customer service rethought

my last post was about a bit negative. okay, so you sit in KLIA for hours and listen to the bell sounds with your number never seeming to get closer and see how you feel. tell me in the same situation you would not do the same. but, as time has passed i have realized there is also some very good customer service in the country. you just need to look closer and appreciate the things malaysia brings into your life.

the first thing i noticed was the level of service you can get at a mamak stand. we all have our favorite mamak place and i am no different. the guys at who work there know me, they remember what i like and they bring it to me almost without asking. but even if i were not a regular customer, i fully believe the staff would still go above and beyond for me and do the things that are really needed in mamak.

the last two times i have had mamak, the staff has stepped in and helped me in ways i would not expect for a cheap restaurant where tipping is not required. the first time a waiter i did not know swept by the table, knocked a thumb sized cockroach off the table and stomped on it almost without breaking stride. the next time a staff member saw the rat scampering between tables and chased it away before most of the other clients had noticed. i am just lucky that i see so much of what goes on that i can appreciate the extra service.

the next great round of customer service i had was at “the curve”. i had been shopping for paint ball clothes, stop laughing really, and i had somehow lost my parking ticket. when i realized this at the auto pay, i read the sign that warned lost tickets would require a payment of RM 50 (come on USD 17, no way). so i drove up to the booth and waved the loitering staff member over and told him my predicament. after a few moments of discussion, i was paying the bloke inside the booth a RM 10 note and he was sending me on the way. this is a fee five times the weekend cost of parking. i find this to be a pretty reasonable premium to pay for the mistake of losing the ticket. and to find a staff who was able to help me adjust this was a major plus for me. i plan to do all my parking at the curve, but i will try harder to not lose my ticket.

the last customer service i have recently enjoyed was last sunday morning. i was on my way to a well earned pancake and coffee. i was sending an SMS as i drove and did not see the signs of my favorite speed trap quickly approaching. i was told i was going 92 km/j in an 80 km/j zone. this was a RM 300 fine which i could pay once the ticket was written. the kind police man, in his nice blue and white suit was very interested in my nationality, my length of time in the country and my job. these are not normally questions i answer in the west, but he seemed like i nice guy so i went with it. the next thing i knew, we had a new approach to the situation. the nice police man allowed me to expedite the payment of the fine, no ticket to lose of forget and only a third of the price he originally told me. i was off and enjoying my pancake faster than i could say “terima kasih”.

so as these three events show, there is wonderful customer service here in malaysia. in each instance the staff went well beyond what anyone in the US would have done. killing roaches and lowering fines are not something we are used to the US. these are all some of the reasons i love this country. it does leave one thinking everything can be dealt with if you just believe there are ways to get around issues. the happy people of malaysia are here to help. doesn’t it make us feel better that even if we have to sit in a queue, later when we drive to fast to blow of the steam, it will only cost us a third of the price it could of otherwise.