POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE BY YOUR FOREIGN STAFF WILL AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS AND PROFITS

Yesterday was a Sunday and I was infuriated. The incident had spoiled my otherwise peaceful serene Sunday. This was what went down. My wife and I we woke up really early because she wanted to go have breakfast at the chinese kopitiam in Jalan Imbi opposite 7-eleven famous for the Nasi Lemak there. It was a hazy Sunday morning, one I would rather sleep in than venture outdoors. After all, I only had 3.5 hours of sleep because of the Germany vs Ghana soccer match which ended around 5pm. Yes, it's World Cup season again! Physically and mentally I was trashed cos of the lack of oxygen in the brain from countless sleepless nights staying up late catching live soccer matches.

After breakfast we took a walk to Bukit Bintang opposite Fahrenheit 88 as there was a new property showcase there and we were in the market for one to add to our investment portfolio. After that, following some quick window shopping at Sg Wang Plaza we went over to Lot 10 to the Chatime Galleria for a drink. Both of us are ardent fans of the specialty beverage and would often go for a drink there if we weren't hanging out at our favorite Starbucks! However, after the incident yesterday and a few previous incidents, I doubt I will ever step foot into a Chatime outlet again.

My wife had earlier went to the Hong Leong Bank ATM to withdraw some money and one of the RM50 note happened to be slightly stained. No big deal we thought since it's not torn anywhere or defaced, it's still legal tender and the value of the money was still RM50. The chap at the cash register looked 18-19 at best and from the way he spoke we reckoned he was a student from China working part-time there. After ordering and giving him the RM50 note, he became very rude and keep on asking if this was a real RM50 note. We assured him it was and told him we just got it from the ATM. He wasn't convinced and keep on holding it up to the light to see if there was the outline of the Agong there. He kept saying it was difficult to bank in that note later at the Cash Deposit Machine and it would be rejected. At that point we were already really annoyed. In my mind, it was none of my business whether the money can be banked in or not. As long as I paid for my purchases legally using a legal tender note taken out from an Automatic Teller machine and not a fake note. He the gave me back my change grudgingly, made our drinks obviously grudgingly and handed the drinks to me with a black face.

We then went over to the airconditioned area of the kiosk where they had some bar tables and high stools as my wife was tired from all that walking. 2 minutes later another kpop boyband looking guy came over to us holding the RM50 note we gave him earlier looking annoyed and kept on insisting we gave him a new one. We found out he was a Myanmar national and his name was Naim or Nain or something. After debating for 5 minutes, my wife took out her purse and grabbed a new RM50 note and handed it over to him in exchange for the stained RM50 note in his hand.

The cash register and kitchenette was attached to this little dining area and when he went back to his little corner, we could hear the both of them (China PRC national and Myanmar guy talking in Malay) "Money like this if we give customer also they don't want to accept, how can they give such thing to us?" rather audibly and in my opinion, rather on purpose to mock us.

At that point I totally lost it and shouted all sorts of Fcuk him up words from where I was sitting and instructed him to come and stand in front of me and say what he said again which to my surprise he did. I said I was going to report his stupid shit attitude to Bryan Loo the boss of Chatime to which he had the cheek to spell out his name clearly so I wouldn't misspell it to his boss when I complained about him. I then fcuked him up further for another 20 minutes till he went into the kitchenette to hide. There was another table of customers there who remained quite during most of the ruckus.

Here's a little thought I would like to share. Do you think we were not able to simply switch the RM50 note we legally tendered for the transaction we concluded over the counter? I am not rich but I'm sure I'd easily have a couple of RM50 notes in my wallet I can randomly take out to use to purchase stuff. How if I was a tourist there and that RM50 was the only piece I had when I changed my foreign currency for Malaysian Ringgit at the money changer? Would I need to run to the money changer again and frantically look for more foreign currency to change so that I would give this foreign worker a fresh unstained RM50 note? Would that look very good at the kind of customer service that we Malaysians show to our customers during Visit Malaysia Year 2014?

