Kelab Community Cyberjaya…….it’s worth visiting

I guess you all are tired of food and restaurants reviews. So let’s look at a different area of service.

Kelab Community which is located in Taman Tasik Cyberjaya is the latest addition to the Cyberjaya project. This place is a sport complex which offers number of different sports. The list of sports includes Futsal, Badminton, Basketball, Gymnasium, Pool/billiard, Squash, Tennis and Golf. It also contains a swimming pool too. In addition to this, there are other exercising tools located in different places of the place so that joggers can easily use them without any cost. Apart from sports, the place also provides function halls, meeting rooms, projectors, screens and other audio equipments.

The affordable prices are one of the reasons why this place is worth visiting. The hourly charge of futsal ranges from RM55 to 65 while other futsal centres located in other towns charges RM80-100 per hour. Basketball is free of charge before 6 pm and only RM10 is charged after that. Badminton and squash charges RM10 per hour before 6pm while 12pm is charged after wards. Gymnasium equipped with the latest equipments charges only RM5 per entry. Most attractive price is the amount charged for golf. 50 balls are at the rate of RM3.50 while 100 balls are at the rate of RM7 only. This is a great opportunity to experience the worlds most highly paid sport.

The prices offered are not the only special factor. The motivated and friendly staffs add extra value to the place. I am one of the regular customers of Futsal. Some of the staffs in the reception greet me by name which gives me a different feeling. Its worth noting that the English level of the staffs is better compared to most of the staffs in other service encounters. Sometimes they provide extra hours to play if the court is not booked by others. Such flexible service makes the place special. The sports friendly environment, spacious halls and car parking facilities provides extra value to the level of service provided.

The place operates from 9am to 11pm. Some customers noted that the place closes too early and added that it should continue till 1pm or 2pm. Despite this, due to the vast range of sports offered and the quality of the service makes this place the ideal place for entertainment for all kinds of people around Cyberjaya and Putrajaya.

Shanghainese Feel At Tu-Long

On Saturday, my friends and I went to Mid Valley. When we reach there, it’s already lunch time. One of them suggested we go for the Chinese restaurant, “Tu Long” which famous for its “La Mian” and “Xiao Long Bao”, which both is Shanghai cuisine. The restaurant is situated opposite Mid Valley Megamall.

When we stepped in to the shop, the attendants keep on saying “Welcome” to us. I never had been to a restaurant where so many attendants greeted me at the same time and non-stop. All the female service attendants are dress in Chinese traditional clothes and surprisingly they can speak very well Mandarin (some are even speaking Mandarin in China slang). I think perhaps they are from China. :) The atmosphere was relaxing and looked classy because of the background music and the attire of the service attendants.

The attendants are always in stand-by mode because after we finish order, there are still two to three waitresses standing near to our table, prepare to help us refill our drinks or help us out. I had the “La Mian” with vegetables and minced pork which the broth was tasty. Unfortunately, the bowl of “La Mian” is big, but the food is only small portion, was not enough for me. L

I had to say the waitresses are really alert. When she saw my friend and me trying hard to cut the big piece of meat, she automatically walked to us and asked us whether need her help to cut for us. Wow, good service! Although one of my friend feel uncomfortable to have so many eyes looking at her when she is eating.

We ended up paying RM92 for four people. It’s a bit expensive I would say but if looking at it’s services, it is worthwhile. The entire dining process was pleasing, just that when we leave the restaurant, I nearly slipped off because of the wet floor. They did not put a signage there. This was the only thing which I was not happy with.

Boomer's Medical Crisis

When my kitten, Boomer got hurt, it was 8.30 PM. He had a very bad wound, his flesh was torn out of his body near the right leg. We didn't even know what was the source of it because 10 minutes ago he was playing and running and having fun. Worst of all, he just got well from a bad diarrhea problem he had one week ago.

Me and my boyfriend panicked that our baby kitten was hurt so badly. Boomer in his carrier and brought him to the vet. Baby Pets was closed, so was Tickle Pet house (another vet in the same area).

