boo-n-bouquet

FairPrice Finest outlet at Scotts Square raises several questions

2012-01-28T10:25:00.007+08:00

I received an eight-page brochure yesterday from NTUC FairPrice to announce the opening of its latest FairPricefinest outlet in the heart of the city -- at the newly-opened Scotts Square.

While I am happy that there is yet another outlet nearby for us to shop, it is unlikely that we will be going there often because of the parking charges.

I guess the outlet is to cater to those people who live in the expensive apartment blocks in the vicinity or tourists who stay in the five-star hotels around there.

Although I do not know the size of this outlet, FairPrice must be paying a hefty per square foot rent for the premises.

My curious mind is wondering whether the co-operative is charging the same prices for similar products that are available at its finest outlets elsewhere.

If it does, then it would either be making a lower profit margin or maybe even a loss for such products because of the higher costs. If it does not, then regulars would naturally avoid going there to shop.

Several other questions come to mind:

* Why is the co-op venturing into the upmarket area when it should really be concentrating on the more residential places where the ordinary Singaporeans live?

* Would prices at other finest outlets continue to be reasonably priced if the Scotts outlet does not measure up because of the higher operational costs?

* Is this an indication that the co-op is slowly veering away from its social mission to moderate the cost of living in Singapore?

NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd was founded by the labour movement in 1973 and its first NTUC Welcome supermarket at Toa Payoh was opened by PM Lee Kuan Yew on 22 July 1973.

Ten years later, NTUC Welcome merged with the Singapore Employees Co-operative to form NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd.

FairPrice has since grown to become the largest retailer. Its network of more than 230 outlets include FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra, FairPrice Xpress and Cheers convenience stores.

On its website, NTUC FairPrice says it has evolved to make "the dream of living well accessible to everyone by moderating the costs of the good life."

I hope the opening of the Scotts outlet is not an indication that it has forgotten about its social mission.

Why is DBS compromising our security without telling us first?

2012-01-18T13:07:00.005+08:00

Despite the ATM thefts amounting to $1 million through skimming, what DBS and UOB said recently would give the jitters to anyone who has some money in these banks.

Following the thefts at its ATM machines in Bugis Street, DBS came out to say that it has no full security measures at all its ATMs.

Jitter technology is employed to shake the ATM card when it is inserted and removed to make it difficult for the thieves to instal a skimming devices. It was not used at the Bugis machines.

And the bank's explanation for this was: these measures will lead to a "meaningful increase in customer queue times".

DBS has also admitted that by not activating all the measures at many of its ATMs it could leave these machines vulnerable to thefts.

But what floored me was the remark by its spokesman that "even if the jitter function was on, it is highly unlikely that it could have circumvented the card skimming incident."

Then, almost in the next breath, he added: "It is fair to say that the more security measures you leave on, the better you are likely to be protected."

The obvious question anyone would ask DBS is this: Why are you compromising our security and why are you informing us of this only now --- when the money had disappeared from the ATMs?

Surely we, the customers, have the right to know what we are in for when we use its ATMs.

I mentioned UOB at the start because when DBS was hit, it said it had activated the full security measures at all its ATMs. But when The Straits Times reporter made a check on Monday, it was found that its machines at three places were not activated.

Later that day, it activated all its machines after being told by the newspaper.

In all this fiasco, the bank that stood out is OCBC. All its machines have the full security measures since 2007. Solid as a rock, as usual.

$100 notes not a Lunar New Year issue

2012-01-04T10:26:00.002+08:00

If you can get new $100 notes from your banks for the Lunar New Year this year, consider yourself lucky.

A spokesman for the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Currency Department told me this morning that the $100 is not a LNY issue. Only $2, $5, $10 and some $50 are.

So, if you were to ask your bank for $100 notes -- like I did -- you will be told that they have only recirculated notes. MAS says that it will only issue new $100 notes when there is a shortage of such notes.

I guess not many people put $100 notes in their ang pows. Anyway, two $50 will do the trick.

DBS says it does not have $100 new notes for the Lunar New Year

2012-01-03T15:38:00.008+08:00

It is happening again. Eleven months after I blogged (Friday, February 11, 2011 New currency notes for angpows: Ball is at the feet of our banks) about the shortage of new currency notes for the Lunar New Year, DBS Bank told me today that the authorities have not given them any new $100 notes.

They have notes in $2, $5, $10 and $50 denominations, but not the $100. It does seem a bit strange. I will ask the the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Currency Department again why this is so and whether the bank had made a request for the $100 notes.

Last year, I had asked MAS, after a prompting from a friend, why the Board of Commissioners of Currency could not have printed more new notes knowing that there was going to be a demand every year.

My friend said the giving of angpows "is a good family tradition that we would want to uphold and the government should play its part to make sure that there is sufficient supply of those notes every year."

MAS said then that it would only issue new notes when recirculated notes were insufficient to meet the demand for cash.

"This usually coincides with festive periods such as Chinese New Year. The amount of new notes to be issued in any given year, depends on the demand from banks and stock level of recirculated notes," it explained.

So, it is really up to our banks to ask for them. In other words, ask and it shall be given. How much new notes are put out by the authorities depends on the banks.

Question now is, whether DBS had asked MAS for new $100 notes this year and, if not, why not?

Goodwood gives a template response

2011-12-30T13:39:00.006+08:00

Goodwood Park has responded to my "raw Christmas" complaint about its poor service. It was what I would call a template reply and is unlikely to give me the confidence that its standard of service will improve next Christmas.

Here's the letter from Cameron Smith, its F and B director:

"Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback with regards your experience on Xmas Eve with regards your pick up from the Deli.

I do value your comments and the points raised are being addressed with those concerned.

I can assure that this feedback is important to us and we take your comments very seriously.

Once again on behalf of Goodwood Park Hotel, please accept my sincere apologies and I do hope to have the opportunity to welcoming you back to Goodwood Park Hotel in the future."

A really raw Christmas!!!!

2011-12-27T17:56:00.004+08:00

Christmas Eve dinner this year had many hiccups, no thanks to the food providers -- Goodwood Park Hotel and Singapore Island Country Club (SICC).

From Goodwood, we had ordered a soya sauce turkey, a Yorkshire pork rack, turkey satay, candied chestnut, potato salads among other things. Allen and Celia were assigned to pick up the food.

Although they were there promptly at six, collection time promised by the hotel, they had to wait one and a half hours before all the food was ready.

The culprit was the turkey, or rather, the people cooking it.

According to Celia, what did not help was the staff who had to manage the impatient customers. Although they tried to appease them with offer of orange juice drinks, they made the big mistake of getting the order of the queue all mixed up. As a result, many who were there first were frustrated.

One middle-aged couple who were behind in the queue managed to get their turkey earlier because the staff succumbed to their unsavoury pressure.

But the long wait was not the only disappointment that evening. When the Yorkshire pork rack was sliced, the meat was found to be severely under-cooked. Our helpers had to give it the once over before it could be consumed.

The next big disappointment came from SICC which prepared our roast beef, pork knuckle, mince pies and Christmas pudding.

Like the Yorkshire pork rack from Goodwood, the two chunks of roast beef turned out to be raw. We could not have it re-roasted because there was no oven in the house, which, incidentally, is almost bare of facilities as it is due to be torn down for rebuilding.

Victor volunteered to send the beef back to SICC. The club, realising its shortfall, took it back without any question asked.

To its credit, someone from the club called up on Christmas Day to apologise and, as a gesture of goodwill, offered to compensate us with another chunk of roast.

That, I must say, was good damage control as it immediately appealed to our forgiving nature and softened us. I wish more people and organisations could do the same.

Wang Foong's excellent service -- and here's Lucy to show you the proof

2011-12-23T11:18:00.010+08:00

My friend and fellow blogger Lucy was all excited (I guess she must have been!) when she emailed me this morning to offer me a bouquet.

"After sharing with you so many brickbats in the past year, I'm happy, no delighted, to share with you some excellent service I received yesterday," she said.

Her story is pretty long (and interesting, I might add), so I will just reproduce what she has posted in her blog, FOOD fuels me to talk...

Wang Foong’s excellent service Sam

"On Wang Foong Foodstuffs Suppliers’ website there’s a tagline that says “Expect nothing less than EXCELLENT”. And it’s no empty boast!

I experienced first hand such excellent service that I’m quite astounded how a little factory outlet tucked away in the boondocks of Wooodlands could cultivate such customer centric behaviour that leaves so many big organisations like banks — not to say SMRT — and Cold Storage lagging so far behind as to be out of sight!

This is how I got to know Wang Foong.

Last Sunday, Dec 18, I was at OperaViva’s last soiree for the year held at founding chairman Leow Siak Fah’s imposing home off Kheam Hock Road.

Besides the excellent singing and a solo poetry recital on “The night before Christmas”, there was, as always, plenty of food. Besides the host family’s signature dish of mee siam, several of us brought something to share, pot luck style.

And it was the least inspiring looking contribution that caught my eye and taste bud. Note that dark little lump on the extreme left of the pix (below) behind the nyonya kueh. It was the best smoked pork knuckle I’ve tasted in a long time!

Once the outer skin was peeled off, the unprepossessing bundle turned into an ambrosaic tender flavorful knuckle ham, with just enough fat and bite to make every mouthful a heavenly experience.

No wonder then, several of us stood around to attack the meat repeatedly, morsel by morsel so that it was gone in no time.

I simply had to ask the woman who brought the knuckle where she got the yummy fare. She wrote the contact web site on a paper serviette: www.wanfon.com

That night, I went to the site and sent an email asking for more info and was given an auto response followed promptly the next day by a reply from Mr Samuel Soh, a sales operation executive, explaining that Wang Foong doesn’t take pre-orders but I could call him to find out more.

To cut a long story short, we spoke and I explained that I needed just two knuckles, to justify my drive from Newton to Woodlands. He gave me directions and promised to ensure that I won’t be disappointed on arrival with the “sold out” sign.

This morning, I made the trip but as one auntie who knows Orchard Road and its surrounding best, it wasn’t long be4 I was lost in the wilds of Woodlands. Despite very clear directions on how to get off the SLE to Woodlands Terrace, I found myself outside an MRT station, without a clue which it was — it didn’t help that there wasn’t any easily noticeable sign either!

I lowered my car window and shouted at the first uncle passerby who looked my way to ask. He told me it was Marsiling which frankly in terms of giving me a sense of location, he might as well have said Mars.

So I called Mr Samuel Soh who told me not to worry. He would drive from Wang Foong “to fetch” me. And he did, within 5 minutes and then guided me to Woodlands Terrace by driving slowly with me trailing close behind.

Then he zipped into the sales area and picked up the required pork knuckles. I paid and he was all smiles, as he waved away my offer of a $2 tip “for your petrol lah, to come and look for me”.

This is service par excellence — all for a $39 purchase! Compare this to the terrible service that’s been doled out to me at Cold Storage on a fairly regular basis – where I spend thousands per year!

And no, Wang Foong’s operations aren’t of the “catch fly” variety. There were several customers milling inside its premises when I got there.

Yet it actually spared a sales executive to come and show me the way knowing that I’m no big spender! That’s putting service be4 dollars and cents!

So go eat your heart out all you big business and organisations, which are more interested in being big in sales than big in service! It’s shameful that a small operation like Wang Foong can out-run you like a gazelle can out run a bumbling elephant!"

Thanks, Lucy. I wish more people who write to me would do the same -- give praise when they come across someone who does an excellent service.

Good, cheap and fast --- how they add up

2011-12-22T19:02:00.005+08:00

I came across a picture with this sign in my mail recently about service and thought the logic makes a lot of sense in present-day Singapore. It reminded me of labour chief Lim Swee Say's 'cheaper, better, faster' slogan.

Singapore Airport: Should there still be a question of whether it is the best?

2011-12-06T12:11:00.009+08:00

The Wall Street Journal (Asia) today carried in its Travel section a story about Singapore Airport that all Singaporeans, myself included, would be proud of.

It would have been a perfect story if the sub-editor (or whoever was in charge) had removed the question mark from the heading, THE WORLD'S BEST AIRPORT?

After all, the story gushes about all the fantastic facilities and amenities of the airport, something that would be hard to match in other airports of the developed countries.

Maybe the ASJ just didn't want to get itself embroiled in any controversy. Here's the story...

THE WORLD'S BEST AIRPORT?

On a recent vacation, Andrew Tregonning and his wife, Gill, found themselves relaxing in a spacious rooftop hot tub. Nearby were countless restaurants and shops, many with tax-free merchandise. Next, they could take a bus tour, catch a movie or meander through a tropical butterfly garden.

Ah, the joys of the airport. The Tregonnings were en route from New Zealand to India and opted for a long layover at Singapore's Changi International Airport just so they could play.

"It's the first time we've ever done something like this," said Mrs. Tregonning. "It's wonderful."

Changi is arguably the world's most fabulous airport. Since it opened in 1981, the airport has notched more than 370 "best" awards world-wide from travel trade groups and publications. A look at its operations reveals much about how to run a top-notch airport—and ways other airports could improve.

The airport offers amenities found elsewhere only in airlines' fancy lounges for premium passengers. There are comfortable areas for sleeping or watching TV, premium bars, work desks and free Internet. A nap room is about $23 for three hours; a shower can be had for $6. If you want to put your feet in a tank with tiny fish that eat dead skin, that's $17 for 20 minutes.

The pool is free to guests of the airport's in-transit hotels; otherwise it's about $11 a person. A bus tour of Singapore is offered free by the airport. The tour is arranged so that passengers don't have to clear immigration—the airport retains passports so passengers don't run off.

Simple steps matter, like minimizing annoying announcements and honking carts and instead playing soothing music to reduce stress. Placing rival currency-exchange booths and clothing stores side-by-side stimulates competition. Touch screens in bathrooms let travelers send text messages to supervisors when toilet paper runs out, for example.

Changi figures such perks entice passengers to spend more money at the airport and select Singapore over other connecting hubs. About 750,000 square feet of concession space—approximately the size of a suburban shopping mall—provides 50% of the airport's revenue, helping to pay for amenities and keep down costs to airlines. The airport says its merchants recorded $1 billion in retail sales last year.

A four-story amusement-park type slide is even tied into retail. If you want to use the slide, you have to have a receipt from an airport merchant showing roughly $8 and up in purchases. Without that, you can only ride the bottom 1½ stories of the slide.

Terminal 3, the largest, opened in 2008 with skylights, a wall of windows and an interior wall covered in plants rotated out of the airport's greenhouse. It is a city unto itself: dry cleaners, medical center with everything from dental care to fertility treatments, a grocery store, pharmacy, flower shop, jewelry stores, clothing stores and an indoor amusement park for kids with a balloon bounce house.

The 18th-busiest airport in the world by passengers, Changi is smaller than New York's Kennedy Airport and Amsterdam's Schiphol but larger than Shanghai and Houston's Bush Intercontinental, and is a prime connecting point for flights linking north and south Asia as well as Europe and Oceania. It's not just a hub for Singapore Airlines, but also a refueling stopover for European and Australian carriers. So the airport offers plenty of activities for travelers with time on their hands.

"We wanted to transform the way travel is done and create a stress-free experience," said Foo Sek Min, executive vice president of Changi Airport Group Ltd., the airport's operator. It was "corporatized" into a state-owned company in 2009 and has had plenty of government support, since the airport is considered a key economic development element for the small, fast-growing island nation.

Mr. Foo's personal pet project: a butterfly garden. Soothing and relaxing, it's a two-story tropical garden overlooking gates for Singapore Airlines super-jumbo A380 jets. Since smoking isn't allowed indoors, the original concept was a smoking garden. "Why not do more?" he said.

Changi also has a private terminal called "Jet Quay" that is used by celebrities, private jet-setters, government officials, CIPs—Commercially Important Persons—and anyone else willing to pay. For about $1,150, you get jet-side limo service. For $231 you get the use of a private terminal along with golf-cart rides to gates. For $62, Jet Quay personnel will greet you at arrival and escort you through main terminal areas.

Few of the airport's 28,000 workers actually are employed by Changi Airport Group, but airport management requires new hires to go through a weeklong indoctrination on the airport, its layout and service standards and training on how to help travelers.

"Serving the customer well always correlates with earning money," said Mr. Foo. "Do you need a swimming pool in an airport? No. No one asked for that. We are creating the market, creating the demand. People choose Singapore because they can swim."

Bill Franke, former chairman of America West Airlines who now runs a private equity group that invests in airlines, knows Changi as both an airline operator, having founded Tiger Airways in Singapore, and as a frequent traveler. The quick baggage delivery, easy immigration and security set-ups, pleasant surroundings and sounds all contribute to efficiency, he said.

"When I come into Changi, there's a sense of comfort, a feeling which I don't have at other airports," Mr. Franke said.

Customer service is apparent. Feedback kiosks are scattered throughout. In bathrooms, seemingly always clean and appointed with small flowers, touch screens by sinks ask customers to rate the facility.

Mining company executive Kevin Swendson, heading home to Indonesia after a business trip to Singapore, stopped in at one of the airport's two movie theaters to watch "Fast and Furious 5." The theater has surround-sound audio, wide aisles for maneuvering luggage and patrons who quickly say, "Shhhhhhh!" to anyone talking.

"A lot of airports are boring like hell. But there's a movie here, massage here, food here. It's great," he said. His advice for other airports: "Just have a good imagination and a bit of spice. It doesn't seem that it would be that hard for airports to do it."

Those of you who'd like to read the story in AWJ, here's the link:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970204397704577070502443425304-lMyQjAxMTAxMDAwNTEwNDUyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email_bot

Come fly with me...and be surprised!!!!

2011-12-05T11:07:00.003+08:00

I received this story this morning and thought that I should share it with you.

Come Fly With Me !!!!!

For those who have flown RYANAIR:
"Spare a thought for Michael O’Leary, Chief Executive of 'Ryanair'.......

Arriving in a hotel in Dublin, he went to the bar and asked for a pint of draught Guinness. The barman nodded and said, "That will be one Euro please, Mr O’Leary."

Somewhat taken aback, O'Leary replied, "That's very cheap," and handed over his money.

"Well, we try to stay ahead of the competition", said the barman. "And we are serving free pints every Wednesday evening from 6 until 8. We have the cheapest beer in Ireland."

"That is remarkable value" Michael comments.

"I see you don't seem to have a glass, so you'll probably need one of ours. That will be 3 Euro please."

O'Leary scowled, but paid up. He took his drink and walked towards a seat.

"Ah, you want to sit down?" said the barman. "That'll be an extra 2 Euro. You could have pre-booked the seat, and it would have only cost you a Euro. I think you may be too big for the seat sir, can I ask you to sit in this frame please?"

Michael attempts to sit down but the frame is too small and when he can't squeeze in he complains: "Nobody would fit in that little frame!"

"I'm afraid if you can't fit in the frame you'll have to pay an extra surcharge of €4.00 for your seat sir." O'Leary swore to himself, but paid up.

"I see that you have brought your laptop with you" added the barman. "Since that wasn't pre-booked either, that will be another 3 Euro."

O'Leary was so annoyed that he walked back to the bar, slammed his drink on the counter, and yelled, "This is ridiculous, I want to speak to the manager!"

"Ah, I see you want to use the counter," says the barman, "that will be 2 Euro please."
O'Leary's face was red with rage. "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do Mr. O'Leary,"

"I've had enough! What sort of Hotel is this? I come in for a quiet drink and you treat me like this. I insist on speaking to a manager!"

"Here is his E mail address, or if you wish, you can contact him between 9 and 9.10 every morning, Monday to Tuesday at this free phone number. Calls are free, until they are answered, then there is a talking charge of only 10 cents per second."

"I will never use this bar again!"

"OK sir, but remember, we are the only hotel in Ireland selling pints for one Euro".

Moral of the story: if you fly low-cost carriers, be prepared for the extras.

Tammy tells the story of how Citibank has taken away 'three years of her life'

2011-11-30T18:49:00.007+08:00

I came across this amazing story by my friend Tammy about her experience with Citibank Singapore when I logged on to my Facebook account today.

She has been so exasperated by this she says she has lost three years of her life. Here's the story in her own words (Her version on Facebook, meant for her friends, is more colourful):

"In my 40 years, I have never been driven to such exasperation by any one organisation as I have in the last six days by Citibank.

"It all started when my husband and I decided to buy a place in Melbourne. Our obvious financing choice was Citibank. It's a global bank with Aussie branches and we bank with them a bit. It all made sense.

"The home loan process started with a guy being attached to us. This banker whom I shall not name, was a nice guy but he didn't seem to know anything about the product he was selling.

"He came with a loan document for me to sign and couldn't even answer simple questions. Eg: why is there a 10% foreign exchange buffer on the loan amount if the loan is to be converted to Sing dollars at point of disbursement anyway? Er..... let me check, was his answer.

"Anyway he left soon after. Months went by and I decided I had better keep tabs on what was going on. My concern was that things were not in place for effective disbursement of funds when settlement was due. I was repeatedly assured that all was well.

"Settlement, we were told last week, is due on 1 Dec 2011.
On Friday, 25 Nov, Citi sent an email with attached loan facility documents which required our immediate signatures - in front of a notary public.

"I asked why these were not sent earlier and was told it was because of our Australian lawyer's fault. But the documents did not come from, our lawyers - it's from Citi's lawyers...

"Anyway we got the documents signed. But I noticed that the loan amount seemed lower than what I remembered. I did my calculations and asked the loan officer why it did not translate to 70% of the purchase price. She did not know and said she would check.

"Hours went by and at about 4pm on Friday, she came back to say the amount was right....and that the loan was lower because valuation had been assessed to be much lower than the purchase price.

"You can imagine our shock. Citi had not bothered to inform us about this. I was livid to say the least. If I had not checked, the settlement date would have come and gone and incomplete settlement would have been made. Who then would have been liable? Penalties would have to be paid and we may even lose our property - all because of shoddy Citi processes.

"To add insult to injury, Citi asked that we pay for valuation costs. We refused to on principle. Citi finally agreed to waive the charges.

"The problems did not end there. I was to find out that Citi was holding AUD30,000 against the loan amount as stamp duty payment - even though the Australian authorities had yet to ask for it.

"More importantly, the property was bought off the plan which meant that stamp duty was much reduced - estimated at a mere AUD800, give or take.

"I asked Citi what right it had to ask for AUD30,000 to hold in trust when the stamp duty was not payable to them anyway. What more, the amount they were asking would not even earn interest.

"I saw no reason to give them the money when there was no documentation to show that stamp duty would be AUD30,000.

"Citi's answer: it is needed because without payment for stamp duty we can't register the property and that is collateral against the loan.That is mind-boggling to say the least. No other bank has this as a requirement. Why does Citi feel it needs to nanny its customers.

"Obviously when stamp duty is due, payment will be made. Why does Citi need to hold an amount 30 times the actual amount just so it can feel "safe"? "

Looks like Citi has a lot of explanation to do. Watch this space.

OAC explains why it could not process claim

2011-11-26T11:34:00.004+08:00

In a previous post, we ran a story on how insurance company Overseas Assurance Company (OAC) had refused to help a policy-holder process an accident claim.

Insurance company Overseas Assurance Company has now explained why it could not do so and I accept its explanation -- unless policy-holder Wong Shi Shen can show that the company was wrong in doing that.

In a letter to the Forum Page of The Straits Times published yesterday, OAC said:

"MR WONG Shi Shen's vehicle was involved in a traffic accident with a Malaysian-registered vehicle in Singapore.

Mr Wong filed the accident report at one of our authorised workshops during which he elected not to claim under his comprehensive Overseas Assurance Corporation (OAC) motor policy but against the Malaysian vehicle's insurer in Malaysia.

Local workshops are not set up to handle cross-border claims, and as such, they are not in a position to assist effectively.

We had advised Mr Wong to claim under his OAC policy for repairs to his vehicle. By doing so, this will give us the right, as the insurer, to recover the amount paid out under the policy from the insurer of the Malaysian vehicle.

As Mr Wong chose not to claim under his policy, OAC has no legal right to represent him in his claim.

Mr Wong's no-claim discount (NCD) will be reinstated and his premiums readjusted once the liability of the parties involved in the accident is established and the recovery is completed.

We advise motorists facing a similar situation to take photos of the damage to the Malaysian vehicle, its insurance certificate and road tax disc.

To help them, we have a dedicated section on our website www.greateasternlife.com on how they can report and submit a claim involving Malaysian vehicles."

Insurance company OAC 'refuses to help process an accident claim'

2011-11-23T11:21:00.009+08:00

What really annoys me is when I come across someone refusing to perform a service when he has a duty to do so.

This morning when I read the papers, I came across a Forum Page letter in The Straits Times in which the writer, Wong Shi Shen, says that his insurance company refused to help him process an accident claim.

Here's the story for those of you who have missed it...

S'pore drivers at a disadvantage
"RECENTLY, I was involved in an accident with a Malaysian-registered car driven by a Malaysian motorist here. He and I agreed to lodge a police report and to submit our claims with our respective motor insurers.

But when I visited an authorised workshop of my insurer, Overseas Assurance Corporation (OAC), I was told that the workshop did not entertain claims against Malaysian drivers of Malaysian- registered cars because of the red tape involved. I was rebuffed by other similar workshops I called.