I am not against the idea of hiring foreign workers as our front liners in industries such as F&B or Hospitality. Being the Head of Department for the School of Hospitality and Tourism in a private Uni in Malaysia, I feel that we should properly train our foreign workers in the area of customer service and EQ before we allow them to be placed in the actual customer facing situation. Albeit cheap to hire, these foreigners will cause your company to lose millions of ringgit in profits if they continue to be ignorant in how to handle customers professionally or to the very least, politely. If you don't realize this early, don't be alarmed when you find that even if you have hundreds of outlets, your customers start to dwindle even though you have the best products at the best price.

Although you are selling a physical product and adhere to the 4Ps of marketing in formulating your killer marketing strategy, don't forget that you are also selling a service to your customers. In marketing services, there are an extra 3Ps you need to be aware of. People, Processes and Physical Evidence. The 'People' part of the 3Ps are the most important element in ensuring your company's success.

Overall, what went down yesterday, 22/6/2014 at the Chatime Galleria outlet outside Lot 10 Bukit Bintang was less than satisfactory. In fact, to be blunt, it was appalling so say the least. Receiving such service and treatment in an outlet located in a popular tourist shopping area leaves you much to desire for. It also leaves much (emphasis on MUCH) more room for improvement, not only for the sake of the country's image but also for the company's own reputation and profits. Why is this so? Because once you lose a customer, you may never ever get him/her back and don't forget, customers talk and if they don't have anything nice to talk about they will still talk and they will tell their friends in person, in Facebook, in twitter, in instagram and in Skype and not forgetting Whatsapp, Line, Wechat, Kakao, Viber, Gtalk, Email etc. And if they have bad things to say about you and you brush them off, now imagine they have 4000 friends in Facebook! That's enough to make you lose 4000 customers instantly... and then there's Youtube but let's not go there.

2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL. All in One Rhythm! Ole Ola!!!

Wow FIFA World Cup season for 2014 just started with the host Brazil kicking off against opponent Croatia in Group A. I can't believe that I woke up at 4am after going to bed around 12am earlier to watch it. The last time I remembered doing this was for the South African World Cup in 2010. I reckon that with the month long matches all during the wee hours of the morning (3-4am), it's gonna be a long month ending in the mid of July.

The theme for the FIFA World Cup Brazil this year is All in One Rhythm (TM). The logo resembles a hand holding a football, the hand is yellow in color while the ball is green. The whole thing looks like the world cup itself and was probably customized to represent Brazil's jersey colours. The official song was We are one Ole Ola performed at the opening on 13 June 2014 at the stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil on stage by Jennifer Lopez (JLo) (who to me looked like an Avatar in her green outfit or worst, look like Shakira ready to shake some belly. Mr. Worldwide Mr 305, Pitbull was wearing a polo-tee resembling Brazil's green and yellow colors and really really tight pants... while Claudia Leitte a Brazilian singer wore a tight glittering blue outfit that made her look like a gymnast from China to which I reckon didn't really go with the theme of the Brazil World Cup at all!

My buddy commented in FB that you will know it's WC season when traffic is clear in the morning and your meeting suddenly gets canceled. I also reckon that this one month is going to be a good business month for...... DOCTORS! Undoubtedly the hottest item this month is going to Medical Certificates! It's no wonder the Government is suddenly talking about setting up a central database to monitor MCs to keep medical absenteeism in check. I read in the news somewhere that medical absenteeism is costing Malaysian companies a staggering RM4 billion a year! Well, frankly I question what kind of methodology they use to derive at that figure. How do we measure losses resulting from medical absenteeism? Is it by the amount of salary paid to the worker when they are on leave? Or is it the future profit loss resulting from the worker not present at work. I think the latter is a vague assumption or guesswork at most.

Back to the kick-off match between Brazil, the game started off rather disorientated with both sides trying hard to take control of the ball with their own individual playing styles and strategies. Suddenly 11 minutes into the game, Brazilian defender Marcelo in the No. 6 yellow jersey made history by unwillingly scoring an own goal giving the Croatians 1 goal in the opening match. I reckon it's really a first in the history of World Cup, to make it more interesting, it was the opening match!