We went back home and got on the internet to search for any other vets the area. One was open and charged RM53 for consultation fees alone.The other vets were closed. We had no choice but to wait the next day,and sprayed our little baby with an animal healing spray that we bought at the pet store.

It was very stressful because he was hurt and we could not do anything.He did not seem to be in a lot of pain and my friend who was studying veterinary in UPM told me cats don't feel the hurt on superficial wounds.

So the next day we waked up early and took Boomer to Baby Pets which is a vet near Jaya Jusco in Sri Kembangan. The doctor said that Boomer's wound was bad and it was a clean cut. It needed stitches. He told me for the surgical procedure, it will cost RM150. Then he had to wear the Elizabethean Collar which is like a plastic cone over the cat's head so that it won't lick the wounds. That was RM12. Then his ears was infected by ear mites and the medicine cost RM28. In total it would cost RM190.

But since we love Boomer so much, he is priceless so even though I am avery poor student, I still signed the consent form for the surgery anddidn't mind paying. 3 hours later I picked up Boomer and he was stilldrowsy from the anesthesia. The poor thing had a cone-collar-likethingie over his head and he looked so sad and depressed. The fur wasshaven in the area of his wound and there were 6 stitches. His ear wasnot full of the puffy fur, but instead it was all oily and shrivelledbecause of the medication. I was so heartbroken, but happy because thewound was close and everything seemed to look well and I know thedoctor has done a good job because he is an animal-lover himself. The doctor said Boomer never made a noise. But Boomer is like that, he is brave and not talkative.

There were so much medication, pills, and external medication to bring back. I requested pills because it is easier to feed than the normal syrup (Boomer loves spitting it out onto his white fluffy fur!). There was another great surprise, I told the doctor's wife (who is also a vet there) that I am a student in MMU. So for everything they charged onlyRM140!

Baby Pets is a great and reliable vet. They gave me a discount just because I am a student and they could see how much I loved by baby cat.So far this is the best vet I've visited. Boomer is recovering slowly now, he seems depressed with the collar on his head but if I take itout he will start pulling and biting his stitches, but he'll be OK. He will have a nasty battle scar, and his thick fur will grow back soon.Right now there is still the mystery on "What wounded Boomer?"If anyone could comment on what they think happened, that'd be great!

Professional Sales Assistant @ SEED

I couldn’t manage to take any photos this time because it’s the policy of the shop which does not allow shoppers to take photos. 

Since now is Malaysia Mega Sales, and my hobby is shopping, for sure I will not miss out the chance to grab all my favorite clothes, shoes, bags, etc. I went to Mid Valley during the weekend. There were so many people because this was the first day for the sale. I managed to grab some of my favorites.

Many people think that during sales period, the sales assistants are busy, tiring of serving customers, and normally customers will not be treated as good as non-sales period. In fact, I also have the same opinion before this. But not all the shops are same. I had a different experience in SEED fashion in Mid Valley. At first, I just think of go in and had a look, never think of buying anything.

When I walked into the shop, the sales assistant welcomed me in a good manner. Although I only have the intention to buy those clothes at cheaper price, she still served me with good manner. Unlike some sales assistant who will ignore customers who buy cheaper products. She helped me to find the suitable size of the shirt, matching colors, and introduced me some of the discounted apparels (because I tell her my budget :p). She is really professional in her job. If every salesperson in our country has the same attitude as her, I am sure Malaysia will be a real shopping paradise.

Personalized hair style is good : )

Ok, back when I was in primary school and secondary school student, I used to had my hair cut in the classic Indian Barber shop where you can usually find in town. With those red,white and blue roller thing outside the shop, its pretty easy to spot one. As u might know, they cut your hair without question asked. They would just assume you want your hair cut like everyone else.

Nowadays, I being introduced to a friend of mine, Dino who running a saloon. I like the service his offer and I patron his service. The thing I like about hair stylist is, they listen to my opinion and request. Sometimes I can even enquire information about styles while Dino gives some recommendation to me.

Special request like trimming the hair or even the length of the front part of the hair are all responded and executed nicely. Detail customization like: whether how long I want to keep my side burn is all taken into consideration.

