Forum: Businesses must rely on good service to keep customers when RTS Link opens
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The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link will make Johor Bahru (JB) more accessible to Singapore residents when passenger service begins in January 2027.
As projected in the article, “RTS Link could spur S’poreans to spend $1 billion more in JB a year” (July 17), there will be considerable pressure exerted on the local retail and food and beverage (F&B) sectors to compete on price.
Such pressure is poised to intensify as JB gears up to offer an even wider range of goods and services to capture more customers.
Realistically, most Singapore businesses cannot compete on price mainly because of higher wages, rents and the strong Singapore dollar.
Instead, they should strengthen the areas where they can make a difference, by offering customers greater value through friendly, knowledgeable service, reliability, convenience and strong after-sales support.
For example, I know of one hardware store in Toa Payoh which has many repeat customers. They are attracted by the excellent service of its friendly and exceptionally knowledgeable staff who are always ready to advise customers on the most suitable products, such as a home fitting or tool, to buy for a specific purpose.
Such useful and practical advice builds trust and keeps customers returning because that expertise is worth more than whatever modest higher prices they might have to pay.
Singapore retailers and F&B operators must accept that the RTS Link will let their JB counterparts compete more intensely for their customers. They must recognise that their most sustainable competitive edge is not lower prices but superior service quality and trust that these customers cannot easily find elsewhere.
Ang Ah Lay