Brazil went on to win 3-1. 2 beautiful goals were scored by Neymar and one by Oscar. Game play by the Croats were, to me, rather disappointing as they didn't score any goals except for the one Marcelo helped them score! Nevertheless, things are inevitably just going to get more and more intense and exciting as the matches slowly unfolds. Interesting matches to watch are Group B's Spain vs. Holland (13 June)  and Group D's England vs Italy (14 June) or even Group G's Germany vs. Portugal (16 June). I guess it's time I get used to the routine of waking up at 3-4am to watch these 'must-watch' matches as the competition intensifies to reach the finals.

The big question is, who is going to win the 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL? Will it be the host, Brazil? Germany? Italy? France? I guess only time will tell and we have to wait till the finals to find out. After all, as the saying goes, The Ball is Round! I wonder where the heck is Paul the Octopus now? Or Mani the Parakeet from Singapore? Brazil has an answer to that... It's screw them! They have Big Head the Loggerhead Sea Turtle as their new tipster and at the run up to the opening match, Big Head has already predicted a sweet win for Brazil! I can imagine the Croat players cooking up turtle soup recipes in their heads now.

Owning real estate property you can't afford. 'Investment' or stupidity?

Property Fair Tyre Kickers?

I read from the news over the weekend that newly wed couples and young families prefer to buy landed properties as compared to condos and apartments. I feel that these people should really wake up and assess themselves. The problem is not about not enough affordable properties, it's their wrong mindsets. A 2012 household income survey found that average household income in Malaysia is RM5k (5,742 in KL). Take home pay for 5k is RM4,243 and I'm sure everyone drives a car (or 2 per household). How much would that leave them to buy a new landed property and put food on the table? Bear in mind it's per household not per individual. I'm not boasting but if I was earning RM5k a month, I wouldn't even dare to step into a property fair looking for new landed properties unless I was there to marvel at how interesting scale models of properties look.

Over the weekend I read in the newspaper about a property fair showcasing new properties and the reporter managed to interview some of the visitors and what caught my attention was how some young couples in their 30s with a kid in tow or newlyweds preferring to buy a landed property as compared to condos and apartments which are abundant in supply in Malaysia, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, it’s capital.

Now, in Kuala Lumpur, the average price for a new landed property (2-storey terrace house being the all time favorite) starts at around RM400k in least popular areas like Semenyih or Rawang (30-40km away from Kuala Lumpur via highway). These once unpopular areas are now hotting up as reputable developers are snapping up landbank there and developing houses with contemporary designs that appeal to the younger generation of buyers. With the network of highways all over KL and the greater KL, nowadays housebuyers are less reluctant to consider properties that are further way from their place of work for the sake of having a quality lifestyle. However, all this comes at the price of convenience as they might need to travel right up to 100km a day to and from work.

In my honest opinion, 90% of those who frequent property fairs that showcase new houses won’t be able to afford any of the properties showcased there. Why I say so is because every developer wants to maximize the development value of the land they purchase to maximize profits so, nowadays if they don’t have to, they would prefer not to build low or medium cost properties. Unless it’s in a rural or developing area where the household income is low and they have no choice but to make the best of their investment in land.

In urban areas such as Kuala Lumpur (or the Klang Valley) for that matter where even new houses in Rawang and Semenyih are going for RM400k and above. I’m not saying that the majority of home buyers who wants to buy their first landed property cannot afford to do so, but look at the average salaries we earn here in Malaysia. In a 2012 household income survey conducted in Malaysia, it was discovered that, average household income in Malaysia is RM5,000 per month. Around RM5,742 in urban areas. That is gross salary. Take home salary is RM4,243 after deducting EPF and SOCSO contribution and some income tax deductions. Minus a car loan, petrol, mobile phone subscription, Unifi, Astro, electricity and water I doubt that 80% of wage earners earning RM5,000 a month has anything left to even dream about buying a house. And oh yeah, I missed out monthly rental. This doesn’t apply to people from affluent backgrounds or those living at home with their parents because that is a different story altogether.

