Make us proud!

When Heidi DuBois-Robinson, 43, came in for a hair coloring, her suit got stained. She took it to the cleaners, but the stain remained. So she called DiJulius, who sent her a $385 check for a new suit, no questions asked. He also threw in a free facial and pedicure.

Have you ever experienced similar service recovery by any hair salon in Malaysia? If you have, please tell me. I will be a loyal customer.

Probably that explains the absence of Malaysian companies around the world. Naturally, a company or salon sets up shop in every city if demand for its service is immense. 1st class customer service cuts across cultural boundaries, language barriers and income groups. McDonald is a classic example. Starbucks is another. Can you think of a Malaysian brand that commands worldwide demand?

P.S. If you have international ambition for your company, read about John Robert's Spa and 5 other companies on how to deliver world class customer service. Simply put, how to treat customers well. Make us, Malaysians proud! Boleh,tak?

Show Me The Money!

A recent trip to Dubai by the Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor made him very angry. He was angry because the Arabs and travel agents in Dubai told him that the Malaysian taxi drivers and traders overcharge them, the cabs stink and the poor knowledge by unsmiling frontliners. Probably, the tourism minister is shocked because he was expecting the Arab tourists to say nice things about Malaysia. He must be expecting the same response as the usual response you would see in TV3 when the tv crew goes around town interviewing the western tourists. (The standard responses are 'Malaysians are very nice, warm & friendly'. Malaysians, especially Malaysia Airlines hostess, treat westerners extra nice).

The ironic part is whether the tourism minister would be angrier if his fellow Malaysians told him the same thing. I guess probably not. Why? My take is because his portfolio (responsibility) is tourists, not locals. The second reason is spot on. He said, “We need their business. They spend three times more than visitors from other countries.”

So my fellow Malaysians, if you want frontliners to smile at you, you got to increase your spending (at least the same amount as the Arab tourists)! Boleh,tak?

What's Your Excuse?

See the 7 ‘golden rules’ on how to treat customers well. I said to myself, ‘No way!' The 7 rules may look simple but I have yet to encounter a company that practices it’. Well, maybe one or two rules but not all 7 rules.

Many companies can’t follow all the 7 rules because of these possible reasons.

1) Take the time to listen.

Reason 1 : We are too busy. We have too many customers to attend to and we are short handed.
Reason 2 : If we take time, as call agents, we are considered underperformers because the key performance indicator is to complete the call with a customer within 9 seconds.

2) Respond promptly and accurately to questions and problems.

Reason 1 : Sorry, my department doesn’t handle your problem.
Reason 2 : I can’t help you. I have no clue what you are talking about. Bye.

3) Don't rigidly adhere to company policies when the policies do disservice to a particular customer.

Reason 1 : I must follow. Do you want me to get sacked?
Reason 2 : A policy is there for a reason. (Even though I don’t know the reason).

4) Offer outstanding warranties on products and services and stand behind them.

Reason 1 : It is too expensive.
Reason 2 : We have sales quota to meet. No time or incentives to service our existing customers.
5) Educate the customer about products and services.

Reason 1 : We sell such an obvious product. Customers ain’t that stupid.
Reason 2 : No budget for customer education programs.

6) Go the extra mile when problems arise.

Reason 1 : What for? It is not my own problems.
Reason 2 : I got a backlog of problems to fix.

7) Provide value beyond product.

Reason 1 : Customers are paying for the product. Nothing beyond that.
Reason 2 : Our product is the value.


So, what is your reason (or excuse)?

Malaysia a Land of Smile?

Malaysians have been asked by Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Donald Lim to play their role in welcoming the world to the country and help promote Visit Malaysia 2007. Another interesting statement by State Tourism Hospitality Committee chairman Cheang Chee Gooi caught my eye. He said the state would not tolerate front line people in the industry who were discourteous to tourists. “We expect these people to be courteous, friendly and helpful,” he said. This directive from the State Government clearly shows Malaysian front liners are not naturally courteous, friendly and helpful. Hence, you need to be ordered by a goverment minister. These acts become part of the job requirements instead of part of our way of life. I think every Malaysian accepted the fact the customer service in Malaysia is 3rd class. (My 1st hand experience was MAS, Litrak and PLUS highways). Malaysia is not a land of smiles. The title belongs to Thailand.

