Why it is so hard to get Service Delivery right?

In a recent Business Times article dated 19 March 2012, titled "Service is just one part of the satisfaction equation", the author highlighted survey results from the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) conducted by Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES), which indicates that consumers are getting savvier in discerning and differentiating service quality and satisfaction of the service organization in general.


The author gave the example of the Retail's service quality which fell from a score of 72 to 70.9 in 2011. But satisfaction with retailers rose from 68.2 in 2010 to 70.6, indicating that customers were happier with department stores, supermarkets, and retailers of fashion apparel, watches and jewellery.

The CSISG,whose methodological foundations are those of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the de facto standardized measure of customer satisfaction in the US since 1994, has three key drivers: expectations, value and quality.


I remembered posting way back on June 11, 2008 about the challenges that service organizations face in developing, marketing and maintaining the level of delivery in their services. I also highlighted that service has 4 unique characteristics; intangible, inseparable, heterogeneous and perishable; core fundamentals which every service organizations need to understand to be able to design holistic end-to-end delivery systems.


And as Ms. Caroline Lim, Director of ISES rightly noted, while service quality; one half of the last driver which also involves product quality; is important, the other drivers are equally important. Thus the need for service organizations to look into the dimension of service quality and a good framework that service organizations should use is the Gaps Model of Service Quality developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry in 1985.

source: The Marketing Association of Australia and New Zealand

To reduce Customer Gap, service organizations should also seek to understand the 10 determinants of service quality that helps service organizations focus on removing non value-adding processes or 'muda' from their delivery system.

source:The Marketing Association of Australia and New Zealand

However, for service organizations that truly wishes to be world-class, it is recommended that they adopted a Business Excellence framework which is a systems-thinking approach to building and sustaining organizational excellence. A Business Excellence framework typically cover categories that include Leadership, Planning, Information, People, Processes, Customers and Results.

A much cited testament of one such international service organization that is widely recognized as best-in-class is The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company; proud recipient of The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the United States Department of Commerce twice in 1992 and 1999; The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore won the Singapore Quality Award from SPRING Singapore in 2001.

There are other management tools and techniques such as the 7Ps of service marketing, Lean and one that is much cited in recent times, Design Thinking. I will discuss a little more about Design Thinking in my next post, so keep a look-out for it.

Management often flounders with the myriad options available for improvements and the key to this is to sit down and conduct a "stock-take" of its current operations. An option would be to conduct a self-assessment using BEACON by SPRING Singapore, distill the results, and determine 3 key areas for improvement in the work year. As Steve Jobs once said, "Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do".

Mis-guided Pursuit of Personal Excellence?

The New Paper on Sunday (4 March 2012) carried a report (Parents, why so kiasu?) about the state of Singapore parents 'not wanting to be left behind', with an example of a parent spending up to S$5,800 a month in tuition for a straight 'As' student in a top Singapore school. And this is on top of regular supplementary lessons that the student gets from the school.

One parent hires a private tutor to prepare her 5 year-old son and 6 year-old daughter for primary school and says, "Some of my friends have called me crazy but I don't care. When my children make it to a better school and do well, I'll be the one having the last and best laugh."

In another article"Parents, why hire tutors to do your kids' assignments?", a civil servant parent pays tutors to do her two daughters' homework from an elite tuition centre and cited the reasons behind this were one, due to the "mounting school assignments plus extra homework (from the elite tuition centre)"; and two, "It took my daughters nearly a year before they were given a place in the tuition centre. After all that effort, it'd be such a terrible waste if they had to give up their spots for others on the waiting list just because they cannot finish the work".

The cause of this civil servant parent's dilemma, her younger daughter is in a Gifted Education Programme primary school while her older daughter is in an Independent School. Both daughters takes English, Mathematics and Science at the elite tuition centre and also goes for ballet, piano and art classes. The younger daughter also gets tuition for Higher Chinese. The husband is also a civil servant.

