The Bangkok Training Of 1988 - A Turning Point For Ban Hoe Seng

Seated  (second from right) Matsuro Sato followed by Pauline Hsu and Datin Loh Cheng Yuen (daughter of Loh Boon Siew). Standing (1st from right) Ignatius Chew.

When Ignatius Chew went to Bangkok Thailand for training in 1988  it made an impact on him such that when he returned he was a totally changed person and a plan for Ban Hoe Seng.

At Bangkok he was trained by Matsuro Sato, the Asian Honda Motor Co Ltd President whom Ignatius described as a “Superman who performed miracles for the Thai automobile market”

According to Ignatius, Sato at that time thought of car salesmen as unprofessional cowboys unlike the top American companies that saw the customer as Number 1.

He also saw how the big business such as banks, hotels and airlines treated their staff and had adopted that concept for the car business”.

Ignatius spent 7 days walking around showrooms and learning from Sato. When he returned he immediately implemented the Thailand system.

Both Pauline and Ignatius actually changed Ban Hoe Seng in 1988. Besides implementing the management system he gave the showroom and service centre a facelift for maximum customer comfort and introduced customer service personnel.

For all his effort he achieved the first Dealer of the Year award in 1990.

 

(left photo) Ignatius Chew receiving the 1st Dealer of the Year award from Dato Robert Wong

Every other year after that, he achieved a string of other awards for Customer Service, Technician and Sales Advisor. 

In later years the system developed between the managements of Boon Siew Motors and Kah Motors which in turn was controlled by Honda’s management brought benefits to the entire group.

In 2009 he won the award of Dealer of the Year a second time.  

"Dealer of the Year Award" in the year 2009

Since 1988 when he took over till when he divested the business to Ban Hoe Seng (Auto) in 2017 Ignatius had grown the business more than tenfold.

He had learnt from a good Master and had faithfully been a good disciple and together with sound management practices had managed to grow the company.

Ignatius Chew Takes Over

Ignatius Chew Eng Lin the son of Chew Choon Kok, took over the running of Ban Hoe Seng in 1988.

Ignatius and Pauline, 2017

The General Manager and Sales Manager were retired. Due to the recession the sales of vehicles dropped drastically and the entire sales staff were all let go.

When Ignatius returned to Ipoh in 1982, a fresh graduate from the UK where he attained the distinction of top student in psychology he was tasked to understudy the business from the management.

His wife Pauline Hsu, a graduate of accounting was computerizing the company’s accounts system at the time.

Ignatius and Pauline overshadowed the management in the early years to learn the operation from them . 

When news that the senior management had retired was announced Ignatius was put in charge of sales while Pauline took charge of the workshop and operations at Kampar Road.

During this period of recession both Ignatius and Pauline were sent to Thailand to learn from Mitsuro Sato, the President of Asian Honda Motor Co Ltd.

Sato’s style had a profound impact on Ignatius so much so when he returned he changed Ban Hoe Seng.

He refurbished the showroom and adopted the management style that he learnt from Mitsuro Sato.

The results from the training proved itself when Ban Hoe Seng won the first Honda Dealer of the Year in 1990.

Standing left Pauline Hsu, Ignatius (4th form left) and Agnes (Ignatius sister, last). Seated :Chew Choon Kok (4th from left). Pix dated 1991 

Chew Choon Kok now gave Ignatius and Pauline a free hand to run the business in 1992.

In 1994 Chew Choon Siew died and that same year Ignatius father Choon Kok retired.

According to Ignatius Honda was a product that sold itself. He theorized that if you have a good product all you had to do was to manage and service the product and it would do well.

When the Asian Financial Crisis occurred in 1996 / 97 Ban Hoe Seng was well poised to weather the storm once again.

As had been done in the 1985 crisis Ignatius’s conservative style and prudent management once again helped the company get through the crisis.  

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Ban Hoe Seng - The Challenging Years

The last two decades of the 20the century beginning from 1988 till 1997 was a challenging time for Ban Hoe Seng.

The subsequent Honda Civic models were well received. Similarly with the Honda Accord 1.6 cc introduced later had a waiting list of one year.

Although Honda and Ban Hoe Seng continued to do well the Malaysian economy was in a tailspin due to the drop in the tin price which occurred in 1985.  

It was reported that in the period following the collapse of the International Tin Council in 1985, Malaysia shut 30 percent of its tin mines, eliminating 5000 jobs.

Before the start of the crisis there were 32 Honda dealers but the at the end were left only 8 dealers in the country.

Ban Hoe Seng was not spared this recession. Its Genaral Manager and Sales Manager were retired at this time and entire sales staff were let go.

Chew  Choon Kok’ son Ignatius Chew who returned from overseas in 1982 was understudying the business but was abruptly tasked to oversee the operations.

When the recovery returned they appointed dealers once again. But within a few years they once again experienced another economic crisis the Asian Economic Crisis of 1996/97.

Ban Hoe Seng had been a family business all along. They had seen the crises through by being conservative, prudent and lean.

