his/her own responsibility as well as clear his/her own mess, i would say, that person is not worthy of having even acquaintances. Because i feel that it's one thing to create a mess and clearing it, and another thing altogether to create a mess and pretended you didn't see it.

Personally, i believe strongly that this lecture has shaped my character into somewhat a better and more righteous person who at the very least know the importance of the people around me, as well as knowing the need to face up to my mistakes and clearing my own mess.

In fact, i even occasionally blog on my personal blog about things i've done wrongly and apologized "publicly" through my posts to the people involved. Also, i've taken to announcing on my blog regularly how much i love the people around me and thanking them for being patient with my random nonsense (yes, i do have such issues at times).

BESE has obviously taken its toll on me, in this sense!

Delighting your customers!

To delight someone, is to make someone happy. As a service staff, our goal is to make everyone happy. As an individual, our goal is to make everyone around us happy. And personally, we will want to be kept happy.

To me, learning about this topic taught me not just the basic ways of making others happy, but also the ways of how to keep others delighted and happy, whilst staying happy myself. Excellent service, in my opinion, will be to be able to provide great delightful service with a heartfelt smile myself.

Thus, there is a need to know what's the basics and fundamentals to reaching out to people, not just your customers, but the general public, and making them happy. Because, in my opinion, i feel that one will never know who will end up being your customers. Thus, there is a constant need to maintain a professional image and to forge a good relationship with as many people as you meet, rather than "being good" only when they are your customers.

The R.A.T.E.R. fundamentals refer to Reliability, Assurance, Tangible, Empathy and Responsiveness. These fundamentals are the ways customers judge and view others. And in a sense, these are the ways to delighting customers.

It holds especially true for me because personally, a reliable person is one that will, in time to come, stand out as a trustworthy and honest individual - one who keeps promises and delivers expectations. This is a key factor of making a customer happy, because if the most basic of the basic promises cannot be kept, all trust will be lost and faith will be gone. This goes hand in hand with the next point - Assurance. Assurance is given when one is able to trust others based on the professionalism of others. In a sense, it's based on the service provider's skills and personality which form the basis of Assurance. To be assuring will allow a better working relationship and gives rise to a positive attitude too.

Tangibles are items that reflects the service culture and organization. They conveys a message and usually are the items customers remember most. This is because it's physically present and therefore, creating a huge impact. Tangibles, in this sense, can be link to Professional Presence in lecture one. If a service staff were to dress sloppily and untidily, the image portrayed to the customer is not going to be good. And from the customer's point of view, patronizing you will not make him/her feel good and happy at all too.

Empathy is the ability to recognize each customer as an individual. Because no two person in the world is alike in personality and thoughts, therefore, i would say this is an important trait to understand and master. This is especially made difficult because of the fine line between sympathy and empathy - one of which might offend the customers. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in others shoes, understanding their plight and doing something about it. This ties in very well with the previous lecture mentioned, Customer Perception. If one is able to understand his/her customers well enough and to be able to put themselves in others' shoes, then empathy can be shown. Customers can also feel the service quality here and be satisfied to know that as a service staff or individual myself, i am willing to make a difference and do something about his/her situation.

Responsiveness is about the time and deadlines customers set for the company. In a sense, it's a race against time for the company or oneself to delight customers. Putting it simply, a responsive company will handle a customer's complaint within one day, or maybe faster, and providing an alternative to the customer's situation in probably a day to ease the inconvenience, whilst the unresponsive company will probably take a week to get back to the customer and might not even provide an alternative towards the customer's situation.

Personally, the RATER fundamentals has aided me greatly in shaping my personality.

Being honest and truthful about oneself will lead to a more trustworthy and reliable relationship, be it between customers or friends. Furthermore, to be able to show empathy and treat each situation and person separately, will allow one to show more concern and care about the individual and giving the individual a sense of delight, as they now know that they are receiving "special treatment".

Sometimes when customers complain, they do not seek sympathy but a listening ear. Likewise, on a more personal basis, when friends whine and complain, sometimes all they want is someone to listen and to know that someone is there for them. This topic in BESE has taught me the taboos to being a good listener and improved my daily life greatly. Recalling one situation where i have a friend who suddenly called me on the phone and started telling me about her family problems. Usually, i would just tell her to be contented and patient with her family, but this time around, i decided to listen to her problems and putting myself in her shoes. I see a whole new sight from her point, and i understood how frustrated she must have felt then. At the end of our conversation, i could almost hear her smile at the end of the other line as she thanked me. That was when i know i've made a difference in her day at least.

All in all, i feel that BESE isn't all just about the professional workplace. It's about moulding one into a better person. This module has definitely created an impact in my personal life as well as the way i see and do certain things - however minor they may be. I learned to cherish people around me as well as how to improve my relationship with both my family and friends.