What was shocking was that the Malaysian driver managed to submit a claim against me. OAC informed me that it was increasing my premiums upon renewal because it had received a claim filed by the driver's Singapore workshop against me. The increase would be permanent if the claim succeeded.

When I asked OAC to process my claim because all other workshops had refused, OAC refused, stating that it was not a legal firm. I was given to understand that a Singapore motorist had to hire a lawyer to submit a claim for an accident in Singapore involving a Malaysian-registered car.

Till then, my impression was that one was covered for all accidents that happened on Singapore roads.

The irony must be obvious: Foreigners in a foreign-registered car can use Singapore workshops to make a claim for an accident against a local motorist in a Singapore-registered car plying Singapore roads.

Shouldn't the authorities ensure that the laws on our roads prioritise protection for Singapore motorists ahead of foreigners in foreign-registered vehicles?"

If what the writer says is true, I think the Monetary Authority of Singapore
should step in to put things right.

Despite her change, SQ keeps reverting to Anne Wong's old name

2011-11-19T17:32:00.005+08:00

No one would blame frequent flyer Anne Wong if she were to develop a split personality. And reading about her recent experience with Singapore Airlines, our national airline appears to be partly responsible for her "disorder".

After her return from Hong Kong earlier this month, she sent this email to SQ on November 16:

"As you can see from my boarding pass stubs, I flew from SIN-HK (6 Nov 2011) and was Anne Wong Holloway.

"Then when I returned to Singapore yesterday I was Elizabeth Anne Wong all over again.

"Last night I printed out my boarding pass for tomorrow's flight to HKG from SIN and am Anne Wong Holloway -- this is enough to give me multi-personality disorder! Who am I?

"Also after printing out my boarding pass in HK, I got to the airport to check in my luggage and I was told that due to problems with the electronics/entertainment system I was moved from the seat I had picked out (somewhere in row 34, I think) to 31D.

"I thought to myself...this is most unusual as have found that no matter Business or Economy, one discovers the seats or the electronics are faulty only when on board. It impressed me no end that in such a big plane, SIA would have such spot-on, ahead-of-time, care-for-the-poor passenger fault reporting.

"However, I noticed during the flight that all the AISLE seats in the rows behind me were fully occupied. So obviously nothing was wrong with the electronics! I shall be wary when next time Singapore Airlines asks me to change my seat...

"In the meantime I hope that you will help me cure my multi-personality disorder."

If you have been following this blog, you would know that this was not the first time Anne had complained to the airline about the confusion over her name. She had the airline changed it to Anne Wong Holloway way back in 2005 but "for some unknown reason" it kept reverting back to her old name.

"This would be amusing if SIA was not our national carrier, but, say, India's," she messaged me.

Feedback demon at Starhub

2011-11-18T20:16:00.005+08:00

Avid tennis fan Irene Hoe was happily watching Starhub Channel 211's ATP 1000 Paris "live" on November 8 when she heard something annoying coming from the TV.

Almost immediately, she wrote to the telco's customer service to find out: "Why the hell is there LOUD background music being played during the match now?"

Four days later, Ms Hasda Yati of Starhub replied to thank her for the feeback. But what annoyed Irene was this sentence in her reply: "However, in order for us to feedback to the relevant department, we would appreciate if you would further elaborate on the incident such as the programme or time where the incident occured."

So, she shot back: "What can't you understand about Ch 211 and 'now'? And please note that 'feedback' is a noun and not a verb. Do NOT, I pray you, ask me to elaborate further."

Separately, the telco's Customer Care also sent Irene this standard reply on the same day: "We are currently experiencing higher than usual email volume and regret that we may take longer to attend to you. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused."

Without missing a beat, Irene countered: "You are NEVER going to experience anything but 'higher than usual email volume' since you keep NOT dealing with issues and instead keep the flow going with ridiculous requests for 'more information' so that you can 'feedback' some voracious feedback demon.

"And please do NOT call me to get 'more information' and 'more details' of the 'incident'."

Two days later, obviously realising the mistake it had made in its earlier reply, another customer officer Ms Mabel Lim wrote to Irene:

"Thank you for your email of 12 November 2011. Please accept our
sincere apologies on the delay of our reply due to the high volume of
emails received.

"Rest assured that your feedback regarding Racquet Channel has been
shared with the relevant parties who will look into this. We
sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused you."

Irene's rejoinder: "I assure you that I am not assured by anything I am told by Starhub. I also assure you that I am in no need of any further assurance from Starhub. I am completely assured only of the certainty that absolutely nothing will be done."

This time, Irene sent a copy to its CEO, Neil Montefiore.

Let's hope he will be able to assure Irene that Starhub means action and not just words.

Silkair flight not so smooth

2011-11-04T12:36:00.006+08:00

We are back from our holiday in Jiuzhaizuo/Chengdu and I would like to give an update on the service that we received from Silkair.

The flight up to Chengdu was pretty pleasant. The business class crew was helpful and efficient.

One notable incident that impressed me was when the crew allowed an old man from Economy to use the Business class toilet. Otherwise he would have to walk all the way to the back of the plane to ease himself.

My choice for lunch -- fish and noodles -- turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It tasted good! But my friends who opted for the chicken and rice were disappointed.

Well, I guess it was the luck of the draw. Who's to know what to expect from airline food. You just do not get consistency.

However, I would still give a passing mark overall for our flight MI 934 to Chengdu.

The return journey was a different story altogether. It started off badly. When I tried to check in my wife for her economy flight online, I failed miserably. This despite a phone alert from the airline a day earlier asking us to do so.

Silkair's position on its website was specific -- it said in a statement in red that online check-in was not available and that passengers had to do it at the airport. WHAT A WASTE OF OUR TIME!!!

At the airport, eight of our travelling companions who were on Business class, thought we would have an easier time. Unfortunately, it was not so.

We discovered Silkair had put a trainee to man the Business check-in desk. It probably thought that the number of passengers was much fewer and therefore they did not forsee any problems.

However, it was not to be. By the time the trainee finished checking in the business class passengers, ALL the Economy passengers had already been cleared. And there must have been at least 100 of them.

What was more embarassing was that two of our friends, also on Business class, had to amble over to the Economy desk to check in, in order to speed things up.

On board, the crew was, as usual, pleasant and obliging. But the dinner was horrendous. My fish and fat beehoon was just inedible and I had to tell the stewardess to take it away.

I discovered later that I was not the only one who found the food bad. My friend Ceci thought so too. She said the stewardess could not even get the menu right when it was read to her.

She was told that one of the two dishes offered was chicken with pasta when it turned out to be something else. The stewardess later apologised to her for making the mistake.

As the return flight was delayed by 30 minutes and we finally got home past midnight, I guess there were at least two growling tummies that needed to be fed that night.

Hardly a great way to fly!!!!

2011-10-26T18:38:00.005+08:00

It may still be promoted as "A great way to fly" but my confidence in our airline is very fast diminishing each time I go into its revamped website to do a booking or to confirm a flight.

It happened again this morning when I spent 45 minutes trying to confirm my flight and that of my wife.

I had really no problem when I logged into Singapore Airlines' website and confirmed my business class seat. But when I tried to do the same for my wife, I just could not do it.

Was it because hers was a redemption ticket for an economy seat? Surely SQ must be totally out of its mind to even think of doing such a thing, I told myself.

I decided I should find out. But the difficulty I had in locating the contact number made me think that SQ does not encourage its customers to speak to its officers.

I finally managed to get the number and got through to a woman who spoke with a very strong Indian accent. She said her name was Ruchira, confirming at the same time that she was speaking from a call centre, which she described as "a commercial desk".

When I told her about my problem, she tried to check but could not enlighten me. However, she gave me a number to call.

I did and got through to another woman, Zaza. She was helpful but, like her colleague, was not able to offer a reason. Knowing that I was getting exasperated, she said she would transfer me to another colleague who should be able to help.

When Shamin came on the line, I repeated my problem and again was made to wait while he went to check. He did not give an answer when I asked him whether the problem arose because of the redemption ticket.

He asked to try logging on to the Silkair website to get my wife's ticket confirmed.

My question is, why didn't they tell me this in the first place?

As I was late for a lunch appointment, I decided that I would try the Silkair website upon my return. Curiously, just as I left my house, SQ sent an email alert to ask that I check in through the Silkair website.

I have since done that and succeeded in confirming my wife's ticket. But I am still not clear why I could do it on the SQ website and she could not!!!! Would SQ blame it on its troublesome, revamped website? I hope not.

But the confirmation issue was not the only thing that got me hot under the collar this morning. Something else I saw on the Silkair website made me blow my top.

More than two months ago when we did our Chengdu bookings, I wanted to mae a seat selection for my wife. But I could not because SQ said the sector was operated by its partner airline and no seat selection was allowed.

At that time, August 8 to be exact, I found the practice a bit strange. When I called the Silkair office later to inquire, an officer named Vera told me that the seat selection service had been stopped. She could not offer any reason for the action.

This morning, when I logged on to the Silkair website to confirm the ticket, to my surprise, a message flashed across the screen to say: "Please be advised that seat selection may be limited on a fully-booked flight."

Wow, what a revelation!!! So there was in fact seat selection, but why was I told otherwise on August 8??? SQ could not have changed its mind between then and now.

I cannot wait for SQ's response to this mystery. Stay tune...

Heidi gets a re-contract fee waiver from Singtel finally

2011-10-22T14:09:00.004+08:00

Undergrad Heidi Tan has reported good news from Singtel. The telco has agreed to waive the re-contract fee which it wanted to impose after she had to get a new phone to replace the one that was pickpocketed (see earlier post, Pickpocket takes Heidi's mobile; telco penalises her.)

Heidi was obviously upset when the telco told her about the penalty. She wrote to me about a week ago and her story was posted in my blog. I also informed Singtel about it.

Things moved pretty fast after that. The telco contacted me to ask for Heidi's contact as she had used her Chinese name in her contract.

The two parties eventually got together to resolve her problem. Last night, a delighted Heidi emailed me to say:

"Finally, we have resolved all the issues today. She (the telco's customer service officr) said that she has updated the system to waive my re-contract fee, as a gesture of goodwill. This was delivered as promised upon receiving my police report. I have it in email, so I guess that means it is in black and white.

"Hooray, I am so happy!"

Heidi made a police report after she was pickpocketed at Raffles City . But when she went to Singtel to get a replacement phone, she was told that she would only be eligible for the 21 months' upgrade from 6 June 2012. And under the 12 months' upgrade programme, the top-up charge of $300 is payable.

Singtel had told her: "In view of the price of the handsets sold to customers upon upgrade, we seek your kind understanding that we are not able to waive the top-up charge.

"Our record indicates that the line has an outstanding two years' contract which will expire on 8 Sept 2012. If the line is ceased, the gradated penalty of the set is payable."

Well, I am glad that the telco finally acceded to her request for the fee waiver. Bouquet for Singtel for being flexible and Heidi for not giving up.

Daily dose of boo-n-bouquets

2011-10-21T10:49:00.010+08:00

While reading the papers this morning, I was both heartened and saddened by some of the reports regarding the care for service in Singapore.

However, that gave me an idea to start a daily review of the cheerful and not-so-cheerful things that are happening around us (on condition that I am not away. ). So, here goes:

BOUQUET to Changi General Hospital for treating four-year-old American Julian Hanusz for a cut on his forehead. His father, Mark, was so impressed not only with the service but the fee ($85) as well. He wrote a letter to the Forum Page to express his gratitude.

Mark says "tears welled up in my eyes" because he had been charged $16,000 at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital for a "minor knee injury". He did not say when this took place.

They were going home after a holiday here when the boy had the accident at the airport.

BOO-QUET to SMRT for planning to phase out its fleet of 15 London cabs when their eight-year licences expire. This will deprive or restrict many disabled people who are wheelchair-bound commuters from getting around.

I wonder whether SMRT has tried talking to the Land Transport Authority to resolve the issue which is basically a question of profitability.

I also wonder what has happened to its Corporate Social Responsiblity!!!!
BOO-QUET to Samsung for mishandling a customer's phone when it was sent in for servicing. When account executive Nio Jian Qiang got it back last week, he found a stranger's private files in his phone.

Apparently, somebody else's miccroSD card was left in his phone. According to Samsung, the culprit was a former technician who had put in the card for testing.

The mystery is that the card was from a phone that was reported lost by a schoolboy in an Internet cafe in July. Samsung is investigating.

BOUQUET to National University Hospital and four other agencies for coming up with a scheme that takes community elderly care a big step forward.

Called the Singapore Programme for Integrated Care for the Elderly (Spice), the scheme, launched yesterday, brings service to the old folks' homes. For example, these people are given their baths and meals.

At the moment, most rehabilitation centres do not serve such people outside their premises.

The other four agencies involved in the project are: voluntary welfare group Sathya Sai Social Service, the Agency for Integrated Care, and two private medical groups --- Frontier Healthcare, which runs a chain of family clinics, and geriatricians from the Agewell Artsz Medical Group.

Rocks Urban Grill and Bar sucks, says Gin Nee

2011-10-19T20:12:00.008+08:00

"Great food. Great taste. It rocks." --- that's the tagline Rocks Urban Grill and Bar at The Sail in Marina Bay uses to promote itself.

But as far as Gin Nee Goh is concerned, it sucks. This was after she was told off by the owner of the restaurant, Roxan Villareal, for cancelling her lunch booking for seven people yesterday.

Apparently, he did not care to listen to her reason for making the cancellation, which was made 30 minutes before the appointment.

After the scolding she received, Gin Nee wrote the following email to the restaurant to complain:

"I would like to provide feedback on a very negative and disapppointing encounter with your restaurant. I had made a reservation for seven people at your restaurant and unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances as a result of last-minute unavailability amongst the lunch party, had to cancel the reservation about half an hour before we were due to turn up for lunch.

"I had called the restaurant at the very first opportunity to cancel the reservation so that the restaurant would be able to release the table.

"During the call, I also apologised (very sincerely, I must add) for the cancellation. In turn, I received an extremely rude response rebuking me for cancelling last minute, and telling me I should never make another reservation at the restaurant with my name, and that I am not welcomed ever to dine at the restaurant.

"I am sure restaurants face frustration and inconvenience when customers fail to turn up at the last minute but this I believe, is part and parcel of operating in the restaurant industry, and should never warrant the customer having to suffer such a rude response.

"This, I also believe, applies even to the highly acclaimed restaurants. Also, a restaurant situated in the financial hub and being one of the options for client lunches should be flexible enough to understand that professionals like us very often do not have control over our own schedules and inevitably get called up for last-minute meetings etc which ensue in client lunches then getting cancelled.

"The treatment I received was highly unprofessional (despite the effort I took to actually call the restuarant to inform of the cancellation) and is the worst experience I have ever encountered with a restaurant, be it dining with clients or on a personal basis.

"So now that my client lunch is rescheduled, I would need to make another lunch booking, but I would definitely take your advice to never ever step into your restaurant again. P/s: There is no lack of good restaurants in Singapore where I am certain I would be more than welcomed."

Instead of getting an apology for the appallingly rude encounter, Gin Nee was shocked when she received an email respomse from the owner Villareal himself, all written in caps no less:

"AS THE OWNER AND PERSON THAT REPLIED TO YOU YOU SHOULD BE ASHAME OF WRITING SUCH

"THE RUDE ONE OBVIOUSLY IS YOU . BECAUSE OF SUCH BEHAVIOUR RESTAURANT IN THIS LOVELY CITY WILL HAVE TO BE MORE CAREFUL AND ASKING FOR UNREFUNDABLE DEPOSIT . GOOD LUCK Yours faithfully, Roxan Villareal".

To this, Gin Nee coolly replied: "Truly disappointed that the lovely people in MY lovely country have to put up with an attitude like that. It's a good thing we have choices. Such un-lovely attitude has no place here. Would strongly recommend that Mr Villareal tries a new dish - humble pie."

Indeed!!!

It's only words, DBS

2011-10-17T13:05:00.003+08:00

The turnover of relationship managers must be very high at DBS Bank. Every few months I would receive a letter from the bank to inform me that I have a new RM.

I really do not mind the change, knowing that the economy is still humming and opportunities for such personnel abound. So it is to be expected that they will be moving around to gather as much hay as they can while the sun is still shining.

But what I find rather annoying is that in the letter that I receive, there will invariably be a sentence to say that the new RM "will be in touch with you soon."

My experience has been that these RMs never do. My guess is that they consider me "a waste of time" because I have stopped buying any of its products and I do not do any kind of trading through the bank.

I hope the bank would just send me an SMS to inform me of the change in RM and not waste time and money sending me that standard letter.

Watery lollies from Cold Storage leave Lucia hot and bothered

2011-10-15T16:27:00.002+08:00

Blogger Auntie Lucia alerted me yesterday to a post she wrote about how ice lollies she had bought from Cold Storage's Chancery Lane outlet turned out to be a watery mess.

Reading that, I guess one would think that such lollies would be in that state anyway if left unrefrigerated for a period of time.

But Lucia says: "Nope, i ... didn’t leave the box (of lollies) lying around on the kitchen or dining table. It went straight into the freezer."
And she adds that she had not been carrying the box around for half a day.

"I live across the road from the Chancery Lane outlet and drove home right home after paying my bill at 15.14.56," she explains. "As I drove, not walk home, it was a bare 5-minute drive and hardly long enough for the lollies to have melted."

At around 4pm, when her mum’s helper Siti went to the freezer to get a lolly for mum, she found on opening the box, that "each and every one was lembek or soft."

Unconvinced, Lucia checked and "sure enough, every lolly was soft, clearly having melted since don’t know when within their wrappers and the box they came in."

Her first reaction was to throw the whole pack away and forget about the $4.85 she had paid for it, remembering at the back of her mind what a nephew once said: “Your time is so cheap meh!”

However, on second thoughts, she decided "not to let Cold Storage get away with it" and, armed with the pack of melted ice lollies, drove back to Cold Storage across the road.

At Cold Storage, she "was somewhat mollified by the carpark lady guard who on hearing that I’d come to return “bad food” allowed me to get into the carpark without paying the mandatory $1.50 parking fee. At least she empathised with my having to make a return trip."

She bristles: "Indeed, had my reception at the supermarket been as acommodating, I might not have written this post at all.

"But no, the supervisor I spoke to and showed my unacceptable purchase to said with a deadpan face:'Ok, you go and get another box.'

"No word of apology. No pleasantries. Nothing. And she wasn’t even serving another customer.

"Actually when I set out, I had intended an exchange. But her take-it-or-leave-it attitude invited me to leave it so I said: 'No, I want a refund.'

"To which she replied: 'Did you pay by card or cash?'

"As I fumbled in my wallet for the receipt, she repeated her question, deadpan.

“ 'Card,' I said, still fumbling for the receipt.

“ 'Just give me the card.'

"I did as instructed, even though by then I had found the receipt and proffered it and which she ignored.

"The refund went through at 16.12.25."

Lucia says the lollies she bought was "not a First Choice brand but an F & N brand, so you might say the fault lay with the manaufacturers." But as the supermarket distributing the lollies, she thinks Cold Storage has a duty to ensure that the stuff it sells is edible.

This was not Lucia's first encounter with Cold Storage. The first was in June when she discovered that its weighing machine was faulty. I had published her complaint in my blog and the supermarket duly contacted her to do damage control.

Moral of this latest encounter, she says is that "I should have learnt my lesson and give the Chancery Lane outlet a miss."

But its nearness to her home is Lucia's " Archilles' heel". "So serves me right for going there again and again, despite the overcharging and indifferent service," she sighs.

Pickpocket takes Heidi's mobile; telco penalises her

2011-10-13T17:30:00.007+08:00

Undergrad Heidi Tan's mobile phone was pickpocketed at Raffles City last Saturday. She made a police report and promptly went to Singtel to get a replacement phone.

That was when her disillusionment with the telco started. Her friend told her about my blog and she emailed me this story...

"A most unfortunate incident happened to me last Saturday, and Singtel just had to make it worse with their unsympathetic response.

"I lost my phone last Saturday. In fact, I got pickpocketed at Raffles City, no less. Unfortunately, even though they were caught on CCTV, I did not manage to catch them in time. Hence, a police report was made, and it was classified as theft.

"So, I set about to get a replacement phone. I got my replacement sim card without any problems. However, I was told by the woman at Hello shop Singtel building branch that even though it was a theft, I had yet to fulfil 21 months of contractual obligations, and thus I still had to pay $300 to renew my contract, under the 12-month upgrade.

"She said that I could call the 1688 customer service number to try and get a waiver. Following Monday, my father called on my behalf. He was informed that the manager would call him back either that night, or the next morning.

"However, we received no calls. Finally, my father made another call to Singtel. It seems that the manager had no intention to call him at all.

"After much persistence, my father only managed to talk to the supervisor. The supervisor was of no help at all, giving us a negative response right from the start.

"In fact, the supervisor offered us a waiver of one-month subscription fees. Yet, his subordinate had actually offered us a waiver of three months subscription fees!

"It seemed pretty apparent at that moment that the protocol for handling waivers were, to say the least, pretty laissez-faire. My father was fuming. He thought it was ridiculous that after waiting till the next day for a call, the customer service manager thought that his matter was too trivial, or thought it beneath himself/herself to speak to a customer.

"Either way, it did not make a lot of business sense. And my father just insisted that I terminate the line and pay the early termination charges.

"Hence, I called them personally to say I would like to terminate the line. The caller on the other line, upon my request, was only interested to know if I knew that there was a charge for early termination, and whether I was intending to pay it.

"Absolutely no questions asked about reason for termination, and no attempt to retain the customer. I was crushed.

"Assuming that there were no excess charges, I was paying them $62 a month. What am I, to them? Just another customer?

"My boyfriend, feeling all apologetic for persuading me to take up a Singtel line, decided to draft an email for me to send to them. Maybe an email will work, he said. Telephone operators sometimes just do not know better.

"Just for a better chance, I sent my mail to two different addresses. Both came back after a day. The first one, was this...

"Dear Ms Tan,

Thank you for your email. We appreciate the concerns that you have highlighted. Unfortunately, we regret that we are unable to waive the $300 surcharge. Thank you for your support thus far and have a pleasant day."

Yes. That’s all. I typed a letter that was at least 10times as long as his reply. To a customer, it means “I really don’t care”. Or ctrl+c, ctrl+v. (That’s cut and paste, btw.) And may I ask how to enjoy a "pleasant day"?
The second reply....

"Dear Ms Tan,

Thank you for sharing your concern with us in your email of 11 October. We are sorry to hear that you have lost your mobile set. Our record under your line xxxxxxxxx indicates that it is currently eligible for the 12 months upgrade.

"It will be eligible for the 21 months upgrade from 6 June 2012. Under the 12 months upgrade program, the top-up charge of $300 is payable.

"In view of the price of the handsets sold to customers upon upgrade, we seek your kind understanding that we are not able to waive the top-up charge.

"Our record indicates that the line has an outstanding two years' contract which will expire on 8 Sept 2012. If the line is ceased, the gradated penalty of the set is payable.

"In view of that, please do consider retaining the line till the expiry of the contract. In view of that, we have not taken any action on the line till we hear from you again with your further instruction.

"Once again, Ms Tan, we apologise for the inconvenience and seek your kind understanding on this matter. Thank you for your support and have a pleasant day."

"This one is much longer. I acknowledge that she cared a little more. But then again, it was probably just a larger chunk of cut and paste. In the first half, policy regarding the 12 month upgrade was reiterated. In case they failed to realize, yes, we know the policy.

"If our action plan was something that was covered in policy, why would we go to such troubles to get it done? In my email, I mentioned the earlier part about no attempt being made to retain the customer.

"Good that she tried to do what her colleagues failed to. But retaining customer, because if you don’t, “the gradated penalty of the set is payable?” Is this customer care, may I ask? Or does customer threat sound more appropriate for their department?

"I’m appalled and disgusted to finally realise how insignificant we personal mobile line customers are to telcos, and also aghast at how low our service standards are, if the leading telco in Singapore’s service is anything to go by.

"While I understand that there are procedures to follow, shouldn't they review it on a case-by-case basis so that loyal subscribers like me, do not fall through the cracks, getting punished on top of getting pickpocketed?"

Heidi has taken a lot of trouble to vent her frustration. Let's hope Singtel listens to her problem again and waive the penalty.

Revamped SQ website continues to bug Anne Wong

2011-10-11T11:10:00.003+08:00

Anne Wong emailed me her latest problem with Singapore Airlines' website on October 6 but I was busy and failed to read it... until now.

She had booked a flight to Hong Kong but the website "just will not let me change my booking". This is her story...

"Tonight (Oct 6), I attempted to change my flight, HKG-SIN on October 24, 2011 to October 16, 2011.

"But it was going to cost HK$382 more. When I continued, I was UNABLE to to go much further because my Krisflyer number was rejected.

"This is despite the name (Anne Wong Holloway) and number being EXACTLY the same with which I logged into the website for the transaction!

"The only reason I could give for this is that the boarding pass I printed out for my flight to HKG tomorrow morning carries this name: ANNE WONG PUI HUNG ELIZABETH.

