MIBC in its efforts to increase the business profile of the co operative and benefits to its shaeholders has entered into a business arrangement  with Melawati Safety Box (M) Sdn Bhd. They are a private safe deposit box company which offers a safe and secure storage facility for individuals who want a better way to store their valuables and important documents.

Established in 2009, its comes under the umbrella of Melawati Security Sdn Bhd incorporated to provide security services.  The people behind this company provide years of  experience and expertise to make Melawati Safety Box a trusted name in safety. They include:

Dato Syed Abdul Rahman - Former CPO of Royal Malaysian Police, Bukit Aman

Dato Karuppiah Muthu – Former Director of Royal Malaysian Customs

Dato Syed Mohsen – Well known in construction industry

The premise features advance security systems using very high tech electronic and physical surveillance and vibration and heat system. Some of which are:

-  surrounded with 30.48 cm thick concrete wall with steel plates makes the vault impenetrable

-  24 hours surveillance by armed guards and CCTV systems

-  built in airtight vault specially built by Lords, a trusted name in heavy security cabinets and enclosure   systems

Size A : 5” x 5”x 23            = RM 250.00

Size B : 5” x 10” x 23         = RM 380.00

Size C : 10” x 10” x 23       = RM 430.00

Business Savvy - Guide to Customer Service

I have witnessed a great number of employees dealing with customers and doing a very bad job of it. Surprisingly not only employees but bosses themselves are guilty of poor customer service. They seem not to appreciate that customers are the very lifeline of their business.

In the words of M.K. Ghandi:

A customer is the most important visitor to our premises.
He is not dependant on us; we are dependant on him.
He is not an interruption to our work.
He is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider to our business.
He is a part of it.
We are not doing him a favour by serving him.
He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.

I relate below three stories that I witnessed. They are unfortunately true stories and they have paid their dues for failing to recognize that the customer is the most important visitor to their place. There are many more pathetic ones but these three are enough to set our businessmen to review their thoughts on customers to survive in this competitive world of attracting new businesses. 

The short-sighted Optician
I remember walking into an optician’s shop one day some years ago with a friend who needed glasses. We were referred to this lady optician by a close friend of ours. By way of small talk we did inform the optician that we were referred to her shop by a friend and gave her the name of our contact. She did not know our contact and said so. Of course we were a bit disappointed.
After choosing the correct frame my friend asked for the price. The optician quoted a price. It was well beyond the budget of my friend and he asked the optician whether she could give him a discount for the frame. She gave a tongue lashing to my friend and said he should not have tried out the frame if he was not keen on buying it. She asked for details of our contact who had referred us to the shop and said she will speak to him not to send people like us to her shop. That was the last visit to the shop and as we had predicted the shop was out of business in no time. We were not surprised.

Pharmacist who wanted out
On another occasion I walked into a pharmacy to purchase some medicines – the way pharmacies have turned out they are more sundry goods dealers than into dispensing medicines. There were two girls chatting away at the entrance to the shop.  There was no one in sight in the pharmacy and I walked between the shelves hoping to catch a glimpse of any sales person. There was none. I could not believe my eyes. Just as I was about to leave the shop one of the girls still standing outside and chatting away asked “You looking for something!” I realized she must be connected with the pharmacy and told her my needs. She did not have it, said so and continued her discussions with her friend. Later I was to discover she was the pharmacist in charge. This shop too was closed in a matter of months.

The not so cool Air-Cond Guy
Muthu not his real name advertised in the Star offering air conditioning services. I had a regular Air - Cond guy but I wanted to try out Muthu after all he is my countryman. I rang him up, told him I wished to service 4 units of air-conditioners. He was courteous and an appointment was made for 9.30am on Monday for us to meet up at the property where the air conditioners were installed. At 9.00am on the Monday morning I made my way to the property and waited for Muthu’s arrival. At 10.00am there was no sign of Muthu. I rang him up on his mobile. He did not pick it up. At 10.15 I tried again. This time he picked up his hand phone. I asked him where he was. He was in Ampang servicing another aircond, is about to finish and sought an hours postponement. Since I was at the property I had to say ok to him as I had little choice. At 11.30am there was no sign of Muthu nor a call. I rang him up again. He told me in tamil that he is on his way. I waited another hour and rang him up. There was no apology from him but he said he was suddenly called up by another client and he was attending to him and that he will be at my place by 2.00pm. I was quite ready to burst out but held my cool and said I shall wait for him. I went down had my lunch and returned to the property at 1.30pm. At 2.00pm there was still no sign of Muthu. I still gave him 15 minutes. Still no sign nor even a call. That was the last straw. I called him up and gave him the shelling of his life. I think Muthu is now out of business too as I do not see his advertisements again.   

