PeopleThe people mix refers to people working at the Biennale 2008. The first group of people we interacted with is the ticketing staffs. They were very helpful when we first stepped into City Hall and helped us in terms of tickets purchasing.
However, my impression of them was tarnished when I proceeded to the rest of the exhibitions. Most of their staffs are students, which are of the same age group as us. I guessed this is because they are volunteers or interns. When we were browsing through the exhibition, the whole place was actually quite empty. Many of them were talking and laughing in groups. Majority of them were also playing with their mobile phones or PSP. Being in the hospitality industry, their role is to pay attention to their guests and not ignore them.
Singapore Biennale did not made good use of the people mix to its advantage. As I am a student myself, I understand it is boring when there is no one around. However, tourists might leave a bad impression of the hospitality industry of Singapore. Mobile phones and games should be banned during duty. However, service recovery was performed when we seeked their help to take a group picture for us. At the very least, they were helpful enough. However, for every rooms we entered, we would be reminded that they will be closing at 8pm. Isn’t it irritating to keep hearing people remind you that you have to leave at 8pm? I get the feeling that they wanted to chase us out so that they can close on time. However, they do have sufficient product knowledge as they are able to answer our questions regarding the exhibitions. As there were many signages explaining on different exhibitions, we get confused some times. At the very least, they are able to differentiate which signage is for which exhibition.
Biennale 2008 should hire people who have interest towards Arts and not just volunteers or interns. But if they want to cut cost on employment, they should at least provide them with some training on basic hospitality services as the people mix forms a great portion of customer perception and satisfaction.