"There is no logical reason for this name to be on my boarding pass because I changed this years ago (effected 2005 to be exact, when I got tired of having to fill in forms with such a long name including a Chinese name I never use. And had to make a conscious effort to respond when Elizabeth Wong was called!) and have been travelling with SQ boarding passes in the name of Anne Wong Holloway for years.

"My Krisflyer account has the correct name but the name on my boarding pass is way out of date.

"WHY? Because only a couple of weeks ago I emailed SQ to correct my address in Hong Kong as the website profile listed an address that has not been used for several years!

"But then, calling the Krisflyer number 6789 8188 was no help either; a polite woman listened to me, but without being able to show her the screen shots, she did not understand what I was trying to say.

"In the end she could only suggest I call the Hong Kong ticketing office tomorrow - by which time, with my luck vis a vis SIA, the fares would have gone up!

"Now please will someone help me and also give an affectionate kick on the backside to SQ's IT department for not hurrying up.

"If this had happened in America, the airline would have suffered financially because it isn't as close and convenient to get to any airline office as it is in Asian cities. And people in Asia do not rely as heavily on airline web sites as abroad."

I hope Anne managed to sort out her problems. Meanwhile, the woes of the SQ revamped website remains.... So much for "It's a great way to fly."

Hilarious --- Irene's experience with Starhub service

2011-08-11T11:46:00.008+08:00

Starhub customer Irene Hoe must be totally exasperated with the service provided by the telco.

If you were to count the number of times she has experienced "non-existing" service from the telco, you would begin to appreciate her frustration.

The latest happened late last month after she sent the following message to Starhub:

"Subject: Book 592001 # front of porch

Yesterday morning, I tried three or four times to send this message.
Each time, I received this message in return "Resource unavaiable".
What was the problem?
Was this a BlackBerry problem or a Starhub problem?

Irene Hoe
Xingapore Ink

------ SMS ------
To: 71222
Sent: Jul 28, 2011 09:51
Subject: Book 592001 # front of porch

Book 592001 # front of porch "

What followed was not only hilarous, it would also make a superb case study for those in the communications and service industries.

Enjoy the exchange:

On 29 July 2011 12:08, StarHub wrote to Irene:

"Hi Irene Hoe,

Thank you for contacting StarHub Blackberry Helpdesk.

The sms format that you tried to send is to
http://www.frontporchbooks.com/

We tried sending with the same format and to the same number but we do not received the same error on our end.
Instead we received an error: SMS format was incorrect.

Please check from the vendor as this is neither StarHub or Blackberry
problem.

Should problem persist, please reply with your contact details for us to
call back and assist you further.

Thank you.

Best Regards,
NURUL
StarHub Ltd
Customer Service, Technical Helpdesk

Moments later, Irene replied:

"Subject: Re: Book 592001 # front of porch

Nurul,

PLEASE READ MESSAGES WITH CARE.

Why did I write that in caps? Because you clearly did not read my message to Starhub with due care.

NOW READ THIS CAREFULLY, TOO.

I did not try to contact an online bookstore.

The addressee of the SMS message I sent, which was bounced with the error message RESOURCE UNAVAILABLE was Comfort Delgro.

I often send the SAME message to the SAME number.

I sent the SAME message this morning and got the taxi I had requested. The problem happened the day before.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME SO FAR?

What I do not understand is how you managed to deduce that I tried to SMS an online bookstore.

I must therefore conclude, Nurul, that it is eminently possible that you are a computer that has been wrongly programmed.

In which case, the time I have spent writing this message has been in vain.

In the event that you are not a computer, I suggest that it would be a darned good idea for you to spend more care and time reading a customer's email before you jump to odd conclusions.

Of course, it may be that this really is not part of your job and you were only doing a colleague a favour, and your real work lies someplace other than answering the queries of customers.

Irene Hoe
Xingapore Ink
(In case there is a doubt, this message was written by a real human being and not a computer) "

Less than an hour later, Nurul wrote back:

"Hi Ms Irene,

Please accept my sincere apologies for the initial response to your email and we do appreciate your clarification on the matter.

Regarding the error message: Resource Unavailable, that you have experienced when you used ComfortDelGro's SMS taxi booking service (SMS-A-Cab: 71222), we have escalated the case to our Network Engineers for further analysis. We will share their findings with you upon receiving their reply.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best Regards,
NURUL
StarHub Ltd

Starhub followed this up with another reply from its Technical Helpdesk
later in the day:

"Dear Ms Irene,

We have checked the prepaid cards under your account: 81160122, 91617892 and 91028813. However there are no SMS records sent to 71222 that we can see since there is no cost deducted from your prepaid wallet for the transaction. May we verify the mobile number that you have used for the ComfortDelGro's SMS taxi booking service (SMS-A-Cab: 71222) please?

Thank you.
Regards

Roy Looi
StarHub Ltd
Customer Service, Technical Helpdesk

Irene replied to inform the telco that the SMS was from her BlackBerry,
NOT from her prepaid cards.

The following day, 30 July, Nurul wrote:

"Hi Ms Irene,

Based from trace yesterday for mobile number 90111949, a sms was sent to 71222001 at 10:21hrs and another sms to 71222002 at 22:06hrs without any error.

We are still checking with our Network Engineers for further analysis. We will update you again."

At this stage, I could feel the increasing frustration from Irene when
she replied:

"Sigh. The problem did NOT happen yesterday.
Please read the original email.
I just wanted to know WHY the messages that day, NOT yesterday, did not go through."

Shortly after, Nurul wrote to apologise, claiming it was a "typo error".
Then on 3 August, Roy Looi of Starhub sent Irene an email to tell her about the possible causes...

"Hi Ms Irene

Our SMSC Network Engineers and RIM have updated us on the reported error message that you have encountered on your BlackBerry handset.

From their findings, we see that there could be several causes to the error message: Resource Unavailable as displayed on your BlackBerry handset whenever you are unable to send a SMS to the ComfortDelGro's SMS taxi booking service (SMS-A-Cab: 71222).

These possible causes are as follows,

1. Your device is temporarily out of range and thus does not have sufficient network coverage to send SMS at the location. Hence the BlackBerry handset would reflect the error message since the mobile network is not available at that particular instance. Once the handset is re-connected to the mobile network, the SMS will be sent successfully. As shared previously, our SMSC Engineers verified that there are no records of any SMS sent out to 71222 on 28 July 11. Therefore the SMS would have remained unsent in your phone and so did not reach our mobile network.

To resolve this, please move to another location with better network coverage or wait for your BlackBerry device to come back online. Alternatively, you may toggle the Mobile Service of your BlackBerry Off/On to re-establish network connection manually.

2. There is network coverage but the network may be out of capacity at that instance. However this is unlikely as the frequency spectrum allocated for each planned cell is more than adequate for sending SMS. We will agree that the error message: Resource Unavailable, is generated by the handset rather than the network since network alarm error messages (which is also a different error message) will not be sent to customer’s handsets.

3. The error message was returned by the vendor’s i.e ComfortDelgro’s SMS service.

As these findings remain inconclusive, RIM is requesting for your BlackBerry handset event logs for their review and continued investigation. Please refer to the following link from RIM’s Knowledge Base which will assist you in extracting the event logs for your BlackBerry handset.

How to extract the event logs on a BlackBerry smartphone

http://btsc.webapps.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB05349

This will help provide them with more information to determine the cause for the error message that you have encountered by your BlackBerry handset. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter."

Two days later, when Irene did not respond, Roy Looi wrote again:

"We have yet to hear from you.

"The RIM ticket opened for this case is INC000023409936. If you require assistance in extracting the log file for your BlackBerry handset, please provide us with a contact number (preferably a land line) and a convenient time for us to reach you."

When Irene finally responded, she was obviously in a foul mood.
She said:

"Roy, I am no geek.

I haven't the slightest idea what a log file is or how it is extracted or from where it should be extracted.

I would imagine that 99 per cent of BlackBerry users would be in the same position.

All I wanted, all I asked for - if anyone at Starhub really bothered to read what I wrote initially - was an explanation of how and why this failure happened.

Instead, your people began by saying it HADN'T happened. Don't take my word for it. Just look at the email trail.

After too many exchanges of useless email messages, your last but one message offered a possible explanation.

But not before Starhub had once again proved to me that customers finish last in your company's service sweepstakes.

Did I really say "service"? Well, I'm not sure it exists at all at Starhub.

This is not simply a reaction to this particular incident, but to my whole sorry history of Starhub.

You may consider this closed. For now."

Those of you from the communications and service industries may draw your own conclusions from all this. But one thing's for sure: Starhub has failed to nail down Irene's problem in the first instance and it could have it all sorted out easily with a simple telephone call to her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Faith tells of her bad experience at Marmalade Pantry in Ion Orchard

2011-07-20T18:48:00.006+08:00

Faith Sim, who works and lives in Hong Kong, is back for her annual summer holiday. Last year when she was here, she lunched at E Food and Wine in Dempsey Road and was full of praise for its child-friendliness. She wrote to me and I posted her story on my blog.

But she had a different experience this time --- not at the E restaurant but at Marmalade Pantry in Ion Orchard. She obviously wanted to get it out of her system, so she wrote to tell me about it.

Here's her letter of complaint to the restaurant:

"I'm writing in with regards to the lunch experience that I had at your outlet at Ion this afternoon. I am a Singaporean who works and lives in Hong Kong. I'm back in Singapore on my annual summer break. I decided to meet my close friend with her husband at your Ion outlet with my 11-month old son. They were very excited to meet my son as they have not met him before.

"We did have a great time catching up since we only see each once a year and there's nothing to fault the food that was served to us.

"However the lunch experience was marred by a certain wait staff of yours. My 11-month old son was very happy and excited to see my friends and thus he was squealing with excitement and happiness.

"A pudgy female wait staff (sorry, didn't manage to catch her name) came to me and told me that there the other guests were complaining of the baby's squeals and she said that she's not chasing us away but just to let us know.

"I was quite upset about it. When my frend got to the restaurant, she informed the wait staff that there will be a baby joining her for lunch, none of your staff told us that no babies are allowed. There were no signs to say that no babies were not allowed too. Plus your menu does have child meals.

"Therefore we took it that it is a child friendly or baby friendly cafe. I've worked as a wait staff throughout my days at university and interestingly, I graduated with a Bachelor of Hotel Management. I do not have to teach or train your staff to manage the expectations of the other guests. I am a paying guest and I have a right eat and drink in the cafe just like everyone else too.

"Has your staff also considered what if I had a special child who was not able to control his behavior? Wouldn't that be hurtful as well? He was sitting in his high chair having fun and therefore he squealed. He wasn't running around and knocking into people and causing breakages?

"The cafe is set in the middle of a shopping mall and it is not a fine dining restaurant that we have to speak in hush tones. There's noise everywhere. Manage the guests and think of a way to solve the issue.

"I can understand if other guests were irate with the baby's incessant crying or screaming but he was having fun and was excited.

"By the way, as I was walking out, there was a Caucasian lady with a baby that was crying and it seemed to me that nothing was been said to her. Am I singled out because I'm Asian and Singaporean and therefore your wait staff told me off but with the Caucasian lady, she's not saying anything? This is racism and being discriminatory.

"This has really left a bad taste in my mouth. I will not be patronising your outlets anymore."

Looks like Marmalade Pantry has lost at least one customer!

.

Misleading ad: Case gives warning to IT retailer Challenger

2011-06-25T10:51:00.006+08:00

Case has finally taken action against giant IT retailer Challenger -- three months after Anne Wong Holloway complained to the consumer watchdog about a misleading advertisement taken out by the company during the IT Show in March this year.

However, the "warning" it has given to Challenger seems like a tap on the wrist, especially when the company had obviously taken its time to respond to letters by Case.

Challenger's ad was published in the mainstream newspapers during the IT Show on March 10 with a bold headline, "We Match Show Pricing".

But Anne found it was not true when she went to its Funan Centre outlet to buy a Canon all-in-one printer.

She wrote to me about her experience. I posted her story on March 13 and alerted both Case and Challenger about the complaint.

Two days ago, Thevanathan Pillay, Case's Assistant Director (Legal), emailed me to say that Challenger had "agreed to refrain from publishing future ads of similar
nature to those found in Today and Straits Times. They have agreed to
exercise caution for future advertisements so that it is in compliance with
the Consumer Protection fair Trading Act."

Pillay added: "We take note of their promise and will monitor whether
future advertisements are misleading."

When I informed Anne about the Case reply, she was not happy with its response to Challenger.

She said: "The delay and passing the buck ensured that this incident would be 'lost' and forgotten until nothing concrete can be done. No one wanted to offend an advertiser who spends money placing advertisements --- no matter how misleading and the line of least resistance was to let things pass.

"It just goes to show how little protection is afforded to consumers in Singapore.

"Since there is NO evidence of CASE's letter to Challenger (and their ad agency) nor Challenger's reply, we cannot assume any action was taken or that Challenger 'agreed to exercise caution for fture advertisements so that it is in compliance with the Consumer Protection fair Trading Act.'

"Until there is REAL protection for consumers and the individual in Singapore, we will not be truly in the 'first' world. After all, if we have a Consumer Proetection Fair Trading Act, why is there no penalty for non-compliance?"

Shortly after Anne's comments, Pillay wrote to explain: "What we have done was to write to Challenger to inform them that such an advertisement is not acceptable and inform them we do not expect a repetition of this.

"They have replied agreeing not to do the same in the future. If any person have suffered monetary loss because of the events they can pursue the matter against Challenger as a civil claim as a breach of contract for which CASE can assist.

"We do not view the matter as so serious as to warrant further action by CASE. Our letter to Challenger is considered a warning letter.

"What is important is to inform Challenger of the existence of the relevant Act and get assurance which they have given that their future advertisements will comply with the CPFTA. This is the first time we have receive complaints of this nature concerning Challenger's advertisement . We will monitor future advertisements."

Membership has its privileges? Not with Amex, says customer Irene Hoe

2011-06-22T11:32:00.006+08:00

Amex asked for it --- "Tell us what you think (of our service)"

Ever willing to please, Irene Hoe decided to give it to them. She tried to fill up a Customer Service Satisfaction Survey online.

But she got no satisfaction. So she wrote to Amex to tell about her experience....

"I tried.. I spent nearly an hour writing my responses to your questions.

"Then I got to the question that asks what your could have done to make me recommend your card to others,

"I wrote my answer and hit CONTINUE

"But it wouldn't let me. It said that one or more questions on that page needed additional input.

"What other question?

"There was only one question and I had answered it,

"After a few attempts, I decided to call the number at the back of my card as the webpage helpfully suggested.

"So you wait five to 10 minutes while they play the horrible fractured muzak that needs replacing (but of course no one from Amex would call that line so they never know) and then a guy comes on and tells you that he is sorry but he really has no idea what I should do.

"This is just a précis of the fruitless conversation that can make anyone feel that he is talking to a service manual.

"So I decided to google Mr Russell Nickson who had sent me this wonderful form letter inviting me to use the website to tell Amex about my telephone conversation.

"And I found that like me, he was on LinkedIn but wasn't accepting any inMail or invitations to link up. I don't have to guess why!

"I also found a totally laughable collection of politically-correct corporately-correct statements he had made, which absolutely do not reflect my experience with Amex.

"And that's only the latest episode of my encounters with Amex, which has managed to decline my credit card in at least seven countries in the last three years and four times in Singapore this month alone.

"If this is what this company means by "membership has its privileges" it's time we stopped paying for them."

Unfortunately, Irene's feedback may not read. Exactly 57 minutes after she had sent her email to Amex, back came this reply:

"Dear American Express® Cardmember,

This message is automatically generated. To ensure the security of your account information, we cannot reply to inquiries sent through non-secure email.

To contact us by phone, please call the number on the back of your Card.

To view information specific to your country, please click on the appropriate link below:
(what follows is a list of countries with links to their respective Amex websites)."

It is hard to believe that for a multi-national, Amex does not entertain email from its customers!!! Membership has its privileges, indeed!!!

Cold Storage overcharging: 'What's the big deal?'

2011-06-18T11:11:00.008+08:00

Lulin Reutens has written to me to defend Cold Storage (CS) against blogger Lucy Tan's complaint of overcharging because of a faulty weighing machine.

She says: "CS is a huge chain with hundreds of cash registers, each with a weighing machine. Isn't it possible that just one machine malfunctioned, and only for one item?

"The difference was a couple of dollars. I cannot believe CS was trying to cheat anyone for such a tiny amount and only once. And the suggestion of reporting (by a reader of the blog) to the weight and measures people seems like over-reacting.

"Anyway, she pointed out the error and they corrected it and she bought the item at the correct price. So what's the big deal?

"I would be the first to complain about bad service and cheating behaviour. But don't you think we should be more judicious in our complaints?

"Singaporeans already have a reputation of being complainers. Doing it without thought would not help our cause."

Complaint about SIA toilet paper

As Lulin was giving her take on the CS complaint, she took the opportunity to mention her own about Singapore Airlines' toilet paper.

"What is the rationale behind SIA having only tissue paper in their planes' toilets, including the hand towel holders?" she asks.

"Have you tried drying your hands with tissue paper? No wonder bits and pieces fall into the sink and get washed down, clogging the slots in the draining hole.

"Is tissue paper so much cheaper than proper paper towels that it is worth annoying passengers? Or is it because economy class passengers don't deserve proper paper towels?

"If paper towels fill the waste paper container faster than tissues, then get the flight attendants to empty them more often!

"I have written feedback forms regarding this but have never received a reply. No other airlines that I have flown with use tissues for paper towels."

Game of small prints: Citibank joins in

2011-06-16T20:11:00.012+08:00

More institutions and merchants seem to have jumped into the game of small prints. This is a game whereby they say one thing in bold prints in their advertisements but the qualifications or conditions are set out in tiny ones that challenge one's eyesight.

Three months ago, Anne Wong Holloway complained to Case about a misleading ad put out by IT retailer Challenger. It was published in the mainstream newspapers during the IT Show on March 10 with a bold headline, "We Match Show Pricing".

But Anne found that it was not true when she went to its Funan Centre outlet to buy a Canon all-in-one printer. (See blog, THE TRUTH IN CHALLENGER'S AD on March 13) . All the conditions were set out in the small prints at the bottom of the ad.

I posted her story on March 13 and told both Case and Challenger about the feedback. To date, nothing has been heard from the company even after Case wrote a second letter to it earlier this month.

Yesterday, while shopping at the Paragon, I found another case of the small prints. This time, the culprit was Citibank.

In promoting its credit cards during the Great Singapore Sale, the bank promises to give a further 5 per cent discount to its customers who use its cards.

I had bought two boxes of golf balls from one of the shops when I spotted the Citibank poster saying: "Additonal 5% off discounted price items".

As I was using my Citibank card to pay, I decided to ask the salesman whether I was entitled to the extra discount.

His answer was "No".

I countered: "Why not?"

His reply: "Read the small prints".

I decided that I should, just to satisfy my curiosity. Squinting my eyes, I managed to read one sentence that says: "Offer is not valid on discounted items above 40% off".

The salesman was right, but Citibank -- just like Challenger -- are wrong in trying to mislead. It certainly does not do their reputation any good.

Bus fare overcharging

2011-06-13T16:09:00.005+08:00

I like this letter (below) written by a bus passenger complaining about overcharging in the Today newspaper today. We should have more people like Tan Seng Wei to keep our service providers on their toes.

How hard is it to measure the distance?

"I AM writing to highlight the unfair distance-fare charged when travelling by bus between the Johor Bahru checkpoint and Woodlands checkpoint.

Since the end of November last year, the road between the checkpoints has been "straightened". But distance used for calculating the bus fare remains at 3.3km (S$0.81 per trip).

I have measured the distance using my phone GPS and the distance shown was only approximately 2km (S$0.71 per trip). Many people travelling across the Causeway are being overcharged every day.

I wrote to the Land Transport Authority several times and the last response I got in April was: "We are currently arranging with the bus operator and the Malaysian Authority for permission to enter Johor to measure the distance. Please bear with us as it will take some time to get the measurement done. We have no jurisdiction in areas under the purview of Malaysia."

It has been two months since and there is still no change to the bus fare. Is it really so hard and so complicated to get the distance measured correctly? As a commuter, I hope this issue can be resolved as soon as possible and refunds can be given to those who have been overcharged."

This story reminds me of the recent complaint by blogger Lucy Tan about overcharging by Cold Storage because of a faulty weighing machine.
Unless such issues are resolved quickly, consumers will continue to be overcharged.

Cold Storage weighing machine that overcharges...

2011-06-05T17:41:00.007+08:00

Shoppers, be warned! The weighing machines at Cold Storage outlets are not totally reliable as blogger Lucy Tan (Food Fuels Me To Talk) found out recently.

The one she went to at Chancery Lane overcharged her for a daikon. And she discovered it only because she had pre-weighed the white radish at the self-service machine.

Fortunately for her, she also happened to check her bill at the check-out counter and spotted the discrepany.

She has written to Alan Stephen Nementzik, a big shot in the company, to complain. Here's her letter:

"Dear Mr Nementzik:

It's been a while since I wrote to you. I've not been checking my Cold Storage bills over the months, mostly because there's always such a crush of people at CS outlets.

Also, I found that other places overcharge too and if I complained every time it happened, to every single shop, I would be doing nothing else!

However, very unfortunately for CS Chancery Lane, I saw a neighbour shopping there this afternoon and noticed she weighed all her mango purhases at the self-service weighing machine.

Since I wasn't buying much stuff this afternoon, I decided to emulate her and weighed the three or four items in my shopping list that were priced on a per 100 gm basis.

To cut a long story short, after I paid my bill, I noticed that the single daikon I bought was charged as one full kg ($5.40) when I distinctly remembered it as being well under 500gm when I pre-weighed.

I queried the cashier and she nonchantly said that's what the scanner showed. When I disagreed, she told another cashier to refund me. Which he duly did. And took back the daikon.

When I asked that he weighed it to prove that I wasn't mistaken, he did so. It weighed just 320gm. Then he asked whether I wanted to buy it. I said of course and I was charged $1.70!!!

Picture this to yourself: The $5.40 I was charged originally represents some 8% of my total bill. The difference between the actual price of $1.70 and what was charged originally is $3.70.

If all your customers are regularly overcharged some 5-6%, how much this must be adding to CS' profits? Even tho I've been overcharged elsewhere too, it just doesn't make it right to happen at CS, does it?

Yours sincerely
Lucy Tan"

Moral of the story: Make it a point to pre-weigh your purchases and check the figure against that on the bill at the check-out counter.

Case of "misleading" Challenger ad still unresolved

2011-06-02T11:36:00.001+08:00

More than two months after Anne Wong-Holloway made a complaint about a "misleading" advertisement to consumer watchdog, Case, through my blog, we are still waiting patiently for an outcome.

The ad by IT retailer Challenger was published in the mainstream newspapers during the IT Show on March 10 with a bold headline, "We Match Show Pricing".

But Anne found out to her dismay that it was not true when she went to its Funan Centre outlet to buy a Canon all-in-one printer. (See blog, THE TRUTH IN CHALLENGER'S AD on March 13)

She decided to write to me. I posted her story on March 13 and alerted both Case and Challenger about the complaint.

Challenger did not even both to acknowledge my email. However, Case did, and the matter was given to the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) , an advisory council to Case, to look into.

ASAS' job is to promote ethical advertising in Singapore and is the self-regulatory body of the advertising industry.

A month after our complaint, nothing was heard from Case. So I emailed to ask what had happened.

Ms Aringi Ng, a Case official, replied: "The Council (of ASAS) finds that the matter should be referred to CASE to act under the CPFTA. We will inform CASE on this issue." CPFTA refers to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.

Well, we are still waiting for a verdict on what we see as a simple case of misrepresentation. I wonder what is taking Case so long!

Starhub, please buck up!

2011-06-01T15:39:00.003+08:00

Starhub is reputably the worst service provider among our three telcos when it comes to mobile phone reception. Apparently, this is because it does not have sufficient transmitters to provide adequate coverage.

So subscribers are understandably upset when they are unable to make a call or send an sms especially when they are in places which they expect to have good coverage.

After being its customer for many, many years, I had given up waiting for it to improve its service coverage and switched to its rival M1 when I got my iPhone a couple of months ago.

My friend, Irene Hoe, who has been quite exasperated with Starhub's service for sometime, wrote to me today, saying:

"Whenever I am in the Clementi Polyclinic in Clementi Central, reception slips to no more than one or two bars.

"Each time I am here at the clinic, as I am now, at least once or twice there will be no reception at all and I'll see "searching for network" at the top of the screen.

"Meanwhile, I note that my M1 iPhone displays full or near full bars.

"This area, especially with the newly-opened Clementi Mall nearby, serves a large number of people. Moreover, the bus interchange is due to relocate there, so there will be even more potential users in the vicinity.

"So I fail to understand why reception for Starhub customers should be so poor - unless you deleted a transmitter while construction was underway and decided or neglected to replace it.

"I've reported this before - stupidly, only over 1633 instead of in writing - but it has been nearly a year and there seems to have been no improvement."

Well, it looks like Starhub may lose more of its customers if its does not listen and buck up.

SBS acts on third-party apps developers' requests

2011-05-25T21:04:00.007+08:00

SBS Transit has explained why it needed to block third-party apps from accessing information from its IRIS system.