The errors these three cases show is an indifference to the customer’s needs. We need to make sure the customer is attended to as promised. After all a sale is concluded only with a willing seller and willing buyer. If the price quoted by the customer is unreasonable you can politely tell him of your inability to meet his price and perhaps suggest an alternative. There is no reason to get upset with him.

On time management if you are held back for some reason do ring up your customer and inform him of your problem I am sure he will understand and be happy to oblige you. I have seen salesgirls in Indian shops totally ignoring a walk in customer. Either they are shy or have not been sufficiently trained by the employer on customer service. In the end it is the owner who loses out on a sale.

Some useful  pointers

• Treat every customer as special
• Courteous – focus on their needs not yours. Follow  up to ensure they are         satisfied.
• Personal – Provide one-on-one service to all customers. Show them you care         enough not only to understand their problem but also to resolve it – or         find someone who can.
• Rapid – Help customers immediately.  

Regards
Ganapathy Ramasamy,
Director MIBC   

Feedback welcome: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Users of this website are urged to spread the word around to members of our community who are self employed and need loans to purchase homes. The Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan Bhd is a wholly owned Company by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. Given below some information on how to access these facilities.
 
http://www.sjkp.com.my

Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan Bhd (798619-K)
12th Floor, Bangunan Setia 1,
15 Lorong Dungun, Bukit Damansara,
50490 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +603 2096 5000
Fax: +603 2096 5090
E-mail: SJKP Administration

SJKP has entered into arrangements with participating FIs to provide housing loans for eligible borrowers and to be guaranteed by SJKP.With the assistance of SJKP to guarantee eligible borrowers’ loan financing facilities with the banks, SJKP envisage that more Malaysians would be able to afford their own dream house.
Those who are interested to apply for the loan scheme and requires further info may contact the nearest participating FIs.We will continue to expand our services to include other Malaysian owned incorporated financial institutions in our scheme.

 Participating Financial Institutions:
BSN, ALLIANCE BANK,ALLIANCE ISLAMIC BANK, MAYBANK, BANK ISLAM,AFFIN BANK,AFFIN ISLAMIC BANK,AMBANK,AMISLAMIC BANK,EON BANK GROUP,HONG LEONG, HONG LEONG ISLAMIC BANK

Eligibility Criteria
 
• Malaysian citizen aged more than 18 years old
• Non fixed income earners such as petty traders, farmers, taxi drivers, fishermen etc.
• First time purchaser of low / medium cost residential property.
• For owner occupancy.
• Minimum gross monthly income of RM1,000.
-3rd party confirmation from government officer Category A, Chairman of Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK), Penghulu or elected representative.
-Proof of self employment i.e. business license/fisherman’s registration card.
-Other supporting documents to support income stream i.e savings a/c, unit trust a/c.
• Must resides within 20 km radius from the bank where the application is being made.
• Other conditions.
-Housing loan repayment < 40% of gross income.
-Total loan repayment < 65% of gross income.
-CCRIS record of arrears < 2 months for the last 12 months.
-No other adverse records for the last 24 months.

regards
Ganapathy Ramasamy
Director
MIBC
Tel: 0320726677/78
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

MIBC has obtained 5 Executive Taxi Permits. We wish to know if any member is interested in these permits. MIBC will not purchase cars for the purpose of running them as executive taxis. The party interested in making use of these permits will have to purchase a suitable car in the name of MIBC and pay the installments for the car. The Lembaga Pelesenan Kenderaan Perdagangan has approved the following models for Executive Taxis:

- NissanCefiro

- Mercedes Benz  E200

- Hyundai Sonata 2.4L

- Proton Perdana

- Nissan Sylphy

The price for rental of the cars and other agreements needed in the execution of this business can be worked out. For further information on the Scheme or if anyone interested is required to approach any member of the  Board of Directors. You may email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  too.

Ganapathy Ramasamy

Board of Directors, 1 June 2010