Customer service part II

Ho hum, another Raya gone by.

It always seems like the whole of Malaysia's population ends up in Kelantan during the Raya festivities. Mind you, KB is no longer the quiet town it was 20 years ago, but come Raya, the whole state is transformed. Roads get congested, restaurants are full - even Renaissance's ramadhan buffets are fully booked by 8 am in the morning! and strange as it sounds, I can almost always tell which ones are local and those who are just here for the holidays.

Despite the slowly westernizing influences, Kelantan girls are still rarely seen without their tudungs. Though, when I see them in their tight jeans, almost sleeveless, low collared baby Ts, I seriously feel like going up to them and asking "Why do you even bother huh?" - most of them are still reluctant to take the tudungs off. But seriously la weyyy...why bother? The tudungs are either a)ikat mulut itik bawah dagu and so short that they expose the nape of the neck or the skin on the chest or b)all properly tied up but for some strange reason hair is allowed to fall out of the tudungs - most of the time can be seen on motorbikes at kampung roads.

KL girls on the other hand, expose their hair unashamedly, 9 out of 10 hair has been dyed - honey blond is quite popular. In fact this isn't exclusive to the girls, KL makciks also tend to exhibit a hair colour that isn't their own. They also have a different type of walk - maybe it's the air of confidence they naturally obtain from staying in a big city. and of course, the way they speak almost always give it away too. It's the Manglish that I usually can't stand.

But anyhow, me digress. I went to KB Mall on the second day of Raya. There's a new store next to P*ci**c open. So, Abg was looking for a suitable wedding present for a colleague and we were getting desperate. Browsing through the household section, I saw some bean bag covers (though I can't really imagine seeing a bean bag in a typical Kelantan home). My old one had become dirty and covered in mould due to the lack of use but I don't really want to throw the beans away. So I chose one of a neutral colour and proceeded to the cashier. So this guy with a fancy walkie talkie asked me I wanted to pay and when I said yeah, he mumbled into his equipment, I presumed looking for the staff in charge.

Okay, you know me, I'm a stickler for customer service, yeah....if you're already open for business, get someone manning the cashier la weh! The store has been open since 10 and my watch showed 10.20 and you still had to find someone at that time? 10 mins passed by and all I get are a bunch of temps walking in a group in between the aisles, zombie-like and of not much use to me. I was already starting to grumble, in a voice loud enough that the group of temps started to walk away from the vicinity of the paying booth.

After 15 mins of futile waiting, I left. Stupid idiots. Didn't even get my chance to exhibit my bekengness to anyone. If this had happened at Jusco, I'll be heading straight to the customer feedback booth pouring out my discontentment on a piece of their stationery. But the thing is, this sort of thing wouldn't even happen in Jusco in the first place.

You people at KB Mall, yeah, you management people....you can copy the physical aspects of big chain stores all you like, but if your staff is as crappy as they are that day, jgn harap la. I only visit your store because of the lack in choice. If Jusco were to open in KB, jangan harap la nak jumpa muka nie dekat P*ci**c/H*me M*rt ok?

Think that's the end of the story? No way Jose! Later that evening brought the gang out for dinner (tip for future KB Mall visitors, if you're planning to catch up on stories and having a nice conversation with friends, don't bother eating at the shop next to the bowling alley, it was so noisy I can barely hear myself think!) and Abg decided he'd get the Visions set. We chose quickly and queued up to pay. Sebesar-besar second floor of P*ci**c tu, they cleverly opened only one cashier and of course, the slowest, most stupid staff was working that night! After ten mins of waiting, the first customer in line still haven't left! The makcik standing in front of Abg started to get restless. Promoters were starting to pile things up on the counter. Then came this Ah So (supervisor kot) and Abg stopped her in her tracks and said "Tak boleh ke awak bukak counter lain untuk bayar?" - she asked what Abg was paying for and even lifted the box, walking towards the outside of the store where an idle cashier is waiting for people to buy clothes at the longgok section. The next thing I know, the rest of the queue followed us!

Hello! What crap management is this? A thousand of Zings are just waiting to be bombarded but Ah So left quickly, so takde can I nak laser dia.

Okay la, I bukan management oriented but even I can tell that you must be doing something wrong if this is how you manage your store. Why don't you go to other successfull chain stores and see how they do it? I've always enjoyed shopping at Jusco - the staff are so friendly, the advantages of the loyalty card are endless - they even give discounted parking if you're a card holder.

Ini, parking in KB Mall dah la already tak cukup to cater to the post gaji, weekend group - last time I saw, they actually converted the first floor parking to expand the store! Apa punya plan nie? So ppl actually park anywhere they want, blocking already narrow roads and what nots....

My solution? Apart from hoping that Jusco might be interested in opening in KB, be there at 10 am on a saturday morning and leave by 12 noon, saves me the hassle and heart ache and much easier on the blood pressure....