Fast Food THERE ARE MANY challenges faced by companies in areas of teaching customer service to employees, according to Oliver's Super Sandwiches senior general manager Rosa Lau. 'With the high supply of jobs in the retail industry at the moment, even a minor salary increase can lead to staff turnover. Besides job satisfaction, staff participation, benefits and training, company policy and praise and care for staff are also important,' Ms Lau said. For this reason Oliver's places extra emphasis on staff training, development and retention. A typical example of this attempt to reinforce service attitudes, knowledge, skills and the importance of excellent service, is the company's participation in the award programme. Natalie Tsang Ling-sze, service assistant at Oliver's Quarry Bay outlet, won the HKRMA Junior Frontline Award despite having worked there for only eight months. The reason for this was her enthusiasm and a brilliant smile. 'I like serving customers and making them happy so they visit the shop again. During the competition I just tried to behave the way I normally do but also to seize every opportunity to express myself. 'My service comes from the heart ... I have learnt not only to provide routine service but to pay extra attention to customers' needs and also their feelings. 'A greeting from the heart can easily bring people together' has become my motto.' Ms Tsang's accomplishment and attitude are no surprise for those higher up in the senior management of the fast food chain. 'We encourage staff to provide excellent service, whether they are new or experienced,' Ms Lau said. Oliver's provides customer service training for all staff on the frontline. The training covers topics such as the importance of excellent customer service, teaching service attitude and skills, product knowledge and skills to handle complaints. It is not just the winning but the taking part that matters to Oliver's. 'It is a chance for the staff to benchmark their service standard with the industry because we believe staff can gain a lot of knowledge and skills during the programme,' Ms Lau said.
