People are shaped by their culture, education and way of life. They develop certain common traits - generous, selfish, open minded, closed minded, positive, negative, courageous, cowardly, honest, deceitful.
Although the traits are quite common to most people in that culture, there will be exceptions. A statement of trait does not mean that it will apply to 100% of people in that culture. If I say that the X (a certain nationality or people) are hardworking, there will certainly be some who are lazy. It is not necessary to say that "most X" are hardworking, as the word "most" is understood.
In Singapore, there ae certain people who will challenge your observation by asking you to prove their point. They wil ask "Do you have statistics to prove that X is hardworking? Did you conduct a survey? What percentage of X are hardworking? Is your survey reliable?"
After a while, most people learn to keep quiet. They have no opinion. They will let other people make a statement and they can then throw the "statistical" challenge.
I open my eyes and make my observation. I see what are the common traits of certain people. I know Singaporeans well and have observed their traits - which are shaped by our education and environment. Some of these traits are positive. Some are negative and should be changed. I will try my best to point them out.
I hope that Singaporeans will develop the open mindedness to see our positive and negative traits, be willing to laugh at ourselves, and have the strength to correct our negative traits.
Serenity prayer.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/serenity.html
Tan Kin Lian
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Useful feedback from Rex
Hello Kin Lian
I'm a fan of your blog because I think it promulgates the right values for all Singaporeans. I also like you to succeed in what seems to be a crusade of awakening and shaking up an apathetic and sentimental population who continue to tolerate misdoings and injustices in society.
In this regard, I just like to suggest to you that some of your recent posts may only give grounds for critics to discredit you.
Example 1.
You said "Singaporeans are well educated and score high marks in academic subjects. Unfortunately, most are not able to think for themselves...."
It would have been less offensive if you said "quite a few" instead of "most". "Most" means more than 50%. You will surely offend a lot of people because without a proper study, it is not possible for anyone to declare that more than 50% of Singaporeans are not street smart or can think. Your original statement will only fend fire for critics to destroy you.
Example 2.
You said "Singaporeans follow a script blindly and do not think."
Likewise, the overall use of the term SINGAPOREANS is damning on 100% Singaporeans. In my opinion you should have said "Some Singaporeans" because it is more accurate, and better from EQ point of view.
Example 3.
You said "Car drivers in Singapore have a bad habit of using the horn to express their anger. "
Likewise, this statement is too strong. It is a direct implication of every car driver in singapre. In my opinion you should have said "there seems to be quite a few car drivers....blah".
But I assure you my intentions are sincere, I do not wish to see criticisms against a person with a good heart, because of minor slip-ups in linguistic usage. Too many good people have fallen unnecessarily in the current regime because of the very same reason.
rex
REPLY
Thanks for your feedback.
I agree with your points.
I'm a fan of your blog because I think it promulgates the right values for all Singaporeans. I also like you to succeed in what seems to be a crusade of awakening and shaking up an apathetic and sentimental population who continue to tolerate misdoings and injustices in society.
In this regard, I just like to suggest to you that some of your recent posts may only give grounds for critics to discredit you.
Example 1.
You said "Singaporeans are well educated and score high marks in academic subjects. Unfortunately, most are not able to think for themselves...."
It would have been less offensive if you said "quite a few" instead of "most". "Most" means more than 50%. You will surely offend a lot of people because without a proper study, it is not possible for anyone to declare that more than 50% of Singaporeans are not street smart or can think. Your original statement will only fend fire for critics to destroy you.
Example 2.
You said "Singaporeans follow a script blindly and do not think."
Likewise, the overall use of the term SINGAPOREANS is damning on 100% Singaporeans. In my opinion you should have said "Some Singaporeans" because it is more accurate, and better from EQ point of view.
Example 3.
You said "Car drivers in Singapore have a bad habit of using the horn to express their anger. "
Likewise, this statement is too strong. It is a direct implication of every car driver in singapre. In my opinion you should have said "there seems to be quite a few car drivers....blah".
But I assure you my intentions are sincere, I do not wish to see criticisms against a person with a good heart, because of minor slip-ups in linguistic usage. Too many good people have fallen unnecessarily in the current regime because of the very same reason.
rex
REPLY
Thanks for your feedback.
I agree with your points.
Name of company
I called a friend at his office number to confirm our appointment for lunch.
Receptionist, "May I know your name?"
Reply: Tan Kin Lian
Receptionist, "May I know the purpose?"