One other parent even go on to say, "It's nothing illegal. At most, you can only argue whether it's morally right or wrong". Is it then any wonder that the students in Singapore have lost their moral compass when parents condone such actions. Imagine when these kids grow up to pursue post-graduate certifications and pays for Master and PhD thesis to be written on their behalf and blames it on their parents for setting a 'good' example. What would the society think of them then?

I suppose then it is no also surprise that we are seeing an eroding of values in a small number of civil servants entangled in a number of high profile cases that involved educators, senior managers and senior management leaders of  government agencies.

The Education Ministry have stressed the importance to look beyond academic excellence in the development of our children and most recently at the Singapore Conference in Washington D.C., USA, on Wednesday, 8 February 2012, Mr. Heng Swee Kiat, Singapore's Education Minister commented: 

"education is fundamentally about developing the unique individual, helping him to discover and develop his interests, talents and strengths, so as to fulfil his potential and aspirations. It is about developing the whole person, enabling him to lead a full, creative, and meaningful life."

".....to prepare our students for the future, it is critical for us to have some notions of the variety and demands of the jobs of the future. The education system can then tailor the right skillsets for each individual. Not all the jobs will require academic degrees. Indeed, in many areas, practical, hands-on skills are valued."

Please go to http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2012/02/08/speech-by-mr-heng-swee-keat-at-the-singapore-conference-washington-dc-usa.php for the full speech.

During his opening address at the Ministry of Education (MOE) Work Plan Seminar, on Thursday, 22 September 2011 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic Convention Centre, Mr. Heng also commented about the importance of "Values-driven Education" and he said:

"We must put values and character development at the core of our education system. We need personal values to enable each of us to have the confidence and self awareness, and the grit and determination to succeed. We need moral values, such as respect, responsibility, care and appreciation towards others, to guide each of us to be a socially responsible person. In particular, for our multi-racial, multi-cultural society, a sense of shared values and respect allows us to appreciate and celebrate our diversity, so that we stay cohesive and harmonious.

If values provide the philosophical underpinning, character development makes these values come alive. Character development is about developing social emotional competencies, and the habits and inner disposition based on sound values to act in a consistent way. Personal values such as grit, determination and resilience enable the individual to realise his or her potential, and develop ‘performance character’. Moral values enable the individuals to develop ‘moral character’. These values are intertwined, and are critical to the success of the individual and the society. Hence, values and character development must form the core of our student-centric, holistic education."

Please go to http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2011/09/22/work-plan-seminar-2011.php for the full speech.

I certainly do not condone what these parents are doing and in my own personal experience of having to work and study at the same time, it taught me about time management, self-learning and builds my character in a better way. 

Integrity is something that is highly valued professionally and socially. Something that cannot be traded in one's pursuit of excellence. The lack of which created the downfall of many individuals and organizations such as Mohamed bin Hammam, Raj Rajaratnam, T. T. Durai, Olympus Corp, Enron, Siemens AG and many others.

While there will be more cases that goes unreported, I hope that we can only get better with each new day.

Attaining a Diploma by attending a 2-days workshop?

As a HRD professional, it is sometimes worrying to see for-profit training providers potentially getting themselves into unnecessary situations by being careless with their marketing messages, unintentionally or otherwise.

I'd came across one such academy recently and I was a little surprised to see them 'proclaiming' their programs as "The ........... Diploma and the relevant subject matter" (see picture below). Furthermore, this academy is part of an organization providing strategic intelligence to the financial services industry since 1996.

Qualifications such as Certificate, Advanced Certificate or Diploma is usually awarded by approved educational institutions or professional bodies after completing a stipulated study period (most often at least 3 months or more) and candidates have been assessed and proven competent in the particular area of study.

In Singapore, Private Educational Organizations (PEOs) are required to have an Academic and Examinations Board to ensure that the PEO puts in place proper processes for ensuring the quality of the academic courses that it conducts, the suitable deployment of teachers, and proper examinations procedures.

