Mark Choon

QWS Tank Connection was started by Mr David Saik and three other partners almost nine years ago. David is a very enthusiastic fish hobbyist, especially arowanas, who has spent a lot of time and effort researching on fish tank manufacturing as well as filtration systems. He specializes in building customized tanks for specific freshwater fish such as arowanas.

David’s entry into the fish tank manufacturing business was by a stroke of luck. Back then, he was an employee with Ikea. A chance meeting with a lost contact, who was in the fish tank manufacturing business, started him off as a freelancer building fish tanks. With many friends and customers urging him to start his own business, David, with his partners, bought over a factory from a retiring businessman. Thus, QWS Tank Connection was born.

Today, QWS Tank Connection is known amongst local fish hobbyist as a reliable and good quality tank maker. Building this business and its reputation for the past nine years has not been an easy task. David attributes his current success to three things. Good Quality. Good Workmanship. Good Service. His reputation when he first started out was so good that his customers recommended him to name his company QWS Tank Connection.

Listen to your customers

David is a firm believer in customer service. His mantra for working with customers is “Treat customers not as customers but as your friends.” He describes this as being the most important aspect in his business and emphasizes that before he proceeds to make anything, he will listen to the customers’ needs first. Instead of making just-another-fish-tank, David would recommend the best filtration methods according to the fish as well as his customers’ needs. Only then will he start building the tank. David also does more by thinking further for the customer by providing additional piping holes for filtration expansion.

When asked about demanding customers, David acknowledges that he has his fair share of them. To this he says, “No matter how bad a customer is, I will try to find a way to solve the problem. I will listen to their point of view and see what remedy I can do from there. I’d rather lose some money than lose the customer.” 

“From one unreasonable customer, I can get back 10 customers through his recommendation,” David adds. That makes money sense to me!

Safety first
As David prides himself with the quality and workmanship of his tanks, he has a practice of not rushing tanks that his company makes. All tanks are ensured to be properly dried and assured to be safe from breakage before they are delivered. If the time frame is short and the tank made is deemed unsafe, he has no qualms at canceling the order. This shows his commitment to ensure the safety of his tank.

His personal journey
Prior to starting QWS Tank Connection, David had very little business experience and little educational qualifications. He dabbled with some sales in rental booths as well as working in the nightlife industry since he was 15. His first freelance job was maintenance of marine fish tanks. Thinking back, David said, “I am lucky I worked at Ikea. The courses that I was sent to taught me a lot of things about customer service.” He also adds that he learns everyday and always exchange pointers with fellow hobbyists and customers.

Continual research and development
David is continually improving his tanks’ quality by testing out different types of materials. This was evident when I visited his factory and was shown the various materials used. To improve his own filtration systems, David dedicated much time on self research at home, combining systems and finding out what works best for different type of fishes. It is with this knowledge that he advises his customers. As a result he has many customers being satisfied with his services and they have been supporting him all this while.

His driving force
“It is the customers. My customers are very supportive, giving me advice on how to improve my tanks and systems,” he answered when asked what his main motivation was in his business. He also emphasized that he is a hobbyist as well and being a hobbyist, fuels his passion to provide good quality tanks.

David’s words of wisdom
When asked what advice he would give to new bosses and entrepreneurs, he emphasized again the need for good customer service, “listen to their needs first” and be “open to feedback”. He also adds, “It is not easy to be a boss. You need to be firm. You must know how to draw a line with your workers. If the workers cannot manage, try to cut down their tasks depending on the urgency.”

David emphasized on the need to treat workers as family and to be as fair as possible. Adding to that, he said that one must build up mutual understanding with workers and partners as well.

The last advice he gave which I found very apt was, “If you don’t try you will never know.”

In conclusion, it is admirable that David has come a long way through his passion for fish keeping and making a successful business out of it. I am sure we all can learn from his experiences.

If you need any consultation on fish tanks and filtration systems, contact David at saikdavid@yahoo.com.sg. He would be very glad to help you.