SINGAPORE - Going out of the way to return lost items to customers and tailoring a birthday party on the spot to suit special-needs children were some of the actions lauded at the annual Excellent Service Award ceremony on Thursday.

A total of 2,200 food and beverage (F&B) staff from 64 companies picked up awards, with the highest SuperStar Award going to Ms Cherry Sampang, a restaurant manager at Manhattan Fish Market. She regularly attends service skills upgrading courses and has helped break sales records during her five years with the company.

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health and the Environment and Water Resources, said at the event that service staff need to constantly upgrade and acquire new skills to keep up with changing needs.

"In today's manpower-lean economy, businesses need to constantly adjust and adapt their service model, and find ways to deliver quality and better service, perhaps ironically even with self-service," said Dr Khor, who was the guest of honour and presented the awards.

The Restaurant Association of Singapore organised the awards and its president, Mr Andrew Tjioe, said he was pleased that more companies had nominated staff members this year than last year.

"One thing that will always be relevant and never go out of fashion is service," he said at the event, held at the National Trade Union Congress Auditorium at One Marina Boulevard.

"In this competitive business landscape today, it is of vital importance that we continue to appreciate and honour those who serve us as shining examples of commitment and dedication to service excellence, so that we can continue to inspire even more people in the industry, and together we can continuously improve the service standards in Singapore."

This is the 21st year the awards are being given out. They are managed by seven industry bodies including the Public Service Division, Land Transport Authority and the Singapore Retailers Association, and supported by Spring Singapore.