[discussion] Encouraging locals to be in service industry

[Jarlaxle]

the other problem I see is that malls do not see tenants as partners. They see them as income sources.

So when your lease is up, the mall makes you bid with other potential tenants. The chains muscle in and they can make ends meet with their bigger stock in take and overall larger clientele.

it is horrible for small businesses to make it. you want to try your hand at F&B? better find a small place to start. SHopping malls are not for you hon

yes this is very bad
they are always trying to squeeze them for profit
but tenants are really their income sources. theres no denial to that.

heheh, some malls dun even want u to go in if ur brand is not well known!!
crapland is most well known for that. plus got variable rent

 

[cherry6]

yes this is very bad
they are always trying to squeeze them for profit
but tenants are really their income sources. theres no denial to that.
heheh, some malls dun even want u to go in if ur brand is not well known!!
crapland is most well known for that. plus got variable rent

High earning foreign talent in MNC store chains are treated by MOM like Singaporeans, don't need to pay levy to work here on employment pass etc, MNC work flows are mostly automated so no need to hire low wage FT on employment pass.

Singapore SMC are not so high tech, are punished by SG govt for not becoming high tech overnight with punitive levy for the low wage FT that they need to hire.

Ultimately, all the SMC in SG will close down, and Singapore will be like a international prostitute/ gambling den run by MNCs and probably Temesek- Singaporeans and other FT left behind will become the prostitutes/ croupiers serving international clientele then.

My earlier post also explains why Low wage workers in SG will always remain low wage workers, MOM policies restraint/ prevent them from progressing further.

 

[cscs3]

I would say to give the sales staff more decision making autonomy e.g. empower them to give discounts to retain regular customers etc. Provide them with better welfare, e.g. bus service back home if they work late.

This is not empower issue. Most of the service line in Singapore is commission base. Worse is many are employed by product "brand". So call promoter. They sell or provide services to product they represent and not the company. They walk away as soon as what in your mind is not the brand he is trying to promote.

The welfare is their commission. So or service line attitude is no money no talk !

 

[Jarlaxle]

High earning foreign talent in MNC store chains are treated by MOM like Singaporeans, don't need to pay levy to work here on employment pass etc, MNC work flows are mostly automated so no need to hire low wage FT on employment pass.

Singapore SMC are not so high tech, are punished by SG govt for not becoming high tech overnight with punitive levy for the low wage FT that they need to hire.

Ultimately, all the SMC in SG will close down, and Singapore will be like a international prostitute/ gambling den run by MNCs and probably Temesek- Singaporeans and other FT left behind will become the prostitutes/ croupiers serving international clientele then.

My earlier post also explains why Low wage workers in SG will always remain low wage workers, MOM policies restraint/ prevent them from progressing further.

no lah. even big mnc such as manufacturing coy, construction, etc
they will need alot of low skill workers.

but yeah, expecting sme to become high tech is very difficult.
SME lacks the know-how, resource and implementation time period.

 

[cancer81]

to say that SMEs are tech-resistant is quite a big lie.

If your clients/main-contractor demands that you furbish a report utilizing certain measurement tools, you will jolly well go and get it done.

There are also loads of small firms doing certification, surveying, calibration and other services that uses precision engineering. Small workforce needed in the firm and profit margins are pretty good.

The equipment does need to be refreshed every 5-6 years and you will have to pay the manufacturer of the tools for firmware upgrades. It also provides business for the upstream and also causes ripples downstream so that things keep moving and improving.

The work itself can be quite "tough". Outdoors with no shelter and even long periods of time spent onboard vessels or even overseas.

True Blue Sinkies Pride says "No good paying jobs behind a keyboard in a air conditioned room equal no talk"

I am generalizing very very hard here

 

[sunzoner]

Biz would say costs would rise and would pass the buck to customers. You want?

Typical response.

Everything Biz also say will increase cost. I dun see any movement to help local biz get slaves... Come to think of it, after they hire so many FWs, I dun see price lowering too...

Biz owners just want high profits and low cost, that doesnt mean we need to entertain them.

The current state of affairs mean this will continue. Do you agree with it? Maybe in the future, you get to work for three meals and lodging. Will you agree to do this to help biz stay "competitive"?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Typical response.

Everything Biz also say will increase cost. I dun see any movement to help local biz get slaves... Come to think of it, after they hire so many FWs, I dun see price lowering too...

Biz owners just want high profits and low cost, that doesnt mean we need to entertain them.

