So it's been a week since we've had to complain about the SBS driver who zooms his service bus past a group of poor army boys who had been waiting for some time already at the bus stop outside camp.
Not surprisingly, no reply.
Perhaps for the better, since last time, we got scolded for submitting a feedback.
Service standards, Singapore style?
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Hachi.Tech Nightmare
We used to think we should purchase items from outlets that offers the best bargains.
After our shopping experience with Hachi Tech, we've learnt the importance of factoring in the time value, as well as the stress involved, into the shopping equation.
One really cannot simply buy on price alone.
Now, even if we find an extraordinary cheap deal at Hachi.Tech (that hasn't been the case so far due to competition from many other vendors), we will avoid Hachi.Tech online website like a plague.
First, they expect members to pay for membership.
That's still ok because for $8 membership, they give $10 back - but that is provided you remember to key in the new member code. But why charge in the first place? Hassle, hassle.
Second, the period to redeem the rebates is a very short 1 month.
They may extend another month, but overall, again, that's a hassle.
The aim is to leave customers no choice but to keep going back to them.
That's almost harrassment.
The rewards are not attractive enough to keep one tethered to them.
We hate organisations which holds one to ransom in this way.
Third, to redeem your rightful rebates, you need to spend a minimum purchase of $5!
This wasn't informed in advance.
We got an unpleasant shock after checking out the redemption cart. Only then did the information that the $5 requirement pop out. We wasted good time selecting the wrong price range as a result, and have to repeat all over again to incorporate their greedy requirement.
Forth, for purchase below $80, you'd likely want to pick it up at designated stores to avoid delivery fees. So to redeem, you have to factor this in as well. Hassle, hassle.
Fifth, the FAQ doesn't get to the above points. We went round and round and still the terms and conditions that might make the customers NOT want to have anything to do with Hachi Tech, are not found (at least at time of writing).
We only knew of the restrictions AFTER we made a purchase.
Especially since Hachi Tech has no telephone number to contact, unlike all other online vendors, they should have made it easier for customers to make informed decisions.
Hopefully, after feedback, they have revise their FAQs.
Any restrictions should be prominent enough, otherwise, until one is about to redeem.
Sixth, there is no hotline to call. You can only chat or email.
Seventh, the customer service is worst of the worst.
When we email, we get an automated response to say a support staff will get back to us soon, followed by a next reply of "Case closed!" from the support staff. No explanation, no apologies, nothing. Just a "Case closed!" Life is so easy for the support staff!
Eighth, items that are popular are always out of stock.
Nineth, the only time we got a response to pre-sales enquiries was when we wrote to Fujisu sales rep. Only then did we receive a response from Hachi.Tech sales rep.
Tenth, their credit card payment system is routed via the eNets system. It cause quite a bit of confusion (which means more time has to be expended towards double-checking). It confused the credit card company so much, it required half an hour before they confirm the credit card transaction was valid.
We want to make it a rounded 10-fingers count, but apparently, still haven't reach the end..
So on to the big toe for the next reason we are moving away from Hachi Tech....
Eleventh point: we simply hate the name Hachi.tech with the full-stop and all.
It is a non-Japanese entity, but the name sounds desperately that of a Japanese wanna-be. It was Challenger Online previously, with better service and product range. They say when it is not broken, don't fix it.
By providing an unpleasant online experience, it seems to us that Challenger fixed themselves even without the help of their competitors.
After our shopping experience with Hachi Tech, we've learnt the importance of factoring in the time value, as well as the stress involved, into the shopping equation.
One really cannot simply buy on price alone.
Now, even if we find an extraordinary cheap deal at Hachi.Tech (that hasn't been the case so far due to competition from many other vendors), we will avoid Hachi.Tech online website like a plague.
First, they expect members to pay for membership.
That's still ok because for $8 membership, they give $10 back - but that is provided you remember to key in the new member code. But why charge in the first place? Hassle, hassle.
Second, the period to redeem the rebates is a very short 1 month.
They may extend another month, but overall, again, that's a hassle.
The aim is to leave customers no choice but to keep going back to them.
That's almost harrassment.
The rewards are not attractive enough to keep one tethered to them.
We hate organisations which holds one to ransom in this way.
Third, to redeem your rightful rebates, you need to spend a minimum purchase of $5!
This wasn't informed in advance.
We got an unpleasant shock after checking out the redemption cart. Only then did the information that the $5 requirement pop out. We wasted good time selecting the wrong price range as a result, and have to repeat all over again to incorporate their greedy requirement.
Forth, for purchase below $80, you'd likely want to pick it up at designated stores to avoid delivery fees. So to redeem, you have to factor this in as well. Hassle, hassle.
Fifth, the FAQ doesn't get to the above points. We went round and round and still the terms and conditions that might make the customers NOT want to have anything to do with Hachi Tech, are not found (at least at time of writing).
We only knew of the restrictions AFTER we made a purchase.
Especially since Hachi Tech has no telephone number to contact, unlike all other online vendors, they should have made it easier for customers to make informed decisions.
Hopefully, after feedback, they have revise their FAQs.
Any restrictions should be prominent enough, otherwise, until one is about to redeem.
Sixth, there is no hotline to call. You can only chat or email.
Seventh, the customer service is worst of the worst.
When we email, we get an automated response to say a support staff will get back to us soon, followed by a next reply of "Case closed!" from the support staff. No explanation, no apologies, nothing. Just a "Case closed!" Life is so easy for the support staff!