Some times cross selling to your customer might sound a bit business minded, but for me, I like myself to be exposed to extra information. I don’t find products offer annoying, offers like styling gel and special hair treatment is worth a try because who know I might try some day.

And as I visit Dino's place often and we knew each other more, I get special a special shoulder massage as a value adding service. And that’s the reason why I switched from the cheaper barber hair cut service. Customization is important especially in service.

Dino's Saloon, Dino de Art

Inconsistent Services During Sales

Like everyone else in this planet, who doesn’t love a good sale? Getting stuff for a bargain price, paying half price instead of full price. 10% or 70% or whatever value it may be, we feel good shopping and knowing we save some money or we bought something expensive for a lesser price.

I won’t complain about KL sales. They are awesome! I get great discounts and usually I run to their bargain bin or 70% of section to find a deal I can’t resist.

However the only thing I want to complain about is the inconsistent service at department stores. Do you notice how you go shopping when there is no sale, the salespeople treat you like a king? And during a sale, they sometime ignore you and it’s so hard to find assistance?

I guess it’s not them to blame. During a sale at any department stores the retail workers are usually more busy then ever because of the volume of people which suddenly floods the store, some going amok when they see the discounts. And they also have to re-arrange some items,making them extra tired as usual. And also they have to run around to meet the customers demand.

But sometimes I wish they DID treat you like how they would during non-sale days during their big sale. It just makes you feel more appreciated. After all, we do spend more during the sale season right?

dragon-i

The other day, I was celebrating my friend's birthday in 1utama. I walked past Dragon-i, and I had this sudden craving for xiao loong bao (steamed pork dumpling shanghainese style).



The shop is closing by the time I went in. They are letting the customers to have the last call of food. So i ordered two dish of xiao loong bao.

After that I asked for the bill. What I don't like about this restaurant is they tend to accumulate all the bills when there are customers asking for the bill the same time as you. I was rushing to get to the carpark but instead I have to wait for the waiter to slowly collect the money from other tables and slowly preceeding to the cashier.

And then slowly, he distributes the change and receipts back to the customers.

Frustrated!

In Search of Teh Tarik 3

For the next Destination, I was planning to try Starbucks’ version of Teh Tarik too, to compare with Strudell’s Vanilla The Tarik. But I am really over budget… and then I decided to stop by Carefour Subang Jaya before I head home.

The food court is name Cili Padi, sounds very local. And the first food stall, In Kopitiam is my favourite. It reminds me of Ipoh style of Kopitiam. I ordered a Teh Tarik to compare with Strudell’s Vanilla The Tarik.

I approached the counter and start to order.

“Kak, Teh Tarik satu?” *one Teh Tarik please?*

“Takde Teh Tarik lah. Tak boleh tarik lah” *there’s no Teh Tarik, we can’t do Teh Tarik here*

“Oh… Takde ke? Ada Teh biasa tak?” *Oh, seriously? Do you have normal Milk Tea?*

“Ade. Nak makan ape-ape ke?” *yes, we have it. What do you want to eat?*

“Tak, tak, itu saje.” *nope, that’s all*

The best part of In Kopitiamis their efficiency. Their kitchen is well organized and therefore preparing the food/drink is quick. The serving speed of In Kopitiamis slightly faster than Strudell, maybe because of the kitchen of In Kopitiam is busier than Strudell. In Kopitiam have a nice and friendly serving attitude.

This is the “Teh Biasa” I ordered. They let the customer enjoy their sweet time stirring the milk inside the tea (I love doing that). And the Tea from In Kopitiamis much more milkier than Strudell (I believe they added fresh milk into it). Although no Vanilla flavour is in the Tea but the taste of the Teh is much more richer compare to Strudell.

Good product, nice service with a reasonable price. I will definitely come again.

-Service Quality – 4/5

-Product – 4.0/5

-Customer Satisfaction – 5/5

-Comment – should have more variety in terms of drinks.

In Search of Teh Tarik 2

Now, I am in Strudel because of Strudell's good advertising skills and most of all, Chicken Rice Shop’s poor service.

