The lives of customers have been touched, changed, and in one case even saved, by the dedication and thoughtful gestures of front-line customer service staff in the commercial and residential locations of Hang Lung Properties.

These stories became known when Hang Lung presented its Emerald Award to six winners earlier this month. Five winning customer service cases were chosen from over 220 nominations, submitted from Hang Lung’s properties in Hong Kong and the mainland. The Emerald Award, launched in 2014 by Hang Lung, is a staff initiative programme to reward excellent customer service and to encourage the team to scale new heights continuously.

The six winners demonstrated a willingness to take initiative, a strong sense of accountability, problem-solving skills, and a sincere care for their customers. Philip Chen, Hang Lung ’s Chief Executive Officer, said at the award presentation ceremony that Hang Lung views customer service as the very heart of its operations throughout the portfolio, from leasing to operational strategies, which enhances its corporate culture and provides momentum for its business to grow.

Bella Chhoa, Director – Leasing and Management, said the award scheme underscores the company’s commitment to excellent customer service across the board.

The panel of judges, composed of the company’s senior executives, spent hours to scrutinise the entries which professionalism and passion were demonstrated by the customer-facing staff.

“The award also provides a way for the company to understand and record the issues faced by staff in their offices, to ensure that future management policies and training are relevant to what’s actually happening,” Chhoa said.

“We were all very touched when we went through each of the stories submitted to us,” Chhoa said. “We know how it all started – with our rigorous training in company culture, technical knowledge, and crisis response procedures. Our customer service staff are trained to stand up and smile as soon as they are approached by a customer. This is the end result of all this training, and we can see how it impacts real lives every day,” Chhoa said.

“The winning stories will also be developed into training materials, which are used for years to come. This way, our staff can learn about Hang Lung’s heritage. Such stories record the changes in the industry, how we respond to these changes, and the principles behind what we do. It puts our work into context,” Chhoa said.

The five winning cases involved six staff members from Hong Kong, Shenyang, Jinan and Dalian. Ng Kam-fai, senior building assistant at Amoy Gardens in Hong Kong, saved the life of an elderly resident. One of the residents expressed concern about not being able to reach an elderly lady who was living on her own, but provided Ng with the wrong contact details.

Despite an initial suspicion that it could be a prank, Ng went through the list of single elderly residents living at the establishment. When one of them did not pick up the phone after repeated calls, Ng called the fire services and asked them to break into the flat, where they discovered an elderly lady who had fainted in her home on her own.

“The property management team keeps updated lists of residents that warrant extra attention, including elderly single people, wheelchair users, and those who have installed an emergency alarm system,” Ng said. “We are all aware of the different needs of our residents, and it is our job to make sure they are safe and well.”

Simon Lee, senior guest service supervisor at The Peak Galleria in Hong Kong, and his colleague, Hui Ching-yiu, the guest service supervisor, demonstrated what it means to serve with a cool head and a warm heart.

The duo dealt with a crisis when a distraught mother accidentally locked her baby in the car, together with the car keys. Hui comforted the mother, while Lee contacted the emergency services and the company’s maintenance team. The case was resolved in around 10 minutes, when police and firemen arrived to break into the car to retrieve the child.

“It is important that the lady felt that she could trust us with the safety of her child,” Lee said. “We had to demonstrate our professionalism in emergency handling. We checked the key was actually in the car, we checked the child had enough air to breathe, we called the firemen, and we called our own team to prepare to break into the car, in case the emergency services arrived late. We do all we can to ensure the physical and emotional wellbeing of our guests,” Lee said.

Amy Li, senior guest experience ambassador at Olympia 66 in Dalian, acted quickly to help with a medical emergency – she drove a shop-keeper who suffered a deep cut on her finger to hospital during the height of rush hour.

“I knew it was serious when blood kept seeping through the thick bandage we applied to her at the concierge desk,” Li said. “I was aware it would take a long time for the ambulance to cut through the heavy traffic, which was also making it difficult to hail a taxi. I quickly informed my supervisor, who immediately gave me the green light to drive the shopkeeper to the hospital from the mall.”

Zhao Li, a car park cashier at Palace 66 in Shenyang, realised something was wrong when an anxious car park patron asked if she had seen a coin he had lost on the premises. “He looked really dejected when I told him I hadn’t,” Li said. “I decided to search the premises for him, even though he had paid to exit the carpark.”

A quick rummage through the pay area revealed a Second World War memorial coin. Li quickly searched through the car park system to identify the location of his car, and managed to get his prized possession to him before the car left.

“The look on his face was worth all the effort,” Li said. “I was glad that I was able to read his emotions correctly, and I didn’t hesitate to do everything I could do to help. It brings me deep satisfaction to see a smile on a customer’s face.”

Liang Tian, a concierge at Parc 66 in Jinan, warmed the heart of a father and a little girl with her thoughtfulness. The pair asked if there was a shop in the mall they could get a teddy bear’s ear repaired. The bear was one of the girl’s favourite toys.

After telling them that there was no shop offering a sewing service in the mall, Liang decided to sew the teddy bear up herself using the sewing kit at the concierge desk. It took a mere 10 minutes to turn the girl’s teary, worrisome face into a bright smile.

“To us grown-ups, a teddy bear is only a toy,” Liang said. “But it meant so much more to the little girl. Customers come to me every day with all kinds of questions because they trust me. I do all that I can to help, as I don’t want to let them down,” she said.

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