Accreditation by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) to show that businesses engage in fair trading practices. There is a regular and a premium standard.
Small companies pay around $900 to apply and be assessed, and another $600 in annual management fees for the standard accreditation. The fee is doubled for the Gold standard.
To qualify, companies need to meet certain criteria for payment collection procedures, communications and dispute resolution procedures, store policies, staff capabilities and training programmes for employees. Service quality is also looked at for the Gold standard, in addition to the regular assessment criteria.
Singapore Service Star
Accreditation by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to show that businesses provide good-quality service.
Retail companies with up to three outlets pay $50 to apply and another $400 for annual membership; those in the food and beverage or nightspot sectors pay $75 to apply and another $600 in annual membership fees.
To enrol in the programme, companies need to pass a mystery shopping exercise scoring 70 out of 100 or above the industry average, whichever is higher. They must have no history of warning letters from the STB and must not have been black-marked for bad practices for two years. They also need to comply with a set code of practice that covers issues like refund policies and correct labelling of products.
Service Gems
Annual award by Singapore Retailers' Association to highlight companies providing excellent service. There are two classes of awards, the top tier being the Premium Service Gem and the regular Service Gems.
Shops with fewer than two outlets pay about $2,000 for the assessment.
Companies need to enrol in the association's Mystery Shopping programme where their outlets are assessed by unannounced visits by experts who judge and rate them on aspects of service including personal grooming level of staff, store environment and merchandise display, employee service attitude and product knowledge as well as service during sales.
