Revitalising KL Tower
IT is one of the federal capital’s iconic landmarks and attracts about 3,000 visitors daily due to its breathtaking bird’s-eye view of the city skyline.
The Kuala Lumpur Tower (KL Tower) has been drawing local and foreign tourists for the past 23 years due to its unique vantage point and myriad of other attractions, including the lush greenery of the Bukit Nanas forest reserve, which surrounds the tower.
But even an icon of this stature has its set of challenges.
While its management has strived to ensure that customer services and its facilities maintain the highest of standards, visitors have had their grouses of the poorly maintained amenities, substandard quality of food at its restaurant and even rude staff.
This month on the TripAdvisor website, it received two complaints from visitors about long waiting lines, exorbitant entry fees and brief time alloted for the Sky Box visit.
Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Rozlan Mohamed. PIC BY MUHD ZAABA ZAKERIA
Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Rozlan Mohamed said the management viewed the complaints seriously and took measures to rectify them.
He told the New Straits Times that the management continued to improve its services.
Rozlan’s statement came on the heels of an explosive letter published by the NST on July 27.
A reader claimed that KL Tower’s amenities and services left much to be desired. The reader, July Bakar, visited KL Tower a week earlier to have a high-tea birthday celebration with her children.
She highlighted the substandard quality of food, lack of food and congestion at the tower’s restaurant.
She claimed the toilets were dirty and queues at the elevators were long.
What shocked her, she wrote, was when an “employee” there yelled at her family: “Next time, don’t come to KL Tower.”
Addressing the complaint, Rozlan said the “employee” in question was an intern photographer hired by a vendor that operated photography services there.
“We carried out an investigation and found out that the rude remark was made by an intern photographer who was on a six-month attachment.
“She was not supposed to say that,” he said, adding that the incident happened at an elevator on the Observation Deck level.
He said further checks revealed that the remark was not directed at the complainant.
“The vendor has apologised to July.
The Kuala Lumpur Tower’s lift system will be upgraded in preparation for Visit Malaysia Year 2020. PIC BY SUPIAN AHMAD
“We told the staff to be courteous and keep their emotions in check. I was informed that the intern’s service had been terminated.”
He urged visitors to convey their comments and complaints to the KL Tower management so that action could be taken.
He said the incident went against the standard practice at KL Tower.
He said employees were required to undergo in-house training on customer services, with the same policy applied to vendors and tenants in the building.
Rozlan said it was important for employees and the management to adhere to the rules and regulations, especially when it came to customer service.
He said the management was informed about dirty toilets, but he denied those amenities were neglected as cleaners were tasked to keep them clean.
“We place emphasis on even the smallest details. We have dedicated employees to upkeep cleanliness at the toilets. They work on a rotation basis.”
He said apart from prioritising customer satisfaction, the tower was also improving its facilities ahead of Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020).
These included new self-service kiosks, refurbishment of the elevator system, an open terrace to organise events and annual highlights for thrill-seekers.
On the new self-service kiosks, he said the number of machines that could accept debit or credit card payments would be increased from three to five.
“KL Tower is the first landmark to have this facility for visitors. Besides reducing waiting time during peak hours, it helps us to track visitors’ countries of origin as they need to key in their information for purchasing purposes.”
Rozlan said the tower attracted about 3,000 visitors daily with 80 per cent of them being foreigners.
He said most of the tourists came from India, followed by China.
He said to attract local tourists, the tower would continue to offer free entry during a visitor’s birthday month and a 20 per cent discount for an accompanying guest.
He said VMY2020 would attract a huge number of visitors to the tower.
“For next year, we hope to attract 1.15 million visitors.
“We are doing our best to upgrade the facilities, which include the elevator system.
“This will be done in stages until 2023. Works on the first of the four lifts have started and should be done by October.”
On the complexity of the lifts’ maintenance and repairs, Rozlan said repair works included bringing heavy dismantled parts of the lifts’ motor to the ground.
“Our lifts were made to last for up to 80 to 100 years since our opening in July 1996.”
The lifts bring visitors up to the Observation Deck, Sky Deck, Megaview Banquet Hall and Atmosphere 360 Restaurant.
KL Tower is the only building in the country that is allowed to use its lifts during any emergency as they can be used for up to two hours in the event of a fire.
A refuge area at the tower head is built for emergencies and it can accommodate between 600 and 800 people.
Rozlan said the management strived to improve on security with the addition of bag and body scanners for visitors.
“We are studying the best solution on the scanner operation since we have three entrances on the upper ground floor and one entrance on the ground floor.
“To do this, we will consult the police and airport authority regarding their expertise on the matter.”
He hoped to implement the use of scanners by year end, subject to the procurement exercise of the equipment.
At present, the security measures at the KL Tower include 110 closed-circuit television cameras operating 24-hour a day. They can store footage of up to 30 days.
The management upgraded the chiller system last year and lighting two years ago.
“As a popular landmark, KL Tower is adorned with colourful lights during important celebrations such as National Day and special occasions such as World Cancer Day.”
Rozlan said in conjunction with National Day, a 50 per cent discount would be given to every MyKad holder on Aug 31 and Sept 1.
Leading up to that day, KL Tower will be an official venue for the “Hutan Kita” exhibition organised by the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry between Aug 23 and Sept 22.
The event is to highlight the country’s lush greenery and allow visitors to learn more about forests.
The KL Tower International Towerthon will continue to be held to attract tourists for Visit Malaysia Year 2020. PIC BY HAFIZ SOHAIMI
It aims to attract 150,000 people and is expected to be launched by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Rozlan said the revolving Atmosphere 360 Restaurant located atop KL Tower would offer a wide selection of local dishes from all states for a week, beginning Aug 31.
For VMY2020, KL Tower is being promoted as a tourist destination at the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents Fair and through promotions abroad by Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board’s tourism ambassador to the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, Kabir Khan.
“We also collaborate with Malaysian embassies abroad.”
Another upcoming new facility is the open terrace, which will be used for various functions.
He said the management planned to organise a bubur lambuk cooking competition in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia’s initiative to introduce the traditional Malaysian cuisine to foreign visitors.
“We plan to continue with our signature events, such as the KL Tower International Towerthon Challenge and KL International Jump Malaysia, in collaboration with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and Tourism Malaysia.
He said the next KL International Jump Malaysia would be held from Sept 26 to 29.
This event aims to offer BASE jump enthusiasts the opportunity to jump off KL Tower.
BASE is an acronym for the four types of fixed objects where a jumper can set off from — building, antenna, span and earth.
Rozlan said: “To date, about 120 jumpers from more than 20 countries will be participating in the event. At the same time, this activity will put our country on international tourism maps as a destination for sport tourism activities.
“The event is in line with KL Tower’s aspiration as a must-visit destination for culture, adventure and nature experiences.”
Another event, KL Rush Explorace, will take participants to some of the main historical and tourism attractions around the city.
Other attractions at the KL Tower are KL Tower Mini Zoo, Blue Coral Aquarium, KL Upside Down House and a 100-year old Jelutong tree at the nearby Bukit Nanas forest reserve.