A good friend of mine gave me his insight, saying that back then when we grew up in houses instead of apartments or flats, our parents advised us that it was wise to invest in landed properties for the capital appreciation or maybe the quality of lifestyle derived from living in one. This was good advice 20-30 years ago when jobs were not that competitive and houses was relatively cheap and people could afford them with the salaries they earned. Today, where property developers prefer to build more expensive houses because the demand is there (mainly derived from foreigners, affluent individuals, investors, private investment clubs and professionals), clinging on to advise given by our parents 20-30 years ago may come across as worrying to say the least.

However, this may not be surprising in a world where credit is easily obtainable, where anything and everything can be purchased first and paid for later. Imagine a couple with a newborn with a combined household income of RM7,000 per month. Take home pay would be around 5.5k. Minus loans for two cars at say around RM1,500 a month because everybody likes to drive the latest Japanese and Korean models (or for some, German marques!) Minus 1-1.5k for rental because of the added security and convenience. Minus another 1k for credit card debts because everyone has at least 3-4 credit cards on average and there are minimum payments to be made. Another 1k goes to petrol, toll, astro, handphone bills, internet subscription, electricity, gym membership, car maintenance, insurance etc. That leaves the couple with roughly about RM1,000 for food, entertainment, shopping and other expenses. Oh, did I mention that the average household earns about RM5,000 a month? The less consumers spend on credit the nearer they would get to their dream of owning their own homes. This is not a problem with the Government for not providing affordable homes to it’s people, it’s about people having overly unrealistic expectations of property ownership which forms the bulk of people who cannot afford to buy their own homes.

It’s not a shameful thing to live in high-rise properties.

I think the first thing people should realize is that it’s not a shameful thing to live in high-rise properties. I’m sure the majority of first-time homebuyers who dream of buying landed properties are the very ones who are currently renting at flats and apartments who tell themselves every now and then that, “when I become rich I’m gonna buy a house and never going to stay in an apartment or flat again!” However, the reality of property prices today quashes that dream, the very one that holds everything together, a happy family, a better job, savings and investments etc. I believe that not everyone who start out with a dream of buying themselves a landed property in KL actually ends up realizing their dreams, not here at least.

For that matter, I believe that it is not shameful even to still be living with your parents, siblings, in-laws, friends, colleagues and so on either in a rented or owned property. It all boils down to the type of lifestyle you can afford and not about overstretching youself to achieve your dream lifestyle. It is different though, if you are rich or come from a wealthy family. But like I said, that is a totally different story altogether.

Therefore, like an old saying goes, if you don’t want your dreams shattered, don’t have big dreams to start with. It is the same ordinary Malaysians who drive big cars and live beyond their means who end up in a counseling seminar at AKPK, the counseling agency for financial education and the very same one who will help you restructure your credit card debts and outstanding loans to get you out of trouble if you are already knee deep or are just getting into it. A 30 year loan on a property is no joke. If you’re 25 today, it takes the next 30 years till you’re 55 to finally pay off that home you have been wanting to buy. Imagine if the monthly repayments are RM2,000 a month and you’re earning, say RM3,500 to 4,000, it won’t leave you much to get by every month for the next 30 years. Doesn’t that sound scary?

A couple of days I read a newspaper article about a woman in Singapore who had 4 or 5 kids and her husband died in a freak accident at the airport. She got almost a million dollars in compensation and donations from well wishers but a year later she was broke without a penny to her name. The most remarkable thing she did was use 400 thousand to invest in her brother’s business and a few thousand more on other unnecessary stuff when she should have used that money to invest in financial education for herself to begin with.

Talk about spending money you don’t have, buying things you don’t need to impress people you don’t know. Society looks down at people who like to show off with stuff they clearly cannot afford or clearly doesn’t need to be shown off in the first place. This includes owning a house you clearly can’t afford to live in.