Yvonne Wee
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

Yvonne Wee receives at least 40 written compliments every month. And she has held this record for over four years! Meet this exemplary service provider who has touched the hearts of countless taxpayers.

A tax officer at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), Yvonne handles queries from walk-in customers.

Her job requires her to have good tax knowledge and communication skills so that she can explain tax policies and principles clearly to taxpayers and offer viable solutions for their tax problems.

Many taxpayers who are served by Yvonne often leave IRAS with a positive impression of her.

Assisting a couple with urgent concerns

On one occasion, she saw an anxious-looking couple knocking on the door of the Taxpayer Services Centre at 6 pm. So she went out to inform them that the Centre had already closed.

The man told Yvonne that they were leaving Singapore the next day and needed to settle some urgent tax matters. They did not approach IRAS earlier as they were living overseas and did not receive their estimated assessments and payment vouchers in the mail.

After hearing their predicament, Yvonne offered to help them with their enquiries.

She said: "I empathised with them as their taxi driver had told them we are open till 6 pm when in fact we close at 5 pm. It was not their fault. Furthermore, they are foreigners and were looking quite helpless when I met them."

Yvonne spent about an hour assisting them to file their returns. Thanks to her help, the couple was able to return home to Malaysia the next day with total peace of mind.

Wrote the couple in their feedback form: "Very good customer service. Such an officer must be awarded with a best customer service award or any other award for her service to taxpayers."

Helping taxpayers to claim reliefs

On another occasion, a taxpayer who wanted to apply for GIRO payment approached Yvonne. He complained that he had to pay more taxes compared to the previous year.

Yvonne took the initiative to check his assessment and realised he had omitted to claim child relief. When she informed the man that he was not taxable, he was very grateful to her.

He wrote: "I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to your staff, Yvonne Wee, for handling my income tax matters. She's very courteous and even asked more questions regarding my personal reliefs. I am glad to have been served by her."

There have also been many cases where taxpayers wanted to claim certain reliefs but were unable to furnish the claim particulars on the spot. When that happened, Yvonne advised the customer to fax the information directly to her so that she could follow up on the case personally. This way, the taxpayers did not need to contact IRAS again or repeat their requests to another officer.

Outstanding service mindset

A winner of accolades such as the Ministry of Finance Star Service Award in 2003 and 2004, as well as the PS21 Star Service Award 2004, Yvonne has received many compliments.

Comments such as "Yvonne Wee is a first-class professional. I really appreciate her assistance, attentiveness and professionalism" and "keep up the good work" are telling of her stellar performance.

But how did she attain such heights of achievement?

Yvonne shared that when she joined IRAS in 2000, she was new to front-line work. She was keen to find out what she could do to provide better service to taxpayers and thought the best way to do so was to ask her customers.

So she actively gave out feedback forms to get taxpayers' views on her service. By reviewing the comments given, she learnt where she needed improvement and constantly reminded herself to work on those areas.

Ever eager to help her customers, Yvonne summed up: "I like to put myself in taxpayers' shoes. If things can be done in an efficient and effective manner, they should be."

— Contributed by Angeline Yong, IRAS