Meeting Bond’s M

ON Joanna Chee’s business card, her position is simply stated as “M”. M, James Bond fans will tell you, is the secret agent’s lady boss.

This seems apt, for Chee, 40, director of nightclub Bond in Avenue K shopping complex in Jalan Ampang, certainly fits the bill of a strong but feminine character. Having been in the nightlife business for 13 years, Chee is one tough cookie.

Once when she was seven months pregnant and working for a newly opened club, Chee had to resort to standing in the doorway of the club to stop an over-enthusiastic crowd from barging in.

“I think they stopped the moment they saw me. I was huge! And I don’t think anyone would be so heartless as to push a pregnant woman aside so they can come into a club!” laughs Chee who, on numerous occasions, has had to step right into the middle of a fight to break it up.

(Second from left) Joanna Chee has vast experience in operating a nightclub. — Starpic by AZHAR MAHFOF

“I know most of these people so it’s easy for me. I feel that sending in the bouncers would just create more tension. I just go in and tell them not to do this in my place because it’s not cool. I normally get the respect. I’m lucky that I have this sort of ‘likeability’ with my guests,” she says.

Some may remember Chee from the 90s as the cute chick with boots in Echo, Bangsar. I, for one, will never forget her dancing on stage during The Right To Question Party at The Mines in 1998 – a beer in hand and a sticker in the form of a question mark stuck to her chest. If you have been to any of those island getaway parties these past eight years, chances are you have met Chee.

“I loved those parties because it had all the elements of fun and romance and hints of a ‘dirty’ weekend,” she recalls fondly.

A mother of three now, Chee used to bring her eldest child Ben, now 21, along for the island revelries. But she has stopped organising these parties because her two younger children, both under six, need her at home.

Today, she is still in the business of nocturnal parties but Chee says she doesn’t go clubbing anymore. She prefers to spend the time with her children, reading them stories and tucking them in at night. She’s done her fair share of partying, at any rate.

Hailing from Klang, Chee started her first club in 1993 in Atlanta, Georgia when the rave movement was just beginning. When she came home during the 90s, her first posting was in Penang in Novetel’s Shock Egypt club. Boom Boom Room opened in Kuantan and Chee worked with them for two years, then came to Kuala Lumpur to do the marketing for Wall Street, near KLCC.

Echo Jazz Bar, Twelve SI and Nouvo followed.

Experience, she has plenty. But Chee says the nightlife scene is not the easiest business to be in. Competition is keen.

“You can’t just open a club and hope people will come. You have to do a lot of marketing,” says Chee.

If she has to hire belly dancers to attract the crowd, then that’s what she will do. In fact, that’s precisely what she did – getting professional belly dancers to teach the ladies the moves for Wednesday’s Bond Ladies’ Night.

Chee says that in opening a club, one has to be clear about what one wants and meticulous in executing the plans.

“This includes details like the music, door reservation policies, and what type of people we want in the club. These tie in with the concept of the club. In choosing the sound, Bond has opted for old school, as in Modern Talking and Michael Jackson. It’s music that you can actually dance to and still look sophisticated,” she explains.

“Once they get the crowd in, the PR people have to go on the floor to ensure the evening works out well. Those who like to dance would be ushered to a place near the dance floor and those who just want to chill out will be put in a section where they can people watch.

“If you tell us that you are coming to see us on a particular day and you don’t show up, we make sure that you know that we noticed you did not show up. In this way, customers feel that they belong,” she says.

Chee says it’s important to create a relationship with the customer by putting in a bit of care and friendship.

“I feel that it is important to train my PR girls to be professional in the way they carry themselves with the clients. You can be in contact with your customer every one or two weeks, and you can do this either by an SMS or telemarketing.”

The business of selling fun also requires an outgoing personality. You must be willing to hit the dance floor when it is empty and walk up to total strangers and treat them like old buddies.

Chee says that at her club everyone is treated equally, whether they are buying a bottle of premium whisky or just a glass of juice.

“The question I always ask myself is: are we doing enough? To me, a customer is always right. If they complain, it means something is wrong, so we have to listen. That’s how we improve,” says Chee.

“There was a time when I had to do everything myself and it was very tiring. But I have since learned how to plan and delegate so that different people will do specific tasks. I still have sleepless nights, but I take time out to meditate and eat healthily,” says Chee.

And when she leaves for work, Chee has peace of mind because her husband is supportive.

“He is just wonderful with the children. Not only does he see to their needs but he is also their educator,” says Chee of her New Zealand Chinese husband

The Star, Saturday October 14, 2006

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