Chinese Tourist Critiques Singaporean Service: “Short-Tempered and Unfriendly” Compared to Malaysia

Though Singapore and Malaysia are close neighbors, a Chinese tourist recently noted a striking difference in customer service attitudes between the two countries. Content creator Teacher Gogo shared his observations on TikTok, highlighting what he described as a “brusque” attitude among Singaporean-Chinese service staff compared to their Malaysian counterparts, who he felt were generally friendlier.

Gogo explained that during his time exploring Singapore, he encountered unfriendly behavior from various service personnel, including public transport drivers and food vendors. “Most Singaporean-Chinese don’t have a good attitude towards service,” he remarked, suggesting that interactions in Singapore often felt short-tempered and hurried. By contrast, he felt that service workers in Malaysia were “exceptionally friendly and warm-hearted.”

The TikTok video sparked mixed reactions from netizens, with some agreeing and attributing the perceived behavior to high stress levels in Singapore. “You’d need to become a hawker to understand their challenges,” one commenter noted, while others cited Singapore’s fast-paced lifestyle as a possible cause for less patience.

In a follow-up video, Gogo recounted comments from viewers who also experienced “cold” attitudes from Singaporean service staff. Testing a theory that speaking English might yield a friendlier response, he asked his Filipino wife to order in English from a vendor who had previously been curt. However, the response remained the same, leading Gogo to conclude that Singapore’s service demeanor might be driven by societal pressures, noting, “Everyone just lives in a fast-paced, modern society with daily pressures.”