It was responding to comments made by Lulin Reutens yesterday on why the move did not make sense. Lulin, by the way, does not own an iPhone and takes the bus occasionally.

In her email yesterday, Ms Tammy Tan, SBS Transit's Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, explains:

"We have introduced a verification process to our iris information as many third party application developers were accessing our information without prior approval.

"Unfortunately, this could result in issues of information accuracy being provided to end-users since we have no control over these developers. But we recognise that it would be useful to end-users to have access to some of these apps.

"As such, we are currently evaluating several requests by third party application developers and assessing them based on the merits of their proposals.

"Separately, we will also be rolling out an iris app for Android users come this July in addition to the iPhone app that has already been available since April."

Bouquet to SBS Transit for recognising the needs of non-iPhone users and doing something about it.

SBS blocking of 3rd party apps makes no sense at all

2011-05-25T12:23:00.005+08:00

Retiree Lulin Reutens, who takes the bus occasionally and does not have an iPhone, is peeved when she read, in The Straits Times yesterday, SBS Transit's reason for blocking third party apps from accessing information from its IRIS system.

"It makes no sense at all," she says.

In The Straits Times' report, SBS corp comm's Tammy Tan says the move is "to prevent unauthorised use of proprietary information" and that using the information without approval "could result in wrong information released to end users".

In an email to boo-n-bouquet today, Lulin counters: "Commuters will stop using those apps that give incorrect schedules and the reliable ones will gain popularity. This can only be a good thing; why should that be of concern to SBS?

"Anyway, isn't SBS's main job to get as many people to ride their buses as possible? And wouldn't allowing maximum access to their precious IRIS information help to do this?

"And most importantly, wouldn't that be of great service to their customers? Having the information in one's palm would be many times more convenient than the current situation. Apps developers who have asked for permission have been rejected. So what does SBS want?

"I can just hear SBS's collective minds ticking: How dare anyone make money (through ads) from information that SBS generates! Why not make the money ourselves and prevent others from gaining? Let's stop them, although our version is limited only to iPhone users and other versions won't be ready for months. What's the hurry? After all, commuters have managed without accurate schedules for years.

"What money SBS could make from ads in their own apps would be small change compared to the zillions the company makes from commuters. But it would be a great boost to the apps developers."

What Lulin says makes a lot of sense. We can only hope that SBS Transit will come to its senses.

Six months' wait to do a scan

2011-05-15T14:09:00.005+08:00

I was surfing The Online Citizen website today when I came across this posting about a woman's experience with the Changi General Hospital which kept postponing her appointment for a scan.

Yvonne Leng says she had gone to a polyclinic in mid-February because of her agonizing backache. She was given an early April date to do a scan at the Changi General Hospital.

However, because of the numerous delays, her appointment was eventually fixed for the end of August.

"More than 6 months to see the doctor, just to do a scan?" she says. "This is ridiculous, unacceptable and simply insane.. I am really mad."

Here's her posting in The Online Citizen on May 11.

Six months’ wait – just to do a scan

"I had gone to a polyclinic in mid-February and requested to do a MRI scan for my chronic backache which gave me agonizing pain and was affecting my sleep and temperament.

" I was first given a slot in early April to see the orthopaedic doctor. I asked for the earliest slot possible and was told that was the earliest date. I had managed my expectations well, knowing it would take 2-3 months before I can see the doctor. So I waited.

"Come March, I was notified that my appointment had been postponed to almost another 2 months later, from early April to end of May instead. I wasn’t given any explanation; just a SMS and a letter that they “regret” to inform me that my appointment had been rescheduled.

"I decided to do the scan at a private hospital and got a slot the very next day. Results were out the following day too. This kind of efficiency costs me S$1,000 excluding the treatment sessions averaging about S$100 per half an hour. I too accepted it, because it was a non-subsidised hospital.

"6th May 2011, one day before election, I received a sms from CGH that my orthopaedic surgery appointment @ Changi General Hospital (CGH) had been once again delayed – for a second time. This time round delayed another 3 months from the already delayed date – end of August.

"More than 6 months to see the doctor, just to do a scan? This is ridiculous, unacceptable and simply insane. I do not actually need to see the doctor anymore, but I am really mad.

"I called the hospital and demanded an explanation. I was really really mad. And to my surprise, the operations manager reverted back to me within 3 hours and offered me an appointment slot that was just a few days later.

"I was very impressed with her professionalism and efficiency. But somehow this made me even more angry. If I were one of the poor, uneducated, non-complaining Singaporeans or one who does not know which channel to go for help, I would have to accept these delays in seeking medical treatment?

"Is it because my condition is not life threatening that I have to accept this kind of unprofessionalism and inefficiency? Or are the poor and weak supposed to have higher threshold for pain and their lives are not as worthy as the rich?

"I have since written to Ministry of Health and the Straits Times forum page. I have yet to hear from them. I am very sure a lot of people are facing the same problem. And as a fellow Singaporean, (not trying to be label as a typical complaining Singaporean) I think I have to voice out and make attempts to rectify issues like this.

"And convey the message that our healthcare system has a lot of room to improve on. I sincerely hope Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Khaw Boon Wan – both of whom espoused the affordability and efficiency of our healthcare system – will be able to read this and make sure what needs to be rectified will be rectified."

Yvonne's experience reminded me of my brother's experience a year ago with the Singapore General Hospital which took 68 days to fill up a medical report for an insurance claim --- despite numerous reminders.

My faith in our "first-class" national health services is eroding rather rapidly.

—————–

Lister talks golf and gives good service at the same time

2011-04-11T18:42:00.021+08:00

Of late I have been quite disillusioned by the deteriorating standard of service by Starhub...until I met its agent/technician Lister Wu on Sunday.

I am not saying that the telco service has changed for the better because of Lister's service. But he is the kind of serviceman that you would be lucky to meet once in a while. And Singapore could do with more of such people.

It all started with this TV receiver box called the Hubstation which Starhub gave out to its subscribers about two years ago. At that time, what the telco did not make it clear to me was that this machine was free and that it was my responsbility to look after it.

But having used it for sometime, I must say the Hubstation is a pretty neat machine. Apart from being a receiver, it is also able to record TV programmes easily, certainly much more user friendly than the Panasonic DVD player/recorder which I had bought shortly before Starhub handed out the free gift.

The Hubstation worked well for two years before things started to go wrong. Some channels started to get "scrambled" pictures while others were okay. It puzzled me because I just couldn't understand why there were such inconsistencies.

My calls to Starhub were of little help. Each time, I called 1633 to complain, I would get a variety of explanations. I was also told to try this and that.
Invariably, nothing worked.

The options put to me were: send the Hubstation to an agent in Tampines to get it checked out or get it exchanged for a HD set-top. I refused to do either as I was not sure that the Hubstation was faulty and I did not want a HD box.

To cut the story short, Starhub eventually agreed to send an agent (Lister's colleague) to my house last Tuesday (April 5) to check out the problem. I insisted that I would not pay Starhub for the service as it could not be ascertained who and what was at fault.

Kuek (the technician's name) took more than an hour to track down what he thought was the problem. He said there was just not enough power going through to the TV set. He used a new splitter and, hey presto, the pictures were clear again.

However, my joy of having a clear TV screen lasted just a day. The pixelated pictures came back the following night. That was when Lister Wu made his appearance -- at about 10 p.m. As I was not at home, he convinced my wife that a certain part in the Hubstation had to be changed.

With very little choice, she agreed and parted with $65. Before he left, he assured her that there was a guarantee should anything go wrong again. And it did --- three days later on a Saturday night.

When I told him what had happened, he was prepared to come down to fix the problem. But as it was nearing 11 p.m. I told him that it was better to do it the next day.

Come Sunday afternoon, Lister was promptly at my house. He checked the Hubstation again and was puzzled as to why the signal quality was so low. He climbed up and down, in and out before he stumbled upon the culprit that was causing all the problems -- a faulty splitter located just outside the window.

He promptly got that changed and the signal was back to normal again. Although I had missed my Sunday nap, I was happy watching Lister going about his work. He was pleasant, chatty and was able to explain clearly what exactly went wrong.

An added bonus for me was that he was a golfer and we had a good time yakking about the game. But what really impressed me about Lister was his willingness to get to the root of the problem. He could easily have told me a tall story and I would have swallowed it.

He told me how his father had taught him about the importance of providing good service --- even if he did not make money from it. By doing that, his father explained, he would earn a lot of goodwill and business would flow in naturally after that.

If you are convinced by Lister's professionalism and would like to use his service, here is his contact: Thomson c/o Haw Wah Trading Company, Block 6 Hougang, Avenue 3. Telephone: 62808176.

Hermes fails Kelvin and Orchard Road shop goes to his rescue for only $8

2011-03-26T22:12:00.013+08:00

The brand Hermes is supposed to represent quality and good quality control. But Kelvin Kok's recent online purchase of a S$1,400 + bracelet from Hermes USA website has left him with a totally different impression.

In his first email to me last week, he said: "In a nutshell, the bracelet arrived but it's totally unwearable. Just imagine a bag without any handles." He wanted to know his rights as a consumer and what was the best course of action to take.

When he contacted Hermes USA after receiving the unwearable bracelet, he was asked to courier it back to them "as they do not ship outside USA so i've to bear the courier fees."

He was also asked to seek the help of Hermes in Singapore. So off he went to two of the outlets -- DFS and Liat Tower.

He said: "DFS's reply was they will take a picture and send it to Paris, HQ for evaluation and may take up to 6 months for a replacement. "However, Liat Tower refused to take the bracelet as I had bought it through their US online site and have to go through the US. So basically they pushed me back to US.

"Liat Tower also said if US refused to help, I will have to bring the item to Liat Tower and they will send it to Paris which will take up to 6 months for the wait. So I spoke to US that same night and they asked me to send it back to them...

"I feel that I should not be limited to whatever rights I have as an overseas buyer as this is clearly a huge oversight on Hermes' QC. They pride themselves as a luxury brand that produces high quality leather goods but this is truly unacceptable. They have bags costing more than 10K and you can imagine what would happen if it came without any handles."

As Kelvin did not explain why the bracelet was not wearable, I was curious. So I emailed him to find out.

When he replied, he surprised me by saying that he had solved the problem -- without the help of either Hermes USA or Singapore.

And the person who came to his rescue? The owner of a leather shop, 310 Woodland, located at the Heeren.

Kelvin said: "He was nice enough to help me out for a measly amount of $8. Being the pro that he is, he managed to knock out a hole in my bracelet in less than 10 mins. Now I'm finally a proud owner of a wearable bracelet."

As to why the bracelet was not wearable, Kelvin said he did not know how to explain the mechanics of the bracelet "as it is pretty complex to wear it". Instead he sent pictures to help me understand.

The first picture below shows the closeup of the metal plate with 4 slots. They were supposed to be punched through so that the pointy thing on left(second picture) can go through it. Kelvin says basically it came as a flat leather and "if you inspect closely, the 4 slots were punched but only halfway into the leather so I suspect it is done using machine."

Hermes has fallen short in its service to Kelvin. It did a lousy QC job in the production of the bracelet and was not very helpful when it was pointed out.

For those of you still interested in the bracelet, Kelvin says it is called "Collier de Chien" and is said to be "the Holy Grail of all fashion bracelets with its price starting from SGD$1400 to SGD$3000."

Well, I am not sure whether Kelvin will be buying another product from Hermes anytime soon.

Anne fires another Canon at Challenger

2011-03-21T17:57:00.004+08:00

Here's a new development to the story of Anne Wong's complaint about the "misleading" Challenger's ad in the mainstream media (see earlier post, The Truth in Challenger's Ad), and she has written to inform Case about what she discovered yesterday when she was in Best Denki.

She told Ms Aringi Ng, an officer of Case who is looking into the matter: "I was at Best Denki in Takashimaya/Ngee Ann City yesterday (Sunday, March 20, 2011) on my way to meet my family for lunch and checked on all-in-one printers there.

"The Canon MX876 all-in-one advertised as $399 at the IT Show was selling at Best Denki for $459.

"When I went to Challenger on Friday, March 11, the price quoted to me by the salesman was $499 (the SAME price that the MX876 had been selling for at Challenger - and other stores - for the past few weeks even before the IT Show).

"Thus salt was added to the wound!"

Ms Ng has promised to bring the issue before the Case council. Meanwhile, I have also given the feedback to the Challenger management but so far have not received any acknowledgment.

Guess we will just have to wait....

Bouquet for UOB trio

2011-03-19T15:39:00.008+08:00

Although I have been a loyal customer of POSB-DBS right through my working life, I have also opened accounts with both OCBC and UOB because of housing loans and other businesses.

I have always believed that no matter what they say, there is really no outstanding bank that can claim to give consistently good service here. This is because one's relationship with one's bank depends very much on the person you have to deal with.

If you are fortunate, you meet up with a helpful chap. If not, you go away shortchanged.

Some will take the trouble to lodge a complain or even write to the media, including this blog, while others will simply bite their tongue and keep silent.

Some of you would have read my experiences with DBS, so I will not bore you with more stories.

However, I thought I should mention my happy experience with three officers from UOB last week when I encountered difficulties while trying my hand at business internet banking for the first time.

I had assumed that I would have no problems as I have done online banking for my personal accounts with the various banks for many years.

But it was not to be. I had to find out the hard way what an administrator of a business online account can or cannot do, aside from my other role as a signatory of the account.

It took me three phone calls over two days before I finally managed to transmit some money to another UOB account to settle some outstanding invoices.

Although I did not quite catch her name, the lady at the UOB Transaction Banking section who answered my phone queries was extremely helpful. She gave me all the information I needed and I hung up feeling confident that I would succeed in my effort.

But I was wrong and had to eat humble pie by calling up the UOB Corporate Call Centre for more help. Again I was fortunate to be assisted by another patient officer who took me through, again, step by step.

After I finished taking his instructions, I logged on immediately as I did not want to forget what I had been told.

I felt pretty good when I finally filled up all that was to be done -- or so I thought. However, strangely, I felt something was still not right.

The next day, I called the person to whom I had transmitted the money to, to ask her whether her account had been credited. Her answer, you've guessed it, was "No".

So it was back to the call centre. Another patient officer told me that I had failed to do one last thing after I had validated the transaction form --- as the approving officer I had to give the go-ahead for the process to start.

It was indeed an eye-opener, but I appreciated the thoroughness of the whole process, plus of course the three helpful and patient UOB officers who gave this greenhorn a basic lesson in business online banking.

A bouquet for the trio!

The truth in Challenger's ad

2011-03-13T13:06:00.010+08:00

Like many of us, Anne Wong believes in what is published in advertisements in the mainstream newspapers.

However, after her experience last week, she is now very sceptical. Here's her story:

"Last Thursday, March 10, both the Straits Times and TODAY featured a supplement on the IT SHOW.

"Within the body of the newspapers Challenger ran a prominent advertisement(pictured), touting that “We Match Show Pricing”.

"As I was toying with the idea of a new all-in-one from Canon, I visited the IT SHOW website (very disappointing) and the Canon website.

"To my delight, Canon showed what they were offering on various products at the show and I printed out the page in which I was interested.

"I took myself down to Funan Centre and approached the staff in the printer department who silently applied himself to a computer terminal. After a few minutes he turned to me and said that he could not match the Canon deal because it meant selling the printer below Challenger’s cost.

"I mentioned the big headline of their advertisement and another customer who was nearby remarked, “that’s misrepresentation”!

"On returning home I scoured our newspapers for the Challenger advertisement and sure enough, in small print there was a disclaimer under item 3: “ Challenger reserves the right to reject any price matching request at its discretion”.

"What a waste of my time and their money to trick people into their stores! Why even bother with such a ‘come on’ which is bound to turn customers off?

"How would a customer know whether the salesman’s story about the company’s cost is true or false? It could just be a ploy, like their advertisement.

"Besides, why should it be the customer’s responsibility to ensure that Challenger sells above cost?

"Did Challenger and its ad. agency think we Singaporeans have not heard of ‘bait and switch’?

"This can only happen where consumers have little protection. It would not happen in the USA where customers bring products back when a sale starts, return the products and buy them back again at the sale price.

"And often it even can be done in one seamless transaction at the register!

"I decided to stick with what we have – if it ain’t broke, no need to buy a new one.

"We’ll only be buying our next printer from Challenger IF they can match their competitors’ deals; why pay more? "

Wonder what the advertising regulatory body has to say!!

Can we blame Dr Susan Lim?

2011-03-01T13:43:00.007+08:00

A friend was horrified last week when she first read the story of Dr Susan Lim and details of the fees that she had charged a member of the Brunei royal family.

Yesterday, after she read what I had posted on my blog, she emailed me and seemed to have turned a little philosophical. She said:

"What I am amazed after reading the Sunday Times report is what some of the witnesses (all doctors) say are the "acceptable" rates a specialist can charge.

"No wonder so many doctors are driving around in flashy cars. I guess some may feel it is justified when young banking/financial industry officers earn so much money without having spent years acquiring the skills which specialists do.

"So sad that everyone has become so mercenary.

"I guess if we want to lay blame on someone, it is that this is the Singapore society that has been created when we started paying politicians in office the 'obscene' salaries, as otherwise they "will not be able to persuade" talented souls to serve the nation.

"So it is all about money.....................can we blame Susan Lim???"

Of course, there will be people who will agree or disagree with my friend's view. But the most amazing comment I have read on Facebook is one which says that Dr Lim is a victim of a witchhunt.

My own view is that it is simply a case that concerns a moral and ethical issue. Any reasonable person reading about the mind-boggling fees, I believe, would have come to just one conclusion.

That, obviously, is why the Health Ministry made the complaint of overcharging against Dr Lim to the Singapore Medical Council.

Dr Susan Lim, why?

2011-02-25T16:42:00.010+08:00

Of all the service providers that we use in our daily lives, I would venture to say that among those who can charge exorbitantly without too much risk of raising the hackles of their customers are our doctors.

The reason for this is simple: Most of us do not really know what the market fee is for a certain type of procedure or consultation. And we do not usually question such professionals over what they charge as it may come across as an affront to them.

Another reason could be that we trust our doctors and like to believe that they are generally honourable people who have sworn by the Hippocratic Oath to save lives and follow the standards set by the medical profession.

However, over the years as medical and other costs escalate with new technologies and soaring rentals, many doctors have begun to put up their fees in order to make sure that they do not inadvertently go into the red .

There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing that as I believe that they, like all people, must make a living and should not be penalised for doing the right thing.

However, what disturbs me is when some doctors start to abuse their profession and, as a result, give their peers a bad name as well. Many of them have been accused of ordering unnecessary tests and procedures. Or to include fees in their bills that are questionable.

I know of one case where a cardiologist recommended an angiogram when there was no need for one. Fortunately, the recommendation was not taken up because my friend was smart enough to seek a second opinion.

He was convinced that this doctor was ordering unnecessary procedures because his office colleague was told the same thing when he, too, went for a heart check. It turned out that the procedure was also not necessary.

Talking about doctors overcharging, the news that shook Singapore this week -- just as hard as the Kiwi quake -- was the story of surgeon Susan Lim who is fighting the Singapore Medical Council in court to stop it from appointing a second disciplinary committee to hear a government accusation that she had overcharged a patient from the royal family in Brunei.

The fees given in the story were just mind-boggling.

The question on top of people's mind is: Why did this brilliant surgeon have to do such a thing?

What I am particularly happy about this whole affair is that everything is being made known to the public.

What Dr Lim needs to do now is to convince the SMC that she is indeed the honest person that she says she is in a 2010 video interview that I heard moments ago. Of course, I am assuming the court will allow the SMC's committee to go ahead with the second hearing against her.

Let's stay tuned.

Starhub says sorry to Irene again

2011-02-16T21:23:00.005+08:00

Starhub has again replied to Irene over the unsolicited SMS issue.
This was after her last email to the telco saying that it was able to send a reply that
was devoid of bureaucratic crap.

The Starhub reply says:

"We are sorry that we did not meet your service expectations during
the previous interactions regarding the advertising SMS concerns
you raised with us. We thank you for giving us another opportunity to
address your concerns and feedback.

"We wish to explain that the highlighted SMS was sent by a third
party, not facilitated by StarHub. In such advertising sms, an option
to unsubscribe permanently from their respective mailing lists is
usually included.

"Nevertheless, we do acknowledge that our colleague
could have done better by pro-actively requesting for the
unsubscription on your behalf after receiving your first e-mail.

"With regard to your feedback on the second reply you received, we
wish to clarify that our colleague who attended to you had
misinterpreted your concerns as being related to unsolicited SMSes
instead of specifically relating to the advertising SMS. This caused
him to reply to you as per the procedures required for unsolicited
calls/SMSes.

"Please be assured that your feedback have been immediately
highlighted to our service supervisors who have closed this service
gap with the related staff and will continue to coach them for
service excellence. Once again, we apologise for the inconvenience
caused by this matter and look forward to providing you with a better
experience."

Surprise, surprise, Irene has been quiet for the last two days....

Irene slams Starhub for poor service

2011-02-14T18:51:00.008+08:00

When Irene received an unsolicited SMS earlier this month from someone trying to sell survellance CCTV and other security products, she wrote to Starhub asking the telco to check whether the spammer was its customer and, if so, to tell him "to cease and desist".

Starhub took awhile to give this simple reply: the mobile number from which the SMS was sent was not registered with the telco. "You may wish to unsubscribe to the SMS when you received it," it added.

The telco's reply immediately got Irene's goat, so she shot back: "Thank you for the advice which is worse than useless. Can it really be that you are unaware that "unsubscribing" merely tells the spammer that there is a real live user to the number and encourages the spammer to send more crap or, worse, sell my number to other spammers."

Irene's annoyance obviously must have registered. However, it still took four days for the telco to send this reply:

"Thank you for your e-mail. We are currently experiencing high volume
of queries and sincerely apologise for the extended time taken to
respond to you.

"We regret to hear that you have been receiving unsolicited calls.

"In order for us to look into the matter for you, please lodge a
police report and fax the report to 6720 5000.

"In the report please include at least 5 connected calls from the same
number within one-month period. Please state the dates and times of
these calls. Please note that if the number is a foreign number, we
will not be able to do anything.

"However, if the number belongs to another service provider, we will
write to the service provider concerned to send a warning letter to
the caller. If the caller is a StarHub subscriber, we will send a
warning letter to our subscriber."

By now, Irene's blood pressure might have hit the ceiling. She delivered another stinker:

"Starhub,
Your reply tells me that you are not bothered - or worse, that you do
not care - about telephone spam sent to YOUR customers, because you
regard dealing with it as a COST to you and not as part of service to
your customers.

"Therefore, I will be happy to reduce that cost as soon as my current
cellphone contract with your company is up. And I will advise my
friends who are your cellphone customers to do likewise."

The latest email worked like magic. Starhub replied to Irene that same morning:

"Thank you for your reply.

"We seek your understanding that the procedures and supporting
documents/details highlighted in our e-mail dated 14 February 2011
are shared across service providers and are required to be provided
as supporting documents when requesting for another service provider
to send advisory letters to their registered subscriber.

"This is irregardless (sic) of which service provider you are currently registered
under and not unique to StarHub alone.

"In view of your concerns, StarHub will send an e-mail to the sender
(sismay972@gmail.com) and request for the sender to remove all your
Prepaid contact numbers.

"We hope to have provided clarification regarding your concerns."

Irene was just as fast with her counter :

"OK, I get it.

"1) You can actually do something other than offering a customer bureaucratic crap. This is somewhat better than the advice offered in your earlier email.

"2) But you will do something only if a customer actually threatens to quit. And to suggest to her friends that they should do likewise.

"Two questions:
1) Why couldn't you have said this FIRST?
2) Do you really think that this is a good way to present your company and its corporate philosophy?"

I believe the Starhub-Irene exchange is good material for teachers of customer relations seeking to show their students how not to take their customers for granted. Maybe Irene could even be recruited to give a lesson or two!

New currency notes for angpows: Ball is at the feet of our banks

2011-02-11T14:46:00.004+08:00

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's Currency Department has replied to my feedback about the shortage of new currency notes for the Chinese Lunar New Year

In my posting just before the lunar New Year, I had written about the yearly shortage faced by many people and quoted a friend who asked why the Board of Commissioners of Currency could not have printed more new notes knowing that there was going to be a demand every year.

She said the giving of angpows "is a good family tradition that we would want to uphold and the government should play its part to make sure that there is sufficient supply of those notes every year."

Unfortunately, according to the MAS, it is not a simple case of just issuing new notes. It says it
will (only) issue new notes when recirculated notes are insufficient to meet the demand for cash.

"This usually coincides with festive periods such as Chinese New Year. The amount of new notes to be issued in any given year, depends on the demand from banks and stock level of recirculated notes," it explains.

This means that the ball at the feet of our banks. How much new notes are put out by the authorities depends on the banks.

In other words, the annual shortage occurs because the banks have under-estimated the demand from its customers.

The big question is: Why are the banks so conservative, some would say stupid, in their applications for new notes when they know full well that there is consistently a shortage every year?

Golden Village tells why it has to give that warning

2011-02-09T21:46:00.005+08:00

Golden Village has responded to Ms Cheah's protest about a warning sign placed on the ticket counter at its Jurong Point cinema.

