Like many other readers who read the Kitchen Tigress’s blog on what a friend termed as “the cake debacle”, I had a good laugh. I found it hilarious. Not because the Kitchen Tigress was being ridiculous or that the service rendered was outstanding or pretty horrendous… but more, I see it as a most unfortunate sequence of events, made even more hilarious by individuals who have possibly almost no idea about customer service or even how to placate a “demanding” customer, or to the most simple task of making someone’s day a tad better than what it already is.
*lol*
Reading the comments on the Kitchen Tigress’s blog made me laugh even harder because not many really saw the humour in the situation.
It isn’t everyday that bank staff encounter a customer who happens to be celebrating her birthday. In fact, as an ex-OCBC staff, I probably encountered a handful of customers who were indeed celebrating their birthday on that particular day. Except that the lucky customers of mine do get a surprise or at the very least, birthday wishes from me. However, I have never encountered any customer asking for their birthday cake. Though most Singaporeans will find it embarrassing to ask about the cake, less will even demand for it. I really must applaud KT’s act of bravado.
On the other hand, the OCBC staff really could have handled the situation better. Perhaps it’s all a matter of picking the right words. Something along the lines of “Oh dear, I’m sorry I missed that! Happy Birthday, KT! Unfortunately, we do not practise that anymore considering the ad is a lil outdated. So sorry about that!” And I would like to think KT would have been slightly appeased. The more quick-thinking staff would probably have run to the back office and pulled out some free gifts of sorts to give to the customer as a small token. And any customer would have left the bank with a big smile or at least, less disappointed! It really doesn’t take much to make someone’s day better, much less someone’s birthday!
Yet, I must say that by just what KT expressed on her blog, she’s every customer service provider’s nightmare. *cringe* Demanding a cake would just make you look bad. Sometimes it’s better not to expect, coz then the surprise could be so much better.
