1. A smile. I know you’ve just experienced the customer from hell, but please greet your new customers with a smile. We appreciate that and we will certainly enjoy our experiencing dining at your place.
2. Please give your diners the menu before they ask for it. (It’s even worse when diners have to ask three to four times)
3. When your customers put their hand up, they’re not exercising, they’re actually waiting for your service. If that’s so hard, ask your manager to install the button service so customers can just press the ‘Service’ button.
4. Be honest. The waitress told my colleague that she personally thinks the sambal is nice but when my colleague (and I) tried it, it was very tasteless. Don’t recommend food if you personally think it’s not good, even though it might be the ‘Specialty of the Day’. But then again, what’s so ‘special’ about it?
5. Enjoy your job. Don’t do it with a frown or as if you are forced to do it. Remember, you are the ‘face’ of your restaurant and how you treat your customers reflect the restaurant’s overall branding.

Ok, I shall keep this post short.  I always wonder why international and established restaurants and cafes in Malaysia are able to trained their staff to be  friendly and service-oriented staff yet it’s a different situation from home-grown establishments? Anyone can provide me with the answers?

Introducing… the G word!

While the “Allah” issue remains a hot topic in the media, I also have my own story to share.

I was playing with my nephews and niece when I uttered, “OH MY GOD!”. My 8-year-old nephew looked at me in disbelief and said, “It’s a sin to say ‘Oh my God!’”

“Really?” I asked.

“YES!!!! You must say ‘Oh my GOSH!’”

“Ok… sorry… Oh my GOSH, then!”

Why is this so? Why is it a sin to say “Oh my God!”? I am not the most religious person and who am I to rant about this issue? Yet I feel that I have the right to question. I was on Facebook recently and someone was in a similar situation, too. I see a pattern here: Why are we, Muslims, are being told that it is a sin to say “God”. Why now? Why not then? Furthermore, it was a kid who told me not to say the “G” word.

Is it really wrong? When I speak Bahasa Malaysia, I will say “Ya Allah….” For example, “Ya Allah… kenapa dia macam tu??” or “Ya Allah, dia okay tak?”

If I am with my English-speaking friends, it is natural for me to say “Oh my God… tell me all about it” or “Oh my God… you’re serious? Dish!!”

For me, saying the “G” word is more about language. When I say “God”, I am referring to my religion’s God i.e. Allah S.W.T. Are kids being taught by their ustaz/ustazah that it is a sin to say the “G” word? Would they tell their students that if you say “Oh my God”, you are actually referring to the non-Muslim “God”? Thus, they must say “Oh my Allah” or in my nephew’s case, “Oh my Gosh!”

Can’t blame them. “Oh my God” is everywhere, especially when you are watching the various channels on Astro. It is a famous term and remember Chandler’s annoying girlfriend from Friends? “OOOO MMMYYYY GGGAAWWDDDDD!! Heh Heh Heh Heh”

For someone who has used the “Oh my God” for most of his life, it will be a tongue-twister to change and say “Oh my Gosh!”. I am sorry but I feel comfortable saying “Oh my God!” and I see nothing wrong in that.

OH EM GEE!!!

LESSON #1: DON’T DRIVE IF THERE’S A PROBLEM WITH THE BATTERY, BUT IF YOU’RE TOO LATE…

I was supposed to meet my cousin from Singapore at Grand Millennium hotel this past weekend. As I reached Jalan Bukit Bintang, I noticed that the battery indicator light was blinking at the dashboard. I immediately knew I was facing trouble. I dropped my mum at the lobby, before making my way home. I did not dare to drive the car around and it was safer to go back home and have the car checked the following day. As I made my way to the Bukit Bintang area, I realized the radio was switched off automatically. That’s weird. That never happened before. I switched off the air-cond as well, just to be extra careful. I decided to drive slowly and was glad that I nearly reached home. The RapidKL bus infront of me was driving slowly. The bus made a quick stop, while blocking the single lane road. As soon as the bus picked up the passenger, I stepped on the accelerator but before I knew it, I could hear the car alarm and the car immediately stopped.