I felt that it would not be appropriate to 'advertise' the programs with the term 'Diploma' as it creates an incorrect perception that just by attending a 2-days workshop, a participant will be awarded a 'Diploma' certification. Unless of course, the program had already been accredited by an approved higher education institution or non-regulatory bodies such as British Accreditation Council.

Of course recognition and acceptance of certificates for employment or further study are entirely at the discretion of the individual employer or education institution and participants should always conduct the necessary background check if such were the purposes of attending these workshops. Caveat Emptor.

President's Design Award Singapore 2009 Jury Session

Happy New Year and towards a better year in 2010.

It has been a while since my blog was last updated and I must say that it is long overdue.

There has been a couple of changes over the last few months and I will talk more about that in my next couple of posts.

The final event which we were tasked to managed was the President's Design Award Singapore 2009 Jury Session which was held at the InterContinental Singapore from the 29th to 31st July.

Eight international and 4 local design luminaries came together at the invitation of DesignSingapore Council to preside over the prestigious award that recognises excellence across all design disciplines, including advertising design and visual communications, architecture and urban design, fashion design, furniture design, interior design, landscape design, product and industrial design.

Once again the team rose to the challenge and showed just why Singapore manages to stays constantly in the forefront of events planning and management with our precious human capital.

Ministry of Manpower's DHRVP Events, April 2009

The month of April passed quickly and was glad that we had once again helped our client organized the 2 DHRVP events successfully.

Here are some photos of the 2 events held on the 7th and 8th April at the Marina Mandarin Singapore.

7 April 2009, Public Forum














8 April 2009, HR Masterclass

Benchmarking for Excellence, 27 & 28 May 2009

"A 2008 global survey of 500 organizations of all sizes and sectors conducted by the Global Benchmarking Network, revealed that Informal Benchmarking was one of the most popular quality technique used by 69% of organizations. Best Practice Benchmarking, used by 39%, delivered the most benefit with projects achieving returns of over $250,000."

Against this benchmark, it is surprising that a large number of organizations in Asia do not practice or are not able to conduct proper benchmarking projects and in turning the results into both financial and strategic operational gains.

Benchmarking focuses on how to improve any given business process by exploiting "best practice" rather than merely measuring the best performance. Being reflected in various Business Excellence award criteria more extensively than any other management concepts, Benchmarking also promotes the emergence and evolution of a "learning culture" throughout the organization, a key to continuous improvement, total quality and competitiveness over the long term.

MgDelxis is again delighted to have invited Dr. Robin Mann to share the proprietary TRADE Benchmarking methodology that is widely adopted by a number of countries in the Asia Pacific, the UK and US.

For more information regarding the Masterclass, please visit www.mgdelxis.com/services_p2b_upcoming, email platform@mgdelxis.com for the event brochures or contact us at +65 6841 1379.

MgDelxis' "White-collar Crime" Series - 18 May (Singapore), 20 May (Jakarta) & 22 May (Kuala Lumpur)

It is interesting to note that with the current crisis, there has been a great increase in the cases of corporate financial irregularities ranging from Societe Generale, Lehman Borthers, AIG, Satyam Computer Services, Oriental Century, Ferro China, Fibrechem Technologies, Beauty China and most recently in Singapore, Ren Ci Hospital.

Even individual investors is not spared. 'Ponzi' types schemes such as Bernard Modoff's Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, Robert Allen Standford's Stanford Group and our very own James Phang's Sunshine Empire has led to many a broken man and family.

MgDelxis has invited Mr. Mike Comer, an internationally recognized global expert in the prevention, detection and investigation of fraud, to lecture on the seemingly unending financial fiascoes happening all over the world, in Singapore on 18 May, Indonesia on 20 May and Malaysia on 22 May as part of an Asian tour.

While many regulatory agencies are urging investors (both individual and institutional), auditors, accountants, independent directors and audit committees to be extra vigilant during the current financial crisis, in Mike's opinion, regulations have all too often simply created a mentality of ticking boxes and of feigned compliance that does little to prevent fraud.