According to Ms Cheah, "the sign warns us to be nice to the sales staff and action will be taken against angry customers." She took offence when she saw it and wrote to Golden Village.

In its reply, the cinema's Senior Manager for Guest Relations, Ms Annabelle Yap, thanked Ms Cheah for her feedback and gave the reason for putting up that sign:

"Over the past few years, Golden Village has seen an increased occurrence of staff being both physically and verbally abused by our patrons. We have witnessed an average of at least one such incident being reported per month to our management team. We believe the actual numbers are much higher as many of such cases are unreported.

"The reported cases include instances where our staff experienced food being thrown at them after reminding patrons that they have flouted house rules by bringing in food and drinks bought outside Golden Village premises.

"Our staff have also been spat at, pushed and had movie vouchers thrown in their faces when told that the vouchers have terms and conditions. Our staff were also subjected to offensive gesture and profanities despite making every effort to remain calm and providing their best to appease the angry patron.

"These unfortunate incidents have greatly impacted our staff morale and have prompted us to be pro-active in trying to promote a safe environment in which our staff can perform their duties.

"This signage does not in any way dictate how our patrons should behave but helps to highlight instead the need for mutual respect between the two parties to ensure a more enjoyable movie experience. On our part, Golden Village will continually strive to improve our service standards in order to provide the best service possible to all our patrons."

Golden Village warns cinema-goers to behave

2011-01-31T11:54:00.006+08:00

Cinema-goer Ms Cheah has written to Golden Village to protest against a warning sign that was displayed on the ticket counter at its Jurong Point cinema. She had gone there with a good friend to watch the 6.50 pm show on Saturday.

"When I approached the ticket counter, I noticed an A4-sized notice placed on top of the counter," he wrote. "The sign warns us to be nice to the sales staff and action will be taken against angry customers.

"The definition of good customer service seems to has deteriorated over time. It baffles me how companies are demanding customers to be courteous, nice and patient instead of other way the around.

"While I believe there are isolated cases where customers step beyond the line, it should be dealt with professionally and discreetly on a case-by-case basis. Putting up a sign telling the rest of us how to behave is very insulting to a paying customer.

"Of my 1.5 years patronizing GV Jurong Point, I have came across an exceptionally courteous staff only ONCE. Rude and impatient staff? Countless.

"My advice: Stop insulting your customer and step-up to the challenges of providing good customer service instead of whining and crying to the rest of us."

Sounds like good advice for Golden Village.

New currency notes for Lunar New Year: Why must there be a shortage every time?

2011-01-30T13:05:00.009+08:00

Not everyone is as lucky as I was in being able to obtain new currency notes for the Lunar New Year.

One friend who thought she would be able to get her all new notes from Citibank without too much of a problem as she was a privileged customer, was surprised when she discovered that some of those delivered to her were in fact old ones.

The reason given to her by the bank was that there was a shortage of certain notes and that demand had exceeded supply.

Which of course left my friend very exasperated because she felt that it was something that should not happening almost every year at this time.

"Why can't the Board of Commissioners of Currency print more new notes for the New Year when it knows that there is always going to be a demand," she said.

"After all, it is a good family tradition that we would want to uphold and the government should play its part to make sure that there is sufficient supply of those notes every year."

I concur fully with her sentiment. Giving ang pows is a fine Chinese tradition that helps to promote family bonding. Unlike the risky fire crackers that were banned many years ago, surely this family value is one that the government would want our children to imbibe and not see it go up in smoke.

Property loan 'nightmare" after cold call

2011-01-26T14:49:00.006+08:00

Choo Hwee Meng wrote to me today to share his property loan "nightmare" story.

He said: "In November 2009 , I was approached through a cold call to refinance my property loan with DBS.

"The agent, after reading my previous loan details with StanChart, convinced me to take up a 3-year fixed loan in February 2010, although my 3-year period was to end in June 2010. I agreed without much thought as I was quite caught up with work then. That was when my "nightmare" started.

"A DBS agent met me subsequently to sign the agreement. However again I did not look into the very important detail of the date. My contract with StandChart was to end only in June.

"It was only when I received a letter from StanChart for the penalty charges that I realised my mistake. I immediately called DBS to change the date of disbursement to June instead of February. (This was in January 2010).

"DBS then deducted $500 from my account without prior informing me (that it was) a penalty for the change in disbursement date. It did not matter that this was five months later. When iI called in to dispute the matter, I was told "a lot of administrative work has gone into this matter".

"To add insult to injury, a few days ago (21 January 2011), I received a letter from DBS telling me that a higher rate will be imposed from February 2011 since the original offer was from February 2010, but the 3-year penalty period will only start from June 2010, the date of dispursement!

"Which means I only enjoy half a year of the promotional rate, but yet (Iam) tied in for 3 years. I now intend to close all my current and saving accounts with DBS and have nothing to do with them after this 3-year period is done.

"Lesson to learn - check the dates carefully and ask plenty of questions before signing any documents, even from reputable banks. "

Lunar New Year wish granted

2011-01-20T15:11:00.002+08:00

Unlike in previous years, when my wife was frequently disappointed and frustrated by POSB/DBS Bank in her attempts to get new currency notes and angpow packets for the Lunar New Year, this time around she was successful.

This was because our relationship manager (RM) Desmond was more reliable than the previous ones that we had.

I had called him a week ago to tell him about we wanted. He said since I needed different amounts in various denominations, it was better to send him an email. I did as requested.

Two days ago, he called to tell me to go down to the Ngee Ann City branch today to collect the notes and angpow packets. I am happy to report that everything my wife wanted was nicely bundled when we arrived to collect.

Moral of the story: there are RMs and RMs. It is just your bad luck if you have been assigned an unreliable one.

Thanks, Desmond.

Scam attempt by "The Gmail Team"

2011-01-16T20:03:00.006+08:00

If you receive an email from someone purporting to be from "The Gmail Team" and asking you "to confirm if your email is still active by filling out your login details...or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons", DO NOT respond.

I am certain it is a scam because when I did not respond to its 24-hour warning, back came another email after the deadline had expired, saying:

"Your Account Will Not Be Interrupted After Following The Instructions And Your Service Still Continue As Normal. We Apologize For Any Inconveniences.
Thank You For Using Gmail.
The Gmail Team"

But this was not the first email that I had received from "The Gmail Team". A few weeks ago, I got a similar one which gave me a seven-day deadline to respond. Nothing happened when I did not.

There were two give-aways in "The Gmail Team's" attempted scam.
One, it said that "due to the congestion in our Gmail servers, there would be removal of all unused mail Accounts."

As far as I know, this cannot be true because Gmail's biggest selling point is that users needn't erase their email messages because of its huge capacity. So why should it be talking about congestion in its servers?

Secondly, why should Gmail be asking for login details when all it wanted was to confirm that the account was being used? Surely a simple reply would suffice.

So, do stay alert! Never give away your login details.

Alert -- check your telco bills!

2011-01-14T15:13:00.006+08:00

Although it was just a matter of only 60 cents, but Shionge has now realised that she must make it a point to check her monthly telco bill and those of her children.

She discovered earlier this month that her daughter's Singtel bill had two extra items for something that was purportedly subscribed on December 8 and 9 last year.

She says that for her previous bills, she never bothered to check carefully. All she did was to simply remind her daughter not to download anything.

This time, however, she took a closer look at her daughter's bill and found an item " Orange Gum Service". Out of curiosity, she emailed Orange Gum to find out what it was about.

"To my horror, I was told by Orange Gum that it was a system error," she says.

"Although I do appreciate their prompt reply to credit the money back, I am concerned about the number of users who are similarly affected and who do not bother to check their bills.

" It might be a small amount, but how much money is collected by Orange Gum due to this system error?"

Because there are simply too many mobile/music/apps downloads, Shionge says she is sharing this with other users to warn them to check their bills more carefully as one never knows when one is wrongly charged.

By the way, Orange Gum Service is part of Relaxz Mobile, a suite of interactive games, news and other information services delivered through SMS.

Apple acts fast to settle Anne's problem

2011-01-10T19:40:00.004+08:00

Anne Wong Holloway's problem with "unintentional purchase" at Apple's Appt Store has been resolved -- soon after she wrote to them and hours after I had posted her story on this blog.

Lavanya of iTunes Store Customer Support wrote to Anne to say that she would be "more than happy" to fix the issue.

She promised that "in three to five business days, a credit of 43.97 USD should be posted to the credit card that appears on the receipt for that purchase."

According to her, the iTunes Store provides a warning message that asks if you are sure that you want to buy an item. This warning can be turned off. If you would like to make sure that this warning is on, you can reset the warnings in the iTunes Store by following the instructions in this article:

Resetting iTunes Store warnings
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1734.

This is indeed helpful to its customers because Anne says that when
she posted her problem in a Discussions group, she found from the response that there was a significant number of people "bitten" by the App Store bug.

Anne finds "rotten Apple" in App Store

2011-01-10T09:44:00.004+08:00

Anne Wong Holloway has a problem with Apple's App Store. She sent me this email:

"I have been a loyal Mac user of several years' standing and have been a Mac 'evangelist'. But my initial experience with the new App Store has left me fuming. As I just emailed Apple:

'I was exploring the new App Store and clicked on some apps. I noticed one called Panorama Sheets had been installed so I dragged it to Trash to uninstal it as it is not the kind of app I have bought or would ever be interested in!

I only clicked on the name to try and see what it was about since the names of the apps only sometimes give one an idea what it does.

Lo and behold I got an iTunes receipt (rec'd January 9, 2011 9:24:57 AM GMT+08:00) just as I was readying to leave Singapore for Hong Kong and I have been billed for Panorama Sheets. And it's not even an inexpensive app (USD$39.99) that I can afford to 'swallow'.

How can I prove I have never used it and will not be using it?

I am so angry. This is such a bad experience with Apple. And I am terribly disappointed that Apple would trick customers into making non-refundable purchases with one inadvertent click.

Amazon and other online retailers enable customers to get their money back if they make a mistake.

If I were back in the USA I would take this matter up with the authorities and consumer associations but I am in Asia for the next few months.'"

Subsequently, out of curiosity, Anne visited the developer Panorama's website and discoverd that it offered a FREE preview. "Why would I buy such a complex app without trying it out for free first?" she said. "Assuming I needed such an app - it's a database in spreadsheet form from the little I have read. What in the world would I need something like that for?"

To me, it looks like a case of a rotten Apple :)

Coffee Bean shows flexibility

2010-12-29T12:05:00.003+08:00

Coffee Bean's willingness to be flexible has left a good impression on Shionge.

She wanted to order two birthday cakes for Saturday (New Year's Day) for her aunt and cousin. So she logged on to The Coffee Bean's website yesterday but was dismayed to learn that she must do it four days in advance (excluding the day the order was made) for an order to be executed.

She said: "Out of desperation, I called The Coffee Bean HQ and spoke with one Officer – Zi-Fong (sorry didn’t get the correct spelling). I explained to him that it is only ‘delayed’ by one day and if he could kindly assist.

"He left a note with the production department and hey…this morning, a Mr. Richard from Coffee Bean called me and acceded to my request.

"Although I was not able to place the order online, I just needed to head down to the West Mall outlet and make out the full payment. By being so accommodating, it really warmed my heart.

"If they had stuck to their policy they might have lost out on a sale and probably a loyal customer as well.

"What a wonderful gesture to end Year 2010."

Yes, a small gesture from Coffee Bean but it deserves a BOUQUET nevertheless.

Internet speed: IDA must act

2010-12-28T21:02:00.008+08:00

It is disappointing to read the three major internet service providers' response today (Dec 28) to the government's proposal to have them disclose their average surfing speeds when they go about marketing their broadband.

Their answer is a flat "No". Reason? It is impossible to define what is an average speed because many factors affect internet speed.

This seems odd to me because when I googled to find out the internet speed of other countries, I came across a study that ranks the "average internet speed" of the various countries and Singapore was nowhere in that ranking.

If the three telcos --- Starhub, Singtel and M1 --- refuse to agree to the Infocomm Development Authority's proposal to state their average speeds, then logically they should not be allowed to market their plans based on their "rarely achievable maximum speeds".

It is a case of having their cake and eating it. The IDA must act.

SingPost: Another tale of woe

2010-12-27T13:25:00.003+08:00

Anne Wong Holloway has added another tale of woe about SingPost service. She thinks it does not seem to be able to provide a basic one.

She says: "We had been expecting some desk diaries from Hong Kong and it was a good thing I checked - otherwise the senders would have thought us rude not to thank them and I would have thought their mail room staff inefficient.

"As it turned out, the diaries were mailed to Singapore and but have not arrived even after a fortnight. So another package was immediately despatched by DHL and arrived today (Boxing Day) despite the intervening public holiday.

"Providers of postal services in many parts of the world e.g. USPS and Royal Mail are seeing a decline in revenues -- and making efforts to stay relevant.

"If we cannot expect basic postal services in Singapore, Singpost is only hastening its death knell."

With so many complaints about its delivery service recently, I hope SingPost is giving its full attention to this problem.

One year old today

2010-12-23T18:33:00.008+08:00

Today, Christmas Eve, is exactly a year since I started this blog. And I am surprised -- and happy -- that I am still at it.

Although my postings have not been regular as they depend on the number of feedback that I get and whether or not I am in Singapore, I still managed a total of 157 in one year.

I am overjoyed by the words of encouragement that I have received from various people. Many have also signed up as "followers". Some even have links from their own websites and blogs.

TODAY newspaper wrote a piece on the blog on May 3 which helped to publicise it and boosted the "hit" rate. The Straits Times/Sunday Times made mention of it a couple of times, including one last Sunday on retiree Ricardo Rodrigues and his unhappy experience with a senior SQ crew member who reprimanded him for using the airline's A380 Suites toilet.

One indicator of the impact the blog is making is the fact that many organisations which have been the subject of compliments or complaints, have continued to monitor the blog regularly. These include the airlines, the banks, the telcos, our hospitals, various government institutions and retail outlets.

I would like to thank these organisations for taking the effort to respond to our feedback even though many postings were not complimentary. I applaud them for facing up to the issues squarely and welcome their assurances that they would improve on their services.

As for those who did not bother to acknowledge our feedback (you know who they are reading the blog), they still have the New Year to look forward to for enlightenment.

Finally, I would like to thank all the contributors who have taken the trouble to write to me. You have played your part in helping to improve our service standards.

Have a Joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Parcel for Maggie...could it be on a slow SingPost boat from China?

2010-12-22T11:56:00.008+08:00

More complaints about SingPost service. This one is from Maggie in Canada who is expecting a package from her friend in China...yes, from China via Singapore.
Here is her story:

"My situation is a little complicated. My friend in China asked a company to send a package to me via Singapore EMS Speedpost to Canada. Apparently, I was told that this route would be faster than if the package was sent directly from China.

"I received a tracking no. as EC401580157SG. On Singpost's track and trace, the status is "Shipments in transit from Origin". The status has not been updated since Dec. 15th.

"From SingPost's website, the estimate delivery period for my package, a WWC Document Item, should be 2-4 days. Regardless of business days or calendar days, it does not seem like this package will make it to Canada in that time as it is still stuck, somewhere in Singapore.

"I am not sure whether Singpost has simply lost my package or the package is stuck in limbo somewhere in Singapore. I have sent an online enquiry to Singpost last Friday but they have not responded. I did not save a copy since it was made on Singpost's website.

"I'm in Canada so it's not really convenient for me to call them. I understand this is the holiday season but I would appreciate if Singpost can provide me with an expected time of delay and the reason for such.

"To make matters worse, I will be leaving for my Christmas vacation on the 23rd and will not return until Jan. 3rd. If I cannot arrange for someone to pick up the package while I'm gone, I'm worry that the package will be returned!! perhaps to SINGAPORE..geesh."

Let's hope SingPost can unravel this one.

**** LATEST: Hours after I alerted SingPost to Maggie's dilemma, she wrote to say
"My package has finally been 'acknowledged' in Singapore...but I have given up on hopes of receiving it before my vacations."

Priscilla and fiance get their Housing Board flat after 9 attempts

2010-12-18T12:08:00.014+08:00

Way back in March, I posted a story about Priscilla and her boyfriend, and their frustrations in applying for a Housing Board apartment. They wanted to get married and start a family quickly but, like many young couples here, they could not get a unit to call their own.

At that time, she said she had failed a total of 7 times since her application in 2008. "This is quite an appalling number of tries considering that HDB claims that majority of first timers can get their flat within 2 tries," she said then.

She appealed to the minister after their fifth unsuccessful attempt, but that also did not bear fruit. After her 7th attempt, she told me her story and I decided to blog it. I also alerted HBD to the feedback and was notified to wait for a reply.

Nothing was heard from either the HDB or Priscilla about the matter until two days ago when she sent me a Season's Greeting. I took the opportunity to ask her about her application and this was her reply:

"After the posting on the blog, we wrote a second appeal to the minister (which once again got an unsatisfactory template reply after a month).

"This was followed by a separate email in early May to an MP to get his help after all the disappointments. I guessed the appeal from the MP was unsuccessful as well since we did not get a Jurong West unit which we balloted for in May.

"Just as we were at our wits’ ends, we decided to write in another appeal to specifically target the points raised by HDB in all the previous replies. At the same time, we balloted for one of the BTOs that was launched during this period.

"Fast forward a few months, we received a queue number that was within the number of units available and have successfully chosen a unit.

"This has certainly been a long journey of close to 3 years and I’m glad we never gave up trying.

"But despite this, I can only say that HDB still needs to work on their replies as none of the replies provided have been satisfactory at all (and this includes the final email acknowledging that I have chosen my unit)."

When asked whether her story in boo-n-bouquet was useful, she said: "I guess in some way, the blog post helped and made sure they paid attention to my case. But I sent in two more appeals after the post, attacking every point in their replies. So I guess that, combined with the blog post made them more aware of my case."

Bouquet for Priscilla for her perseverence. As for the HBD, well...

PS...Priscilla's new home is in Bukit Panjang.

Gary glitters at Paragon's ishop

2010-12-16T17:29:00.005+08:00

Here's a Christmas bouquet for a salesman named Gary at the ishop at the Paragon.

My friend Lulin just wrote to tell of her happy encounter with Gary:

"Any one wishing to buy an Apple product should look for Gary at the ishop at the Paragon. When I wanted to buy an imac and needed to transfer everything from my macbook, Gary was most helpful, smiling and cheerful -- important for me as a shopper as it puts me in a good mood.

"Another sales lady in the shop was also helpful but with an expressionless face that could be seen as unfriendly.

"Fortunately Gary took over and met every one of my requirements. He explained why it would take 3 hours to transfer and persuaded me to return the same evening.

"When I said the traffic would be awful in the evening, he suggested coming back later, as the shop closed at 9.30pm and they often stayed back till 10pm. Good advice!

"Not only did he copied the stuff, he installed my MS Office, cleaned up the clutter, showed me how to use iphoto efficiently, advised me on how to minimise the collection of clutter in the computer, which accessories I needed and which not to waste money on, and a host of other tips. Assured me I could go back for more help if I needed it.

"Plus he was chatty, friendly without being overbearing, interested without being nosey. ishop, give him a large bonus! I am rarely this enthusiastic about good service but Gary deserves it!"

SingPost goes back to using rubber bands

2010-12-14T18:55:00.004+08:00

On Dec 6, I wrote about the continuing problems facing Singapore Post in its mail delivery. I gave my own recent experience and how it took action to ensure that I do not receive letters that are not meant for me.

After that, SingPost started delivering all my mail in a sealed transparent plastic cover.

I was intrigued and concerned, and wrote in my blog: "I do not know whether every household is getting the same treatment. If it were so, then I am sure the cost of delivery would have shot up. The question is, when will SingPost pass on the cost to its customers?

"My other concern about having these plastic covers is that, at a time when the world is trying to GO GREEN, why is SingPost doing such a dumb thing."

Well, the good news is that SingPost has reverted back to delivering my letters in the old way -- all bound by a single rubber band.

Trainee gives excellent service and visitor shows his appreciation

2010-12-13T22:11:00.003+08:00

I stumbled upon this item in the South West Community Development Council's Facebook site and thought it was something worth sharing:

"South West SPEAKS: When there's GREAT Service... It brings more than just a SMILE.

What does SERVICE mean to YOU? A customer's entitlement? Or a staff's responsibility to project a positive image? For us, it brings more than just a smile... Such moments might just strike as one of our fondest memories.

Here's a letter by one of our visitors who's impressed with People Association's service delivery in our district. Kudos to the staff of West Coast Community Centre~ :)

'Dear Sir / Madam,

Allow me to introduce myself. I am James Scholefield based in London. The purpose of this letter to you is to compliment a young gentleman that had done more than an extra mile as a service personnel.

Recently, my company sent me and my family to Singapore for a short trip to look and familarise myself with the environment which I will be posted here in the year 2011. I happen to come by with my wife to this area "West Coast" to look at private housing facilities and stumbled upon this place "West Coast Community Centre".

The moment we stepped into the office, we were greeted politely by this gentleman from the front desk. After I told him that we were foreigners and would like to know more about Singapore and this community centre on what it has to offer.

Without hesitation, he introduced to me the many aspects and things he knew to me and my wife. He then started by telling us about the transportation system in Singapore and how to get around in the various modes of transport.

He carried on by sharing with us those necessities of information we needed to know and aware of when we asked him. From there, he started to introduce what this community centre has to offer in terms of facilities and courses where he introduced and explained in details clearly to us the passion card which he illustrated in an excellent manner on how useful is the card is to us as consumers.

Throughout the conversation, he was polite and courteous towards us which we felt that he deserves this compliment. Me and my wife felt that this gentleman had provided an excellent service, comparing to many other service staffs whom I came across during our trip.

As I do not know his name but I clearly remember seeing his name tag shown as "Trainee". He certainly deserves more than just a pat on the back for his excellent service which I believe he should be given the thumbs up for the things that he had done for us and most likely to all other customers that he met too.

I must say this gentleman handled his role professionally and should there be an service excellence staff award from your organisation, I would strongly recomend him to be awarded as he deserves it. Thank you.

Regards,

James Scholefield' "

BOUQUET to this trainee who showed that he can make a difference and to James Scholefied for taking the trouble to write in to show his appreciation.

.

Ricardo's story a big hit

2010-12-12T21:18:00.004+08:00

Ricardo Rodrigues' story about his unhappy experience on board SQ637 from Narita to Singapore on December 4 was given an airing in The Sunday Times today (Dec 12).

As a result, boo-n-bouquet.blogspot.com, was mentioned for reporting it. And -- as a result -- the blog saw a huge spike in the number of hits today.

Ricardo, retired regional manager for bookstore Borders, wrote to me after he was reprimanded by a crew member for using a first-class toilet in the A-380 when he was travelling on economy.

He said he was treated "like a child" for something that he just "could not hold" as he was having a stomach ache and all the economy class toilets were occupied.

The responses that I got when I told the story to my friends and family members over the weekend were mixed. Some said Ricardo should have asked for permission before he went into the first-class toilet. My counter was that he just did not have the time to do it.

Others wanted to know where to draw the line on who should be allowed to use those "higher class toilets". They said it would be difficult for the airline because there was always the risk of abuse if those toilets were opened up to those having "stomach aches".

It also has to consider the reaction of the higher-paying passengers if those from the economy class were allowed to encroach into their space wily-nily?

Well, I guess this is something the airline will have to work it out because we can be sure that such a dilemma --- to allow or not to allow? -- will confront crew members again and again.

But one thing that is not in dispute --- all my respondents were surprised that Ricardo was treated so badly, especially by an airline that is noted for being ultra friendly to its passengers.

Anne's two Christmas wishes granted

2010-12-08T13:38:00.007+08:00

It's going to be a happy Christmas for Anne after all. At least two of her wishes have come true.

ONE, her application for a HSBC Visa card has been approved, sealed and delivered.
She says "Thanks to Rozilah (Service Quality Team) and Jonathan Shan (HSBC Claymore branch) who expedited getting the necessary documents to the credit card processing department, I received my HSBC Visa card."

HSBC also sent her a gift hamper for "bringing their attention to the glitches."

"Hopefully, the information from my case will be put to good use and future credit card applicants and customers will have a smoother, less bureaucratic introduction to the Bank and its products," Anne says.

"The test of a company and its staff is when things do not go by the book or minor crises arise, their ability to respond in an appropriate and timely manner as they did in this case justifies their shareholders' and customers' confidence in the company."

TWO, her search for the electric Electrolux pressure cooker is over. After the company's PR guy read my blog, he contacted me, and subsequently Anne, and arranged for the machine to be delivered to her doorstep.

Pretty good PR and damage control by HSBC and Electrolux although the latter was faster.

We are sorry, but no personal apology, SIA tells Ricardo

2010-12-07T18:25:00.005+08:00

Hours after I posted Ricardo Rodrigues' complaint to Singapore Airlines about an unhappy encounter he had on board SQ 637 from Narita to Singapore, its customer affairs manager Lindy Lin replied to him:

"Dear Mr Rodrigues

Thank you for speaking with me over the phone yesterday. I have since brought your case up to the attention of my Senior Manager.