I have a good first impression on Strudell. Strudell have nice interior design and have a great atmosphere. Strudell using the self service style to let the customer serve their own self. Giving freedom to customer to browse around, instead having a salesperson to stare at you the whole time. I like the freedom they give and taking my own sweet time browsing. And they left me alone to take pictures on the cakes and stuffs giving me enough freedom to browse and take my sweet time.

Ok, now that I decided to order, “Excuse me?”

The waiter quickly responds, I was impressed because I need not to wait.

“Yes, Sir. How may I help you sir?” said the waiter. I was amaze by the warm welcome.

“Errr... One Vanilla Tea please?”

“Oh… Did you mean by Vanilla Teh Tarik?”

And I think. “Oh, was it Teh Tarik? It was on the banner.”

“Yup, it is. Coming right up. Please have a seat while you wait, sir.”

The Vanilla Teh Tarik took only a while to finish. And I took some picture before my first sip. The taste of the Tea was not strong (maybe the water was too hot when brewing). But the Vanilla flavor is the main focus of the tea, the Vanilla flavour matches with the Teh Tarik nicely, making the drink tastes richer than ordinary Teh Tarik.

I take a look on the interior design of Strudell. They have nice, cozy design to present a relax and comfotable atmosphere. There also a sofa for customer to sit and relax.
One thing I like the most of the environment is their lighting. Their lighting is cozy inside and outside u can get some nice sun light. And the air conditioning is not bad too. Even though the Tea might not taste like what I expected but I had enjoyed my time finishing the Vanilla Tea.

Conclusion, good service makes customer happy.

-Service Quality – 3.5/5

-Product – 3.5/5

-Customer Satisfaction – 4.5/5

-Comment – Should offer more food in the menu.

In Search of Teh Tarik 1

I was in KL Central, i was thinking that maybe I could write a blog for Service Marketing’s blog. It was a long day, I was tired and thirsty and I was trying find some place where I can get some refreshment and rest for a while. Then these banners caught my attention.

I browsed the menu and I found something that I like - “Vanilla Tea”, it sounds nice. And I think to myself: “I never knew that The Chicken Rice Shop offer such a variety of drinks, impressive…”

And then… standing in front of The Chicken Rice Shop, I waited for them to approach me. But they seem to be very busy at the moment. I waited for about 3 minutes.

Then I decided to take more pictures… “Please allow us to seat you” hmmmm… the company’s service scripting is good but the service lacks implementation. They seems as if they are ignoring me or something. I guess I will just make it Strike 1 for now.

Ok, now that I am finally being escorted into the shop. I take a look around of the interior design. The shop is having a traditional kopitiam look. But, It is a little warm and humid inside. To make it worst the air is oily. They certainly needs to improve on the air conditioning. To make it worst, the renovation of the shop is full of warmth color (Yellow paint with yellow light).

I ordered “Vanilla Tea” but the waiter told me

Waiter: “Nope, errr… ah… we don’t have that.”

Me: “But I pretty sure that I saw it written on the banner.”

Waiter: “Nope, I am sure, ah… we don’t have that.”

Me: “Hey, I just saw that outside...” I beginning to lose my patient… arguing with your customer, huh? And I am getting really confused… and suddenly he left me unseated to the cash registry. and i guess that's Strike 2

I went outside and I lead him to the banner “This.” I said

After a few second pause, he says: “Ah… Strudel…”

Me: “What?”

Waiter: “This is Strudel…”

Me: “What do you mean?” I really can’t understand his English. This is getting too long! Just give me the thing I ordered!

Waiter: “The shop next door.”

Me: “You mean that this banner here belongs to the shop next door?”

Waiter: “Yes…”

I am getting really frustrated because of all these confusion. And I am still tired and hungry, I just want to sit down and relax.

Waiter: “So…” the waiter cut in and say,“Do you still want the Tea?”

Based on his tone, he say as if I am not their potential customer. For me, it sounded like "So, you want to go to next door instead?"

And very well, that’s it, Strike 3

“No, thank you.” I replied. I am not going to pay with this kind of service. Especially with serve by this type of waiter.