LESSON #2: IGNORE THE STARING AND IMPATIENT DRIVERS

There I was, in the middle of the road, stranded.

I tried to start the car a couple of times, but to no avail. It was my first time facing such situation. Usually I will be like one of the many drivers starring at a stopped car along a highway, while swearing under my breath, cursing the driver for causing the long traffic jam. On that fateful day, it was my turn. I was alone and had no choice but to get out of the car, while waving at the other drivers, asking them to go. One car honks at me. I just gave them a panic look, assuming they would want to help.

I didn’t know what to do. A night before the incident, I already had problem with the battery so I thought that this was the same problem, except the fact that the car decided to cause this problem in the middle of a road.

LESSON #3 : CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY OR CAR MANUFACTURER (…AND YOUR FAMILY MEMBER)

I decided to call Mum first to explain to her that I am stranded in the middle of the road, meters away from home. I think I was screaming at her since she said, “Don’t scream at me. You’re stuck. There’s nothing you can do now. Go get help!!!!”

How could I possible get help? Everyone was mostly starring. I decided to be smart and called the number that’s on the top left corner of the windscreen. I seldom pay attention to the sticker, as I treat it as merely a decorative piece. You know, you just stick it there if there’s an emergency but you never assume that an emergency can always happen any time!

Since I drive a Proton, I assume they will never pick up the phone on a hot Sunday afternoon. I was greeted by a friendly voice. Before he gave me any instructions, he asked me about my details, the car’s plate number, the car’s owner, the owner’s IC number for verification purposes. It’s more like to make sure I am not driving a stolen car. After everything was checked, he instructed me to switch off the alarm which sounded very technical and complicated.

LESSON #4: GET HELP FROM STRANGERS

Half-way through the phone conversation, a motorcyclist wanted to help me push the car. I was still clueless since I do not want to be disconnected with the Proton man. However, the Proton Man told me that he will call me back after I have pushed my car to the side. I was also grateful since I was running low on prepaid as I could not bother to bring my postpaid phone. This is the time when a postpaid phone is handy.

Three men actually pushed the car. The reason? Well, it was not a straight road, we had to go slightly uphill and since I am already heavy enough, we need three people to push the car. It is even harder since it is an automatic car and the steering was half-locked since it was hard for me to turn the wheel.

LESSON #5: TO TOW OR NOT TO TOW

The friendly Proton personnel gave me two options: to tow the car to the nearest Proton Service Centre (my regular) or to tow it at the Proton HQ. Since it was a Sunday, the service centers were closed and he also suggested that I just tow the car home and tow it to the service center the next day. He was afraid that if I tow the car to the closed service centre, someone might do something to the car.

This was definitely a memorable experience and a great lesson. Just imagine if I got stuck along Federal Highway? I am surprised by Proton’s very helpful service and also the three strangers that helped me. I am very cautious of strangers but I notice their sincerity when they helped me. It has restored my confidence that there are still nice Malaysians out there!

LESSON #6: DONT’ DRIVE A PROTON

Kidding. Well, I had the car battery replaced last year and now I have to do it again? Where’s the quality, really? The battery costs below RM300, but just imagine if I have to keep changing every single year. Can’t they improve the quality so I do not have to face similar problem from time to time? I am supporting a national car here!

If you have been following me on Twitter / Facebook, I said that an insider told me that there will be a streamyx problem. Obviously, I was supposed to keep my big mouth shut until official words are out. I am aware of the technical difficulties that will happen but I did not expect it to be this soon! It was supposed to happen later in the month.

I am breaking the silence since TM has finally said something about this. Here are some information, extracted from TM website:

We wish to inform our Streamyx customers that Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) will be performing a network upgrading exercise from 11.00 pm, Friday, 12th June 2009 until 6.00 am, Saturday, 13th June 2009.

As a result, Streamyx customers nationwide may experience a disruption of service during the stipulated period. We would like to assure you that the service would resume to normal after this period. 

Happy surfing, folks!