Ijlal PE2 Interview Report

MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

SEPTEMBER 2013 SEMESTER

WEB 20302 PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH 2

L03

INTERVIEW REPORT:

AN INTERVIEW WITH MR HUSAINY AMIR BIN ZULKIPLY (THE MANAGER OF VESPA EMPIRE)

PREPARED BY:# NAME STUDENT ID HP NO.

1 Ijlal Ibrahim Afif 52208212498 010-3651169

PREPARED FOR:MS. KIM DE SILVA

SUBMISSION DATE:WEDNESDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2013

INTRODUCTION

Vespa is a brand of scooter manufactured by Italian company Piaggo. In Kuala

Lumpur, there is a workshop that specialises in the delivery and customization of

Vespa scooters. This workshop, located at Gombak, is called Vespa Empire and is

managed by Mr Hussainy Amir bin Zulkiply.

Currently 27 years of age, Mr Hussainy established Vespa Empire in 2008 and has

been managing the business for 5 years. The fact that Mr Hussainy is a manager at

such a successful company would not seem apparent to people at first glance; he

looks very young and is a very calm, humble, and down-to-earth person. Once more

is learnt about him, it is evident how much experience he has gone through to

become the successful person he is today.

An interview was arranged with Mr Hussainy for him to talk about himself, and the

story of his road to success. Due to fact that the Vespa Empire is located quite far

away, Mr Hussainy agreed to meet the interview team at the Wangsa Walk Mall,

Wangsa Maju, and the interview was conducted at a restaurant.

BACKGROUND

Mr Hussainy grew up in Bandar Pusat Jengka (Jengka Town Centre) in Pahang,

Malaysia. He completed his secondary school education at Jengka Central High

School 2, after which he decided to specialise in graphic designing at the Institut

Kemahiran MARA (IKM) University in Perak. He obtained a Certificate in Upholstery

and Interior Design, and then decided to move into the working world.

He first started working as a freelance graphic designer, but after a while he felt that

he was being overloaded with too many projects and that he could not keep up with

the business. After he quit his job, he moved into the world of automobile

manufacturing when Toyota Motors hired him to assemble car parts. It was then that

the world of motor mechanics and design opened up to him, which would help him

move to his business with Vespa.

SETTING UP VESPA EMPIRE

2 | P a g ePE2/L03/Assignment 1/Interview Report

During his time as a student, Mr Hussainy used to own a Vespa scooter. He started

a hobby of customising and fixing Vespa scooters together with a friend. During his

time with Toyota, he envisioned opening a workshop and starting a business with

Vespa. His family and friends supported his vision and provided help and advice as

to how he could set up this business, and some of them assisted him in collecting

money for the start-up business venture. His parents always kept his motivations and

spirits up, and one of his close friends became his business partner during the start-

up process. By the year 2008, Vespa Empire was born. Mr Hussainy fondly

remembers that the first inventory that they purchased for the shop was a steel

cupboard.

Apart from his business partner who helps him run and organise the shop, Mr

Hussainy has 3 staff members working for him.

When asked why he chose to chose to specialise with Vespa, Mr Hussainy pointed

out that Vespa did have advantages compared to other competitor scooters, such as

the durability of the scooter's steel frame, and how easy it is to obtain spare parts.

Despite these advantages, he chose to specialise with Vespa scooters out of his

passion for the Italian scooters, and he proudly considers Vespa as one of the

motorcycle pioneers since the mid-1940s.

DAILY ROUTINES AT THE WORKPLACE

Vespa Empire provides a number of services to Vespa scooter owners. These

services include engine repair, body restoration and paint jobs. They also carry out

orders and deliveries of Vespa scooters, and provide a wide variety of accessories

that would please any Vespa-lover. The scooters and spare parts are imported from

Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Mr Hussainy explains that Vespa Empire is at its busiest on weekends. During the

week, they hardly ever get more than 5 customers per day. His staff usually have to

replace parts on scooters and perform paint sprays. The prices Vespa Empire offer

for paint jobs is relatively cheaper than most places, which is why most Vespa

owners prefer to go to Vespa Empire. Sometimes there are even requests to rent


Vespa scooters to be used in wedding photography sessions.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROGRESS

When Vespa Empire first opened, the Vespa scooters were being imported from

India and then distributed and sold in Malaysia. During the first year of sales, Mr

Hussainy proudly announced that Vespa Empire sold 500 bikes, which were mostly

models such as the LML and Star Dulute scooters.