-Service Quality - 1/5

-Customer Satisfaction – 1/5

-Comment – Business minded (realistic). Bad handling of Customer

chilis

For those who do not know what Chilis is, it is a bar&grill restaurant that serves mexican food located at Midvalley, Bangsar, and 1 Utama.

Chilis is also a great place for people to hang out and watch football together. They have a bar at in the restaurent and when sometimes there is a big match, people will gather there, grab a drink and cheer for their favourite team on air.

Its been a long time since I've last dined there. The moment you step into Chilis, you can feel a very home-y, cosy and friendly kinda ambience. The waiters and waitresses are trained to serve you well.

But i once met a waiter there who was so calculative. There is this beverage in Chilis which is calle the bottomless drink. If u order that drink u can ask for a refill, on one condition. YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO SHARE THE DRINK. And that waiter had the nerve to stare at us the whole time, making sure that we don't share the drink. How rude! I've met some nice waiters who let us share the drink and even let us refill our drink more than 1 time.

This time, I was very hungry. I ordered this prawn and citrus fried rice. As a old timer in Chilis, I know that they serve their food in a BIG plate, but the amount of food is quite little. I told my friend this and she had the nerve to ask the waiter to add more rice to my plate!

In which, surprisingly the waiter chuckled and agreed. How nice :)

As you can see, with EXTRA rice :D

My friend love this dish! A lot! This is the fajita nachos (pronouced as fa-hi-ta). They used to serve guacomole ( mashed avocado) with this dish, free. Now they no longer serve it free. You have to pay an additional RM1.50 to add a scoop of it. How sad :( They only serve the sour cream for free.


Well, if you guys like to try something new. Head on to your nearest Chilis to have a try!

PayPal --- The "Life Saver"

For those of you who are familiar with eBay, I'm sure you know how you can trust a seller or buyer. You can of course check their credibility based on their feedback score.

So for people who love shopping on eBay (I know I do because the stuff like are not sold here in lousy Malaysia!), obviously feedback ratings are very important. If we have a very bad feedback score, people may not want to buy your item (even if it's dirt cheap) because there's a sense of mistrust. And you would also have problem bidding if you have a low feedback score sometimes. The seller won't trust you and of course all they want is a hassle free customer who will pay no matter what in the end.

I have a good feedback score. 21 with 100% positive and registered in the USA. It's no problem for me bidding on items, but of course, I check on the seller's feedback to make sure I won't get cheated on my own cash. You see, I buy items which cost up to RM900 so if the seller suddenly disappears, my money will be gone just like that.

But this is not about eBay’s service. I want to talk about Paypal. It’s an online service which is owned by eBay. Basically Paypal is what Americans do to pay anything online, even to pay an individual or anyone with a valid identity. You can use Paypal to pay for eBay winnings, flight tickets, stocks, and almost anything. Some people even use Paypal’s donate banner on their website so people can click on it and donate money to the individual/company via Paypal. Paypal's money comes from any American bank account or Visa or MasterCard and even Amex. So since I obviously don't have an American bank account, I use my MasterCard with Paypal.

Paypal's service is not only flexible, it's just awesome. It has this feature which is call "Paypal buyer protection". One day I bought this expensive bracelet watch on eBay which retails for RM500. So I paid using Paypal under the "buyer protection" service with no extra charge.

The seller was an eBay "Power seller" with over 2000 satisfied customers. After I paid, he immediately post the item from the US to Malaysia and gave me the tracking number for the parcel.

After 3 weeks my item did not arrive. Since the watch is so expensive I was obviously worried. The tracking number existed so it means that the seller DID mail me the item, it just didn't arrive somehow. I called everything I could think of, Pos Malaysia's HQ, my local post office, I even called KLIA's parcel department to ask them if my item has arrived. And with no success I was starting to get scared. So the American post people said it takes up to 2 weeks to arrive so obviously my item is lost in the mail (stolen by a postman) or stuck in customs(I heard luxury items was charged high taxes). So through Paypal I opened a 'Dispute' to inform the Paypal authorities that I did not receive my item despite it being paid already. And less than a week, my money, every single cent was credited back to my credit card. I was so happy and glad and I just feel so safe shopping with Paypal. That’s what I call great service!

