We hear about cities improving their service to their constituents. But I think this is the first time that a country is making customer service a national obsession.

I’m talking about Singapore. Over at Customer Management Insight, Singapore is making sure that they will be friendly to visitors and investors alike. Started in 2005, The program, named Go-the-Extra-Mile for Service (GEMS), sought to do just that.

Their Prime Minister emphasized three things:

1. Being a gracious society, courteous and respectful to one another
2. Recognizing the dignity and contribution of each citizen
3. Each person doing his part, excelling in his own vocation, and serving with pride

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Do you know of any country who has this vision in mind? If this were true for Singapore, no wonder they’d been enjoying great progress through these years.