To: The Manager of Gym Masyarakat
Dear Madam,
Re: A Little Suggestion For Improvement
I have been a member of your gym for two months. Although I appreciate you offering members like me a nice environment to workout and lead a healthier lifestyle, I feel there has been some rather frustrating issues plaguing the operations of your gym that’s overlooked.
Gym Masyarakat is a state government-sponsored gym that is actually quite decent, if it weren’t for its lousy management.
For your convenience, I’ve summarised those issues below.
1. The gym attendants in general are helpful. However one in particular stood out like a sore thumb. For some reason, the vocabulary of that attendant in question seems limited only to two phrases – “No” and “Don’t know.” I don’t even need to ask anything because I know her answer will be definitely be something negative.
This is the most useless help desk in a gym anywhere in the world… simply because there’s nobody there 90% of time. Even if there are people there, they sure don’t provide any ‘help’.
My issue with her started even before I joined this gym.
Kenny: “Hi. I submitted my gym membership application 3 weeks ago and I still haven’t heard from you. Do you know what happened to it?”
Blur Staff: “I don’t know.”
“Okayyy then… is it possible that I speak to your manager?”
“No. She’s not here.”
“When would she be in?”
“Don’t know.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
*blank stare*
“Alright… I’ll leave my card with you. Please ask her to give me a ring when she gets this.”
“Ok.”
Rather predictably, I never receive any follow up. Its only after I made a second trip to the gym that I got your number from a different gym attendant.
2. Every now and then there is this one big group of smokers (some of whom are the gym attendants themselves) gathering at the entrance of the gym fagging happily whilst the front door is wide open.
Evidence: cigarette butts outside the gym entrance.
All the smoke generated from them inevitably spread into the gym, polluting the lungs of everyone else inside. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want when I’m puffing heavily on the threadmill is to choke on second hand smoke.
3. I’m ok with the gym closing on public holidays, but I am NOT OK with is the gym closing without giving its members any prior notice. The most recent example was over the Gawai Holidays. We were given notice that the gym will be closed on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. We were NOT given notice that it will be closed on Friday. So while your gym attendants were off enjoying their 5-day break, the bunch of us were met with a locked door on the Friday when we expected it to open.
4. The advertised closing time for Gym Masyarakat is 9:00pm on weekdays. Not 8:45pm, not 8:50pm, but 9:00pm. Therefore I do not understand why the lights are off, music are off and the aircond shut down even before the clock hits 9:00pm. I certainly do NOT appreciate having the lights turned off on me when I’m halfway lifting weights. It is RUDE.
Don’t turn off the lights when I’m still working out. Who do you think I am? Batman?
5. If there are times when the gym needs to close at 8:30pm, let us know EARLIER. Don’t turn off the lights in the middle of our workout unexpectedly just to chase us away so you can have an early night. It is RUDE.
6. And on that note, may I remind you that your clock in the gym is actually set ten minutes too early.
My clock says 8:32pm when your clock says 8:40pm.
There are no reasons why these problems should arise, apart from the lazy sloth-like attitude some members of your staff adopt. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it doesn’t take much effort at all to put up advanced notices, close the gym on schedule, or for that attendant to smile and learn new words like “Yes, how may I help you?”, does it?
Well, I thank you for taking time to read this letter and I do hope that you also take time to rectify these problems. It doesn’t cost money, but it will be for the benefit of your gym and its members.
Have a nice day.
Warmest Regards,
Kenny Sia
Holy cow… my daily visitors shot up to 4,230 the day my URL appeared on The Straits Times. Its a brand new high!
hey! did you mail out this letter as well? haha i would be irritated if i were you!
anyway i’m actually a frequent reader of your blog, but i’ve never left comments.. just wondering, don’t you feel the stress? especially since the readership is so big??
Complain when it’s neccesary. I like that. Just like me! I hate the attitude some people have. You are in “service” field, you have to know how to serve. If not, get lost. However, it’s lack of proper training from management. I’m in retail field, we train our sales associates daily. Good customer service is our selling point 😉
hey, did u really send the letter to the management? if u r posting it here, i think u should hand over it to the manager too – if u haven’t.
btw, why update so early in the day? aren’t u always write your blog early in the morning?
early, i mean like midnight or 1am…
tiffany, yea I do feel pressured sometimes especially when ppl urge me to update when I don’t feel like it. But most of the time I just enjoy writing and making ppl laugh.
blackwidow, its sad there’s no such word called ‘quality’ or ‘service’ here. They think they’re doing us a favour instead of the other way round. And unfortunately most people just accept a lot of their bullshit.
sammie, yea I’m gonna print out the letter and send it of course. 🙂 I think I’ll tone it down a bit though. And there’s no specific time frame that I update of course. Anytime is a good time.