So I did not get the watch, but at least I received all of my money.And the next day I went to the shop and bought the watch I was suppose to receive.

The Irresponsible and Unhelpful --> MK LAND

Refer back to my previous post about the flood happened in Cyberia, this is the unfinished story of it. When the flood happened in Cyberia, the place that flooded the most is the basement parking which I parked my car there!!! Here’s the pictures’ showing how my car ended in the flood.

What I was so angry and frustrated about is that when there was water flowing into the car park, why there is no one that can help to spread the news or even make announcement so that residents can go and move their car from the parking lot. The 1^st unit that I wanted to blame is MK Land. They are the owner and management group of Cyberia. Why they didn’t have someone to announce or warning the residents when the flood is happening.

After seeing my car and other’s car “swimming” inside the car park, we decided to call the security and the management stuff. They arrive after 30 minutes we called them. So unprofessional displayed by them. So after they came, we tell them what actually happened and ask them what they can do for us. You know what answer we get from the stuff from MK Land? He said the water level was too high, he can’t do anything and MK Land also can’t do anything. Oh! What an excuse! We asked him whether can help us to call someone who can pull our cars out from the car park. He replied us by saying its middle of the night now, and all shops were closed. Wait tomorrow he said to us and then he left. Leave us helpless at the car park ourselves.

What the hell? We had paid for the parking fees every month and maintenance fees annually. This is not the kind of service that we deserved to get. We deserve a better service with the price we paid. The attitude showed by the security and MK Land stuff was not pleasant and couldn’t give us a satisfied solution to the problem we facing.

So we ended up by gathered all of our friends to help us pushed out the cars. The bunch of friends and people were more helpful and friendly compare to the security and MK Land management stuffs. We work hard on our own to “Save” our cars from the “swimming pool”. And this was how we did it.

BRAVO GUYS !!!

The “Unexpected” Cyberia FLOOD !!!

For those who stayed at Cyberia or having their car parked at the Cyberia will know that few days ago there was a big flood happened in Cyberia. After long hours of heavy rain the car park building was being flooded. The basement of the car park building was the part that seriously been flood. The water level of the flood came to the highest level of almost 1 meter. Most of the car that parked in there are all “wet” and being cover half by water.

Since long ago, the drain of that car park building was not functioning well and the water pump system also having problem. So that whenever there is a rain, the car park will be flooded. The management of Cyberia didn’t pay much attention on this issue and didn’t take any action to solve the problem. i felt so disappointed with them.

My “Unpleasant” Journey with Sri Maju

Last week, I spent a wonderful weekend in my hometown. I was so reluctant to come back KL, but I have to because I have classes on Tuesday. Monday morning, my mum sent me to the station; as usual, I bought a single seat ticket. I checked in and settle down. It was a rainy day, I decided to spent my 3 hours journey by sleeping.

When I got seated, I felt it was extremely cold. Although I already turn off the air-condition at my place. Later, I found out that the wind came from the seat behind me. A man who is in his late fifties was sitting behind me. He did not want the air-condition and turned it to me. He can just off it but he didn’t do so. It made me freeze. I tried to ignore the coldness and continue my nap.

Suddenly, I felt someone kicking my chair non-stop. Once again, I turned to the back and staring the old man. I wished I have the courage to ask him stop kicking the chair and respect to others. But, I failed to do so. How am I going to continue my sleep? Luckily there was an empty seat at the last row. I managed to change my seat. Hurray! Another important reason I want to change my place is to snatch some photos of the jay customer.

When I sat at the back row, I could clearly see how inconsiderate that old man was. He just simply put his leg high on the front seat, pulling the curtain rudely and also making a lot of noise when he fell asleep. It was disgusting to see his action.

The entire journey supposes to be pleasing because the bus driver was kind of polite and the bus was clean. And I suppose to get a good seat and good nap. Unfortunately, the jay customer who misbehaved had screw up the whole journey of the passengers. Sometimes, good service experience not just depend on the service provider, it is still much depend on other customers as well.