Shocked by behaviour of SQ leading stewardess

MY PARENTS and I were on flight SQ865 on Jan 13, from Hong Kong to Singapore.

The Leading Stewardess was giving out The Straits Times and I requested a copy. I also asked her politely to pass another set of newspapers to my father, who was seated in another row.

To my surprise, she told me loudly to share the newspapers since we are one family and that there were still many other passengers waiting to get a copy. Can you imagine how embarrassing it was for me?

How would the other passengers think - that I was greedy? I was just helping my parents as they were seated elsewhere and could not speak English.

She could have said something along the line of "I'm sorry Madam, but can you please share if you don't mind as we are running out of newspapers".

I was stunned by her rudeness and could only manage a reply of "Okay".

Singapore Airlines is supposed to be well-known for its good service, but why was I given that kind of treatment?

Was it because I was seated in the Economy class?

Ms Tan Ai Ching Serene

Cannot speak english but can read Straits Times… well done…

Yes it was because you were in economy class. So you got the economic stewardess.

That's why she wanted you to share.

More economic that way.

(joking)

Originally posted by mhcampboy:

Cannot speak english but can read Straits Times... well done...

u so cleber

Originally posted by mhcampboy:

Cannot speak english but can read Straits Times... well done...

maybe see picture....

i travel very often and in economy class too.... never had a bad experience from the service crew.

...except for one time when one stewardess accidentally spilled water on me... not really her fault, turbulence....

the chief steward immediately observed that I like one particular brand of wine and he came to me with a bottle with my name on it.....

as far as i am concern.... they can spill water on me anytime they want

From flying business and first class to economy and budget, i have been out of grace for a while now. but thanks to SIA, so far ever since, on SIA, I have not encountered services that are different from what I was used to, except that the stewardess don't address me by my first name anymore.

My only complaint about SIA is that they charge more!! always have to look out for tickets for 2 or 4 to go.

TS claims that she had asked for another set of papers "politely". How true is this nobody knows ma.......

The flight stewardess' rudeness could be a mirror reaction/response....... Most people in the service industry will not bo tai bo ji behave poorly towards the people they are serving one. Who wants to break their own rice bowl?

So in this instance, NVNT! Case closed!

How come my Caucasian friends never have problems with SIA?

How come?

So well-educated yet SO RUDE
People in positions of authority must show some tact
By Sylvia Toh Paik Choo
tnp Jan 23 2008

FIRST, a too straight-talking principal. Now, a tactless doctor.

When Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew reflected in a dialogue on 11 Jan about how far away Singapore is from being a gracious society, surely he wasn't thinking in light years?

He might as well have.

We are hardly heading in gracious-society direction any time soon, especially not if principals and doctors are throwing stumbling blocks along the path.

To quote one of my elders, 'Study until so high, can be so rude!'.

Of late, characters who should, in the normal course of day, set exemplary roles for us to follow, have shown their true colours. And it ain't pretty.

Could the school principal who admonished the N-levels students to go to ITE instead of opting for O levels have been more tactful?

Could the doctor who told off a parent in front of her child have been more polite?

Could such highly-educated people have been less of what our grandparents used to call 'kurang ajar' and 'bo ka si' (no manners and no respect)?

Teachers and doctors are people you can count on, ordinarily. What more the head of a learning institution, and one who took a vow to administer to the sick?

Where do you get off being cavalier with students' self-esteem and patients' feelings?

If professionals can exhibit such behaviour, what are they telling the generation after?

Certainly, some of us lesser mortals are at the mercy of such professionals.

In the US, such people are wont to be described as 'Nazi', perhaps too liberally, and worse by people with no sense of history.

The belligerent soup chef in Seinfeld was dubbed 'Soup Nazi' by Jerry Seinfeld who's entitled by way of Jewish jokes.

The curmudgeon proprietor of rental videos here who suffered no fools was named 'Video Nazi'.

There's a 'Doc Nazi' I know who runs a clinic at an HDB block. He's so called because of his seriously wanting bedside manner.

There'd been complaints that this doctor is unreasonably strict, stroppy and impatient with patients.

Oh, stuff such as no talking in the clinic, how he will refuse to see anyone without an identity card, and he only treats regulars on Sundays.

DR HOUSE NO 2

The doctor is a terse man; over the telephone I could hear him unsmiling. To consult him, I'd have to bring documentation of my medical history, 'otherwise we'd have to start from the very beginning' he said shortly. Oh-kay.

A white-haired gent, he is a Chinese from the US. He moved to Singapore 16 years ago, to save lives.

'If I'd wanted to just make money I'd have stayed in America.'

At the other end of his block is a bakery manned by an estate old-timer.

'This area got many clever doctors, all very good one,' she endorsed. (There are five on that street alone.)

'This doctor, people call him 'seow' but he is good. Cannot get better, see him, can cure.

'Only his style is strict lah.

'When see him, you cannot speak. Don't talk first, after he finish everything, then you can ask.'

Question is, with all the talk of bedside manners, can't a doctor be good and gracious?

As our grandparents would say, 'Goodness gracious me, what have we become?'

Originally posted by mhcampboy:

Cannot speak english but can read Straits Times... well done...

... I see that Service Standards have really gone to seed here in SG...

... because, no matter how obnoxious a customer/passenger is, one must ALWAYS remain professionally courteous... regardless...!

i think, for every service oriented job, there must be a few bouncers involved.

the bouncers can take care of aggressive and ill mannered customers so those in the service line can just concentrate on being nice to good mannered customers.

i mean, some customers are really one kind. need to be taught a lesson

The air hotess was right to tell the passenger to share newspaper.The problem was how to say it politely.

don't take SQ la
take jetair asia, tiger airways, silkair, cathay...

at least you got newspaper.. how come i never even get offered newspaper

SIA says sorry for cabin crew’s behaviour

I REFER to the letter by Ms Tan Ai Ching, Serene (my paper, Jan 23).

We apologise for Ms Tan’s unpleasant experience. We have looked into this issue following her feedback.

Demand for The Straits Times was higher than usual during Ms Tan’s flight, and our crew, therefore, asked customers who were travelling together to share copies.

We have stressed the need for our cabin crew staff to be mindful of the manner in which they communicate with our customers.

I would like to assure Ms Tan that no offence was meant.

Mr William Koh
Divisional Vice-President,
Cabin Crew Operations
Singapore Airlines

please lah. Some SIA stewardess scold me for accidentally pressing the alert button. Cause I sat beside some big fat China person who shove themselves at me.