Australian tourist complains about PRC workers in Singapore
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Australian tourist complains about PRC workers in Singapore who cannot speak English!
Written by our Correspondent
An irate Australian tourist from Brisbane by the name of Lilian Reutens had written to the Straits Times Forum to complain about PRC service industry workers who cannot speak proper English!
Ms Lilian was sharing her experience of encountering service staff who were unable to communicate in English:
“I have found the inability of current service industry workers to speak English unacceptable. I understand these new workers are Chinese nationals. The fact that they do not or will not speak English but simply shake their heads and continue speaking in Mandarin and ignore you with a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude does not reflect well as they are on the front line of service, serving many tourists and foreigners as well,” she wrote.
Mr Lilian did not specify where the unhappy incident took place, but PRC workers have become ubiquitous in Singapore’s service industry due to their easy availability and low labor cost.
Despite the efforts of the Singapore government to promote Singapore as an attractive tourist destination, Ms Lilian is one tourist who will probably not return to Singapore again.
She minced no words when she wrote a veiled criticism directing at the Singapore authorities:
“Foreign workers who are employed to serve the public should be taught basic English so they will not shame the image of Singaporeans who are all taught basic English in school. After all, tourists probably cannot tell Chinese nationals from Chinese Singaporeans.”
Most Singaporeans are bilingual while the newcomers from China often receive only rudimentary training in the English language, if any at all.
In other countries like Australia and Canada, foreign workers have to pass a basic English proficiency test before they are allowed to work there.
In contrast, the Singapore government has opened its doors indiscriminately to foreigners, especially those from China who are hugely “prized” for their uncanny ability and willingness to work for long hours with a low pay.
In response to the rising number of complaints on the ground, the Singapore government has set up a $10 million Community Integration Fund to help the newcomers “integrate” which includes free language courses for them.
Senior leaders from the government has been urging Singaporeans to accept foreigners of late, claiming that Singapore needs them to work in industries shunned by locals such as construction.
MM Lee Kuan Yew implored Singaporeans to “bear” with the tide of foreigners which has now grown to become a “flood”.
Jobs in the service industry where command of the English language is essential can be filled easily by locals instead of Chinese Nationals who are preferred now because they cost much less to employ.
For cost-conscious employers, they care more about their profit margin than the image of Singapore. The situation is exacerbated by the liberal and flexible labor laws introduced by the government to keep business costs to a minimum.
The Singapore Tourism Board spends millions of dollars each year to promote Singapore as a “cosmopolitan” city overseas.
It is a shame that tourists like Ms Lilian have walked away thinking that Singapore is a “province” of mainland China.
Not that the ruling party will care much anyway. New citizens will usually vote for the government and increasing their numbers surely help to entrench their power in the next fifty years or so.
As for true blue Singaporeans, they have no choice but to content with a future where they will soon belong to the minority of the population if the current influx of foreigners remains unabated.
Source: The Temasek Review
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Sign language lor.
Try going Japan.
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people werkin in oz need to know english???not true.surface scratch info only.
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Tourists better learn Mandarin before they visit Singapore next time.
In the future, nobody will be speaking English in Singapore because there will be little billingual locals left and huge numbers of PRC staff who speak Mandarin only.
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My name is Mary from Beijing.
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Originally posted by deepak.c:
My name is Mary from Beijing.
Ni jiang hua yu ke yi ma?
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what if the tourist is in china instead?
complain to the press he/she cant speak english lol
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
what if the tourist is in china instead?
complain to the press he/she cant speak english lol
The difference here is that English is supposed to be the working language of Singapore.
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Calling from Taiwan to Singapore hotel, operator from PRC,
Caller : Hello, can I speak to Annie Wan staying there (anyone)?
Operator : Yes, you can speak to me.
Caller : No, I want to speak to Annie Wan (anyone)!
Operator : You are talking to someone! Who is this?
Caller : I'm Sam Wan (Someone). And I need to talk to Annie Wan staying in your hotel (anyone)! It's urgent.
Operator : I know you are someone and you want to talk to anyone! But what's this urgent matter about?
Caller : Well... just tell my sister Annie Wan (anyone) that our brother Noel Wan (no one)has involved in an accident. Noel Wan (no one)got injured and now Noel Wan (no one) is being sent to the hospital. Right now, Avery Wan (everyone) is on his way to the hospital.
Operator : Look if no one was injured and no one was sent to the hospital, then the accident isn't an urgen t matter! You may find this hilarious but I don't have time for this!
Caller : You are so rude! Who are you?
Operator : I'm Saw Lee (Sorry).
Caller : Yes! You should be sorry. Now give me your name!!!Not only Aussie are complaining, Singapore tourist in other countries calling back is also complaining.
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yea our service line now most not singaporean. Read or think also not right already..come singapore but serve by other country pple.
funny right. haha !
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Not at all funny, in fact it is priviledge, we are rich and being served
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Pretty soon, tourists brochures and travel guides will highlight that the official language is only Mandarin and if you don't speak the language, you will not be served in sg.
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Don't say that we never told you so. Communication breakdowns are bound to happen between tourists/minority groups and monolingual staff.
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Hi Welcome To Singapore
Its a must for you to speak in Mandarin. -
is pretty true that PRC cant speak good english
just step into cafe cartel and u will witness it
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why must speak english?
when we visit australia we dont find it unacceptable when their service staff cant speak chinese or dialects.
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Fark man..
It doesn't piss me off when people ask 'where is Singapore'.
It doesn't piss me off when people ask 'what is Singapore'.
But it sure as hell pisses me off when people say, "What? Isn't that a province in China?"
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Originally posted by dragg:
why must speak english?
when we visit australia we dont find it unacceptable when their service staff cant speak chinese or dialects.
They do not need to speak chinese/dialects because we, as Singaporeans, are capable of communicating in English.
English is the administrative language of Singapore; adequate ability is a must!
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Originally posted by dragg:
why must speak english?
when we visit australia we dont find it unacceptable when their service staff cant speak chinese or dialects.
Because English is the working language in Singapore, just as it is in Australia?
And wherever you are on earth, if you are in the service industry, you should at least have a basic grasp of the working language of the region you're in?
If I were a Frenchman, I would be pissed if I were to order at a cafe in Paris and the waiter can only speak English instead of French.
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Originally posted by dragg:
why must speak english?
when we visit australia we dont find it unacceptable when their service staff cant speak chinese or dialects.
Because it is stated in our tourist brochures that English is the common working language of Singapore. Last time, local service staff spoke 2 languages - English and their 2nd language because that was what was taught in school. Even if their English was bad, they still understood and spoke basic English.
You go to Australia expecting them to speak to you in English because English is their official language.
If you went to Australia knowing that English was their official language but suddenly all their service staff there spoke to you in Japanese or Ugandan, you would find it funny.
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Sg is like rojak now
.......
All sorts of aliens from different planets
sharing this little red dot
In time to come. the red dot willjust go burst
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Plus this Aussie tourist was also highlighting bad service standards of the staff.
Even if the staff cannot fully understand your language, I am sure using some basic sign language to communicate instead of just brushing off and ignoring the customer will be more appropriate.
For example, I am sure many Singaporeans go to Thailand for holidays to shop. Most of the service staff there probably don't speak much English but somehow things work out just fine with a bit of sign language and a smattering of simple English phrases. I don't hear of service staff there ignoring the Singaporean tourist just because Singaporeans don't speak Thai.
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desperation?
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Service is better in Australia,miles better..
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Originally posted by ☃®:
Service is better in Australia,miles better..
but in joo chiat and geyland, our service is much better. Learn to service oneself, dun be a slave of services.