She may be a controversial figure in Singapore, being vilified by many for the mess SMRT is in now, but ex-SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa is still popular among SMRT staff as they threw a farewell party for her yesterday afternoon at Jurong Crew Station, packed with more than 100 staff from the Rail Operations Branch comprising Train Officers, Customer Services Officers from stations, OCC, HQ and the Circle Line.
Walking in crutches after a recent knee operation, Ms Saw was in ‘high spirits’ sharing with her ex-staff and colleagues about a wonderful holiday trip she just returned from. Many walked up to shake her hands and wishing her well in her future endeavors.
[Source: Gin Tai’s blog]
Faced with a massive public backlash in the aftermath of last December’s train disruptions, Ms Saw tendered her resignation in January this year. She will be taking over as the Chief Executive Officer of Auric Pacific Group from 1 May onwards.
In a short speech made to the staff, she reminded them never to forget about ‘customer service.’:
“Customer is always right! and customer satisfaction comes first!” she lectured.
She added that SMRT will always remain ‘special’ in her heart and she will never regret or forget about her exhilarating working experience in SMRT.
While Ms Saw has made millions of dollars during her tenure as CEO of SMRT, its standards of service have deteriorated rapidly over the years. Once seen as a proud product of Singapore Inc, SMRT has now become a laughing stock not only in the eyes of Singaporeans, but in the world as well for its frequent breakdowns and disruptions in service.