Mr Chan Soo Sen at the Ministerial Visit to Jumbo Group of Restaurants

MR CHAN SOO SEN AT THE MINISTERIAL VISIT TO JUMBO GROUP OF RESTAURANTS ON TUESDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2006 AT 2:25 PM AT JUMBO SEAFOOD GALLERY (THE RIVERWALK), 20 UPPER CIRCULAR ROAD

Mr Wong Bun Huge

President, Restaurant Association of Singapore

Mr Ang Kiam Meng

General Manager, Jumbo Group of Restaurants

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon

Introduction

I am delighted to join all of you today for the visit to Jumbo Seafood Gallery. I would like to thank Jumbo’s GM, Mr Ang Kiam Meng, for hosting this visit.

F&B: A Vital Industry

The F&B industry plays a vital role, not only in Singapore’s economy but also as an important facet of our lifestyle. Eating is a favorite national pastime. The industry also comprised some 4,340 F&B establishments employing more than 61,000 workers, and generated $3.7 billion in operating receipts in 2003.

Its vibrancy has further enhanced the multi-cultural and cosmopolitan flavors that many people have come to associate Singapore with.

Singapore is already one of the major F&B destinations in the Asia Pacific region. But we want to be more than that. Our hope is for Singapore to become a unique F&B destination offering a wide-ranging spectrum of innovative dining experiences. To get there, much needs to be done. But we have achieved good progress. Just last November, the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) announced a three-year plan to drive the growth of the F&B industry. Service was identified as one of the critical success factors.

Service the Key to Success

Service, as we all know, makes all the difference in the overall dining experience. Bad service kills the appetite whereas good service makes good food even better and gives customers a pleasant and lasting impression. This will, in turn, translate into more repeat customers and higher revenues. According to a Harvard Business Review article, the profits of a company rise as its relationship with its customers lengthens. Customer defections have a surprisingly powerful impact on the bottom line. Therefore, it is quite clear that good service makes good business sense.

Every bit of investment and efforts put in by our F&B operators to enhance their service standards is likely to eventually pay off if done properly.

Last year, the Government launched GEMS – “Go-the-Extra-Mile for Service” movement to promote a culture of service excellence in Singapore. Some service providers already focus on good service as part of their key business strategy. The reason is simple – enterprises that deliver excellent service are often successful businesses. Some well-known examples include the Ritz-Carlton in the hotel sector and Giordano in the retail sector.

Mystery Diner Programme

Today, I am pleased to launch the “Mystery Diner Programme” which is a joint collaboration by RAS and SPRING Singapore. This programme is the first industry-specific service initiative for the F&B industry, aimed at improving the service standards and performance of F&B establishments through a systematic and integrated process towards service improvement. It is also one of the activities under the GEMS line-up of projects and events to drive service excellence.

Under this programme, a set of service standards and measurement checklist has been developed by the industry to assess and audit the service levels of the participating F&B outlets. This set of standards and checklist is designed to serve as a benchmarking tool for the companies to gauge their individual performance against the industry average.

In addition, it will help them identify areas which require improvements. I understand that the programme will complement the in-house training programmes of individual companies and serve as an on-going self-assessment for them.

I am pleased to note that the pilot phase of the programme has already secured a strong participation.10 companies with 33 outlets in the casual dining sub-sector are in this

For several of these companies, service improvements are already making a difference to their revenues. They can expect to see at least a 10% increase in their bottom lines. SPRING will work with F&B players to extend the Mystery Diner Programme to other sub-sectors to further enhance service excellence in the industry.

Jumbo as a Model

One of the pilot companies in the Mystery Diner programme, Jumbo is a good example of a local F&B company recognized for its commitment to service excellence, and of course its excellent dishes. It is now a household name in Singapore, especially for its signature dish, chili crab. Since the first restaurant opened in East Coast in 1987, Jumbo has made very good progress. Today, Jumbo has five outlets all over Singapore and has established a presence in Indonesia and China.

Jumbo’s success can be attributed to its efforts to continually strengthen its business and management capabilities to stay competitive, under Mr Ang’s leadership. He spearheaded the company’s growth and expansion locally as well as overseas. Not only did he introduce initiatives to meet the changing needs of customers, he also focused on differentiation and enhanced service excellence to differentiate Jumbo from its competitors.

Conclusion

I am very happy to see the RAS taking the lead in the Mystery Diner Programme. I encourage more F&B players to participate in this programme. I am confident it will help to improve service standards and enhance the competitiveness of the F&B industry. Thank you.