When I first opened this powerpoint slide, I realized that it was related to one of our module – Service Skills Methodologist (SSM). It teaches us table manners as well as the different settings of table, which was taught during SSM.
This topic is helpful because learning table manners and how to eat glamorously will create our first impression when we have lunch with important partners. Some of the table manners were taught by my grandmother, because elderly are very traditional people. Hence they tend to get very angry when we place our chopsticks vertically in the rice bowl. I was trained from young by my grandmother regarding table manners, hence this topic is easy for me to understand.

This topic is new and fresh to me and I have been looking forward to this chapter. It had an interest for this topic even before I have started on this module. Social etiquette truly reflects how well-mannered and refine a person is.
I always think that I can never be as refine and graceful as those rich families out there. Under my family tree, my fifth aunt comes from a rich family. One look at their faces and the way they speak, it is easy to tell that they come from a rich family and very well-mannered. Unlike us, who live in normal HDB flats, always talk and laugh loudly.
Therefore, I feel that manners are taught from young, and is easily influenced by the environment that we are brought up in. This is part of our learning journey from young.

Usually I see office politics in drama and not in the real world. Maybe because I am currently still studying, hence I can only experience internal politics between groups. However, no matter whether we are still studying or working, we can experience politics as long as there are personality clashes.
In my first year of study in Temasek Polytechnic, I have experienced politics in my group. This was due to some personality differences among our group mates.
I find this lesson useful, helpful and interesting because I am a person who does not like politics and will find way to try not to be involved in it. While going through the tutorial, I realized one part of the tutorial mentioning “Size up your boss” and “Getting the Boss on your side”. This is closely related to my primary school days when my friends dislike students who are “Teacher’s pet”.
However, after I have grown up, I realized that in the business world, everyone is trying their best to get their bosses to their side.
This topic definitely has increased my knowledge about the “real world” and in the future, I am able to protect myself, as well as my job, in an organization.

To be liked by everyone in the company is the only way to survive in a political company. Hence, the skills taught during lesson are ways to survive in an organization. This skill can help in my career because it also increases my knowledge of how to free myself from politics.

Many would think that as long as we provide what the customer wants, the customer would be happy. However, from my point of view as a customer, to make me delighted, I would want to remember that delightful experience forever and use it as an example in telling others how good that service staff is in delighting customers. I feel that only then, one is successful in delighting a customer.

Customers like me, tend to look for value-added service in all service providers that I come in contact with. I would want to receive such service that I do not feel any gap between myself and the staff. Maybe this is due to my outgoing personality and the way I work in the airport where I have to interact with passengers.

Delighting customers is part of service recovery. Only then, you can retain your loyal customers.

Customers are always there for you to serve them. In hospitality industry, customers can be from all over the world. We can get friendly customers from America or even get customers from Japan who has difficulty in communication. Making them feel satisfied and enhance their stay in Singapore starts from the experience that they have in Singapore.

Today is our official Student Lead Symposium, which is our so-called BESE presentation.

Everyone came prepared with their Powerpoint Slides and looking very professional after the first lesson on Professional Presence.
We even had name tags for the hosts of this event.

The refreshments were great and everyone was present for this Symposium.

It was a success and finally we had one presentation done!

How to make your staff feel motivated so that they are willing to work for you is part of building service culture.

What are the qualities of service?
What differentiates you from others?

All these make up service culture of the organization.

“Customer is not always right but it sustains your business”. I agree with this sentence which was found in the lecture. This is because each business is setup to meet customers’ need, and without their support, businesses would not be able to survive. Hence, the one of the most important thing that a company should bear in mind, besides profits, is the satisfaction from customers and turning them into loyal customers.

By understanding the service culture of an organization, it makes me feel a part of them and a strong service culture will motivate your staff to work closer to achieve customer's goal and aim.

The 7 DEADLY STATEMENTS.

They are definitely excuses for your poor service.

If I were the customer, I would think that, since you are working for the company, you are part of the company and why are you pushing the blame to your own company for your poor service?

I have taken up numerous part-time jobs. If I am interested in working for the company, I would take the opportunity to ask my colleague about my job scope so that I would not fumble during work and get embarrassed. Hence, there should not be such thing called “I’m just a part-timer”. I am hired because the company needs me, and by saying that, I am just pushing the blame to my boss that he did not provide me any training.

By taking the responsibility for your poor service, you are showing professionalism rather than pushing blames to others.

Today is another self-directed learning for customer perception.

However, through the lecture on this topic, I agreed that customer is not always right. If they are always, they can bring problems to us because they can complain as and when they like since they are always right.

It has also taught me the different measures of customer satisfaction and perception. From here, we can "read their mind" and provide them with a better service.
Different people see things differently, hence providing consistent service is not good enough. We have to add value to our service to create a better impression.

Customers have the choice to leave as and when they like. Therefore in order to retain your customers, do something unique and extraordinary that will make them stay!

For myself, I tend to think that G2000 is a high-end retail shop because of the office attire that they sell. Therefore, I would expect quality service from them. This is my own perception based on first impression, advertising and marketing efforts.

Hence when I'm out to work next time, I will have to take note of my company's brand image, what my company is selling, in order to know what customers think about the company. This links to another topic on BUILDING SERVICE CULTURE.