Today, Vespa Empire also has another branch in Kedah, Malaysia, and enables

Vespa scooters to be sold throughout a large portion of West Malaysia. Mr Hussainy

hopes that in the future more branches of Vespa Empire will be opened in other

states of Malaysia, which would increase the popularity of Vespa with

scooter/motorbike riders in the country.

CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED

Vespa Empire had small challenges before it could stand as a business. But during

its operations, Mr Hussainy explained how they still face challenges in going about

the daily business.

One problem is getting the brand of Vespa Empire renown among the population of

bike riders. There are three workshops that Vespa Empire has to compete with, so it

is hard to entice scooter/motorbike riders to come to the workshop for their services.

Another problem is the fact that the parts and supplies that Vespa Empire import

from overseas usually take a long time to arrive to the workshop and this sometimes

creates problems with clients since they are kept waiting.

But Mr Hussainy is undeterred by these minor setbacks, and he is confident that

Vespa Empire and where it is going. He was asked if 5 years ago would he ever

imagine himself at such a position and a successful business, to which he replied

that he had faith in himself at the time that he could accomplish his dream. He

elaborated that since it working with Vespa has been both his dream and passion, he

was dedicated to achieve this job, and planned everything carefully along the way to


reach his goals.

ALTERNATE REALITY

Mr Hussainy has been determined to reach his dream career, and he succeeded.

But he added that had he not reached where he is today, he imagined that his career

path would have carried him further along the field of Graphic Designing. He has a

great interest in the arts; not just basic design, but also the arts of music. Mr

Hussainy enjoys playing guitar in his spare time, and also has a gardening hobby.

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

Mr Hussainy advised that for a person trying find to the path to success, it always

begins with yourself. The intention being envisioned must be clear, and that the

person must prepare themselves physically and mentally for the road ahead. A

person must be particularly prepared financially, and must have some good

experience to know what problems could lie ahead.

To quote Mr Hussainy, "If you desire to do something, you have to focus on that

thing only and never give up. Face every problem with confidence. Every problem

that we face requires us to think ahead in order to solve it, and you'll get a new

experience every time you solve a problem".

CONCLUSION

It was surprising to find out that, during the interview, Mr Hussainy was unable to

communicate in English, and that he required the questions to be translated to

Bahasa Malaysia for him to understand most of the questions. Since Vespa Empire

imports most of its products, it may be expected for Mr Hussainy (being the

manager) to have to communicate with international respondents. It could be a

disadvantage for him if Vespa Empire was able to expand even further

internationally.

However, considering the position he has reached in the space of 5 years, it is

remarkable what he has accomplished locally. It is quite a feat that he changed the


course of his early career himself, stuck to his goals and drove himself forward to

accomplish his vision of owning a Vespa workshop.

Many people have dreams about passions; Mr Hussainy managed to make his

dream become a reality.

Mr Hussainy Amir Bin Zulkiply posing outside the Vespa Empire workshop

APPENDICES

Interview Questions

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.


2. After you completed your studies, how did you transition into the working environment?

3. What influenced you to start this business?

4. Did you have any help setting up Vespa Empire?

5. Can you give us an idea of what goes on at Vespa Empire? What kind of services do you provide?

6. How many customers do you receive in a day? Is it always extremely busy?

7. How many members of staff do you have working with you?

8. Why was it decided to specialize with Vespa? Are there any advantages compared to Vespa's competitors?

9. Vespa Empire has been in business for almost 5 years. How has the business evolved over time?

10. What are the difficulties you faced while working here?

11. What has been the biggest achievement of Vespa Empire?

12. What kind of changes/improvements do you wish for Vespa Empire?

13. If you were not undertaking this job, where do you think your career path might have taken you?

14. Do you have any special skills or hidden talents?

15. 5 years ago, did you ever think/dream that you would have ever reached such a position in the working world?

16. As a successful person, do you have any advice for people searching for the road to success?

Photos taken on site:

The interview session in progress


Mr Hussainy Amir Bin Zulkiply tells us

his story

Translation was necessary to communicate with Mr Hussainy since he was not fluent in speaking English

The interviewers listen intently as Mr Hussainy answers their questions.


Various methods were carried out to record the interview session

(Video, Photographs, and Note-taking)

GROUP PHOTOMr Hussainy Amir Bin Zulkiply (centre) with the Interview team


Ijlal PE2 Interview Report

Documents

Transcript of Ijlal PE2 Interview Report