Informatively, Customer Affairs department is specially set up to handle
all customers' feedbacks and therefore it will be the central point of contact for our customers and other departments. As such, while we can empathise with the experience you have related to us, we are regrettably unable to provide you with a personal letter of apology from the crew member or allow you a personal meeting with him.

Mr Rodrigues, I would like to reassure you that we will certainly take stern action against this crew member if it is found he had behaved inappropriately and unprofessionally. The incident will be recorded in his file and his performance will also be monitored. We will strive to ensure that a similar incident does not recur as well. I would also like you to know that I will personally follow through with this case and the investigations with our Cabin Crew Manager.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the poor experience, Mr Rodrigues.
Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Lindy Lin
Customer Affairs Manager"

Well, the ball is now back in Ricardo's court.

Ricardo uses SQ business class toilet and gets a scolding from crew

2010-12-07T10:17:00.010+08:00

Time and tide wait for no man. I might add a tummy ache and its consequences, too, especially for just retired Ricardo Rodrigues recently.

Ricardo was completely stunned when he was reprimanded by a senior cabin crew from Singapore Airlines for using the Business Class toilet
when he was not allowed to do so while on a flight back to Singapore.

His mitigating factors were: he had a stomach ache and needed to use the loo urgently, and the economy class toilets were completely occupied.

When he got home, he wrote to the airline: "I would like to bring up an encounter with one of your flight crew that happened to me on a flight from Narita to Singapore on Sat 4th December 2010.

"I was on board flight SQ 637 departing Narita for Singapore and was seated in economy class seat 33D. This being a A380 flight, my seat was in the cabin directly behind the Business class section with a galley between the two cabins.

"After take-off, the crew started to serve drinks to the passengers. I suddenly developed a stomach ache and had to use the toilets. I stood up and saw that the toilets behind me were being used and there were other passengers waiting in line for them. I was also blocked by the drinks cart which was between me and the toilets.

"At this point of time, I had no choice but to try and use the Business class toilet. I went forward and saw one of the toilets was empty, and went to use it.

"Before entering the toilet, I saw two crew members near the toilet who did not stop me going in. After I had finished, I exited the toilet and started walking back to my seat.

" I heard a sound behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a senior crew member whom I recognised to be the In-flight Manager behind me and he in not too many words began to "scold" me by saying "These toilets are not for your use, they are solely for our priority passengers, you must use the toilets at the back. Do not use these toilets again".

"I was too stunned for any words, and I stood there and just replied OK. I then turned around and made my way back to my seat. I guess this guy was still not finished with me as he followed me back to my seat and continued to stare at me.

"I would like to admit that I may have made a mistake by using the Business class toilets and I will not make any excuse for using it except that it was an emergency to me.

"What I really expected was for your crew to speak in a better manner and tell me instead of treating me like some child. I may be in economy class, as this was a family holiday, but when on business I do travel on business class on certain sectors.

"I cannot give you the name of the crew, as I was too stunned to take down his name, but he was definitely a senior crew because all he did was walk around the cabin not doing anything.

"He had a crew cut and had quite a lot of grey hair. I also want to inform you that whilst he was telling me off, there was also another cabin crew member near him, and I could see from his face that he was quite uncomfortable to see and hear his senior treating a passenger in this manner.

"I am writing this not so much to get things from SQ, but to highlight the 'new' kind of service cabin crew are giving to passengers. I am sure that dealing with the millions of passengers SQ handles this has to be part and parcel of the job, but I as a Singaporean who always flies SQ, am very shocked by this.

"Kindly assist me by investigating this matter, as I know a simple letter of apology will normally be the case that Companies send and also to say that the person concerned will be counselled. In this day and age all airlines etc are doing the same for customers, but the difference has to be in the customer service both on the ground and in the air. I know this as I have been in the service industry for the last 30 odd years and have just retired.

"I would like to be able to receive a personal apology face to face from the crew concerned, or I may have to take this matter further. Please understand that this is not a threat."

Ricardo tells me that a woman from SQ called him last evening to apologise, but he feels that a more appropriate response would be a personal apology from the crew member concerned.

The ball is now in SQ's court.

SingPost gets more complaints

2010-12-06T21:23:00.005+08:00

I had forgotten about my problem with SingPost over receiving letters that were not meant for me until I read three letters in The Straits Times today about people having mailing and delivery problems.

To be fair, I must say that SingPost had responded to me when I wrote to them recently about my problem and they were apologetic about it. After that, I started receiving all my mail sealed in a transparent plastic cover.

I do not know whether every household is getting the same treatment. If it were so, then I am sure the cost of delivery would have shot up. The question is, when will SingPost pass on the cost to its customers?

My other concern about having these plastic covers is that, at a time when the world is trying to GO GREEN, why is SingPost doing such a dumb thing.

These are the three letters in The Straits Times today (Dec 6):

Delayed packages and missing mail
I HAVE been selling baby products online since 2007 and usually I post out 10 to 20 packages a day to online customers, most of the time using SingPost. Recently, I have found that the postal service standards have dipped drastically.

It is stated on the post boxes that packages mailed before 5pm will reach recipients by the next working day. Yet, I have had so many instances of customers receiving my packages only three to four days later - sometimes up to two weeks later. This has been so especially since SingPost switched to a five-day work week.

Also, I have never encountered so many cases of lost mail until this year.
Do consumers have to make do with such standards of service?
Ivy Lam (Madam)
==========
Take action
'The situation has not improved despite complaints.'
MR HO TIAN SHUN: 'Over the past 15 months, SingPost has on 15 occasions delivered to my mailbox letters meant for a unit in my neighbouring block which has the same unit number. They included even confidential letters like those from banks and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. The situation has not improved despite complaints to the inspector of post at Kallang Regional Base. Three of our own bills have gone missing so far. Has the implementation of the five-day work week resulted in a heavy load for postal staff at the start of the week, leading to errors? I hope SingPost will take fast action to bring its service back to the good old days.'
============
Wrong delivery, almost every day...
WE ARE a food and beverage firm located at the Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall in Orchard Road. Since late October, we have been having problems with the postal service. The mail keeps getting put into the wrong slots practically every delivery day.

Our letter boxes are #01-01 and #01-02 but we have received mail for other units and even letters meant for shops in Orchard Plaza and recently, Centrepoint.

We used to receive at least 10 letters a day but now, only two to three letters reach us. We are worried that we are missing some. Some 20 other tenants in the building are also worried that their mail is going somewhere else.

I complained to Singapore Post three weeks ago. An assistant supervisor from SingPost called and promised that this will not happen again. But three days later, it started happening again.
Tan Ai Li (Ms)
Assistant Manager
Great Treat
==================

No IHT causes withdrawal symptoms

2010-12-06T20:35:00.007+08:00

Mr Holloway, Anne's hubby, obviously cannot do without the International Herald Tribune. When the newspaper did not appear on their doorstep over the last few days, he wanted to know why.

Anne got to work. She had an exchange of email with the paper's Hong Kong office followed by a phone call. Then she wrote to me:

"Mainstream print media is bleeding. South China Morning Post and Straits Times have been running subscription promotions to staunch the flow.

"Yet IHT's Subscription Customer Service in both Singapore and HK have missed the message.

"When I was in HK in early November, I renewed and paid for our subscription.

"At the end of November, I received a notice with a Singapore subscription number, telling me that our delivery of IHT in Singapore would cease as of December 3rd.

"Naturally I ignored this as our subscription is HK-based.

"No one from IHT had emailed me to remind me that time was up on our temporary diversion of delivery.

"So when our IHT did not arrive on Dec 4, I emailed IHT - offering to pay for the Singapore issues for 3 months and suggesting they start my HKG renewal when we finally get back to HK.

"Today, again no IHT so my head was on the block as my dear husband was suffering withdrawal symptoms (he needs a daily fix of a decent newspaper).

"I called and spoke to IHT in HK - the quickest they can reinstate delivery is December 8th.

"If he weren't such a dinosaur and would read his papers online, life would be simpler for me."

Electrolux fails to fulfil Xmas wish

2010-12-04T18:39:00.005+08:00

Christmas being round the corner and Anne Wong Holloway being a good cook (I assume) is missing the use of her made-in-China Supor Pressure Cooker.

So, when she chanced upon an ad in today's Straits Times promoting 12 Electrolux products including an electric pressure product, she went hunting for it after lunch. But, alas, she ended up with nothing.

"I would be hopping mad if my wild goose chase in 'underground Orchard Road' this afternoon (Saturday, 4 Dec 2010) wasn't good for my health after a huge lunch!" she consoled herself.

Anne has been looking high and low for a replacement cooker after her Chinese one succumbed to a sudden death. She had been become reliant on its "computerized wizardry which helped me produce great tasting dishes in next to no time. Unfortunately it had been purchased online in China and when it decided to die a sudden death no one wanted to take it in to be fixed."

She says Supor has a worldwide distributor in the SEB Tefal Group, but they do not import the pressure cookers into Singapore.

"Anyway, I decided to keep an eye out for something similar and the Electrolux EPC6000 seemed to fit the bill. After I read the advertisement I went to their website to check out the details.

"Poste haste, after Saturday lunch with my friends, I made my way through a sea of humanity to Tang's. Electrolux seemed to only have vacuum cleaners there. The sales representative suggested I try Best Denki, more in hope than certainty and so I made my way there underground.

"Unfortunately Best Denki did not have any Electrolux pressure cookers, the only appliance bearing any similarity being a Philips rice cooker-cum-pressure cooker. So I walked as fast as I could to get home.

"My heart and health benefitted from the walk, but I was no closer to a new electric pressure cooker.

"Electrolux's copy said, '.....we're giving merry deals for you and your loved ones to indulge and delight in." I only wish!' "

Well, Electrolux has failed to make this Christmas wish come true!

SQ call centre completely fogged up

2010-12-02T23:54:00.003+08:00

Last Friday, I posted Irene Hoe's story about how she had missed her SQ flight to the US but was still happy because of the excellent service that the ground staff had given her. But she also gave notice that there was a second part to her story --- one that concerned the call centre and this time, it wasn't a pleasant experience at all.

After a week in the States, she finally found time to write about it. Here's her story addressed to Singapore Airlines:

"Dear SQ,

When I was unable to board SQ62 that morning because of an ESTA problem, I called your reservations line to get me on the next flight out to the US, which was the flight going to LAX.

Unlike my experience with Lily and Dinesh at my abortive check-in, my dealings with your call-centre employee who gave his name as Rafiq proved most trying.

There seemed to be an impenetrable electrolinguistic fog between us that thwarted all my attempts to make him understand what I needed him to do.

His constant and repeated response was to insist that any changes to my itinerary had to be made through my travel agent.

I said this could not be correct. He kept insisting otherwise.

I was quite dumbfounded that he seemed not to understand me when I said again and again that I was still at Changi Airport, that it was 4am in Singapore and my travel agent's office would not open till 9am, by which time it would be too late for me to get on the LAX flight whose ETA was 9.45am.

Finally, after perhaps 10 minutes of this completely fruitless batting around of words, I said: "OK, let me start again. I have missed my flight. I need to get to the United States as soon as possible and this SIN-LAX flight is the next one out. Tell me how I can get on this flight."

Then and only then did he say that I could do so if I paid a $75 re-issue fee. Aiyoh!

Later on, it struck me that this SQ call centre could have been routed offshore to a call centre possibly in India, and that the extra $75 would be such a hefty sum in his terms of reference that he would think it unimaginable that anyone would want to pay it rather than wait a few days for a travel agent to sort it out.

That is the most charitable explanation I can come up with.

Never have I ever been so frustrated in my dealings with any airline's reservations call centre.

When I asked Rafiq if he could help me to change my onward connecting flights, which had been routed through Houston originally, he said bluntly: "No, you have to do it yourself." It wasn't just his words that were annoying but the completely unhelpful way in which they were uttered.

When I asked why I had to pay a no-show fee even though I had tried to check in for the flight, he said: "It's not the fault of Singapore Airlines that you were not able to board."

Ergo, it's YOUR fault, dummy.

At no time did I ever feel that this employee even halfway appreciated the stress that a passenger experiences over a missed flight, much less cared.

Moreover, when he transferred me to an automated system for payment, it kept timing out, and required repeat attempts.

When it came to making payment, Rafiq might as well have been a robot.

Is it is too much to expect a call-centre employee to walk a customer through the process? It would have helped if he had explained the prompts to expect and how I should respond, and to caution me that there would be a time limit.

All he did was inform me that I was being transferred me to some automated system. So, each time the process could not be completed and the call bounced back to him, he would sound increasingly irritated and I, ever more agitated.

By the time I hung up, I was drenched in perspiration from this utterly stressful encounter.

Think about this, SQ: These days, customers contacting your call centre are probably on cellphones. Therefore, each time your payment system prompts a customer to input some number or code, there is a time lag when the customer takes the phone from his ear (not everyone uses a Bluetooth headset) to key in whatever is required.

You may want to rethink the time allotted, unless you truly believe that the only people who call Reservations are digitally deft and perenially Bluetoothed teenagers capable of hitting the right keys precisely and flawlessly while their cellphones are still in their pockets.

Better still, please do investigate how United Airlines manages its call system which answers the issues I have raised. It uses voice recognition to perform most routine functions, referring callers to an employee when requested or when the system detects that a particular caller is experiencing difficulties.

It couldn't have been more of a contrast to Rafiq when I dealt next with United Airlines reservations. Its response to my predicament was sympathetic and helpful. "Sorry you missed your flight out of Singapore, ma'am. Let's see what we can do to get you a connecting flight."

I have one last request. I don't care if you do not respond to this email.

But whatever you do, PLEASE DO NOT send me one of those anodyne and insincere template replies . These form responses are irritating beyond belief and an insult to customers who have identified your system problems and taken the trouble to write to you. "

Not connected but Starhub charges Irene

2010-11-30T19:57:00.003+08:00

Irene Hoe, who has had problems with Starhub over prepaid cards, is complaining again.

On holiday in the US right now, she emailed me her note to the telco:

"Starhub, This truly sucks. I cannot call it a service. If you look up my current usage, you will find that there were several attempts to call that despite never being connected were nevertheless charged against my prepaid account (8116 0122).

"I am in the USA now and finally I appreciate what a service you rendered me on previous visits when I was unable to make a call using my prepaid SIM."

When can we get consistently good service from our telcos?????

Botanic Gardens cat saved after plea by Anne and her walking pals

2010-11-28T13:36:00.007+08:00

Three walking pals -- Anne Wong Holloway, Linda Shaw and Shirley -- were most upset and worked up last Thursday morning to find a cage baited with a chicken leg in the Botanic Gardens. Beside the cage was a sign that advised anyone seeing a cat in it not to release it but to telephone a pest control company.

Anne told me that her friends called the pest control company who told them that they had been engaged to trap the cat and hand it over to the SPCA.

NParks whom they also contacted said that someone had complained about the presence of the cat. The person they spoke to suggested that they wrote in on behalf of the cat, and they did.

Linda told NParks that the car "has been a resident and a favorite mascot of regular visitors to Botanic Gardens."

She questioned the need to remove the cat which "is harmless and adds to the character of the Gardens."

Apparently, there had been a complaint that feeding the cat would attract other strays and that plastic bags of food left by well-meaning people was unsightly.

Linda said: "This cat has been here for many years and we have yet to see any other strays coming in to that particular area -- the services entrance of the Orchid Pavilion --- because of the food. Besides, the cat appears to have been neutered. As for litter from leftover food, that can be taken care of in your routine maintenance, as with all other human litter.

"Surely this Garden does not merely exist for a few animal-phobic human beings whom I am sure are a minority.

"I urge you to call off your pest control people and get them to remove the trap. I also hope you won't resort to poisoning either."

Anne's email to NParks argued: "My friends and I have seen human visitors to the Gardens --- some of whom are less fastidious than this cat. They hawk and spit or leave litter.

"Since your maintenance crew have to pick up after human visitors, surely a small container left over from feeding the cat should not present a major problem.

"I can understand trying to trap and get rid of it if the cat were a monkey because some of them can be aggressive and do terrorise adults and children alike --- as a child growing up in Singapore I was terrified by the monkeys that used to roam freely in the Botanic Gardens. But this is a harmless domestic animal."

NParks obviously was swayed by the women's explanations and arguments. It wrote back promptly to inform them that the trap had been removed.

The next time you see a white cat with ginger patches in the Botanic Gardens, remember that it is still there because of Anne and her walking pals. Bouquets to these three women.

And also to NParks and Botanic Gardens for acceding to their plea.

Irene misses SQ flight but she's happy

2010-11-26T19:13:00.004+08:00

Frequent flyer Irene Hoe has taken off again --- this time to the US. But the trip did not start off
smoothly. In fact, she missed her flight because of a mistake in her ESTA application. And she had to check into an airport hotel to wait for another flight.

However, it was not all frustration for her even though she was delayed. She was thoroughly impressed with the Singapore Airlines ground staff who helped her and she promptly wrote to SQ to tell them about it.

Here's her letter:

"Dear SQ,

I used to say that you were my favourite airline in the air but never on the ground.

I'd like to amend that in view of my experience at Terminal 3 when I tried to check in for SQ 62 early on Tuesday morning. I didn't manage it but I was very favourably impressed by the efforts your staff made to accommodate my needs.

The problem began when I trusted an unfamiliar employee of the travel agency I use to register me for ESTA with my new passport number. He apparently just checked the date when the agency had last made an ESTA application on my behalf, then assured me all was in order.

All was not in order.

So when your staff tried to check me in, they couldn't, as the ESTA system didn't recognize the new passport number.

They assessed the situation quickly and called the gate to alert them while they helped me to use a PC to register for ESTA, read out my new (and unfamiliar) passport number to me as I went through the process, supplied paper and pen so I could write down my registration receipt number, and in lieu of printing out the receipt for verification suggested that I use my cellphone to take a picture of it.

Lily helped me to stay calm while the application page kept bouncing back with error messages. Then I had a minor brainwave and removed the # sign from my address. This time, my application was finally accepted.

But by then it had really got very late. Lily apologized and said they were sorry but they couldn't hold the gate open for me any longer. She told me the next flight out to the USA was to LAX via NRT and wrote down the reservations telephone number for me.

I decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza for what was left of the night while I worked to reset my itinerary. Dinesh piled my bags back on the baggage cart and walked me across to the hotel's reception desk. I had told him I could make it there on my own but he insisted on helping me, for which I am most grateful.

What impressed me throughout the whole episode, was that never once did Lily, Dinesh and another lady whose name I didn't catch make me feel that it was my fault (and it was!) or that I was inconveniencing them (I was).

Thank you for restoring my faith in SQ.

Irene Hoe

(And there's Part 2 to come concerning your call centre) "

Bouquet to the SIA ground staff who showed so much understanding and went out of their way to help Irene.

SIA apologises to Quak for 'only pork' meal

2010-11-25T10:49:00.009+08:00

Singapore Airlines has apologised to Quak Hiang Whai for the disappointing meal he had on board SQ 802 on 15 November 2010 from Singapore to Beijing.

In an email to Quak, its customer affairs manager Dzuraimi Mohamad Taib said: "I would like to apologise for the disappointment caused to you on this occasion. I understand that the chicken meal had run out and there was only the pork meal as an alternative. We uplift our meal types based on past consumption figures as a means to reduce wastage of food onboard our flights.

"Evidently though, the figures need to be revised from your experience. I would like to reassure you that I have conveyed this to our Food and Beverage Manager to review the uplift figures.

"I note that you were expecting our crew to surprise you with some initiative. Certainly, they could have tried doing this versus just providing you the starters.

"As you mentioned, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and our crew should have been more sensitive to your needs. We apologise for the lack of proactiveness on the part of our crew. The crew will be spoken to on the importance of looking after our passengers’ needs to the best of their abilities.

"I realise that I am unable to reverse your experience, but as a gesture of goodwill, I would like to arrange for 3000 miles to be credited into your KrisFlyer account. This is just above the number of miles which you would have accrued for your flight. These miles can be used towards future upgrade and award redemption bookings...

"Mr Quak, thank you for this opportunity to follow-up on your concerns. We hope to be of better service to you for our future flights.''

I am glad that SIA has made the effort to address its passenger's disappointment. For the record, Quak did not make the statement that "Stewardess probably didn't know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach". I did.

Second time unlucky for Shionge

2010-11-23T14:54:00.003+08:00

Shionge was so happy this morning when she found out that the promoter of Korean boyband Super Junior was releasing another 200 tickets for the "sold-out" January 29 show.

She activated many friends and family members to help her book tickets online, only to be disappointed again because the computer was completely jammed.

She said her friend had queued at the Vivocity Sistic outlet but also could not get any tickets even though she was fourth in the queue.

Sistic has responded to my feedback about not setting aside a portion of the tickets for public sale. It said that it was out of its control as the decision was made by the promoter, Running Into The Sun, a subsidiary of Fly Entertainment.

Tickets were snapped up a few hours after they were put out for sale on Saturday (Nov 20). Apparently, all of them were taken up by priority bookings, leaving nothing for the public sale which was scheduled to start on Nov. 23.

An upset Shionge said: "Actually I am just a supportive Mom trying to buy tickets for my two teenage daughters and I knew their anguish. Only good thing was that they did not queue overnight like what some teenagers did over at the Hereen on Friday."

Super Junior, but sad Shionge

2010-11-22T17:49:00.006+08:00

Shionge was looking forward to buying tickets for her two teenage daughter to watch the Korean boyband Super Junior when news of their show was announced. But because of priority bookings, every ticket was snapped up and nothing was left for the public.

She emailed me: "I am very upset to find out that although priority booking for Super Junior was meant for OCBC Credit Card & Singtel customers, all tickets were released from 20 Nov to 22 Nov.

"The publicity poster stated that ticket sale for the public would commence on 23 Nov onwards.

"As I was not able to log on to book on Saturday, I had to wait till 23 Nov (Tues). Meantime, I emailed Sistic just to check how many tickets were available online and via Sistic counter.

"To my surprise, Sistic customer service officer Donna told me all tickets were sold out on the first day during priority booking. I am very upset because if this was so, then they should have informed the public, otherwise all the poor fans and teenagers would be camping overnight at Sistic outlets just to get their hands on the tickets.

"She told me she would feedback to the Management but I felt that the system is totally wrong. If there is priority booking for credit card holders then some tickets should be reserved for public sale. Imagine if I did not find out this morning, I would have been one of the fan queuing up overnight.

"With 5000 tickets for sale, how is it possible that within minutes all tickets are gone? I am really upset and now ebay is selling them like ‘hot cakes’….. Grrrrrrr….

"Anyway, just my thoughts, Sistic should have allocated tickets fairly and not released all on the first day."

Shionge made a valid point. Sistic should have kept a portion of the tickets for those people who either do not have a OCBC credit card or a Singtel account.

And if indeed all the tickets were sold out before November 23, when public sale was scheduled to begin, then it was the ticket-seller's duty to inform them instead of keeping them in the dark.

Another case of an organisation taking its loyal customers for granted?

Anne's frustrations with HSBC

2010-11-21T07:11:00.003+08:00

Anne Holloway is exasperated with HSBC. After her frustrating attempts to apply for a credit card, she has this to say:

"Nothing gets my goat more than incompetence and lousy customer service and thus far, in my 61 years of life, the most outstanding example has been HSBC (the global local bank) in the past week.

"No, I did not want a loan or credit. I just wanted to apply for an HSBC credit card for the SOLE reason that Cathay Pacific has fare promotions --- and some require the possession of an HSBC credit card.

"Word to CX: the problem with you (and any company requiring a specific credit card issuer) is that by the time the person obtains the credit card, it is often too late to take advantage of the promotion.

"It will be for me - IF and when HSBC Singapore ever issues me a credit card!

"CX's Singapore website informed thus:

'Don't have a HSBC Visa Platinum credit card yet? Sign up for one today! To apply, SMS to 74722 with PLATCNAME NRIC e.g. PLATC Christine Ng S1234567A
Visit www.hsbc.com.sg for HSBC terms & conditions.'

"I sent an SMS on Nov 13 (11:07 am according to my iPhone) - it remains in the ether somewhere, as there has been no call from HSBC's card centre. As a matter of fact I sent another one after that (both were acknowledged).

"Then, I went online to ask someone to contact me; also no response.

"Last resort: I emailed my brother to refer me for a card so that he and I could benefit (hey, I am as frugal as the traditional HSBC banker!).

"This led me to visit an HSBC branch about a Par 3 from our condominium yesterday afternoon (6 days after my first SMS) and completing an application form and providing copies of my Singapore IC and 2 years' tax returns.

"Last night I got on the web and sent in a referral form on my brother's behalf. It was acknowledged and I was instructed in an email to complete an online application which I tried to complete.

"This morning I attempted to call HSBC's Claymore branch to ask the friendly banker to submit my hard copy application with my brother's referral reference. That's when the fun and games truly started!

"Without going into greater detail, I finally sent this in a feedback form to HSBC:

'I am NOT an HSBC customer and do NOT wish to be after most unsatisfactory recent experiences within 24 hrs. It culminated in dealing with 'Betty' at your call centre (9:20-ish today, Nov 20, 2010) in order to contact Jonathan Shan at your Claymore branch.

