OPPO Smiling Angel Program Celebrates Human-Centered Frontline Staff
Global technology brand OPPO hosted its 2025 Smiling Angel Awards Ceremony in Shenzhen on April 28, recognizing 163 outstanding frontline staff from its global customer service and retail teams. More than just an employee award program, the Smiling Angel initiative embodies OPPO’s foundational belief: that technology is not an end in itself but a means to enrich lives through care, empathy, and human-centric service. As OPPO continues its expansion across over 75 countries, the company is doubling down on its commitment to place people at the core of its innovation journey.
Recognizing the Human Touch Behind the Tech
OPPO’s frontline professionals—spanning over 300,000 stores and service centers and totaling more than 77,000 individuals—are vital conduits of its brand ethos. These employees are not only responsible for delivering technical solutions but also for shaping meaningful human connections. The Smiling Angel Awards honor those who go beyond technical excellence to provide extraordinary, personalized customer experiences.
The awards are guided by OPPO’s core value of “Benfen,” a Chinese philosophy that advocates always doing the right thing and going beyond what is expected. OPPO uses this principle to redefine performance standards in customer service, moving beyond metrics to include traits like empathy, initiative, creativity, and emotional intelligence. Honorees are chosen based on their “outstanding contributions to user experience,” demonstrating how service excellence can turn transactional moments into transformative encounters.
Stories That Inspire
The human stories behind the 2025 Smiling Angel honorees illustrate the heart of OPPO’s service philosophy:
- Trương Thị Hồng Nga from Vietnam exemplified quick thinking and compassion when a food delivery driver arrived at a service center with a non-functional OPPO A3x, damaged by exposure to heavy rain. She diagnosed and repaired the phone within 30 minutes. Moreover, she offered the customer waterproof bags and usage guidance for rainy conditions, allowing him to return to work that same day. Her interaction not only solved an immediate problem but also influenced internal improvements across OPPO’s A-series offerings.
- Lim Chun in Malaysia demonstrated exceptional technical expertise by recovering data from an unresponsive device, ensuring the customer didn’t lose valuable personal information. His diligence protected the customer’s memories and restored trust in OPPO’s support ecosystem.
- In Bangladesh, Robiul Islam Rana has become a trusted name in his community. Despite facing economic challenges, he regularly offers free screen protector applications and phone cleaning services to customers who cannot afford them. In a remarkable act of dedication, he once traveled 47 kilometers by rickshaw to personally deliver a repaired phone to a customer.
- Niluh Warniasih, a retail associate in Bali, is known for creating long-lasting relationships with customers. She treats each sale not as a transaction but as the beginning of a connection. “I believe that in sales, it’s not just about the product but the people,” she explains. Niluh regularly follows up with customers to ensure satisfaction, helping to foster brand loyalty.
Transforming Customer Service Into Emotional Value
According to Roy Chen, Head of OPPO’s Overseas Channel & Retail Department, the company is evolving its customer engagement strategy from passive reception to proactive outreach. “We’re no longer waiting in stores. We’re now actively interacting with consumers through social media and other platforms, delivering both functional and emotional value to elevate our sales performance,” Chen explains.
This mindset is embedded in OPPO’s service infrastructure, which includes over 3,300 offline service centers and 12,000 customer-facing employees. These touchpoints are not just logistical nodes but the foundation of OPPO’s brand personality—where care and connection manifest through daily actions.
A Systematic Approach to Empathy-Driven Excellence
To ensure consistent, high-quality service experiences globally, OPPO has developed a robust framework anchored by its 6S Service Standard. This comprehensive system encompasses all stages of the customer journey: from service preparation and reception to repair, feedback, and after-sales engagement. Every aspect is governed by the goal of enhancing trust and delight.
The company also emphasizes long-term talent development. Its global service philosophy, “Care & Reach,” is at the heart of a structured employee journey that includes recruitment, onboarding, ongoing training, and recognition. Programs like Smiling Angel serve as key incentives, motivating staff to elevate their interpersonal and technical skills alike.
This people-centered approach is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. OPPO actively conducts market visits and gathers localized insights to tailor its services to regional needs. In tropical regions, for instance, the company provides complimentary cold beverages in its service centers. Such small yet thoughtful gestures go a long way in fostering brand goodwill and loyalty.
Global Recognition for Local Excellence
The impact of OPPO’s service philosophy has earned international accolades. In 2024:
- OPPO’s Indonesia team won the Best Customer Service Experience and Service Quality awards at the prestigious SWA Awards.
- The Malaysia team received the CXP Best Customer Experience award for its blend of technical reliability and emotional attentiveness.
- The Bangladesh service team was recognized with the Deep to Award in the Consumer Protection category for going above and beyond in safeguarding customer interests.
These achievements are milestones in OPPO’s journey to redefine what tech brands can represent in a service context. They underscore a shift from transactional engagement to long-term relationship building grounded in empathy and cultural awareness.
The Future of Smiling Angel: More Than an Award
What started as an internal recognition initiative has now become a symbol of OPPO’s global identity. The Smiling Angel program is not just an HR tool or morale booster; it is a strategic pillar reinforcing OPPO’s commitment to people-first innovation.
As technology becomes increasingly integrated into every facet of daily life, the need for human-centric support systems is more urgent than ever. Whether it’s a screen replacement, software assistance, or emotional reassurance, OPPO’s frontline staff are equipped not just with tools, but with the mindset to make a difference.
Smiling Angel will continue to evolve, incorporating feedback and broadening its reach to reflect new challenges and customer needs. OPPO envisions a future where every customer touchpoint offers not only a solution but also a sense of care and comfort.
In an industry often obsessed with hardware specs and innovation cycles, OPPO is charting a different path—one where the value of a product is not just measured in megapixels or processor speed, but in the quality of human interaction it fosters. The 2025 Smiling Angel Awards exemplify this philosophy, highlighting the unsung heroes who turn everyday support calls and retail visits into moments of connection and trust.
As OPPO continues to grow globally, initiatives like Smiling Angel remind us that great technology must always be in the service of humanity. It is through this lens that OPPO not only differentiates its brand but also elevates the industry standard for what customer experience can and should be.O reinforces its commitment to creating meaningful, human-centric experiences in the tech industry.
