Patience is his virtue
Tay Seng Huat takes a lot of pride in giving his customers the attention and service they need
THERE is a saying in Chinese: If you can be patient in one moment of anger, you can escape a hundred days of sorrow.
Patience, indeed, is an important factor in Pedini Cucine (M) Sdn Bhd group managing director Tay Seng Huat’s daily business dealings with his customers. It helps him maintain a good working relationship with them.
Being an interior design and custom built furniture manufacturer, Tay, 51, deals with all kinds of clients.
“There are times when they can be unreasonable,” he says.
But Tay understands. Building a home is one of the most expensive investments one would make in their lifetime, it is only natural that his clients want the results to be “perfect”.
Tay often meets with the family members of his clients who, he says, will have different opinions of how the fittings should look and where they go. And since they will all eventually be staying in the house, they have the right to be “fussy” over the design process. The discussion process can go up to three months!
And after that, another round of discussion would take place to settle on a pricing that satisfies every party.
By the time the interior renovation project is completed, it could have taken over a year.
But Tay’s services do not end there. There are instances where clients may not agree to the completed project even though they had initially signed off on the design plans.
“Some owners even say they did not understand the plan,” he says.
But one has to keep his cool with the client at all times.
“If you cannot be patient with a client, you cannot be in this field. You also have to be professional in explaining the products and concepts to them, bearing in mind that it might not be what the customer wants,” Tay explains.
Tay’s years of experience have taught him many ways to satisfy his clients’ needs. As a rule of thumb, priority and a lot of attention is given to the living room as it creates the first impression for visitors. It is the most important space in the house, he says. This is followed by the kitchen.
“We have to ensure that the owner’s wife is happy with it, otherwise we can forget about getting our payment,” he chuckles.
Then, he has to ensure that the various bedrooms are suited to the style and taste of the client.
On top of all this, he has to look into wiring points, lighting, piping and other interior furnishings such as curtains and sofa sets.
He then works with subcontractors to make sure that the dimensions and all the elements fit in well. A job done well is one where the client only has to bring his own clothes when moving in, he says.
His duty to his clients is to ensure that, at the end of the day, everything is done to their expectations before they move into their dream home.
“At the end of the day, everyone has to be happy, although sometimes it will be at a loss to us,” Tay says.
Making everyone happy can often be a tiring job, but Tay says it is part of his responsibility since his clients have entrusted him to make their living space comfortable and welcoming. And he wants to make sure he does a good job of it.
Tay has come a long way from his early days in the industry. Before he made his own furniture and called the shots on interior designs, he was doing piling works in Singapore in the construction industry.
After he got married, Tay decided to build his own business to give his family a better life.
In 1992, then in his early 30s, he started selling solid doors. It was a simple product and every house needs a door, he reasons, especially if they are doing renovation. He rented a shop lot in a shopping mall in Cheras selling over 20 door designs.
He did everything on his own, from sales to delivery.
Coincidentally, there was an interior design firm located at the shop next to his.
“Although I was operating the shop on my own, I noticed that my neighbours were not able to get any sales. So one day, I helped them to explain things to their clients and eventually I started getting commissions for getting projects for them,” Tay says.
Soon, Tay took over the interior design company and one of the staff became his partner until his recent retirement.
Tay says the secret to success doesn’t just lie on your ability to do design drawings.
“You have to understand the lifestyle of the home owners, how many occupants there are in the house and most importantly, what the client wants. The interior design has to cater to all these, not what the designer wants or thinks is nice,” Tay says.
Tay’s work covers both commercial and residential projects. The residential projects are usually more time consuming. For example, a bungalow project can take over four months to complete, whereas a commercial space of the same size would take only five weeks.
“For a commercial project, the main focus is to complete everything properly on time so that the owners can happily commence business,” he says.
Tay emphasises that being patient with clients is important because if they are happy with your work,
they will continue to refer you to others. Their houses serve as a showroom for your workmanship, especially when they welcome friends, who also take a liking to the work that has been done, to their homes.
And many of Tay’s sales come in via referrals.
Hence, in Tay’s case, being patient in one moment of anger certainly prevents him from having a hundred days of sorrow.
After three years of running the interior design firm, Tay stopped the solid door trading business in 1996 to focus on interior design and customised furniture manufacturing activities.
His decision and hard work paid off. Today, he gets developer projects valued at up to RM15mil.
“In the early days, we worked seven days a week and 16 hours a day,” he says.
Tay has managed to grow the company well with his patience. Pedini Cucine achieved revenue of RM18mil in 2016 and the company has grown to a staff of 50 at its rented 8,000 sq ft factory and office lot in Taman Perindustrian Selesa Jaya, Selangor.
Tay says it is very important to have good people to work with as the job involves a lot of workmanship and communication with clients.
“Our people are the real capital,” he says, adding that most of the staff has been with him for over 10 years.
The focus on quality has taken the company far. To date, it has a portfolio of over 1,000 satisfied customers.
It also invested in software since 1999 to help its designers utilise 3D drawings to increase their productivity. Although it cost over RM15,000 per licence then, Tay says all these investments are part and parcel of doing business.
Additionally, it also helps clients get a better view and understanding of the design plans, which would help them make better decisions.
Tay is still very hands-on with the production and order fulfilment process till this day.
One thing is for certain, you need enough rest to be patient with your clients, otherwise, grumpiness may just take over.
Hence, that is why he says, “I don’t do much socialising with clients. I sleep early these days so I can have full attention on the production process too.”