'I got hold of 'Betty' as none of the other phone options I tried led me to someone I could speak to without a card or account number.

'Your branch is a stone's throw from where I live and I can walk in any time - but I cannot get the telephone number or have my call routed there.

'So I shall have to get dressed and go look for Jonathan?

'Because 'Betty' required my name, the reason for my wanting to contact Jonathan, etc - thanks to Singapore's absent privacy laws I have to reveal my personal details to a call centre person even before I know if she could help me?

'No way. Thanks, HSBC'

"It is 9:59 am as I write this and Jonathan has not called me. So I shall change and visit the branch to find out if anyone from the call centre has passed on my message to him!

"LATER: (circa 10:12am) My cellphone rang as I was getting ready to visit HSBC at Claymore Hill. It was the brother's friendly banker to whom I gave a potted version of what happened.

"It transpires that the referall programme is restricted to online applications.

"So we agreed he will go ahead and submit the hard copy with the supporting documents today when the bank messenger physically transports it for processing.

"And NO, no one from the HSBC call centre has relayed my message to Jonathan.

"The way I see this whole episode is that the call centre telemarketers, the branch staff and HSBC's online centre all compete for the same piece of business and ne'er the twain shall meet.

"Except when a dummy like me, sitting at my laptop, visits their website with telephones (landline and iPhone) at the ready and within sight of an HSBC branch decides to apply for a credit card that I never wanted before but now need to have in order to buy a discounted air ticket.

"If there is blame (oh dear, I'm being un 'PC') then it is the marketing strategists and executors --the overseers of the website (do they act on responses by SMS and email?) and those training the call centre boys and girls.

"As my late mother used to say, "it's not the poor boob's fault" when the system got the better of a person. Which in this case is true --- the system and manuals got in the way of the people who are supposed to get their audiences to love the bank!"

.

No chicken -- or satay --- from SIA

2010-11-20T16:38:00.004+08:00

Unlike Irene Hoe, Quak Hiang Whai is not impressed with Singapore Airlines' service. I was surprised by what he told me:

"Disappointed with SIA service quality these days. Flew to Beijing Nov 15 802 Flight. They offered me Pork or nothing for lunch. So i flew all the way to China without a proper meal.

"They said they ran out of chicken. I waited to see if they would surprise me with some initiative (Maybe go Business class and grab some satay or something). Stewardess offered me starters instead."

Well, I am sure biz class would have more than enough satay to spare. Stewardess probably didn't know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. :)

Irene praises Fuad from Starhub

2010-11-17T11:41:00.003+08:00

Irene Hoe, who had criticised Starhub for its below-par service, has written to praise a young man from the company who helped her.

She said: "While I was on my way to your service centre at Plaza Singapura last week, my left knee gave way and I was in great pain. I managed to hobble over to Starhub. There, a nice young man called Fuad helped me to a seat, and got someone to attend to linking my prepaid account to an auto top-up.

"While I was trying to decide how I was going to make it to Guardian Pharmacy to get a walking stick, Fuad appeared again and gave me his arm to help me get to the pharmacy.

"His genuine concern and thoughtfulness, which no instruction manual and no amount of sensitivity training can instill, are a credit to his upbringing and also to Starhub."

Sistic fails to convince Irene

2010-11-10T10:31:00.001+08:00

Sharon Chan, Sistic's Senior Executive, Corporate & Marketing Communications, has responded to Irene Hoe's concern with giving her personal data over the Internet in the customer survey.

In an email to Irene, she said: "... we would like to assure you that the survey software we are using offers SSL encryption so your details are encrypted while being transmitted to us.

"The reason why we ask for an ID number is for us to verify that the winner who comes to collect the prize is indeed the person who responded to the survey. We will request for a copy of their ID and check it against the info in the survey. With an attractive prize of iPads, we need to be doubly sure!

"As for birth dates, we use that information to help us understand the
demographics of our respondents."

Unfortunately, Irene was not convinced. She wrote back:

"Dear Sharon,

"To be valid and useful, a market survey does not need such complete and detailed personal ID information, especially that which can be subject to misuse.

"It is well and good that you say you encrypt this. But it is still no guarantee that my personal information will be completely secure in your hands. Moreover, customers have absolutely NO assurance that you will not sell on this information, no matter what you say in an email. An email is not legally binding.

"As I stated, if you asked for the last four digits and alphabet of a customer's IC number instead of the whole thing, you would still be able to verify ID.

"The chances that there would be TWO people with the same name and ICs with exactly the same last four digits AND alphabet are nil.

"Even if I can understand why you want all this information in a form that can be easily hacked - I am unwilling to risk identity theft.

"Besides, I already own an iPad.

"I am a regular if not frequent customer and for that reason, am not ordinarily averse to giving feedback at any time, providing the questions are few and relevant and the format does not insist on so many personal details."

It's taking a long time for term insurance to be promoted

2010-11-08T18:29:00.013+08:00

Life insurers know that term insurance is the best and most economical way to ensure protection for you and your family. But they do not encourage their agents to promote it actively because the returns are pittance compared to those that have an investment link.

Over the years, the authorities and a few honest financial advisers have been urging the industry to do the right thing but to date their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Last month, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong raised the subject again by asking life insurers to put more emphasis on term insurance. He gave good reasons why it should be done, one of which was that it would allow lower-income to be insured.

So far, nothing has been heard from the life insurance industry leaders to say that they support SM Goh's call.

Meanwhile, I was encouraged after reading a commentary in The Sunday Times yesterday (Nov 8) by Christopher Tan, CEO of Providend, a fee-only independent financial advisory firm, advocating the use of term insurance as a form of life protection.

I was sufficiently moved by his piece to write a letter to the newspaper calling for action to be taken. Hopefully, it will be published in the next edition.

Here's letter to The Sunday Times....

After reading last Sunday's Invest commentary, “For good terms, buy term insurance”, by Christopher Tan, CEO of Providend, a fee-only independent financial advisory firm, I must say that his is the most honest and clearest of all the views that have been expressed by industry leaders on this subject.

Although there have been other advocates of term insurance as the best and cheapest way to protect yourself and your family, their voices have somewhat been lost in the insurance jungle out there.

This is because insurers have always been able to counter their argument by appealing to people's natural inclinations towards savings and investments, and encouraging them to buy investment-linked products instead.

But what these insurers have failed in their duty by not informing their customers the indecent amount of commissions that they would make from selling such “with-profits” policies. Policy-holders therefore are not made aware of how much they have been over-paying for protection.

But Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong certainly knows what has been going on when he recently urged insurers to put more emphasis on selling term insurance. The Insurance Commissioner from the Monetary Authority of Singapore has also over the years been encouraging the life insurance industry to do the same.

However, my belief is that change will be slow --- if at all. According to CEO Tan, his firm has been advocating term insurance for the past seven years but not very much has changed.

As I see it, there is really no motivation for these insurers to heed what SM Goh said.. Why should they when a large chunk of their profits is from selling investment-linked products. I dread to think how much mis-selling of policies has taken place.

Many who have been landed with “wrong or inappropriate” policies are now stuck with them. They do not know how to extricate themselves from the situation they have been put into without losing lots of money.

While the government is only doing the urging because it still believes in the “buyers beware” regime, the insurers and their agents meanwhile continue to sit pretty on their awesome profits and commissions.

It is high time someone in authority took action to burst the bubble. Words alone mean nothing to Big Business.

Here's Christopher Tan's commentary in The Sunday Times yesterday:

"For good terms, buy term insurance"
Insurance is for protection only – and term policies offer more value for money than whole life plans

"Since 2003, my wealth management firm Providend has been advocating the use of term insurance as a form of life protection. While many Singaporeans appreciated our belief, the insurance and financial planning industry fought it. We stood out like a sore thumb and were a lone voice.

So it was very encouraging for me when, during NTUC Income’s 40th anniversary dinner two weeks ago, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong supported the use of term insurance and even asked insurers to put more emphasis on it.

So, why our belief in using term insurance?

Some of the biggest risks in life include the loss of income due to death, disability and any medical crisis. When we retire and no longer earn an income, we do not need insurance protection for it. Therefore, buying permanent cover using expensive whole life insurance means paying for something that you do not need and likely cannot afford. So Singaporeans end up being grossly under-covered for their protection needs.

One of the main reasons given by insurance agents to people on why they should not buy term insurance is that when the insurance expires, you will get nothing back. While this is true, it is only half a truth. This is because it is the same for whole life plans too. For every dollar you pay as premium for your whole life plan, a portion of it goes into paying the mortality charge that provides you the cover you need. The rest of it is invested into the insurance company’s life fund. The mortality charge portion is never returned to you.

The only reason you get money back from a whole life plan is that you gave the insurance companies extra money to invest. But when you buy a term plan, you are effectively paying only for the mortality charge. You are just buying pure protection.

For the longest time, we have been told that we can use insurance for protection as well as saving towards our financial goals. The irony of this is that the returns of insurance are insufficient to help us reach our goals and whole life insurance is so expensive that you are likely to have insufficient cover, which means it will not protect you fully as well. So buying whole life insurance achieves neither goal.

When we buy term insurance, we can at least achieve the protection goal, which is the priority and foundation of all good financial plans. Then, with proper advice and coaching, we can use the savings from not buying a whole life plan to invest and reach our goals. We now have a chance to achieve both goals. Even if you are very conservative, there are many other optional instruments. There is no need to use insurance. Insurance is for protection only – the word insurance suggests so.

If the advantages of term plans are so clear, why are they not frequently bought? There are many reasons, but editorial space allows me to highlight only the two main ones. I call them the two ‘lacks’ of salesmen. The first is the lack of knowledge, and the second, the lack of motivation.

When I started out in this profession about 14 years ago, I spent a short time with an insurance company. I can count the number of times we were trained in the use of term insurance on one hand. The emphasis was always on ‘with-profits’ products.

But I think the biggest hindrance to term plans is the salesman’s lack of motivation. It is obvious that the commission payout for a whole life plan is a lot more than that for a term plan. In this commission-hungry industry where salesmen are rewarded for sales more than advice, whole life plans will always be sold. This is not to say there are no good salesmen or advisers out there. Unfortunately, they are in the minority. I know some of them who will insist on recommending term insurance despite earning less. To these people, I salute you. But the fact still remains that for the majority, compensation drives behaviour.

I speak at seminars to thousands of people each year. Every time I ask why they don’t buy term insurance, most will tell me that their agents and advisers will not sell it to them. Even if they do, they will package some whole life plans together with it, on the basis of ‘playing safe’, just in case they need it for their entire life.

About two months ago, I asked an actuary (someone who designs insurance products) who had left an insurance company what he buys for himself. Like many former actuaries I have spoken to, he said he would never buy an investment-linked plan or a whole life plan as it is just too expensive and doesn’t make sense. He has protected his family with term plans. So, if the chef doesn’t eat his own cooking, why should we?

SM Goh pointed out that it is the advisers who wield the greatest influence on the type of plan a person buys. I agree. We have been advocating term insurance for the past seven years and not very much has changed. I believe real change will come when Singaporeans understand what insurance is for and begin to insist on term insurance. Salesmen will then have no choice but to sell it.

It is a shame that clients have to tell this industry the right thing to do. But in the case of term insurance, it is the only way things will change. I look forward to the day when we have an advisory industry and not a sales one."

The writer is the chief executive officer of Providend, a fee-only independent financial advisory firm.

As a parting note, this is what CNBC's financial adviser Suze Orman, who also advocates term insurance, has to say about whole-life policies:

"If your friend advises you to buy a whole-life plan, he is NOT your friend."

DBS makes service recovery

2010-11-04T11:57:00.009+08:00

I posted Auntie Lucie's complaint about DBS's customer-unfriendly way of cancelling her Gold Visa card on my blog last month (http://boo-n-bouquet.blogspot.com/2010/10/another-grouse-against-dbs.html).
She emailed today to inform me that the DBS has acted to bring closure to the issue. A woman named Mel rang her to say that the bank was going to upgrade her card to Platinium.

Here's what she wrote in her blog, Food fuels me to talk...

"DBS credit card: service recovery?

Believe it or not, I got a call around sevenish tonight, from a woman who said she was from DBS. When asked for her name, she said she was Mel, no surname, nothing more as “sorry, we are not allowed to give more identification”.

Cool!

She offered to upgrade my DBS Gold Visa card that I had been notified would cease to be valid from Dec 1 — as detailed here – to a Platinum card, at no charge and to port over all existing arrangements and benefits from the gold card to the new card.

She asked for my I/C number and date of birth.

Naturally, after I accepted the offer verbally – although grumbling all the while why such an offer couldn’t have been made together with the notice to invalidate the existing card — I was somewhat suspicious.

Could it all be a hoax?

OK, the caller ID on my mobile showed 68786800 but it’s not a number I’m familiar with, tho that doesn’t necessarily make it a fake number of course!

Hence on hearing Mel say she couldn’t give me a more complete name than M-E-L to help me identify her in future should the need arise, I pressed for other identifying marks.

Which department are you from?

She replied: “Funds transfer department.”

Does that deal with the credit card in question?

She replied: “I’m helping the customer service agent.”

I was about to give up when she added this caveat: “You should receive your platinum card no later than February 2011. Meanwhile, you can continue to use your gold card.”

So, great! The card that was going to be invalid on Dec 1 would remain valid till February 2011, unless the new card arrives earlier.

Again, why couldn’t DBS have thought all this thru before shooting off its termination notice?

Still, I really should be thanking DBS on bended knees for remembering to make me this offer, considering that it ends tomorrow. I should consider myself lucky to have gotten on board be4 it ended, n’est pas?

Such great service recovery this! If I’m ever asked, I shall definitely nominate DBS as Singapore’s best service provider of the year! Only kidding! "

I am glad DBS is listening --- and acting. Hopefully, it is learning, too.

Sistic, be more sensitive!

2010-11-02T10:13:00.006+08:00

Sistic is doing a survey as it aims to improve its service "to make your ticket buying experience a better one." But it also wants those being surveyed to give their IC numbers and other details which theatre-goer Irene Ho objects to.

She wrote to Sistic: "Do NOT ever require people to give you their IC numbers online when you can offer NO ASSURANCE of the security of our information and NO GUARANTEE that my identity will not be stolen through the carelessness - or worse - of the staff at your office and those who might handle this information.

"I got to the end of the survey and would have been happy to send it in but NOT with my IC number, complete with birthdate and other details that would have allowed someone to use my Sistic account without my knowledge and also do certain financial transactions.

"It should be enough to require the last three or four digits of a customer's IC number. After all, YOU contacted me and you should recognise me as a customer.

"This is just a survey. You are not paying us to complete this survey. Your prize is not worth the risk of compromising the security of my identity."

As an organisation dealing with the public, Sistic ought to be more sensitive about their customers' personal data.

Holland American Line apologises

2010-10-30T12:43:00.005+08:00

Holland America Line has finally replied to feedback (Excellent service on Ms Eurodam? Not in our case ) on my travelling group's experience during our New England cruise in September

The email from Ms Hanna Kielczewska, Special Advisor, Office of the President, says:

"Thank you for the email referring us to your web log concerning your ms Eurodam sailing on September 6, 2010. First and foremost, we are sorry for the disappointment you experienced.

Holland America Line acknowledges the significant personal impact felt by a guest who encounters multiple issues, large or small, on their cruise. The majority of our passengers sail without incident, and our satisfaction ratings remain extremely high.

"We endeavor to prevent problems, and try to remedy difficulties as they arise, but occasionally an unfortunate combination of factors causes an individual to be affected by several matters on the same cruise. The main concerns that you addressed were with regard to the embarkation procedure, the shore operations check-in staff, the laundry services, the price of bottled water as well as the onboard management decisions and follow up.

"Rather than respond to each of these points one by one, we would like to assure you that we take guest input very seriously. In light of your correspondence, we have registered all of your complaints against this sailing and have advised the appropriate senior management for their information and corrective action where necessary.

"Furthermore, we sincerely regret that you were dissatisfied with the itinerary on your cruise. Careful planning goes into choosing our cruise ship routes and port calls. We endeavor to offer fascinating destinations around the world so that our travelers may experience a rich diversity of people, places, and cultures.

"Although the port facilities at some locations may not be in the center of the areas of interest, we strive to offer a variety of optional shore excursions to enhance our guests’ experience and maximize their time ashore.

"Also, we periodically revise and update itineraries to appeal to our many repeat travelers, while maintaining numerous long-standing favorites. We do apologize if you feel that the ports of call on this sailing were not completely satisfactory and we hope that your next cruise itinerary will be more to your liking.

"We understand an apology will not erase the frustration you experienced on board; however, we appreciate your efforts in providing us with specific details on how we may improve. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, as it is through constructive suggestions that we will be able to maintain the high standards toward which we consistently work.

"Staff will certainly redouble their efforts to meet our goal of consistent excellence. We thank you again for taking the time to provide us with your detailed comments. We hope you will give us another opportunity to welcome you on board again in the near future."

I am glad the cruise management took the trouble to reply at length to our complaints. It is a good example of how service providers should respond when they are faced with unhappy customers.

Many will stay it is so much words and that those promises must be seen to be fulfilled. I agree.

Another grouse against DBS

2010-10-25T12:31:00.004+08:00

My friend Wendy obviously isn't the only one unhappy with DBS for cancelling her Gold Visa card without making it customer-friendly.

The following was what Auntie Lucia wrote about her experience in her blog, Food fuels me to talk...

Credit card nonsense
This post belongs to the “everything must complain” category. I’ve been encouraged to write about my own experience with the sudden notice from DBS Cards to cancel my Gold Visa (among other cards) starting Dec 1, after reading Boo n Bouquet’s version.

I was a bit non-plussed on receiving what seemed like a marketing circular that i almost threw away. Just as well I took a closer look.

The circular advised that “as other DBS/POSB Credit Cards bring you market competitive privileges and benefits”, the bank has taken the unilateral decision to close your ”DBS Affiinity/Charge Gold Visa/Mastercard credit card XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-7066″.

I hold two DBS cards and at first wondered if the bank meant both since one is what I assume is an “affinity” card (being a National University of Singapore Society card) and the other was once an affinity card too (to Raffles Marina, till some where along the way RM broke off its affinity with DBS and the bank without much ado issued me a new gold Visa card).

Then I took heart. Going by the last four digits provided by the circular, only the ID of my gold card ended with 7066.

And shucks, I’ve got a Giro payment for a small health insurance policy that’s been going on for perhaps 20 years linked to it. With the card gone, my policy may laspe and I don’t want that to happen.

I called the bank’s hotline. I waited for ages b4 I got to speak to a customer service officer and after many more minutes of explanation managed to extract a phone number from him, with the helpful tip on where I might find my policy number in my monthly credit card bill.

No, he could not arrange for the Giro charges to be ported over to my other DBS card. No, he couldn’t do anything. I must contact the insurer and make my own arrangements. And to think I had originally signed up for that insurance package because the card issuer made all the arrangements!

More time wasted with the insurers be4 I got the necessary form to instruct the insurer to instruct the bank to deduct.

I’m not the only DBS credit card holder inconvenienced by the bank’s unusual move to delete a whole slate of cards at one stroke.

Perhaps the 7066 cards are cards which are hardly used by their holders.

If so, DBS should have given card holders a choice: use them more often or give them up. And if you give them up, we will help you move your Giro arrangements to other DBS cards you use. We will also help you to consolidate your reward points rather than force you to consume them be4 Dec 1.

That would have been a lot more customer friendly.

But then, when you are Singapore’s biggest bank, who cares about being customer friendly!

Irene pleased with SQ service

2010-10-24T15:36:00.002+08:00

Irene Hoe, back from yet another holiday in Europe, is thoroughly pleased with the service from Singapore Airlines.

"Both flights were very pleasant," she said.

"I was in 35C on SQ324. During the night, I had a coughing fit while in the toilet. Almost immediately, there was a knock on the door and a concerned voice asked: "Is everything all right, ma'am? Are you OK?"

"When I emerged several minutes later, the flight attendant was still there, asking if I was unwell and if she could get me anything. "Tea? Some warm water?" she said.

"I didn't really need anything but she was so kind and sounded so concerned that I said yes to the warm water.

"She made me feel so well looked after.

"On SQ 321, I was in 43C. I declined the breakfast as both of the choices contained chicken, to which I am allergic. Immediately, the flight attendant went to check if there was a vegetarian meal I could have.

"She and the male colleague who brought me the meal both asked if I was travelling again soon and took the trouble to explain how to request a special meal. That was nice, especially as it was a full flight and they'd only just started on the meal service.

"I explained that I just usually carry my own food in case I can't get a non-chicken meal, because it's easier and safer that way.

"Ex-Singapore and HK, I believe that some sauces and gravies in "non-chicken" meals may be seasoned with chicken stock or chicken powder as I've sometimes had allergic reactions after a meal on board. Incidentally, it's never happened with meals ex-US or ex-Europe.

"By the way, I have tried ordering a special meal online in the past but have given up on that as I can't see how it is to be accomplished."

Definitely a BOUQUET for SIA.

Wendy upset with DBS Bank

2010-10-18T10:45:00.004+08:00

My friend Wendy has been a DBS Bank customer for more than 30 years. You can consider her one of the bank's loyal clients.

Soon after she started work, she got for herself the bank's Classic Visa credit card. Later it was changed to a Gold card and she has been using it since.

Last month, the bank sent out a letter to all its customers who have its DBS Affinity/Charge Gold Visa/Mastercard credit cards, informing them of their impending closure.

Its September 28 letter did not give a reason for the closure. It simply said that it will be closing the credit card programme on December 1 and that any supplementary card tagged to the principal card will also be closed.

Wendy was understandably upset because she felt that the bank should have offered her another card as she had been a long-time customer and that was the least it could have done.

Instead, it asked that she apply for another DBS/POSB card that is "most in tune with your lifestyle".

By the way, Wendy is a Treasures customer, so one would have expected the bank to offer her another card without her asking for it.

Instead, she had to call up her relationship manager who subsequently visited her to get her to fill up an application form for a new card. This is really unnecessary "service" which the bank could have easily circumvented.

Two servers leave a good feeling

2010-10-14T12:12:00.008+08:00

After coming across two excellent service providers in the past few days, I am beginning to think that more of such people are fast realising the importance of good service.

I may be a little optimistic, but I must say I do end up with a good feeling when I get service that is out of the ordinary.

The first to impress was Frank Yeo, sales executive of Audio House in Liang Court shopping centre. My wife and I were there to shop for a new fridge, and he attended to us.

He knew his products and was patient, even though he was pumped with numerous questions about reliability, guarantee, size and usage. He also said the company would charge $50 to carry away our old fridge.

When we got home and confirmed that the fridge was suitable, my wife called him twice to ask him more questions before placing an order. He remained patient and helpful. What was a pleasant surprise was when he said that he would ask the company to waive the $50 fee for taking away the old fridge.

Delivery was prompt and we now have a Samsung fridge that I am confident will not give us as many problems as the American model.

The other person who made my day was a young Nepalese man named Tanka. He works as a supervisor in Chin Huat Seafood Restaurant in Sunset Way, Clementi estate, but he told me that he was also studying part-time to improve himself.

What I liked about Tanka was his easy demeanour, his initiative and his willing to serve. My friend Sunny and I could tell straightaway that he was a true professional. No request was too big a task for him.

Tanka explained to us the value of the set lunch at $11.90++. It included a wonderful starter of smoked duck and wasabi prawn, lovely deserts of black glutinous rice with ice-cream and durian pudding, plus a choice of coffee, Chinese tea or ice lemon tea.

When it came to choosing the main course, he suggested that Sunny and I order Seafood Hokkien noodles and Seafood Horfun, instead of both of us having the latter. That way, he reasoned, we could share and taste two different dishes.

Meal over, he came over to ask us for feedback. Overall, I would give it 9 out of 10 for its quality, value and the service that Tanka provided.

No-Claims Discount: Let's hope authorities will act this time

2010-10-06T11:03:00.004+08:00

I am glad to see the issue of No-Claims Discount (NCD) being aired in The Straits Times' Forum.

I wrote about my personal experience on this subject in this blog headlined, "Why must motor insurers have it both ways", on April 1 but, sadly, could not get the authorities to do something about it.

I hope with the issue being raised again this time, some kind of action will be taken.

It is so obvious in this NCD issue that our motor insurers are having their cake and eating it. The queston is, why is our Insurance Commissioner blind to it?

Here is the letter by Tan Kin Lian, former NTUC Income's CEO, published in the Forum Page today (Oct 6):

"NO-CLAIMS DISCOUNT PROTECTION
A fairer contract for motorists
THE General Insurance Association of Singapore's reply on Monday ('GIA's advice to motorists on no-claims discount') noted that motor insurers here offered different variants of the no-claims discount (NCD) protector.

But as a market practice, all motor insurers disallow the transfer of protected NCDs from one insurer to another.

It is unfair for consumers to pay an additional premium for an NCD protector and to suffer a large loading in the premium on making a claim.

It defeats the purpose of purchasing the protector in the first place.

It is unrealistic to expect consumers to be aware of the intricacies of the different NCD protectors offered by insurance companies. Some consumers may be paying the additional premium without any real benefit.

