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TO BENEFIT THE CONSUMER
FEB 4, 1996 -
THE STAR
By S. Hadi Abdullah
THE issue of greed came up during a discussion on ancient
philosophers. Plato had spoken about this and how, very
slowly, luxuries became necessities. Among other things, you
have the ubiquitous car, branded goods, and golf courses in
Malaysia.
Do we know what are necessities and what are luxuries? Do we
know when is enough? Or are we "bombarded" and influenced into
thinking that what we do not need is what we really need. If
that is so, we are just going to join the rat race and be
swept along with the tide, without even knowing why we are
doing one thing or another.
Many managers say that they are working hard for their
families and when told to picture themselves after
retirement, they often talk of seeing themselves at home with
their spouses, spending time with their grandchildren. A truly
happy and warm forecast.
But look at them now; they are very busy, at times needing
more than one mobile phone. Busy networking (cornering
contracts), calling on clients, turning companies around,
clubbing and doing numerous other tasks to be successful.
The word success itself seems to mean a big house, a
presentable car, enough cash, golf club membership and
property that could raise the eyebrows of neighbours.
Somehow, nearly all measurements of success seem to be
materialistic. It is very clearly money related we seldom
hear of education, a happy family, wisdom or contribution to
society. Alas, we seem to work so hard to make our families
happy, while at the same time "neglecting" them or
substituting money for love.
Suchmacher raised this point in the 70s and lately Prof
Charles Handy (author of Gods of Management and The Empty
Raincoat) talks of the same thing: that modern man is so
influenced and carried away that he goes on acquiring more and
more wealth.
There is nothing wrong with working hard and making an honest
living. There is a lot wrong if it is
made through crooked means and dishonesty. Throughout history, many great men had worked hard and acquired wealth while
being great philanthropists. For example, Konosuke Matsushita
made large contributions to society and set up a study centre.
Locally, we can think of Sapura's Shamsuddin, and Land and
General's Wan Azmi.
Talking of successful companies, participants at the recent
MIM John Kotter's seminar were told that Southwestern Airlines
in the United States was unconventionally friendly, flexible,
had empowered its staff and had a clear vision. One of its
key objectives was to provide cheap fare.
On the other hand, Eastern Airlines was conventional,
bureaucratic, arrogant, inflexible, and was losing money. It's
CEO tended to put the blame on the workforce for all the
company's ills. What was shocking was the fact that Eastern
Airlines was charging US$210 (RM525) versus US$19 (RM50)
charged by Southwestern for the same route.
Southwestern had practically removed all the frills (airlines
are said to spend 70 per cent on staff salaries) and one
person was doing the job of three compared to Eastern.
Southwestern gave the customer what he wanted.
Entrepreneurs and managers should work towards the good of customers, not
load them with a lot of unnecessary things, thereby turning
luxuries into necessities. Modern companies are told to
"niche" themselves in markets, innovate, lead in making
changes. This should not mean that they should end up selling
the customer "perceptions."
Take the example of Bally Shoes. It is said that when the
company started facing stiff competition from Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and South Korea, its management sat down and thought
about it. They were not going to "fight" with these newcomers
who were beginning to make good shoes and pinch the Bally
market.
They concluded that they were going to sell shoes but with an
image, an image of a successful person wearing their shoes.
The shoes, however, are now made to specification in Taiwan for the Bally Company.
We know that Rolex is not in the watch market but in the
luxury market. This is innovative and clever. But it should
not get to a situation where people begin to get more and more
image-conscious. On top of using psychology and advertising to
influence the customer, an equal amount of effort (production
and service) should go into making the "shoe" better, unless
it is perception that the customer is looking for and if he or
she can afford it. Otherwise, sizzle would "taste" better than
the steak.
Sometimes it is good to sort out the basics, and put ourselves
in the customer's shoes. At a recent conference in Singapore,
a session on small- and medium-size industries brought forth a
question from a participant from India. He was curious to know
why a product made to specification by the India Company
(subsidiary of a large European Conglomerate) did not sell
well overseas, while the same product made to the same specification from a European country sold
well.
It is really a question of the customer's mind-set. You would
have to work as hard as the Japanese did. Their products,
too, were once looked down upon.
Through sheer hard work, persistence and consistently
producing goods that exceeded the customers' expectation, they
prevailed. The products could, of course, be channelled
through an acceptable third country in the short term.
The professor handling the session remarked that products
today cannot be said to be made in one country but many. The
PC has parts from 15 different countries but is assembled in
one. This, the customer may not know.
A recent experience at a hotel in Malacca brings to light the
subject of customers. The waitress at the coffee house looked
tired and unconcerned (with the tight labour situation, she
was, likely doing more than one person's job). When food was
ordered, she said it would take a long time to serve.
"How long, half an hour?"
"No, closer to 50 minutes," she replied.
Sandwiches or ice-cream were impossible as the pantry maid was
out for lunch. Fortunately, her supervisor passed by and,
recognising a previous customer, quickly came to our aid and
sorted out the matter. He was polite, saying that he would
try to do his best to bring the food as fast as possible.
What had gone wrong? Was Marie having some problems? Had she
been given proper training and guidance? Such problems need
to be looked into, otherwise customers will have a poor
impression of the hotel.
Take another example of a hotel guest, an overworked manager
who was busy preparing a report in his room. The chambermaid
knocked, disturbing his peace, and asked to "turn" the bed.
She came in, made the bed and was about to leave when he asked
her what had happened to the chocolate. She said that as a cost-cutting measure, the hotel
had done away with that practice.
After half an hour, the chambermaid returned. The manager was
tired and reluctantly opened the door. To his surprise, she
was holding three chocolates and saying "choose your flavour."
It is surprising to to hear of a hotel empowering its
chambermaids to spend as much as US$2,000 (RM5,000) if it was
justified and made the customer happy. That is exactly what
this hotel did.
Managers need a balance in their lives. While at the
workplace, paying attention to detail and simple changes could
go a long way.
Managers need to survive in these unpredictable times. They
need to innovate, be different to succeed. However, they
should blend this with the thought of "value for money." Give
the customer a fair deal.
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