Reply: I wish to confirm my lunch with him today.
Receptionist, "Which company are you from?"
Reply: "It does not matter which company. I only want to confirm the lunch"
Receptionist, "Ok. I will put you through".
Singaporeans follow a script blindly and do not think. They always have to ask "which company". Does it really matters?
Tan Kin Lian
Receptionist, "May I know your name?"
Reply: Tan Kin Lian
Receptionist, "May I know the purpose?"
Reply: I wish to confirm my lunch with him today.
Receptionist, "Which company are you from?"
Reply: "It does not matter which company. I only want to confirm the lunch"
Receptionist, "Ok. I will put you through".
Singaporeans follow a script blindly and do not think. They always have to ask "which company". Does it really matters?
Tan Kin Lian
Poor customer service at call center
I bought a video cam. It failed after 2 weeks. The manufacturer offered a 1 for 1 exchange. The experience of making the claim was bad.
I called their call center. I recognise the accent of the customer service offixer and confirmed that the call was routed to the Philippines. The officer asked for all types of detailed information about the customer, serial number, nature of problem, etc. The call took almost 15 minutes. Due to the poor telephone connection, the information has to be spelled out several times for recording.
It would have been much easier if the company provided a form on the website where the details can be submitted. The call center should only be used for clarification.
Many large organisations have outsourced its call center to an oversea location to reduce cost. But this has resulted in poor service to its customers. The top managers should call their own call center and find out the experience and difficulty of the customers.
The poor standard of customer service happens in many organisations and occurs all over the world. Most companies do not care about customer service, in spite of their mission statement, as the poor standard of service is now the norm.
However, a company that wish to improve its customer service can stand out. I hope that some companies will try to make a difference and set a positive example.
Tan Kin Lian
I called their call center. I recognise the accent of the customer service offixer and confirmed that the call was routed to the Philippines. The officer asked for all types of detailed information about the customer, serial number, nature of problem, etc. The call took almost 15 minutes. Due to the poor telephone connection, the information has to be spelled out several times for recording.
It would have been much easier if the company provided a form on the website where the details can be submitted. The call center should only be used for clarification.
Many large organisations have outsourced its call center to an oversea location to reduce cost. But this has resulted in poor service to its customers. The top managers should call their own call center and find out the experience and difficulty of the customers.
The poor standard of customer service happens in many organisations and occurs all over the world. Most companies do not care about customer service, in spite of their mission statement, as the poor standard of service is now the norm.
However, a company that wish to improve its customer service can stand out. I hope that some companies will try to make a difference and set a positive example.
Tan Kin Lian
High cost of free seminars
Singaporeans like to get free service, free advice and free seminars. They even ask if the event comes with a free goodie bag.
They should realise that the event cost a lot of money to organise, including the high cost of advertising, rental of the venue and the cost of the speakers. How does the organiser get the revenue to pay this cost?
The answer is obvious. It comes from the products that are sold at the event. The price of these products are marked up to cover the high cost of marketing. If few sales are made, such as in a seminar on land banking time sharing or "special" financial products, the markup has to be increased accordingly. And the markup can be very high!
It is better for the public to pay to attend a seminar on financial planning that is organised by a consumer education body, such as FISCA. You will get impartial and relevant advice that is good for consumers. You will get advice on how to avoid expensive financial products that take away a large part of the accumulated savings.
Before you attend a financial planning seminar, it is better for you to read a book to get background information. Spend $12 and 12 hours to be educated with my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning. Be educated and avoid paying the high price of ignorance!
Tan Kin Lian
They should realise that the event cost a lot of money to organise, including the high cost of advertising, rental of the venue and the cost of the speakers. How does the organiser get the revenue to pay this cost?
The answer is obvious. It comes from the products that are sold at the event. The price of these products are marked up to cover the high cost of marketing. If few sales are made, such as in a seminar on land banking time sharing or "special" financial products, the markup has to be increased accordingly. And the markup can be very high!
It is better for the public to pay to attend a seminar on financial planning that is organised by a consumer education body, such as FISCA. You will get impartial and relevant advice that is good for consumers. You will get advice on how to avoid expensive financial products that take away a large part of the accumulated savings.
Before you attend a financial planning seminar, it is better for you to read a book to get background information. Spend $12 and 12 hours to be educated with my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning. Be educated and avoid paying the high price of ignorance!
Tan Kin Lian
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