He says," Organizations can cosmetically comply with every regulation, tick all of the boxes, have ethics policies coming out of their ears and can still be badly exposed. Organizations that want to truly prevent fraud, succeed in an increasingly corrupt world and comply with regulatory whimsicality have to think again. You do not dig a better a hole by digging the old hole deeper".

Mike will be sharing his expert opinions on "Fraud and The World's Financial Collapse: The Great Compliance Scandal" Forum, and "Investigating Major & International Frauds: Getting Your Money Back" Masterclass.

For more information regarding the Forum and Masterclass, please visit www.mgdelxis.com/services_p2b_upcoming, email platform@mgdelxis.com for the event brochures or contact us at +65 6841 1379.

Upcoming Ministry of Manpower's Events with Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, 7 & 8 April 2009

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is once again organizing a public forum and Masterclass on 7 & 8 April 2009, with the distinguished Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer.

The Public Forum on Tuesday, 7 April at the Marina Mandarin Singapore, is titled "Building Competitive Advantage in Good Times and Bad: Building Profits by Putting People First". Please click here for programme and here to register for the Public Forum.

The Masterclass on Wednesday, 8 April also at the Marina Mandarin Singapore, is titled "Evidence-based HR Management: Hard Facts and Dangerous Half-Truths". Please click here for programme and here to register for the Masterclass.

This is MOM's first Distinguished HR Visitors Programme (DHRVP) Series of public forum/masterclass for 2009.

So hurry and sign up once again for an engaging and thought-provoking sessions on human capital management.

MgDelxis' Upcoming Regional Platforms

Wishing you all a very happy 'Moooooo" Year of the Golden Ox.

I apologize for the lapse in updating the blog as I was in between projects. Nonetheless, over the next couple of days, I will endeavor to do so promptly with past happenings.

First thing first, MgDelxis is once again delighted to be able to invite Dr. Robin Mann, a well-known international expert on Benchmarking and Business Excellence to conduct a workshop on the proprietary TRADE Benchmarking methodology.

The next expert that MgDelxis has invited is Mr. Chris Teniswood. Chris has over 30 years of experience in enterprise risk management at senior and executive levels in both public and private sector organizations.

MgDelxis is indeed honored to be able to invite these 2 experts in sharing their extensive intellectual properties in the area of Benchmarking and Enterprise Risk Management.

The dates of the platforms are:

19 & 20 February 2009 - Benchmarking for Excellence
19 & 20 March 2009 - Enterprise Risk Management

To find out more about the various platforms, please email registration@mgdelxis.com or call +65 6841 1379.

"A Morning with Dave Ulrich" - A Public Forum by the Ministry of Manpower, 22 October 2008, Orchard Hotel

On 22 October, we have once again successfully assisted the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in the organization and management of the forum by Professor Dave Ulrich.

There was a great turnout and everyone enjoyed the session with Prof Dave Ulrich, speaking on HR Value Proposition.

Here are some pics of the event.

MgDelxis "Anti-Fraud" Week, 3 - 7 November, Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

MgDelxis is proud to present its inaugural "Anti-Fraud" Week upcoming in the first week of November in November, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Continued fraudulent business activities have cost many stakeholders, both internal and external, and the general public to grieve in grave financial losses.

MgDelxis has invited several internationally known content experts such as Mr. Richard Thomas, Mr. Peter Coleman and Mr. Seamus E. Byrne to share their valuable experiences and case studies with executives keen to enhance their professional competencies and human capital in the areas of digital fraud detection and security, detecting financial statement fraud and forensic interviewing.

The series of regional platforms are:

3 & 4 November - Digital Evidence, Fraud & Security
5 November - Forensic Interviewing Techniques
6 & 7 November - Forensic Financial Statements

To find out more about the various platforms, please email registration@mgdelxis.com or call +65 6841 1379.

