The many accolades and awards TANGS has garnered for its service excellence stem from an unconventional philosophy towards customer service.

Rather than emphasise on a "customer first" paradigm, the home-grown retailer firmly believes in "winning the hearts of their staff first, in order to win the hearts of their customers".

"Only when our staff believe in the service culture and concepts will they deliver service that's a cut above the rest," said Mr Foo Tiang Sooi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TANGS in a joint media release by SPRING Singapore, National Trades Union Congress, Singapore Workforce Development Agency and Singapore National Employers Federation.

At the heart of their unconventional approach is Stephen Covey's concept of the "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", which proposes principles of "Begin with the End in Mind" and "Think Win-Win" in becoming a more effective person.

Though not directly in reference to service excellence, Covey's concepts are innovatively integrated into a customised training programme for TANGS' staff, which was started in September 2005, and which has cost some $230,000.

As part of its commitment to service, TANGS also initiated a feedback reward scheme to encourage staff to obtain feedback from shoppers by rewarding them with monthly mystery prizes.

As one of the pioneer retailers to join the Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) in 2005, TANGS has seen its annual sales figures increase by 11 per cent and has also won many accolades in recognition for its service excellence.

In March this year, the TANGS Group of Companies bagged several awards at the GEM (Go-the-Extra-Mile) award ceremony organised by the Singapore Retailers Association - TANGS Orchard was crowned Premium GEM while TANGS VivoCity, Paul&Joe, Versace and BCBG Max Azria bagged the GEM Award.

TANGS has gone beyond the call of traditional customer service initiatives through its attention to improving the shopping experience. Instead of having departments determined by product category, TANGS offers different retail concepts catering to the different lifestyle needs of their customers, such as Dressing Room (for lingerie), TANG+Co (for international designer labels), and Playground (for kids).

"As an established retailer with close to 75 years of experience in the industry, TANGS could have stuck by its tried-and-tested formula for success," said Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Co-Chairman of CCI Committee.

"Instead, TANGS went against convention and encouraged staff to see and provide customer service in a new way. By moving out of their comfort zone to try something different, they have taken service excellence to a whole new level," he added.