The current state of affairs mean this will continue. Do you agree with it? Maybe in the future, you get to work for three meals and lodging. Will you agree to do this to help biz stay "competitive"?

Yup, we have never seen them lowering prices when oil prices decrease or whatever variable cost LOL.

all biz owners are profit driven. REGARDLESS of what they say.

strictly speaking, cheap labor is as good as citizen or employee subsidising the business. this means that the business is unsustainable.
and why should employee subsidies or inject CASH into the company thru taking less pay? are employee becoming shareholders too?

 

[sunzoner]

Yup, we have never seen them lowering prices when oil prices decrease or whatever variable cost LOL.

all biz owners are profit driven. REGARDLESS of what they say.

strictly speaking, cheap labor is as good as citizen or employee subsidising the business. this means that the business is unsustainable.
and why should employee subsidies or inject CASH into the company thru taking less pay? are employee becoming shareholders too?

Singapore has too many businesses making money either through monopoly, cheap labour or off the citizens unfairly. That is why the economy is so big and need FWs.

These businesses should close or move out. The citizens freed should be retrained into other careers. FWs demand will reduce. Transport stress will be reduced. More people will be happy.

But of cos, people vested interest in the current situation will not be happy as they will be negatively impacted. Afterall, all shareholders would like to have more and more dividends every year, and CEOs prefer to get more and more salary and bonus payout. Who really care for the "little" people who cannot think properly and believe in the nonsense flying around?

 

[cherry6]

MOM sewing the seeds of revolution, if not drastic political change

MOM sewing the seeds of revolution, if not drastic political change

Original thread:
'[discussion] Encouraging locals to be in service industry'
no lah. even big mnc such as manufacturing coy, construction, etc
they will need alot of low skill workers.
but yeah, expecting sme to become high tech is very difficult.
SME lacks the know-how, resource and implementation time period.

Hi View Post Jarlaxle,
Yes big MNC will 'need' low skill workers but they are able to farm out this 'need' to many smaller time contractors... the smaller contractors earn peanuts and their employees even less. The government loves the MNC (e.g. banking, finance, property companies, casino operators and other vice) because on paper, they make GDP numbers look nice.

I once calculated that the SG government earns S$5.26Billion p.a. from foreign worker levies 'Singapore government plans $5.26B tax bonanza from new foreign worker levy rates'.

Just like a drug addict loves his drug fix, the Singapore government loves revenue. Indeed, the global MNCs can provide jobs- Singaporeans will have jobs. But where these regressive taxation policies are operational, Singaporeans will always be at the short end of the stick.

SMCs are taxed most because they cannot complain, work permit and less so- S-pass holders cannot complain as loudly as employment pass (EP)holders so both SMC and work permit holders have to pay.

Whilst all this is going on, employment pass holders are living it up at Marina Bay Sands. Yes it might be a world of sharks amongst themselves. But the truth remains, at the rarefied level of EP holders, they pay proportionately less taxes than do the rest.

But as I mentioned, the consequence of all this micro management is that the Singapore worker becomes a professional phantom employee (useless to welfare of the world), the government coffers get suddenly enriched, foreigners make Singapore a brothel- sewing the seeds of revolution, if not drastic political change.
Rgds
C6.

 

[tmfwy]

What measures can be implemented or what can be done to encouraged locals to be interested in service industry? Besides increasing pay (which can calculated), what can be done to increase people to take pride (which is not contified) in service industry?

Also, why is the reality show, Can you Serve? not shown anymore? It has only 2 seasons.....

Can You Serve Season 2: Episode 1 - YouTube

My lecturer once told us, and i requote

How can you teach someone to serve, when they are being serveed throughout their lives?

 

[sunzoner]

My lecturer once told us, and i requote

How can you teach someone to serve, when they are being serveed throughout their lives?

Typical half truth.

Not all singaporean are being served throughout their lifes. The poor, middle class are not rich enough to hire help.

 

[Silverback84]

shiok man if pay is gd I ok

 

[cancer81]

Typical half truth.

Not all singaporean are being served throughout their lifes. The poor, middle class are not rich enough to hire help.

not really

a good amount of "middle class" Singaporeans grow up only knowing the warm and gentle hand of grandma/grandpa/mother/father

dun say cook, wash own clothes is throw it into the washing machine, sweep is vacuum, dunno what is mop.

Lots of Singaporean guys only know what is make their own bed, clean up after themselves in NS!! Clean the toilet? what? The toilet needs to scrubbed? what sorcery is this?

