There’d been several unflattering comments and newspaper reports on the recently concluded Singapore Idol competition. To me, both singers deserved to be in the final and it didn’t matter to me who won because they are both good, so congrats to Sezairi for pipping Sylvia to the crown.

I believe Sylvia lost it with her choice of “Yellow” as her second song. ST described her performance of the song as “tepid” and it’s exactly the word I’d use as well. Seasoned contestants of singing competitions - especially one where the audience decides the outcome - would know that their song choice must satisfy the audience and not pander to the contestant’s liking. In other words, they should choose a song that would please the general public and not simply one that they - the contestants - like or enjoy singing. Yes, it’s strategic but look where it took Sezairi. Sezairi basically nudged ahead of the game with his rendition of “Crazy” and then nailed it with “Touched by an Angel”.

In the end, based solely on the performances in the final, Sezairi is a worthy winner. Sorry, Sylvia. What surprised me, though, were some unusual coments from Sylvia’s supporters. Some said they voted for Sylvia because they wanted a “change” by voting in a female Idol. Hmm….that is NOT a good enough reason to make Sylvia win, I’m afraid. I mean, if she were to be the first female winner of Singapore Idol, I’m sure she would want to win it on her own merits….and not because she is female. Another comment made by the press was how Sezairi becomes the third Singapore Idol winner with an R&B influence. And what’s wrong with that? If Singapore likes his sound, why not? It just proves how much R&B appeals to the general music public. I doubt a rocker or dare I even suggest a country singer would be as widely appreciated in a Singapore Idol final….if they got that far.

While the call for more variety in the next season is probably welcome, it really depends on whether the really talented Singaporeans would be motivated enough to take part. [I have no doubt there are many talented singers among us] Perhaps the producers of Singapore Idol should consider increasing the prize money.

Joe

I remember reading a Reader’s Digest article some 24 years ago titled “It Doesn’t Matter”. To cut the long story short, the article was about how, if we didn’t take life too seriously….if we accepted everything that life throws at us….we would live a happier life. Hence, when we’re up against it, just say “it doesn’t matter” and move on.

How do I remember it so well? Because I was so moved by it that I printed that same message “It Doesn’t Matter” onto an A4 sized paper and pinned it on my cubicle in the office. When I explained to a colleague its significance, she rubbished it, saying it showed a lack of passion. That hurt….but it didn’t matter because I knew I was into something good. Well, I suppose the same could be said about the biblical advice of “turning the other cheek”.

I think inherently, we - humans, that is - have a built-in desire to have our value upheld. If something should happen that made us across as not being respected (in the way we feel we ought to be), we get upset. The obvious reaction would be to fiercely assert our authority….to make a case so that everyone knows we are to be respected. But really, if we are deserving of respect, doesn’t the very action of “asserting our authority” run contrary to that goal?

How about trying this….say to yourself “it doesn’t matter”. Really, if you think about it, if you’re intelligent, you’re intelligent….you really don’t need to tell people “I am intelligent”. Worse, you don’t need to tell someone “you are stupid”. The same goes with respect. If you are worthy of respect, you will earn respect….you neither have to proclaim it nor assert yourself to get it.

So, how about it? Why not try making “It Doesn’t Matter” YOUR new mantra for 2010? It may take a while to sink in, but when it does, you will feel great for it. Have a happy new year.

Joe

There’d been recent talk and news articles about the general standard of service in Singapore. I’d like to share my own recent encounter of service, which I think epitomises a trend in the way most Singaporeans are brought up.

I went to Liang Court recently on a late Sunday afternoon and decided to have a spot of tea. I was alone. I went to this crepe place and ordered a chicken ham and egg crepe (-yummy-) and a cappucino. I paid for it and went to have a seat. Now, there was no other customer at the time; I was the only customer they had. Oh…”they” were 4 servers - a cashier, a crepe maker, a beverage maker and someone who seemed to just hang around at the back. When my crepe was ready, I was surprised that from just 3 metres away (that was the distance between where I was seated and the service counter), the server shouted my order and I was required to get up from my seat to go to the counter to collect it. O.K….I thought…..standard operating procedure (SOP)….this despite the fact that there were 4 of them and 1 of me, and they were no more than 3 metres from me. I took the crepe and went back to my seat. Roughly 20 seconds later, my order of cappucino was called and I had to once again rise from my seat and walk up to the counter to collect it.

Now, this is all wrong, I thought. Yes, every organisation needs SOP. But service people need to also use their initiatives. Here, the staff of this crepe place had an opportunity to impress their ONE lone customer on a late Sunday afternoon, with the quality of their service. They could have gone against convention and come out of their service counter to bring my order of crepe WITH the cappucino to me. But they chose SOP. I was not impressed at all. Not only did I have to go get my own order in an empty store, they made me do it TWICE!! They lost this customer for good because I’m not going back there again.

I figure it’s probably not their fault that they did not exercise their initiative. I think it’s the fault of our education system and perhaps also our parents. We learn too many things by rote, which constricts our imagination (and of course, use of initiative). We also probably force-fit certain thinking into our young, which in turn cripples the way we react to situations that do not fit into ‘the norm’.

True service comes from within oneself - it’s more cultural than one gives it credit for - although even as a trainer of service quality for years, I know that with repeated practice, you CAN change the spots of a leopard slightly. So, all is not lost. Employers just need to give their staff the best training and then trust and empower them to use some initiatives to uphold the true spirit of customer service.

But….I’m still not going back to that crepe place.

Joe

When Budak began preparing for our concert, we knew we were up against the challenges of a recession, so ticket sales would be difficult. Ironically, our concert is titled “Happy Songs for a Great Recession”. That’s two nights of concert, mind you - 17 and 18 December. And the first 4 weeks of ticket sales confirmed our fears. To say they were slow was probably understating the situation….they were sluggish.

Today, with just 7 days to the day, we hear the Esplanade is opening the Circle 2 seats (upper deck) for booking for the Friday (18 December) show, indicating that tickets ARE moving very quickly. We can only say we are truly blessed; despite the bad state of the economy, people are still willing to pay good money to come watch a local act. We owe everyone a great show. And it’s going to be nothing less than a great show, we promise.

Thanks to all who support Budak Pantai. Prepare to have an enjoyable evening of song and laughter with us on 17 & 18 December at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

Joe