So if an unreasonable customer made a complaint when we were not at fault, we would put it to our bad luck as it would blemish our record. That was even before the Go the Extra Mile for Service (Gems) movement started. Then we had the SQ course, which stood for Service Quality.

Back then, we took ownership of a problem and tried hard to placate an irate customer. If the customer was still unhappy and wanted to write in, we would give our full name because we believed in the quality of service that we provided, and stood by it.

This is all history now. Just last week, a friend and I had similar encounters with bad service.

I spoke to a staff member at StarHub's business section. After making some enquiries, I asked for her full name, to which she answered, 'Melissa... I am just Melissa, I have no surname'.

The same day, my friend called the UOB credit-card centre over an oversight by the bank in not updating her address. When she asked for the staff member's name, he said, 'I am Jeffrey... No, I can't tell you my full name. Sorry, I am not allowed to disclose. There is only one Jeffrey here.'

Is this how organisations are run these days? Staff no longer dare to take ownership of a problem, nor responsibility in the matter. They are also extremely curt and monosyllabic in their responses.

How then do we expect to move towards Gems service? How do you serve well when you are not even proud of your own surname and organisation?

Ng Gek Noi (Miss)