The association should ask its members to have a standard feature in the NCD protector that guarantees the preservation of the full NCD and the waiver of any loading to the premium as the result of one claim.

The cost of the waiver of the loading can be priced into the premium for the protector.

This would be a fairer contract for consumers.

I hope the regulatory body will encourage the association to take this step in the interest of fair dealings with consumers.

Tan Kin Lian "

Excellent service on Ms Eurodam? Not in our case

2010-09-29T10:28:00.013+08:00

Now that I have more or less recovered from my jetlag, I guess I should relate some of the high and low points of our travelling group's experience with service providers in our three-week holiday that included a 10-day cruise on board the Ms Eurodam (pictured)

Our group of 10 took the ship, one of many operated by the Holland America Line, from New York to Quebec. At the end of it, most of us rated it the worst of all the cruises that we have taken.

One of the reasons perhaps was that many of the places that we stopped at were not particularly unique, historical or spectacularly scenic. Unlike those many of us had experienced along the Mediterranean, Alaskan and Baltic coasts.

I guess our timing had a part to play, too. We got there much too early to catch the Fall colours which would have made a difference to city folks like us.

And what certainly didn't help in making this holiday a memorable one was the service standards that we encountered on board the Eurodam.

It started off badly when some members of our group had to wait a long time to check in. The luck of the draw saw them being attended to by inexperienced staff who were apparently still learning on the job.

After the check-in, what created a worse impression was having to wait for our cabins as they were not ready for occupation. I was surprised that the management could not get this basic thing right after being so long in the cruise business and whose promotion tagline is "A Tradition of Excellence".

Another surprise was the discovery that we had to pay for bottles of water in our cabins. I don't remember having to do so in all our previous cruises with other companies.

If the reason was to cut costs, the management could have easily included the expense in the price of the cruise. To us, it was a matter of convenience. Obviously, it was something that did not cross the minds of those in charge.

Those bottles of water consumed during our cruise did not amount to much, but by charging for them, it certainly did not earn them any goodwill.

As the cruise went on, it became apparent to us that the management was not paying sufficient attention to detail. A good example was the confusion we experienced over dinner bookings at its various restaurants.

On several occasions, our group had to unravel booking schedules because of failure to co-ordinate among staff members of the food outlets.

Although the service personnel were generally friendly and helpful, their inability to focus on "the little things" could sometimes prove embarassing to the point of being irritating.

Another example of poor service: My friend EC sent a pair of his favourite pants for laundry with very specific instruction that it should be dry cleaned. When it came back, he found to his horror that it had shrunk. The reason? It was given the normal wash.

When EC complained, the cruise office denied any wrongdoing. However, after some haggling, it offered to compensate him US$50 but with a catch: he had to hand over his pants.

EC was flabbergasted to say the least. His pair of trousers had cost him a few hundred dollars and here he was being insulted with an offer of miserly compensation --- plus the possibility of losing his pants

He decided he needed to speak to someone with authority. So he left word with the cruise office that he would like to speak to the "Hotel Manager".

Those were magic words indeed. The next thing he knew, word came back that he would be allowed to keep his pants, have his US$50 and be compensated further after he has sent the pants for alteration.

Well, the bitter taste in EC's mouth was somewhat soothed. But the question is, why must the management wait for EC's attempt to escalate the matter before it decided to do the right thing?

Our experience with poor service did not end with the "Case of the Shrunken Pants". On our last night on board, we dined at the Tamarind, the Asian restaurant where we had to pay for our meals.

When it came time to settle our bills at the cruise office, two couples in our group discovered that they were double-charged by the restaurant.

But what took the cake was when our friend Bob pointed out the mistake, he was told by the office staff to go upstairs to the restaurant to sort it out. He rightly refused to do so.

Holland America Line management should not be surprised when they read our answers to the most critical question in its feedback survey ---whether we would be cruising with the company again.

OUR EXPERIENCE ON LAND

* WE FOUND the service staff at restaurants generally helpful, friendly and knowledgeable, and we had some good meals in New York, Boston, Bar Harbour in Halifax, Quebec City and Montreal.

While we appreciated the service that was rendered, somehow at the back of our minds we could not help wondering whether they were doing it just for the money.

Quite often, it was difficult to tell how geniune these people were. After all, tipping is part of the culture at these places and it is understandable why they sometimes have to put up a show.

For me, I much prefer the Singapore system of taking off 10 per cent for service. It removes my predicament of how much to tip and whether I have tipped these service people sufficiently.

* THERE are tour guides and tour guides. In our land tours, we came across three versions -- the Good, the Bad and the Witty.

The Good was in Boston. Steve is probably in his late 50s or early 60s but he was clearly enjoying his job as a guide. Apart from bringing us to the place where we had the best lobsters, he also knew his history and could easily trot out all the significant dates and the backgrounds of the places and events.

What really impressed us was when we stopped at a statue of Paul Revere on his horse and he started reciting The Midnight Ride by the poet Longfellow. When he ended 10 minutes later, he was greeted with loud applause from his listeners.

THE Bad was a woman in Halifax. She went through her routine of showing us the town without showing any spark. It led to "Lullaby in Halifax" as many of us dozed off along the way. However, we were awakened not long after when the bus stopped for us to take a stroll in a garden that did not impress at all.

THEN came the Witty in beautiful Quebec City. Not only did she have a sense of humour, she also had a mind of her own -- and was not afraid to show it.

She was a natural entertainer. We enjoyed what she told us about the history and the social trends of the place, and had no trouble mixing it all up with just the right dose of wit.

* I SHOULD not end without mentioning a concierge named Kelly at Millennium Broadway Hotel in the Big Apple. To me, he was a model worker. He was helpful, engaging and was able to strike up a rapport with his customers without any effort.

It was only later that I realised why he had such a personality. He told me that he had his own band playing in a club and he was the leader. He had also played minor roles on TV.

Sloppy work from DBS Bank

2010-09-27T17:39:00.003+08:00

DBS Bank has been sending out new DBS/POSB Credit/Debit Cards which are embedded with an EMV Smart Chip that is supposed to enhance security and protection.

Customers are being told to start using these EMV Chip Cards and cut up their existing ones to prevent unauthorised usage. DBS said the existing cards will be closed within 40 calendar days from the issuance of the chip cards.

Anne Wong Holloway, who uses one of these cards as a spare, was intrigued by the letter that accompanied the arrival of her new card. She noticed that there was no date on it.

She said: "Why set a deadline of 40 days to utilise the card (which is what it amounted to when I called the number provided to activate my card)when the customer has no idea of the start date?

"DBS senior executives should check before they sign off on proofs bearing their signatures, names and designations."

The undated letter from the senior vice president and head of Cards and Unsecured Loans, Consumer Banking, reminded her of the recent incident when the YOG certificates of appreciation for volunteers was printed with specimen rather than the proper signatures of Jacques Rogge and Ng Ser Miang.

Fortunately, in this case, less harm was done and no reprinting was required. However, it was still sloppy work.

Car number fees: LTA to consider feedback in review

2010-09-21T18:18:00.005+08:00

Sorry for not posting anything for the past three weeks. I was away on holiday.

When I opened my email today, I was pleasantly surprised to read a reply from Mr Lim Bok Ngam of the Land Authority of Singapore. It was on the issue of car number retention fees which I had written in my previous postings.

I had expressed my unhappiness over my having to pay $1,300 for retaining my car number and using it on another used car that I had purchased. I thought it was illogical and unfair when compared to the $100 fee which is charged on someone who retains his number and uses it on a new car.

In his reply, Mr Lim did not concede his position (see earlier posting), but what I found comforting was his assurance that LTA would take into consideration my feedback in its future review of car number retention fees.

In trying to read between the lines of Mr Lim's email, I thought my argument about the huge disparity between the two fees might have struck a chord with the powers that be in LTA.

If I am right, there is hope that action will be taken to close the gap.

The following is Mr Lim's reply to me...

"I refer to your email dated 1 Sep 2010.

"I am glad you understood that the processes involved for using a vehicle number on an existing vehicle vis-a-vis a brand new vehicle are different.

"Thank you for your feedback on the retention fee. I would like to reiterate that whilst LTA provides the service to give the vehicle owner the opportunity to use a retained number of his choice on either a new or used vehicle, we leave it to the owner to decide whether or not he wishes to make use of the service and pay the relevant fees.

"With regard to the fee to use a retained number on an existing vehicle, LTA has pegged it to the minimum fee payable by an owner to use a bid number on his existing car to make the 2 fees comparable, as the processes are somewhat similar.

"Nonetheless, we have noted your feedback, and will take them into consideration in our future review of the retention fees."

LTA sticks to its stand on huge fee difference for car number retention

2010-09-01T16:51:00.006+08:00

I am happy to report that the Acting Chief Executive of the Land Authority of Singapore, Mr Lim Bok Ngam, has replied to me regarding an issue that I have been pursuing for more than two months now.

It concerns a fee, which I consider unreasonably high, imposed on owners who retain their car numbers for use on second-hand cars.

I wanted to know why LTA is levying a $1,300 fee on such owners when it is charging just $100 for those who retain their numbers for a brand new car.

I accept part of Mr Lim's explanation for the difference in fees, but I am still at a loss over how it could possibly charge such a huge difference.

I have responded to Mr Lim's email and urged the LTA to take remedial action as I believe the huge fee is illogical, unfair and exploitative.

LTA's Acting CEO, Mr Lim Bok Ngam's explanation to me on August 31:

"I refer to your email dated 27 Aug 2010 and the earlier replies by my staff to you.

"I have looked into your feedback on the fees payable to use a retained
registration number on an existing car vis-a-vis a new one.

"I wish to explain that different fees are charged for the use of a retained number on a brand new car and an existing car as the processes involved are different.

"Unlike a brand new vehicle that has no past records in our vehicle registry, an existing vehicle would have its historical records since the day it was registered and these historical records must be updated accurately.

"At the same time, we are also aware that some owners do choose to use new registration numbers to replace the numbers on existing cars. As the
processes for replacing the number on an existing vehicle with either a new number or a retained number are similar, the fee structure to retain an existing number for use on another existing vehicle is comparable to the use of a new registration number on an existing vehicle.

"Retention of numbers is one of the services provided by the Land Transport Authority to give motorists the opportunity to use a number of his/her choice on a new or existing vehicle upon payment of relevant fees. Those who do not wish to change the registration number on their existing vehicle will not need to pay any fee."

My response to Mr Lim:

"Thank you for your explanation. If I may, I would like to make the following comments:

"1. I accept your argument that a different fee has to be charged for using a retained number on an existing car as against a retained number on a brand new car because the processes are different. Yes, an existing car has a record and it takes more time to process whereas a new car does not have a record and therefore is easier to process.

"My question is: Is the process for the former so much more difficult that LTA has to charge 12 times more compared to the process for a new car? I hope you can justify that.

"In my case, the existing car that I bought was not even one year old and there was hardly any historical record to process. When I was first told about the payment of $1,300, I was flabbergasted because the difference is beyond the imagination of any ordinary person.

"2. You said the fee paid by some owners to use new registration numbers to replace the numbers on existing cars is comparable to that paid by an owner who retains his number on an existing car because the process is similar.

"With due respect, Mr Lim, you are not comparing apples with apples.
I am not referring to the use of new registration numbers and therefore it should not be used to argue your case.

"I am just puzzled over the LTA's logic for charging $1,300 to retain a number for an existing car as against $100 for number retention to be used on a new car.

"As I said, I accept your argument that there is a different administrative process used to retain a number for an existing car against one for a new car.

"But I cannot believe that there should be such a huge difference in fee imposed on the owner who retains his number for an existing car. It is simply illogical, unfair and exploitative.

"I must declare here that I have no self-interest in this as I have already paid the $1,300 to retain the number for my used car.

"However, I am pursuing this because, as a citizen, when I see an injustice staring me in the face, it is my duty to point it out.

"I humbly urge the LTA to recognise the discriminatory policy and take the necessary remedial action.

"Thank you again for taking the time to engage me."

I am not hopeful that the LTA will agree with my point of view as it would be difficult to make a turnaround which might seem like a "loss of face".
Sigh!

No Gain from City but Petunia gets it from CoolServe

2010-08-21T12:06:00.005+08:00

Blogger Petunia Lee has asked me to feature her story in my blog on the recommendation of another blogger Auntie Lucia. It is about her experience with two groups of service providers that were completely different in their attitude towards service.

Here's her story...

"Thursday, August 19, 2010

Gain City vs CoolServe

Their names alone betray their company ethos.

Gain City - Who gained? The company did.

CoolServe - Who got cool service? I did.

No... I have absolutely NO financial interest in CoolServe. I am a happy client, no more. CoolServe came by over 2 days (today and yesterday) to install new pipes and insulation. The 2 gentleman who arrived were professionally polite as we discussed my concerns about managing debris from the drilling and hacking of walls. They went about their work quietly (or as quietly as they could, given that they had to drill holes in walls). They moved briskly and purposefully. When they went out for lunch, they came back on time. Today, they lunched in for 10 minutes and went straight back to work. And when they left, they left behind no mess.

The 2 gentlemen are named Messrs Pang Kien Lun and Teoh Gean Keat. I want to make it a point to name them because they are good and honest gentlemen and if readers wish, they could request them specifically.

Contrast this with my experience with Gain City almost 18 months ago. A very uncouth male (going by the digit I-1223) came by with a meek other male. When they arrived, I was at a Seminar. I had to leave my Seminar before it ended because an irate uncouth male insisted that he needed to discuss something important with me. When I got home, I was told loudly and with much gesticulation that what I had wanted done, was impossible to do.

I was about to suggest that if that were the case, he could pack up and go off. I would ask another company to do it because I myself didn't know how to advise him to do his job. Just then, his supervisor arrived and we spent another 30 minutes speaking loudly to each other. The supervisor then assessed the situation, planned out the steps and instructed I-1223. And so, after many words and much waste of time, work began.

After the supervisor left, I timidly shared my concerns about dust and debris. I have quite a few expensive books that needed protecting. He made some disrespectful noises and waved my concerns away and just simply went ahead to make a mess. I had to lay out protection myself.

But that was not all. 3 days later, the air-conditioning pipes poured a deluge onto my bedroom parquet. I called Gain City and was told that even though the installation came with a warranty, the warranty did not cover deluges caused by pipe condensation. Hence, Gain City would not come back to fix the problem unless I paid $160/= more. Feeling quite wronged, I pleaded and wheedled and scolded. As a "goodwill gesture" I was charged $75/= instead. Already fatigued by the very contentious relationship from Day One, I agreed.

What's more, somewhere in the conversation the fellow actually said that it didn't matter what I thought or said... or if I complained to CASE, Gain City was still the largest in the air-con industry and every other player depended on it. In my desperation, I wondered how that was relevant to a conversation where I was pleading with him to put himself in my shoes. It was obviously a bully boy tactic, telling me "Lady, suck it up because we are the biggest and you have no choice."

He was wrong. One always has choices.

Along the way, I also discovered that the Uncouth Male from Gain City was the younger brother of his Supervisor. I requested the company to send another team instead... one where brothers weren't looking out for each other at my expense. But Gain City ignored me and I kept seeing the same team again and again.

I came away with the impression that Gain City's manifest warranty was a dud. I came away with the impression that Gain City considered money ($75/=) more important than client satisfaction. I came away with a phobia of loud voiced and uncouth workmen who bull-dozed themselves over me, deaf to my gentle remonstrations and attempts at civilized dialogue.

I concluded that Gain City listens not one jot to its clients. They bung in a system... no matter if it ain't good... It's the client's fault for being too stupid to understand that for cheap price, you get thin insulation... and therefore condensation builds up in the pipes, collects in pools in the concealment troughs and when enough water builds up, splashes onto the floor like a pail up-ended. Madam, it's your own fault, not Gain City's.

In my defence, I had no idea what thin or thick was. The salesman had said that he had upgraded my insulation to a thicker one, and I said ok. One expects the experts to recommend and put in the correct materials such that deluges do not happen. In my defence, the other competing quote at that time came from CoolServe and Gain City was slightly more expensive. It just goes to show that more expensive is not always better.

I was so traumatised by Gain City that I refused to have anything to do with this new air-con work order for CoolServe. The Husband arranged it all. When the CoolServe gentlemen came, I ignored them completely.

But these 2 workers from CoolServe were as gentlemanly as the Gain City ones were thug-like. These 2 workers were as conscientious as the Gain City ones were slothful. These 2 workers were experts in their trade and earned my respect merely by doing a good job. And when they left, they gently told me "We have a 12 month warranty on the piping we have laid. If anything goes wrong, please call us. We will come back".

I felt like kissing the CoolServe man!! "

If you want to go to Petunia's blog, here's the link:
http://petunialee.blogspot.com/2010/08/gaincity-vs-coolserve.html

Starhub kept them waiting

2010-08-19T12:25:00.004+08:00

When a company makes little changes to its way of doing things, it has a duty to inform its customers. Starhub failed to do so at its Tampines branch on August 7 and caused at least three of its customers inconvenience.

One of them, Shaharudin Abdul Karim, emailed Ms Diana Lee, a customer service officer at the telco, to ask why there was no reply to his complaint while at the same time giving me an account of his experience.

His email to me said: "I wish to lodge a complaint about the terrible service at Tampines branch on August 7, 2010 at about 1440 hours

"I arrived at the said branch at about 1400 hours to return my set top box. I queued up at the reception counter which already had a long curling queue stretching to the escalator.

"From my previous experience at VivoCity branch, to return the set top box there's a counter which handles solely this service. As such I asked my wife to walk ahead and approach any of the staff and enquire if there was such service.

"She was told by the cashier to queue up at the reception. After 30 minutes of queueing, (when I was) at the head of the queue I was told to go to a barricaded counter which has no queue at all.

"I wasted 30 minutes of my time only to be told to proceed to a counter WHICH HAD NO QUEUE AT ALL! When we expressed our unhappiness to the staff processing our cancellation, they seemed oblivious to our complaints and did not even express any apologies. In fact, the only words they muttered were to ask me to sign the form! "

Shaharudin is asking Starhub why it had asked its customers returning their set top boxes to queue at the reception only to be told 30 minutes later to proceed to another counter.

"Why aren't there any signage telling customerswhere to go to and why did the staff seem oblivious to the operation of the branch when a query is forwarded?" he added.

When he spoke to Ms Siti Kamilah, the duty manager, she explained that normally, the returning of the box was done at the reception counter.

"How would I as a customer know when is a normal situation and when is it not a normal situation?" Shaharudin asked. "A simple signage would have solved the problem and we would not have wasted so much of our time.

"Sad to say, I was not the only customer who was made to wait 30 minutes. There was a gentlemen who said he was late for work because of the waiting, and a lady behind me also experienced the same thing.

"Suffice to say, the three of us all expressed our extreme disgust and unhappiness with the utter lack of planning with regards to crowd management.

"We would have thought that with the constant crowd at your customer service centres, you would have had implemented certain plans and procedures to eliminate problems such as that I encountered but it seems not to be the case.

"If your intention is to purely make people queue, then well done, Starhub!"

Sistic: another sticky example

2010-08-16T10:47:00.003+08:00

Talking about how sticky Sistic is when it comes to the purchase of tickets, Anne Holloway has this to share:

"I too bought two tickets via Sistic and needed to have my tickets collected.

"Sistic provides a template for an "Authorisation Form for Dummies" (attached) - it requires the details that a printout of their transaction receipt provides.

"The additional information required:
(a) one's credit card details (on the credit card I had to send along)
(b) my signature

"It just goes to illustrate the kiasu and hide-bound mentality that pervades Sistic and many other organisations which profess to use the web to facilitate sales.

"They seem to fear that anyone stealing my bag would be interested in collecting my tickets for a show?

"After all, the tickets had already been charge to my credit card - on August 6th, a week ago. So they would not be out of money anyway.

"All this red tape is what is holding Singapore back."

LTA continues to avoid the issue in the numbers game

2010-08-13T12:14:00.005+08:00

The Land Authority of Singapore has finally responded to my email concerning my unhappiness over having to pay $1,300 to retain my previous car number for a one-year old car that I bought last month instead of only $100 if I had used it on a new car.

As expected, it sent me another one of those standard replies that some government agencies are fond of doing. There was absolutely no attempt at addressing the issue that I had raised.

It reconfirms my belief that when they think you are a nobody and a nuisance, this is the kind of treatment that you get when you try to argue your point.

In my second email to LTA, I had requested that it be shown to its CEO as I believe that I have a good case and that I should help to point out an obvious discrepany that is staring me in the face. I would not have stumbled upon it if I had kept to my old car or bought a new one.

I am not sure whether the CEO was shown my email. If he did and still condoned the standard reply that was sent to me, then I think he is not doing his job.

I had sent the LTA two reminders before it condescended to give its standard reply. After posting this, I will make another attempt to get the CEO to read my blog and hope against hope that he will give me his honest opinion on what I have raised.

To be fair, I have also to point out that the CEO has been appointed to the LTA job only recently so I assume he would have nothing to do with the policy on registration number retention.

I reproduce below my posting on the issue and the two LTA replies:

Saturday, July 17, 2010
Numbers game with LTA: My hope is to make it see the light

The Land Authority of Singapore (LTA) has replied to my query on the rationale for charging me $1,300 for the retention of my almost five-year-old Camry car number so that I could use it on another used but newer car which I bought.

Its reply has not pacified me. Instead it has infuriated me even further.

I had paid $1,000 for that special number in Year 2000 when I bought a new car and had it transferred to another new car five years later, paying only $100. This time, because I had bought a used car, it charged me $1,200 more.

I asked LTA the reason for the huge discrepancy in fees for something that is really simple and routine.

LTA's reply yesterday (July 16) said:

"WE WISH to inform you that the fee to retain the registration number of an existing vehicle, which will be used on a new vehicle to be registered immediately under the same owner's name, is $100.

"However, the fee to retain a registration number, which will be used to replace the number of an existing vehicle that is registered under the same owner's name is $1,300.

"A higher fee is imposed for the latter as it involves replacing a registration number that has already been assigned to the vehicle. You may wish to note that the fee of $1,300 is also comparable to the fee payable to replace an existing number with a number of one's choice (i.e. to bid for a registration number), where the minimum bid amount is $1,000 and the replacement fee is $300 (before GST).

"We hope the above clarifies...

Yours sincerely
LYE WING WAI
EXECUTIVE SERVICE OFFICER"

MY REPLY TO LTA...

"Dear Mr Lye,

"Thank you for responding. However, your explanation does not clarify anything --- it only adds to infuriate me further. I have the following reasons to be upset:

"1) LTA's charge of $1,300 to retain a number plate for a USED car against only $100 for a NEW car is, to my mind, mere exploitation. You said the higher fee is imposed for the former as "it involves replacing a registration number that has already been assigned to the vehicle."

"My counter to that is, you do not have to assign any number to me in the first place because I had already given notice that I was going to retain my old number which I had already paid $1,000 for it almost 10 years. Your reason, sad to say, was a poor excuse.

"2) Even if I accept that I have to pay for your administrative work to replace a registration number that has already been assigned, I would like to understand how you could blatantly charge $1,200 more for a simple task like that.

"When I was at your office this morning (July 15) to settle the transfer, I asked the pleasant lady serving me why there was such a big discrepancy in the fees. She looked at me and smiled knowingly but did not utter a word. For me, that itself was an answer.

"3) Your last statement, "You may wish to note that the fee of $1,300 is also comparable to the fee payable to replace an existing number with a number of one's choice (i.e. to bid for a registration number), where the minimum bid amount is $1,000 and the replacement fee is $300 (before GST)", conveniently forgot that I had already paid for the number that I would like to keep. Why does LTA need to continue charging a ridiculous amount when it knows it is so unjust, inconsistent and illogical?

"Which must lead me to speculate as to why LTA is adopting such a policy even though it knows that it is patently unfair.

"One, which I mentioned in my blog, http://boo-n-bouquet.blogspot.com, is that it wants, in a not-so-subtle way, to weed out those whom it thinks would not be able to afford to own a car in Singapore? I would hate to think that it needs to do this to generate more revenue.

"In a situation like this, what riles me as a Singapore citizen, is that I feel totally helpless when I am confronted with something that I know is totally unfair but cannot do anything to change it. I have very little hope that my reply will be read and considered.

"My only request to you is that you copy this to your Chief Executive. I would like to believe that I have tried my best to right a wrong and, hopefully, some good would come out of it."

After two reminders, LTA sent me this reply on August 12...

"We refer to your emails of 17 July 2010 and 28 July 2010. The fee to retain a vehicle number on an existing vehicle is $1,300, which is pegged to the bid-and-replace system (the minimum bid is $1,000 and the replacement fee is $300).

"This fee equalises the cost of changing a registration number on an existing vehicle. In this instance, we note that you have applied to replace the existing vehicle number, SJX8494K, with a retained number SCE8012B, and a fee of $1,300 was payable for the retention and replacement of the vehicle number. We hope the above clarifies.

Yours sincerely
TAN SIEW BEE
SENIOR EXECUTIVE, QUOTA & REGISTRATION"

This is my response to LTA's second email: No, it does not clarify. You can only clarify if you address the issue that I have raised. As a matter of record, I have already paid the $1,300 for the number retention way before you wrote your reply. "