Malaysia’s tagline to tourists is "Truly Asia". Sometimes, I wonder whether what Malaysia offers is truly Asia. As I think hard enough, I found several. In general, Asians don’t smile to strangers (except Thais), public toilets are dirty (except Singapore), taxis drivers con tourists (except Singapore), locals are courteous only to tourists (except tourists from 3rd world countries). I may be accused of being unpatriotic if I highlight only the other (ugly) side of Malaysia. Well, like all sales pitch, if the salesman only tells you all the positive things, you naturally doubt him, right? For the positive side of Malaysia, you can visit Tourism Malaysia's website. For example, the main attraction of Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign is the ‘Eye on Malaysia’, a giant ferris wheel. It is built at the cost of RM30 million (complement of the tax payers again) and it will cost an adult RM15 and a child RM8 for a 12 minutes ride.

See you at the ‘Eye on Malaysia’.

Official Air Transport of "BolehLand"

In the past few months, I noticed Malaysian Airlines (MAS) has been in the news headlines. Not only did MAS post a surprising profit in the recent quarter, the headlines highlight MAS new partnerships, new rates, revision of routes and investment in IT systems. Specifically, the tangible technology investments received much press coverage. I wonder whether after reading these numerous articles, the Malaysian public is calling MAS call centre or booking flights online in great numbers this coming holiday season. Conversely, do customers flock to an airline because it gives friendly and satisfying customer service a.k.a. world class customer service?

The press coverage of MAS reminded me of an incident I happened to observe in a MAS flight from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka last year. While preparing for take off, a distraught Bangladeshi asked help from the stewardess. As the stewardess was too busy getting ready to take off, she told the Bangladeshi off. Her facial reaction reaffirmed that point. My colleague and I were shocked by her treatment towards the Bangladeshi. Then, being typical Malaysians, we rationalized that he deserved it because he is a migrant worker. With that observation, I concluded that if you are a migrant worker from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myammar or third world countries, you will receive 3rd class treatment by MAS. However, if you are migrant worker or rather expatriate, from America, Europe or developed countries, you will receive 1st class treatment (even though you are sitting in economy class). So what if you are a Malaysian. Well you will receive 2nd class treatment (That’s what I call home advantage). Why not 1st class you may ask. Well we Malaysians have an unexplainable tendency to treat people from Europe or America better. I’m not sure it has anything to do with being colonized few decades ago. (Clue : Master – slave relationship).

A proud fact is MAS always win the Skytrax 5 star rating. Yet, I have never experience a 5 star rating service. I can bet no Bangladeshi has ever experience 5 star rating service too (Any Bangladeshi out there who beg to defer with me?). Then it dawn on me when I tried to seek the answers from Skytrax website. The market researchers probably surveyed caucasian passengers from developed countries. A truer and balanced survey would give the following results :

Malaysia Airlines Star Ranking

1. Cabin Staff Service

a. Economy Class - service efficiency
= 4 Stars (for caucasian passengers)
= 3 Stars (for passengers from Malaysia with titles such as Tan Sri, Dato, Datuk, Datin aka VIP)*
= 2 Stars (for passengers from Malaysia without any titles aka not Very Important Person)
= 1 Star (for passengers from 3rd world countries)

b. Economy Class - staff attitude & friendliness
= 5 Stars (for caucasian passengers)
= 3 Stars (for passengers from Malaysia with titles such as Tan Sri, Dato, Datuk, Datin aka VIP)
= 2 Stars (for passengers from Malaysia without any titles aka not Very Important Person)
= 1 Star (for passengers from 3rd world countries)

c. Responding to Passenger Requests
= 5 Stars (for caucasian passengers)
= 3 Stars (for passengers from Malaysia with titles such as Tan Sri, Dato, Datuk, Datin aka VIP)
= 2 Stars (for passengers from Malaysia without any titles aka not Very Important Person)
= 1 Star (for passengers from 3rd world countries)

* Malaysians are a class conscious society. The consciousness is probably due to the remnants (or legacy) of the British colonial masters. These titles are similar to the British tiles such as Sir, Lord, Baron, Knighthood and the list goes on.

Fear not my fellow Malaysians, if you don’t resemble a white man or woman or don’t possess any title of nobility, the way out is get a title. However, before doing that, you may want to read this information.

Good luck on your next flight. Going beyond expectations.