With few loans and with good maintanence of their business and their sound financial strength they had pulled through both crises and came out unscathed.

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A New Start With All New Honda Civic

Honda Civic 1st Generation

Ban Hoe Seng’s move to Kampar Road was timely for towards the mid-seventies witnessed the popularity of Japanese vehicles for both cars and bikes.

Both cars and motorbikes were on display at the showroom

The large showroom could accommodate the display of motorcars and motorcycles under one roof. 

Honda EX-5

Additionally the yard at Ban Hoe Seng was large and received a minimum one lorry of motorcycles most days. 

The exception was the Honda EX-5 which was delivered 5 lorry loads at a time.

While the motorcycle dealership kept growing the introduction of the all new Honda Civic car towards the mid 70’s saw a new growth in the Honda franchise.

The introduction of the all new Honda Civic 1^st Generation car proved to be popular known for its reliability and economy in an era of rising fuel prices.

Unlike the earlier Honda models which were 2 cylinder, air cooled and with smaller capacity the Honda Civic had a four cylinder water cooled engine displacing 1,300cc  of power and was made available as a 2 Door, 3 and 5 door variants.

With improved business conditions so too was the corresponding services at the workshop was constantly busy and so too at the administration office.  

Ban Hoe Seng's workshop servicing the 1st Generation Honda Civic

The modern office at Kampar Road

In term of administration its staff strength had increased from 18 personel at Belfield Street to well over sixty since the shift to Kampar Road.

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Ban Hoe Seng Moves To A Bigger Premises - Kampar Road

Ban Hoe Seng showroom on the ground floor with Hotel Fairmont above.

The popularity of the Japanese vehicles had improved in the sixties. The trade in motorcycles was stable and gradually rising.

With the introduction of Toyota Ban Hoe Seng opened their first workshop located in Buntong.

Later when Honda cars were introduced Boon Siew wanting to improve its car sales had put pressure to provide an improved showroom. 

Chairman Chew Choon Siew had a bungalow in Chung Thye Phin Road. In the front of that bungalow were two tennis courts fronting Kampar Road and measured two acres in size. The tennis courts gave way to the new and expanded office and showroom.

Ban Hoe Seng, Kampar Road was opened in 1969 featuring a showroom on the ground floor while the upper three stories were taken up by the Fairmont Hotel.

The showroom was spacious to accommodate the display of bikes and cars.

The showroom could accommodate to display both the motorcars and motorbikes and house the administration offices and store. At the back of the showroom was a yard used for storage of motorbikes and cars.

 

The yard at the back was for storage of cars and bikes 

The move to Kampar Road was timely as the mid-seventies saw the introduction of the Honda Civic which provided further growth of the Japanese automobile industry both cars and bikes.

The move to the Kampar Road premises was far sighted for other than periodic upgrade and improvements the structure has remained unchanged till this day.

 

Ban Hoe Seng then (above) and now (below), a far sighted move.

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1967: First Honda Automobile In Ban Hoe Seng Showroom

Honda N360

It wasn’t until 1967 when the first Honda automobile was displayed at Ban Hoe Seng’s showroom.

The dealership with Toyota lasted just four years. It was terminated when Honda began producing cars. 

Boon Siew who had earlier accepted the Toyota dealership was given the option to choose and accepted Honda.  

Boon Siew's acceptance of Honda and in turn Ban Hoe Seng would take their venture into the next century.

The Honda cars were delivered to Ban Hoe Seng four at a time as there was problem with storage at their premises at Belfield Street.

The first model of on offer was the Honda N360, a 2-cyclinder air cooled engine. This was subsequently joined by the improved liquid cooled Honda Life.

The gradual acceptance of Japanese vehicles was gaining in popularity and prompted Ban Hoe Seng to consider enlarging their showroom which could be used for displaying cars and motorcycles at the same time.

In 1969 that became a reality with the opening of their new showroom in Kampar Road.

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Ban Hoe Seng First Sold Toyota Automobiles

Toyota's at Ban Hoe Seng showroom.(L to r) Yeoh Oon Hock, Angeline Chew (4th from left) and Chew Choon Kok (last) 

Ban Hoe Seng in the early days had been associated motorcycles. But in the early sixties they began dealing in automobiles beginning with Toyota. This was due to Loh Boon Siew who had acquired a car dealership.

Boon Siew had noticed the increase in car usage and wanted to start a car dealership. However as Honda was not making cars yet he acquired the Toyota agency.

Ban Hoe Seng already Boon Siew’s main dealer in Perak was given the opportunity to market the new Toyota.

 

(L to r) Chew Choon Kok and Yeoh Oon Hock (centre) posing with Toyota Crown

Yeoh Oon Hock with the Toyota 700 and Toyopet Tiara

In 1964 Ban Hoe Seng began dealing in Toyota automobiles. There were three Toyota models on display at the time the Toyota 700, Toyopet Tiara and Toyota Crown, the first Japanese brand of cars in the country.

(L to r) Toyopet Tiara and Toyota Crown.

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