Not flying very high in service
Wednesday - May 28th, 2008 at 7:29 AM by CY
The Singapore Flyer is one of our little island’s newest tourisy-attraction. My sis-in-law Jasmine has gone up for the ride, as has Ling and mum-in-law; and from all accounts, it seems a ride worth taking. Ling has plans to bring Matt up for a ride too.
That said, if the below pair of letters is anything to go by, the level of customer service for the ride needs to do a lot better. Snippets from The Straits Times forum; the first letter from here, response from here.
May 20, 2008
Romance punctured: Singapore Flyer
…
The cause of the unhappiness was that I had taken my girlfriend on the Singapore Flyer ride on April 11 as a surprise present for her birthday. I bought tickets for the 7pm ride and the tickets stated that customers had to check in 30 minutes before the ride for security checks. So we checked in at 6.30pm. But we were told that we could not wait until 7pm to board the Singapore Flyer.
The usher at the entrance to the cabins said that they had a private function at 7pm and we might not be able to board the flyer at 7pm. So we unwillingly boarded the flyer at 6.30pm but missed out on seeing the night landscape of Singapore which would have made my girlfriend’s birthday celebration so romantic.
…
It is unfair to tell customers to check in earlier and then make them go on the ride immediately afterwards because it is not the actual boarding time that the customer had wanted and paid for.
Sim Boon Yuan
And response a Bernard Lim, the Director of Special Projects @ Singapore Flyer:
May 26, 2008
Turn up 30 minutes before Singapore Flyer ride
I REFER to Mr Sim Boon Yuan’s feedback last Tuesday, ‘Romance punctured: Singapore Flyer’.
Under our terms and conditions, guests are encouraged to present themselves at the boarding entrance of the capsule 30 minutes before their flight time, as reflected on their ticket. Therefore it was all right for Mr Sim to board the capsule 30 minutes before 7pm.
…
Bernard Lim
Director Special Projects
Singapore Flyer
I nearly fell off my chair after reading Mr. Lim’s response. Has he missed the issue? The whole point for some folks to take the Singapore Flyer is to catch the beautiful sunset at specific timings. What kind of service operator arbitrarily changes the time of a provided service when timing could be everything to the customer. As someone suggested in the discussion thread: Mr. Lim should put himself in Mr. Sim’s shoes and ask himself with this kind of reply, will Mr. Sim ever want to take the ride again.
And here I was thinking of giving the Flyer a try in June. No way now I’m going let them get my money now if this is the kind of customer service the operator displays. More comments of outrage and dismay from the public here too.
May 29th, 2008 at 9:59 AM
Another recent letter to The Straits Times forum page, with the writer remarking on the customer service of another major attraction. Source is here.
>>>>>>>>>>>
May 29, 2008
Drop the adversarial approach, be nice even if you think you’re right
I REFER to Sunday’s reply by Ms Isabel Cheng, ‘Buy value packages to save money at zoo, Night Safari’ to Mr Kamar Lim’s letter last Friday, ‘Zoo, Night Safari, lower your charges’.
I am a regular visitor to both attractions and have largely enjoyed the experiences. Recently, though, I have noticed an increasingly haughty attitude from the service staff on site. I’ve always wondered why, and I think I know now.
Instead of taking the opportunity to engage a supporter, Ms Cheng chose to reel off facts to disprove the complaint about the zoo’s stiff charges. For example, her reply to Mr Lim’s view that the food was too expensive was that it’s not, as there were ‘fresh large prawns and other quality ingredients’ in the laksa sold by the zoo’s food outlet.
I’m sure Mr Lim is by now convinced that the fresh prawns, quality vegetables and fishcake are worth the money. Our public institutions should start dropping their adversarial approach and start treating Singaporeans as valued customers.
We give feedback because we hope the experience can become better, so that the attractions stay profitable and world-class. We don’t do it to get special treatment or privileges.
Ms Cheng ends by saying that Mr Lim ’should feel free’ to contact her staff if he has further questions.
I don’t think he should, as the management is not going to be appreciative of any feedback. The phrasing of this last sentence reflects the tone of her entire letter.
Steve Tan