Ministry of Manpower's Public Forum by Professor Dave Ulrich - 22 October 2008

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is once again organizing a public forum on the morning of 22 October 2008, with the distinguished Professor Dave Ulrich.

Please click here for programme details, here to register.

This is MOM's third Distinguished HR Visitors Programme (DHRVP) Series of public forum/workshop for 2008. Over 2 days in May, MOM had another distinguished speaker, Professor Lynda Gratton who spent an afternoon with local business leaders through a CEO Masterclass titled "Hot Spots: Why some team, workplaces and organisations buzz with energy and others don't?", and another morning with HR practitioners through a forum titled "Living Strategy: Putting People at the Heart of Corporate Purpose".

Here are some pictures of the forum for your viewing pleasure.

ASEAN Meeting in September

I have not been updating the blog for while and I apologize for the lapse.

September has been a busy month, especially with another successful management of an ASEAN meeting held in Singapore.

Here are some pictures from the event for your viewing pleasure:









Once again, we have managed to delight the client with our passion for service excellence and the client have this compliment to share, "I was especially happy with Leslie's ability to accommodate the many small detail changes." - Senior Manager, International Relations Unit

Physical Evidence - One of the 7Ps of Service Marketing

I was catching up with a friend over coffee yesterday afternoon and we were discussing about the 7Ps of service marketing.

He was asked to write a short working paper by his bosses and he was seeking some advice on the definition of physical evidence and it's role as one of the 7Ps.

Interestingly, we were having coffee at a cafe located in an upscale shopping mall along the Orchard Shopping belt which I happened to be having dinner at one of its many dining outlets about three weeks ago. At that time, I'd made 2 interesting observations while window-shopping in the mall.

The first observation came from this outlet specializing in premium chocolate. The outlet was beautifully designed and has a small area where customers could have their indulgence with their selection of fine chocolates. However, as you can see from the pic below, which was taken from the outside, there is a potential fire safety concern with the placement of the fire extinguisher.



Imagine if a fire were to really break out, how would the service staff be able to put his/her hands easily through the sharp glass edges and retrieve the fire extinguisher in time to put out the fire? From my view, the fire extinguisher would not be able to squeeze through easily in between the two glass displays and critical time would be lost probably in trying to hoist the extinguisher upwards. That's not factoring in seemingly not-so ergonomically layout and placement of the extinguisher which would most likely cause some physical discomfort to the staff for his/her efforts.

As a potential customer, I would be very concerned at the possible lack of safety planning and possible breach of fire safety regulations.

The second observation came from the same mall at another dining outlet. From the pic below, you might not be able to make out there is an exit to the right of the outlet signage. I certainly didn't until I was standing in line at the ATM machines located near to where the pic was taken and was surprised when a staff of the dining outlet came out from the exit and slammed the door on the lighting located just below the piping.



Imagine what will happen if patrons are asked to leave via this exit and unknowingly opened the door with such a strong force that when the door hits the lighting above, it unhinges and come down on unsuspecting patrons either standing outside or passing by? There should also be a sign warning of an out-swinging door placed prominently at strategic location(s).

In service marketing, the 3 additional Ps, People, Process and Physical Evidence are important in the marketing planning stage and while Physical Evidence in an implicit factor in service delivery, it is still an important aspect of marketing planning and it's impact must never be underestimated.

Heart Warming Commercial on Family Values

I am sure for all those in Singapore you might have the opportunity to catch the latest Family Commercial by The National Family Council.

Simply heartwarming. Just in case if you did not catch it and for international readers of the blog, happy viewing!

Service Recovery by a hotel along Orchard Road - Part 2

Following up from Part 1 of the earlier post, what are the possible areas in the particular service recovery that could have been managed better?

First and foremost. Spell Check! The spelling and grammatical errors were glaring, especially since it came from the hotel's General Manager. Representing senior management, this is certainly unexpected.