Gym? I’ve not gone for a long time. It’s better to do whatever exercises I have at home.
the power of straits times 🙂
the power of straits times 🙂
Gym Masyarakat is a state government-sponsored gym that is actually quite decent, if it weren’t for its lousy management.
Kenny, you’ve hinted at the root problem in your caption. “Government-sponsored” is a synonym for “unaccountable.” If you doubt me, when you come to California I’ll take you to the Department of Motor Vehicles or the post office.
Been reading your blog. Love the posts. Well..keep up the nice entries =)
Those typical government pseudo business entities are hopeless. Only lazy asses with single digit IQ can work there… and all of us has to deal with these people. The idea of work to these people is showing up at an ” office”…chatting, drinking coffee… eating cakes.. and go home. Good job Kenny, for pointing out !
I just had a bout of non-existent customer service myself. Was soooo angry that I sent in a complaint email immediately and posted it on my blog. Hope your issues get rectified. Just doesn’t make sense to pay hard-earned money and have to deal with such shiet.
hmm when i was in secondary school i paid 15 ringgit per month for the gahberment(is that how u spell it?) gym. When i was in KL i paid 60 per month for the bukit jalil gym (which is a pretty good wan). Then when i was in Monash Uni, Melbourne. I paid 300 dollar per year…that’s near to RM 1k man….if you ask me, i will choose the dodgy rm 15 gahberment gym. I mean the equipments are old, staff are lousy, but at least it is a workout that burn out my fats not my wallet 🙂
how much are u paying anyway?
“state government-sponsored”…in m’sian speak means the ppl working there r the law…the rules/law r how the administrators interprete them to be..
frankly by Johor standard, this gym seems like god-send to me…at least there seems to be some semblance of ‘maintenance’ done at the out-fit.
complaint at being shut out 10 mins earlier?..we have police post and public library that don’t open when they r supposed to..
Don’t we all just hate it when there’s a help desk and no help is provided? I think the staff at the gym needs to start to be responsible about their job.
Hey Dude, reminds me the favorite word of Kuching’s sale associate : “No stock!” , then habis cerita, they would not make an effort telling you when’s the next shipment or alternative brand of product.
Yr SPG friend had her readership shot up from 3,000 to 14,000 per day after the newspaper publicity. Sx does sell. The book deal should not be very far away at this rate.
Yr SPG friend had her readership shot up from 3,000 to 14,000 per day after the newspaper publicity. Sx does sell. The book deal should not be very far away at this rate.
Try out Clark Hatch Fitness Center situated at 1st floor Hilton Hotel. I can guarantee you that you will be assisted anytime plus there is a fitness instructor to guide you along ;p
Hey kenny, Lets try for a new hits record on monday, shall we? Hope your bandwidth can take it. haha
kenny, pay peanuts, gets monkey
wowww ur english is sooo high-class…i like it…:D..how abt love letter, do u know how to write it?
wowww ur english is sooo high-class…i like it…:D..how abt love letter, do u know how to write it?
lolz. congrats on the new high, kenny. wish i could write as interesting stuff on my blog. lolz, dunno how you’re gonna cope with the new traffic though. too high a readership is sometimes a bad thing, seeing as to how you’ll probably feel somehow compelled to update because of them. really love your blog. great work.
yeah, all garblement offices, disguised or otherwise are all horribly unaccountable. unreliable, unfriendly, and inaccurate. hmm. nothing like the police motto. explains it. good luck with your letter. my faith lies with the private sector and all their capitalist pig practices. at least the pigs here work for their outrageously high pay.
lolz. congrats on the new high, kenny. wish i could write as interesting stuff on my blog. lolz, dunno how you’re gonna cope with the new traffic though. too high a readership is sometimes a bad thing, seeing as to how you’ll probably feel somehow compelled to update because of them. really love your blog. great work.
yeah, all garblement offices, disguised or otherwise are all horribly unaccountable. unreliable, unfriendly, and inaccurate. hmm. nothing like the police motto. explains it. good luck with your letter. my faith lies with the private sector and all their capitalist pig practices. at least the pigs there work for their outrageously high pay.
It’s going to shoot up even higher on Monday. Congrats. 😉
Hey look at the “bright” side. If they turn the lights off and someone gets hurt I hear a big fat KA CHING from the lawsuit
Great site!!! Do make sure the management gets the letter~ =) and quit the gym.
great opportunity for you to earn some dollars setting up a pro gym kenny…heh.
