Conversations with Zahar! TQ, ma'am, and good night.

After I got my first load of laundry back from Ahmed Zahar’s fine laundry facility in Kuala Lumpur, I was confused about the billing. But this is no ordinary laundry, and you do not sort your matters out over the phone or in person. Instead, I e-mailed him the following, and got a most excellent response.

Dear Zahar,

Thanks for doing a great job with my laundry this week. It looks like the hotel has charged the laundry cost to my room, for 44 RM. I also left 50 RM in cash, in an envelope, the following day, to pay for the laundry. Can you confirm that you got this and that I have 50RM pre-paid on my account now?

Thanks so much,
Mary

Here’s his response, about six hours later:

Dear Mary,

Now is 5pm, friday.  Sorry for the late response.  I visited my dentist this morning and as usual, I am a bit knocked out after every visit.  I am one of the rare people who is always scared of dentists, but strangely enough, I kept visiting them.. Well.. 

While my staff is now at Ritz to sort things out… Yes, your laundry was RM44.00 total.  The breakdown is RM14.00 for the dry cleaning.  Dry cleaning cost starts from RM7.00 per piece of garment and differ for each individual types depending on size and delicateness.  Ladies jackets usually begins at RM10.00 per piece.  RM30.00 is for the normal laundry which includes RM10.00 for the pick-up and delivery charges.  Hence the RM44.00. 

Yes, the staff at the front desk gave us RM44.00 in cash for the laundry for which we thanked him and you (albeit a bit late). Yes, I confirmed now, (my staff just called from Ritz), receiving RM50.00 in an envelope for your next laundry.  We will keep that in your account and shall update you everytime we make delivery of your laundries.  Just text me if you have any laundry to pick up. 

Looked like the staff had helped to pay on your behalf for the laundry charges despite being told the guest could pay us later.  

We wish you a pleasant stay in Malaysia and have a worderful working experience here. 

Thanks. 
Zahar.

Affordable and transparent laundry billing, “new media” responsiveness, and just a touch of psychology and masochism. Would you use a different laundry? Me, either.