Secondly, the GM did not apologize for not having replied at the promised date and this was despite having being given almost more than a working week's time frame to conduct the necessary investigation and recovery.

Thirdly, explaining the unfortunate incident as being part of a normal occurrence in Singapore's temperate climate. Totally unacceptable. As a hospitality provider, cleanliness is a given standard service expectation and in cases such as this, in-depth operational and process investigation should be conducted and reviewed to ascertain if this was due to incomplete process mapping or insufficient human capital investment.

Next, the letter did not address the other service gaps identified and this could lead to a potentially incorrect perception that the rest of the concerns raised was 'simply brushed off'.

Last but not least, the extension of two complimentary buffet dinner, putting aside monetary value, could again give the impression of this incident being taken lightly by the hotel's management.

The hotel's DOSM took a good initiative to arrange for a face-to-face meeting, attempting to reduce potential negative build-up and I must congratulate her for being EQ astute. But this also inadvertently gives me the perception that the GM had not managed the whole recovery process well and that he is 'inexperienced' in managing service recoveries.

For those keen to pick up tips and best practices in writing and responding to customer's written feedback could attend a 1-day Executive Development Programme titled "Responding to Customers' Written Feedback with Empathy & Professionalism" by Ms. Gael Lee on 24 July and 15 October, organized by the Marketing Institute of Singapore.

For more details on the seminar outline and cost, do visit http://www.mis.edu.sg/edp/seminars/ under Service Excellence or contact Angelina: 6327 7586, Su: 6327 7588 and Vivian: 6327 7581 for more information and registration.

Service Recovery by a hotel along Orchard Road - Part 1

In the first part of this post, I will share a personal experience of an actual service recovery that was less than ideal in execution. In Part 2, I will identify the gaps in recovery and possible improvements for better customer experience.

I had the opportunity to take a short break over a weekend towards the end of May at a hotel property along Orchard Road. Upon checking-in to a Deluxe Room, several service delivery gaps were identified.

1. Shortage of a bottle of drinking water

2. Shower amenities were missing (i.e. shower gel, shampoo etc)

3. Sub-optimal TV remote

4. Unacceptable Baby Cot Standard (i.e. missing mattress & pillow)

5. Unsecured Glass Coffee Table Top

The best is yet to come. In the middle of the night, I discovered a cockroach while using the bathroom. As my family was still asleep and that I'd managed to 'tame' the insect, I'd decided not to make a fuss until later in the morning.

At about 9.30 am, I rang up the Front Office requesting for the Duty Manager's presence in the room. The DM promptly arrived and I'd showed him the 'tamed' insect. He was shocked and was extremely apologetic. I also took the opportunity to inform him on the unacceptable status of the baby cot. He asked if there was anything further that he could be of assistance and at that point in time, we simply asked for an extension of the check-out time since we wanted to take the opportunity for some family bonding.

He promptly agreed but did not leave his business card for us. As the room was booked under my wife's name and we decided to leave her business card for the DM's retention when we were on our way out for our breakfast.

At about just before noon, we received a complimentary fruit basket and a bottle of wine. While the fruit basket was a nice gesture, the bottle of wine was totally inappropriate. We were with our little one and with both of us being light drinkers, we certainly would not be able to enjoy the wine. As we also would not want to bring the bottle of wine back with us with our other belongings and stroller (we do not own a car), we returned the wine.

So the on-site recovery was that. We wrote to the management on the incident and the General Manager promised to reply at a certain date which he didn't. We had to write to him to follow-up and below is excerpts of his reply:

"We would like to apologise for the untoward incidents your experienced during your stay from xx to xx May 08.

We sincerely regret the unpleasant experienced you encountered. Rest assured that the service which you received was definitely not in line with our standards of service.