My god, you were right. That Ray dude’s links are on a lot of comments I read!
suspiciousbastard, unfortunately there are no ‘visual aids’ when you work out at home. If you know what I mean.
drowninggiraffe, power of the media. 🙂
Curtis G + OX + jade, it doesn’t cost money for them to have a friendly attitude.
S-Kay, pleasure.
gracie, at least Maureen shown signs of a human being. Mine doesn’t.
CS, seeing as its government sponsored I’m paying RM250 a year which is dirt cheap. In the end it still comes down to the attitude of the staff there. You can have the flashiest equipment in your gym, but it doesn’t kill to treat another person nicely does it? That’s what I’m getting at.
Lyon, yeah they should rename is NO-HELP DESK.
e, hahaha! EXACTLY! “No stock” and they give you a blur blur face expecting you to solve the problem for them.
dude, holy cow. 14,000 a day is the highest I’ve seen thus far in both the sg and m’sian blogosphere.
Del, I’ve been to Clark Hatch. For the price I’d be paying (RM600 joining fee + RM 1200 per year), I’m actually expecting a little more. The equipment seems very limited.
eyeris + Liz, we shall see. 🙂
Terry, mine is not a monkey, its a zombie.
ahlian, you want me to write love letter to who?
qsl, what police motto. Mesra, Cepat, Betul? Salah! Heh heh heh.
maobi, the court and the garblement is one big freaking family.
SariPartyGirl, you got a fantastic site yourself with all those yummy photos from Perth.
Lainie, now you know Lainie… now you know. 🙂
Kenny..write love letter to ur wife Xiaxue…:p:D
..btw, how much u will charge me to write a english letter?..
Where is this Gym Masyarakat?
waiting for response from gym masyarakat, will you post the response too?
i get the same ‘dunno’ look at sungei wang plaza @ bukit bintang. BUT we were superbly impressed with the receptionist at Sunway Pyramid who had an answer (& direction) to any store in the complex
i get the same ‘dunno’ look at sungei wang plaza @ bukit bintang. BUT we were superbly impressed with the receptionist at Sunway Pyramid who had an answer (& direction) to any store in the complex
hi Kenny where is Gym Masyarakat and how much would membership fees be? Yea Im in Perth but will be back in Kuching for the one-month break so it would be good to continue my buffilization endeavour. 😀
heyz……. currently 15 years old….. got limited funding…….. i dunno wad gym to join…… sarawak club i scared at about 5 o clock will b real crowded……. FIT4LIFE DAM EXPENSIVE MAN…… 3 bucks a day…….. gym masyarakat….. not sure…… advice anyone?
Hey kenny,the thought of going to a gym for meeting people is a great idea..But hey usually those are males..Can someone tell me bout any hot spot or club in kuching i can join to meet new people(especially girls!Thehehe)
hey ken i really think u should post this topic..Its gonna be a great topic!
Hey kenny,the thought of going to a gym for meeting people is a great idea..But hey usually those are males..Can someone tell me bout any great place i can go or club in kuching i can join to meet new people(especially girls!Thehehe)
hey ken i really think u should post this topic..Its gonna be a great topic!
Hey kenny,the thought of going to a gym for meeting people is a great idea..But hey usually those are males..Can someone tell me bout any great place i can go or club in kuching i can join to meet new people(especially girls!Thehehe)
hey ken i really think u should post this topic..Its gonna be a great topic!
hi Kenny,
Did you get any response from them? Or they are much more improved now? Want to join a gym too. Looking for one, maybe will try this Gym Masryarakat:) I am in Gov service myself.:)
I live at 40428 Commonwealth in Seattle. Been up here before?
yeah…malay style like that wan lah…
come in late..
go back early..
makan kaceng
otak kacang !
benjamin and yus…fuck u guys…singling out a race here all becuase of a gym fuss…fuck u again…
hey kenny im a very new reader and attendee to your blogsite.. been trying to finnish reading all your posts this 3 days and only manage to cover like eeeerr 10%? lol .. i myself was a gym rakyat member since 2002 till feb 2007.. i know what u experienced and maybe i experienced more shit at my place lol.. seems that the gym rakyat at ur place looks new than wat we have in kk.. and the sad thing bout the gym in my place is that even with numerous complaints and suggestions they were all unattended and were thrown away.. gawd knows what the management team is up to running the place like that.. taking things for granted sheeeshh!
hi my name is jahanzaib jazzy..i want a job in gym as a gym instructor….plz do something for me i m in this profession for last 15 years..plz do something for me…bcoz i m jobless…plz i need ur favour.
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