Businesses suffer losses with every water cut
Gelato maker Gigi Teoh said the water cuts had badly affected her boutique venture.
It has caused her kitchen to suffer from production downtime, especially when the disruption happened without prior notice and during peak hours.
As a result, she had to invest RM50,000 for additional machinery.
As a result, she had to invest RM50,000 for additional machinery.
During the water rationing period last December, Teoh had to get her workers to start work earlier so they could complete orders in time for the festive season.
But at one point, she nearly lost a large order of some 60 to 80 litres of gelato. This could translate to a drop of 10% in her profit margins.
At the height of the water crisis in 2014, hair and image consultant Michael Poh recalled having to wash his customers’ hair with bottled mineral water instead.
Poh’s customers saw it as a novelty but the move took away up to 5% of his profits.
Poh’s customers saw it as a novelty but the move took away up to 5% of his profits.
That’s higher than the interest rate of a fixed deposit account, observed Poh, who has weathered many bouts of water disruptions at his five salons located in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.
Every time water supply is disrupted, Poh loses customers. A colour, cut and treatment can easily bring in anywhere between RM500 to RM1,000 plus per customer but without water supply, a salon cannot deliver.
When there are water cuts, Poh can lose up to RM5,000 to RM10,000 per day.
“In this advanced age in the city, it is embarrassing that we are still having problems with water supply,” said Poh, who hoped the authorities would get their act together soon for everybody’s sake.
But herein lies a crucial question: Are businesses willing to pay higher water tariffs if water supply disruption becomes a thing of the past?
“No, unless authorities can guarantee zero water cuts,” said Teoh.
“No, unless authorities can guarantee zero water cuts,” said Teoh.
“With the rising cost of living, this additional cost is going to burden the people,” said Poh.
During the 2014 water rationing, Top Glove, a rubber glove manufacturer, reported millions in unnecessary losses arising from having to buy water and pay for extra transportation costs to ensure production would not be delayed.
It was said that some of the company’s 18 factories in Selangor were affected by water rationing.
At that time, its founder (and FMM president) Lim said the company’s water bill was RM1.2mil a month. But due to the water cut, access to this resource cost the company 10 times more than their usual bill.
Lim also recalled seeing raised eyebrows when he had to explain delivery delays to customers. They were surprised to learn that a tropical country with abundant rainfall can have water shortage.
The uncertainty of water supply also forced the company to commission a water purification system which recycles water from a nearby river as a backup plan.
But Lim revealed that the RM6.5mil project was only a supplementary measure, not a substitute for water supply.
But Lim revealed that the RM6.5mil project was only a supplementary measure, not a substitute for water supply.
“We are fortunate to have no natural disasters but we have ‘man-made’ disasters like this water issue to deal with,” he said.
Naturally, Lim is anxious for any possible future disruptions.
Naturally, Lim is anxious for any possible future disruptions.
“We are gravely concerned especially in view of the current dry spell.
“Without steady water supply, we will not be able to fulfil our orders and may lose our customers in the long run,” he said.
On the question if the company would be willing to pay higher tariffs, Lim suggested rather than increasing tariffs, the authorities should be looking at addressing losses arising from wastage from NRW, improving efficiency and saving money from there.
He also hinted that the inefficiency in managing water as an important resource had become too blatant and the authorities would have to gain the public’s trust before imposing any form of charges.
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