I have personally taken up the roach incident with all concerned and have immediately informed our Contractor, xxxxxx Pte Ltd to conduct a detailed investigation in Room xxxx. For your information, xxxxxx Pte Ltd is a highly reputable pest control in this industry and has been appointed by xxxxxxx Hotel to conduct a regular preventive treatment on a monthly scheduled on our guestrooms and hotel premises. An audit of the services provided showed no emissions or lapses in the preventive treatment. As you will surely agree despite all efforts to eradicate, these incidents do occur even in the best kept homes especially in tempered climates.

Please allow me to reassure you that this is an isolated incident.

As a gesture of goodwill due to the inconveniences you experienced, we would like to extend you a Buffet Dinner for Two persons at our Cafe."


We wrote back declining his kind offer and that the other service lapse were not addressed in his reply. The Room Sales Manager promptly follow-up and arranged for a meeting between the hotel's DOSM (Director of Sales & Marketing) and us to try and close the recovery.
I must say she handled the meeting very well, putting her more than a decade of hositality experience to good use. But again, the follow-up action is bad. It has been about a week and a half since the meeting and we did not receive any follow-up communication on the meeting and status update on the agreed recovery arrangements.

MIS Marketing Guru Talk

Come 17 July, the Marketing Institute of Singapore will be organizing the inaugural Marketing Guru Talk Series, starting with Mr. David Shaw, Director of Brand Marketing & Marketing Commnications, Lenovo Asia-Pacific. The talk will be held at 99B Amoy Street, 7 - 9 pm.

Members: $0, Non-Members: $10, MIS Students: $0

For more information on the talk, please contact: Jaslyn/Isabella @ 6327 7591/ 592 or email: membership@mis.org.sg

MIS CEO Evening Talk - The Indo Chine Story

The Marketing Institute of Singapore will be holding a CEO Evening Talk by Mr. Michael Ma, Group CEO and Founder of the IndoChine Group on Thursday, 3 July, 7 - 9.30 pm.

If you can spare a little time, do register and use the opportunity to hear from Mr. Ma and his personal experiences. I have attended previous CEO Evening Talks with invited speakers such as:

- Mr. Daniel Yun, CEO Raintree Pictures
- Ms. Fang Ai Lian, Chairman of Ernst & Young
- Ms. Saw Phaik Hwa, CEO of SMRT
- Ms. Euleen Goh, then CEO of Standard Chartered Bank
- Mr. Chang Long Jong, Deputy CEO (Television Cluster), MediaCorp

and I must say it is a great learning and networking opportunity. For more info, please contact Jaslyn/Isabella @ 6327 7591/592 or email: membership@mis.org.sg.

To register, click here http://www.mis.edu.sg/membership/events/register.aspx?id=95

Hope to see you there!

The Service Challenge

This week, I like to start off with some thoughts on service fundamentals and their implications for service organizations.

Service organizations often find it challenging to develop, market and maintain service offerings. Unlike physical products, service offerings have 4 unique characteristics which many service organizations tend to disregard in their service planning, development and marketing.

What are they? Intangibility, Inseparability, Heterogeneity and Perishability.

Many academic books and articles have written about service characteristics and their unique attributes but yet service professionals often forgets these 4 fundamental attributes and it reflects in many service encounters that I have either experience professionally or on a personal basis.

I will comment on each characteristic in more details over the new few posts and hopefully shed some light on the importance of the 4 characteristic in service planning and delivery.

Interestingly, many physical products nowadays contain some elements of the 4 service characteristics. Take for example the notebook/laptop. In the past, functionality was one of the main critical consideration factor in most purchase decisions but look now at the vast variety of designs and customization that you can select to personalize your own machine.

Dell has always allowed consumers to customize system configuration such as hard disk space, processor type, RAM size etc. But now you can even choose the color of the front cover to tell the world that this is your very own.

What are consumers actually buying? The intangible and emotional experience of customizing and personalizing your own notebook/laptop, and when the product finally arrive at your doorstep, that satisfaction of using your own personalized machine.


Dell has also learnt that the consumer engagement does not ends here. The after sales support is essential to complete the purchase cycle and ensure that favorable experience leads to repeat purchases and brand loyalty.