Serving customers in English does not make the service more professional at all as Singapore is not a Western country.

Not all Singaporeans are at ease conversing in English. Some would rather converse in Mandarin, Malay, or other languages.

Just because Singapore is a cosmopolitan country does not mean we should converse with customers only in English.

A salesperson should first assess whether a customer would rather speak English or Mandarin before speaking in the preferred language. That is how cosmopolitanism should be defined - fluency in both languages and not merely pleasing English speakers.

A Chinese customer would obviously be expected to be at ease in Mandarin - not only by foreign staff but also by Singaporeans.

Singapore permanent residents who come from Asian countries make up about 18 per cent of Singapore's population. Furthermore, a majority of Singaporeans are Chinese.

We cannot assume that all Chinese Singaporeans come from English-speaking backgrounds.

So, while I agree that frontline staff should at least master the rudiments of English, it is ridiculous to say that sales assistants should always serve in English.

Carol Lim (Miss)