And if they had "brilliant" examples in their lives teaching them how to behave towards waiter/retail asst... dun need to be rich to have atas attitude...

most of the problem with retail work in Singapore is the hours and weekends.

In countries where most retail staff are born n breed locals, lots of shops close by 7 or earlier! Open until 2130?? What is that?

 

[Providence]

To be honest, it is not an easy life in the service industry. Not everyone can take up that challenge.

For me, I have been a service engineer for the past six years in the semiconductor industry. Now I am still a service engineer in the food industrial solution industry. At least, I do not need to perform a standby duty once a month for the new industry. Back in the old days at the semiconductor side, I had to perform standby duty once a month and it is not easy to crawl out of bed in the middle of the night and go to work due to a customer's fault call.

It can happen quite often too! If the machine is not stable enough, then it is good luck to you.

If you want to be in the service sector, you have to be mentally and physically prepared for it. It will be quite taxing. I do not want to talk about the pay as it is quite high with OTs clocked in and transport allowances. But do you have the lifespan to spend that money in the first place? A lot of service engineers in the semiconductor sector died during work due to exhaustion or illness. I decided to change the job and joined the food industrial solution sector because there were many 'accidents' happening around the world in the semiconductor field but they were seldom or never mentioned in the news.

Till date, the semiconductor field is too important to the world. Without it, you will not have flash memory units and PCBs. Without them, you will not have electronic products on the market. Thus, many associated parties simply do not dare to report any serious 'accident' to the general public. Only the people who work in there know the dangers and hazards well. It is dangerous in every sector but this is the only sector where you seldom or never hear any 'accident' on the news.

 

[runforyourlife]

i think its hard to serve in retail in SG because expectations is always extremely high among citizens (or anyone for that matter).

e.g.: if at mac, the queue is long and the service level is not seen as fast enough, there will be alot of stares and murmuring from peeps, even if the service is good.

Thats just one example, and yea, its hard for locals to serve in SG but i believe there are alot having that kinda passion, thus peeps go for volunteering etc, helping those who are really in need of help. somehow there's a gap in between.

 

[MisterLim001]

so how to change this "being served" attitude?

 

[cancer81]

what people really expect that the counter staff try to make the queue move.

some store managers will tell the counter staff to move the customer who finished orders to one side and have a set of staff serving food according to the receipts.

the problem is that people like to start thinking about what they want when it is their turn. Worse the group in front of you start having a debate over what to eat.

people need to start thinking that they are "special", it will make things easier. Singaporeans are too selfish to have Japanese style and standards....

 

[cscs3]

Typical half truth.

Not all singaporean are being served throughout their lifes. The poor, middle class are not rich enough to hire help.

"poor" yes, middle class and above - no.

 

[sunzoner]

not really

a good amount of "middle class" Singaporeans grow up only knowing the warm and gentle hand of grandma/grandpa/mother/father

dun say cook, wash own clothes is throw it into the washing machine, sweep is vacuum, dunno what is mop.

Lots of Singaporean guys only know what is make their own bed, clean up after themselves in NS!! Clean the toilet? what? The toilet needs to scrubbed? what sorcery is this?

Well, a good amount need not really be more than 50%.

In my NS times, there are already guys who dun even know how to make their own beds. Do we accuse the entire generation of not knowing how to do that? No. Guess sweeping statements are worth more nowadays...

And if they had "brilliant" examples in their lives teaching them how to behave towards waiter/retail asst... dun need to be rich to have atas attitude...

This statement contradict your first few pares... If the parents/grandparents are not brilliant examples, then the young would either have to do the cleaning themselves or live in dirty environment. Now, how many lives in slums again?

most of the problem with retail work in Singapore is the hours and weekends.

In countries where most retail staff are born n breed locals, lots of shops close by 7 or earlier! Open until 2130?? What is that?

The retail shop needs to open long hours, why? High rent? long hours mandated by the building owners?

 

[sunzoner]

i think its hard to serve in retail in SG because expectations is always extremely high among citizens (or anyone for that matter).

e.g.: if at mac, the queue is long and the service level is not seen as fast enough, there will be alot of stares and murmuring from peeps, even if the service is good.

Thats just one example, and yea, its hard for locals to serve in SG but i believe there are alot having that kinda passion, thus peeps go for volunteering etc, helping those who are really in need of help. somehow there's a gap in between.

What service you expect from fast food restaurants? fast food, right? If the queue is long and the service level is not fast, then are they "fast food"? So why cant have stares and murmuring? In other countries, they riots, in singapore, they just look at you. Why else do you want? customers sing song for you while they wait for "fast food "?