Pinoy in Singapore

Yesterday, we went to the Work Pass Services Centre to have our helper’s fingerprint scanned for her work permit.  When we got there, there were a lot of foreign workers.  Most of them, I noticed, were south Asians.  The office, though air-conditioned, looked something like what you would see in the Philippines except for the digital displays that showed which number was currently being processed.

In these situations where employees are dealing with so many people, all of them foreigners,  it’s easy to get exhausted and frustrated especially when there’s a language barrier even if both parties speak english.  I was ready to get snapped at – especially since we left our helper’s disembarkation card at home and it was one of the requirements we needed to present.

I was pleasantly surprised that when my number was called, I was greeted with a warm smile.  The person dealing with us took his time to explain what I needed to bring including the disembarkation card that we left when I come back to collect my helper’s work pass.  At one point, when I apologized for leaving some stuff blank because I wasn’t sure what to put, he replied with a sincere something-to-the-effect-of “It’s ok, my job is to help you.”

Everyone I had to interface with at that office was pleasant, and that includes the receptionist/guard at the building who escorted us through a shortcut because we had our baby and a stroller with us.

Our experience at WSPC definitely set the mood for the rest of the day.  So yeah, a big thank you to those people who give service with a smile because it does go a long way.

It would be a nice thing to adopt in government offices in the Philippines.   A simple smile takes so little effort but yet can do so much wonder.