Friday, December 26, 2008

Sitting view during the PC Fair

While waiting for my bf to get some attention from the salesperson during the PC fair recently...
This is in the 1st hall.. if it was in the other halls, I wouldn't even have a place to sit and snap a picture like this.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I am a disgruntled consumer


Yes, I am a consumer. I am a disgruntled consumer when annoyed or provoked. Think this will be my 3rd entry on making a complaint.

Take for example, today, after receiving the umpteenth time of SMSes from my phone provider on so-called promotion with other businesses e.g. gym, retails and restaurant, I decided to give the hotline a call. The call went something like this. I cannot remember the exact words.

*Mxis operator: Hello, this is *******, may I help you?
Me : Yes, you may. Can Mxis please stop sending me annoying sms on promotion and freebies?
Mxis operator : When did you receive the sms?
Me : I have just received one just before I called you.
Mxis operator : What is the sms about?
Me : It is about a free trial usage with *Tru fitnes. I have already deleted that sms. Can you please stop sending the smses?

Mxis operator : Yes, you have to go to the Mxis Customer Centre to do that.
Me : You mean I can’t do it through the phone? I can’t do it through Mxis hotline?
Mxis operator : I’m sorry, ma’am. You can’t.
Me : You mean I have to wait someday when I am free and go all the way to Mxis Customer Centre to ask them to stop sending SMSes to me?
Mxis operator : Well, ma’am, we can put a request for you.
Me : How long would that take?
Mxis operator : 3 working days.
Me : Please go ahead and do so.
Mxis operator : Ok.
There was a silent pause.

Me : Please do it now.
Mxis operator : Ok ma’am. Please hold on. After a few minutes and confirmation of my personal details…

Mxis operator : All right ma’am, you should not be getting those SMSes within 2 working days.
If you still do, you can contact us.
Me : Does this mean if I still get any SMSes from Mxis, I should call you on the 19th Dec, this Friday?
Mxis operator : Yes.
Me : Ok.
Mxis operator : Is there anything else I can do for you?
Me : No, that’s all.
Mxis operator : Thank you for calling Mxis hotline….

Hence, the lesson I learnt, I have to be assertive and a tinge of upset/angry to get something done.

If I were not so, I would have stupidly find a time to go to Mxis Customer Centre in person and queue up to meet a Customer Service person to get some service which will not be guaranteed; based on my last experience with them.

In fact, sometimes, the server is down, or the person will direct you to the main Customer Service Centre all the way to the centre of Kuala Lumpur. Sometimes, they don’t understand you, or sometimes they don’t want to help you.

Sometimes, life just isn’t fair especially if you don’t have deep wallets and huge vaults in the bank. If you were one of these people, customer service would give you a nice comfy chair and smile sweetly at you while ignoring the “poor” customers just to give you VIP service too. Not being prejudice to the rich but just stating the blunt fact of human kind.

Meanwhile, lets see if I still receive any of those SMSes…

p.s. I have 2 strikes against this service provider. This will be the 3rd strike but I am too lazy to change provider… yet.

*Real names are modified for obvious reasons

Personality does matter

The screen of Amazing Race Asia Season 3 ended sometime back with the Hong Kong guys winning the race, followed by the Philippines couple and then the Malaysian mums.

Every season, there will be a favourite team and also a detestable team. Afterall, it is a race for 100,000 US Dollars. Some teams will show their fangs at each other or have internal battle. Some will be luck enough to go on smoothly with a little bicker.

The Philippines couple was the non-popular team this time by being the only team who used the “Yield” option to cause another team (Malaysian team) to wait 15 minutes before proceeding with the race and the “U-turn” option to cause another team (Singapore team) to redo another challenge of 2 options. Boooo!

In fact, personally, I also got annoyed with Geoff when in one leg of the race; Geoff used a whistle to call a taxi directly to the person’s face. Helo? Can’t you just call him with your voice instead of whistling away as if the driver is an animal? That is just plain rude.

In fact, he also annoyed the rest of the team when they showed the girls pitying Tisha for such a rude boyfriend. However, it was wasted on Tisha as she didn’t appreciate their complaints and told them off. She declared she has no problem with Geoff and is used to him.

Anyway, recently, my friend sighted the Philippines team in Chatuchak Market. She quickly asked me to take a look to see if they were really who there were. I glimpsed Geoff and Tisha from behind and their side profile as they disappeared into the crowd in the market. Looks like them to me (after watching the Amazing Race Asia)

“Why didn’t you stop them or get their autograph or photograph or something?” I asked.

My friend looked at me oddly and said, “For what? I don’t like them.”

Well, I don’t really like them but they were on television for weeks and they nearly win… She just looked at me with eyes, which says: “You crazy ar? For what?”

I related that incident to my bf and he scolded me.
“Why would you want to take picture with them?”

Again, he gave me a look which read, “Crazy ar? Why would you want to do that for?”

In other words, personality does matter. If you are a celebrity or if you somehow won the money prize, people won’t like you if you acted horribly and treated people around you disrespectfully.

Hence, if it was the Survivors reality program, they would have been voted off the race! ;)

Tribal council

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Chestnut roasting on the open fire...

Tis the season to be jolly... sha la la la la, la la la la...

Yes, it's Christmas time again.

Wow... time sure flies. I thought I celebrated Christmas recently. Another year passed by ever so quickly.

I start to ask myself...
What have I accomplished? *peeking at my 2008 new year's resolution* Err..
Have I even accomplished anything?
What was the most significant and memorable moment that has happened to me?
Then I think about Christmas and shove all these aside.
As the Christmas trees and decoration go up, merry people get busy shopping for Christmas presents. Shopping malls perk up with festive events to boost sales. Everyone seems happy and jolly with the numerous holidays creeping up. It's like magic! A bubble temporarily covers everyone in a joyous mood just for this festive season.

A note to myself, this will last for a few weeks and when 2009 comes about, everyone will sober up and dread another year of uncertainty and the unpaid credit card bills from overshopping at the end of the year.

However, good to know, January brings Chinese New Year and the happy bubble will last another month before February kicks in with reality.

In the mean time, do you really know what Christmas really mean? No, it's not about Santa Claus giving present to good little boys and girls. No, it's not about Christmas trees or reindeer.

It's suppose to remind us of the time Jesus Christ our saviour was born.
Who is He? Go and google yourself or just drop me a message! :p

Sunday, December 07, 2008

My love rival

My bf has a new love. How can I compete with her?

She is slim, sleek and young.
She brings the entire world to him.
She gives him access to places I can never do.
She is sought after by most men and some women too!

Her name? She is known as Apple's new 3G Iphone.

What were you thinking? :p

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Shopping collection


Latest trip...

New recruit


Take a look at the newest members of Piggylot army! Specially flown in from Chatuchak Market...