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The Teamwork Paves The Way From left to right: Ezani, Zamli, Herman, Alwie, Chong, Puvan, Vivian, Suriga, Muthu, Redwan and Ismail One might easily assume that the chief service provider of Malaysia’s biggest clubhouse and premier golf resort is constantly on the move, looking into every nook and cranny and going to great lengths to satisfy high customer demands. Well, it is not entirely true. Rather, there’s more to what meets the eye. The Address magazine recently caught up with Herman Tan at his office to learn more about his daily responsibilities as the general manager of Tropicana Golf & Country Resort and to get a good feel of what it is like to manage Malaysia’s biggest award-winning clubhouse together with his team members. A firm believer in teamwork, Tan begins his day with a daily briefing with all his department heads to run through the previous day operations, comments, upcoming events and to ensure all the facilities in the clubhouse are working properly and ready for guests’ enjoyment. He and his dedicated team work tirelessly to cover a vast 625 acres of resort ground. An update is provided on whether members’ expectations are met and if not, why and how to provide the best workable solution. As the mantra for all staff – ‘To lead is to serve’ – Tan points out that every department head should be responsible and accountable for all under their care. Every employee must know what and how to do and why they are doing it. One must also ‘agree to disagree and move forward’. Only then can true teamwork be realised and appreciated. Scrutinising literally every fixture, hardware and service offered at the club, from street lights, signboards to the many functions rooms, member service areas, dining outlets, recreational sporting facilities and member-staff communication techniques, Herman shares with us the coordinated tasks his team members do. One top of his list is the pristine 27-hole championship golf course. Tan works closely with the golf superintendents, Puvan and horticulturist Suriga, to ensure that the fairways, greens and landscape are properly manicured and ready to welcome the day’s golfers. They start their work as early as 6.30am to make sure everything is ready for its first-flight golfers. The golf course is one of the most active with 6000 to 7000 rounds of golf per month. Over at the Golf Registration, Zamli Alias, assistant golf manager and his team prepare the scheduled flights, greeting the early birds with a smile while the course starters and marshals take their positions around the golf course to ensure golfers follow the golf etiquette and rules. Nathan, buggy executive, manages the buggy and golf bag drop-off area ensuring the smooth transition of golf bag transfer from car to buggy, and steadily directs buggy traffic from the reception area to the golf course. Care is taken that golf bags do not end up in the wrong buggy. Over at the sports complex, Ezani Balia, sports executive struts around the many sports facilities, making sure the treadmills are in running order, the indoor tennis and badminton courts are ready for members and the pool is clean and ready for a refreshing splash. Housekeeping senior executive, Tajuddin Mohd Yusuf and his team ensure all member and public areas are in tip-top condition. They work hard, keeping the toilets and changing room clean as well as making sure the pathways and corridors are free from litter and that all member amenities such as towels, toilet rolls, handwash liquids are constantly replenished. Alwie Manaf, Chef Roslan and the team get ready the restaurant and kitchen to prepare for the day’s gastronomic menu. From golfer’s terrace to coffee lounge to customised function menus, they ensure that all food and beverage served are always of high quality and to the satisfaction of members and event organisers. The Operations Section attends to meticulous details of function arrangements starting from a simple enquiry to elaborate weddings or corporate meetings. Multi-talented James Thor, assistant manager of events & promotions section, conjures up monthly activities for members. He also double-up as the master of ceremony, dancer, singer, clown and anything that will make the event or promotion a great success. 94 The Address
While members and visitors enjoy the many offerings at the clubhouse and resort, Ismail Salleh, security manager works round the clock together with his security team to provide a sense of comfort and reassurance for everyone. They go beyond the call of duty to take on other roles such as catching snakes, monkeys and destroying bee hives. The security team is also an expert in traffic control and stopping runaway maids. Human resource and administration manager, Muthu Muniyandy, sees to it that the working conditions of the staff is above par and that harmony prevails amongst the various nationalities of locals, Indonesians, Bangladeshi, Myanmars and Filipinos, many of whom are housed at the staff’s hostel provided by Tropicana. Behind every successful team, the ladies brigade is represented by Chong Sook Yeen and Vivian Ho. Chong handles the accounting tasks while Ho runs the membership section. Together they perform the administrative duties and ensure all members’ accounts are well kept. In addition, Tan points out the many unsung heroes whose works are not seen by many. They are those who handle many difficult jobs like rubbish collection, dish washing, moving furniture, general maintenance and other nitty-gritty work at the clubhouse and resort areas. A special mention must be made to thank them (even if their work goes often unnoticed). “My colleagues are my partners,” says Tan. “They are the very foundation of our successful service oriented award-winning Clubhouse” which is the most active in the Klang Valley bustling with golfers, weddings and corporate functions. For instance, Ismail, Muthu, Zamli, Ezani and Chong, our homegrown talent rising from the rank to become the head of their respective department, within the last ten years. Smooth-sailing as it may seem, Tan admits that it is no easy task to maintain a consistently high-standard service for both members and residents. Tan says, “You constantly need to keep abreast of the most current developments in the resort-hospitality industry (home and abroad), because our members are well-learned and well-travelled. As they become more sophisticated and discerning, we have to constantly raise the bar in our service delivery, style and clubhouse offerings. Not forgetting the members’ children who have different needs and expectations.” Having spent twenty five years in the hospitality industry, we asked him what motivates him and keeps him going. He smiles, “It’s simply the feel-good factor. When you overcome challenges tirelessly, and meet target and when you have guests and member’s guests returning frequently to enjoy the facilities and the staff of Tropicana enjoying what they do best, that’s simply rewarding and satisfying.” He also adds, “Service, sacrifice and self control, and to render more and better service than what we are paid for or expected of”, is a good guiding principle. Herman and his team would like to thank the Management, in particular, Tan Sri Dato’ Danny Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and founder of Tropicana as well as the Directors for their continued support, belief and confidence in the operations team. Tan Sri Dato’ Danny and the Board of Directors are also a source of inspiration, as evident from their passion in charting the course for the Resort, thereby elevating the Resort to be among the top in the country. They have given invaluable advice and a good listening ear to help the team to achieve the Company’s objectives. Herman also conveys his appreciation to the members, residents and guests who play a big part with their compliments, constructive comments and suggestions which help us move to a higher standard of service and product for our mutual benefit. We encourage our members to comment on anything. A sms service will be launched soon, a more convenient way for members to contact us directly. These messages will be forwarded to the General Manager’s office for further action. As a parting message to all his staff at Tropicana Golf & Country Resort, Tan would like to thank them for their continued enthusiasm and diligence in striving for the very best customer experience for all its members and guest. The Address95
Page 2: Flavours @ THE PALMS COFFEE HOUSE A
Page 6 and 7: Recipes LAMB SHANK CONFIT WITH ROAS
Page 8 and 9: Flavours @ Time out @ Havana out @
Page 12 and 13: Sports 96 The Address
Page 14 and 15: Sports Aberdeen Country Club, South
Page 16 and 17: Seen & Tropicana annual Cross Creek
Page 18 and 19: Seen & Weddings Galore Simon Chong
Page 20: Seen & Secretaries were treated to

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