Eighth, items that are popular are always out of stock.
Nineth, the only time we got a response to pre-sales enquiries was when we wrote to Fujisu sales rep. Only then did we receive a response from Hachi.Tech sales rep.
Tenth, their credit card payment system is routed via the eNets system. It cause quite a bit of confusion (which means more time has to be expended towards double-checking). It confused the credit card company so much, it required half an hour before they confirm the credit card transaction was valid.
We want to make it a rounded 10-fingers count, but apparently, still haven't reach the end..
So on to the big toe for the next reason we are moving away from Hachi Tech....
Eleventh point: we simply hate the name Hachi.tech with the full-stop and all.
It is a non-Japanese entity, but the name sounds desperately that of a Japanese wanna-be. It was Challenger Online previously, with better service and product range. They say when it is not broken, don't fix it.
By providing an unpleasant online experience, it seems to us that Challenger fixed themselves even without the help of their competitors.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Why I Close My LinkedIn Account
I am closing my LinkedIn account.
Why?
To open another one later!
Sounds funny but that's what I'm doing, and here's why.
Closing my LinkedIn account
1. Unauthorised access to my email contact list.
Although there are means to switch it off, once shaken, twice shy.
2. Spammy Invites.
The "invites", as I found out later, didn't really come from the person but from robots -- the other party's contacts were also being mined!
3. Spammy Emails.
LinkedIn has good articles coming through the emails.
But mostly, it's all spam head-hunting and invites.
Does Preferences to stop spam even work?
4. Active Connection
I killed all.
Yet there's just this one stubborn active connection that I couldn't seem to kill.
In the first place, I never even requested connection.
5. Time management
Time management in this case call for a full delete of the account.
For all of the above issues, there are instruction on how to prevent them from happening via preferred settings. But settings consumes time, especially when it doesn't work as well.
Then you have to write in to Customer Service.
The hack and the hassle!
LinkedIn takes time to manage if there are data you don't want let loose.
Pronto.
Out it goes.
6. Professional Identity
The folks who should know the value of my work already have access through my preferred choice of communication.
I may not necessarily want every one I meet to know what I do for a living.
As long as my data is "out there", I just don't feel secure, no matter what the currently provided privacy settings may be.
7. A New Me
All in all, let's just say that the person (and all the accompanying lifestyles and en·trails that comes with it) that first open the LinkedIn account (that I am closing now), is today, an entirely different person.
The new me has shed the old me.
The new me's a better me.
So why have reminders of the old me?
8. Tools and its Appropriate Use
To me, tools are meant to be used to your advantage.
The day when tools starts taking advantage of you — that's wakey wakey up time.
I need to be comfortable and secure in the tool I use.
The price I pay to avail of services - in terms of security or time - has become too high.
Time to part ways.
Update:
Viola!
As soon as I hit "Close The Account" --
a while plethora of options came up!
Now I can hide my profile, and do a lot of settings that makes for a viable option to closing it completely (in case you need it back someday or for temporary purposes).
LinkedIn should make this setting more accessible - not only when someone hits the close account tab.
Hopefully, I need not write in to LinkedIn to shut of the auto-link to my gmail contacts that shoots automated invites to them. Some members have had to do that previously, but hopefully, LinkedIn has rectified that.
Opening another LinkedIn account
Yes, I am closing one account to open another new one.
The old one reveals too much of me.
The new one will have safeguards in place - a new identity that allows me to know that is going on without revealing anything about me.
LinkedIn remains a useful resource that puts many professional profiles at your fingertips. I've been able to communicate with VIPs who otherwise will not respond via other means.
At times, this is also the only way we can find out if an old acquaintance has move on to a new position.
If you are in the market for business or a career, this is also one essential tool that helps you tap into.
The changes are working for the moment.
With the safeguard of an alter-identity, LinkedIn can spam all they want.
I'll just take what's useful, and leave the rest.
Why?
To open another one later!
Sounds funny but that's what I'm doing, and here's why.
Closing my LinkedIn account
1. Unauthorised access to my email contact list.
Although there are means to switch it off, once shaken, twice shy.
2. Spammy Invites.
The "invites", as I found out later, didn't really come from the person but from robots -- the other party's contacts were also being mined!
3. Spammy Emails.
LinkedIn has good articles coming through the emails.
But mostly, it's all spam head-hunting and invites.
Does Preferences to stop spam even work?
4. Active Connection
I killed all.
Yet there's just this one stubborn active connection that I couldn't seem to kill.
In the first place, I never even requested connection.
5. Time management
Time management in this case call for a full delete of the account.
For all of the above issues, there are instruction on how to prevent them from happening via preferred settings. But settings consumes time, especially when it doesn't work as well.
Then you have to write in to Customer Service.
The hack and the hassle!
LinkedIn takes time to manage if there are data you don't want let loose.
Pronto.
Out it goes.
6. Professional Identity
The folks who should know the value of my work already have access through my preferred choice of communication.
I may not necessarily want every one I meet to know what I do for a living.
As long as my data is "out there", I just don't feel secure, no matter what the currently provided privacy settings may be.
7. A New Me
All in all, let's just say that the person (and all the accompanying lifestyles and en·trails that comes with it) that first open the LinkedIn account (that I am closing now), is today, an entirely different person.
The new me has shed the old me.
The new me's a better me.
So why have reminders of the old me?
8. Tools and its Appropriate Use
To me, tools are meant to be used to your advantage.
The day when tools starts taking advantage of you — that's wakey wakey up time.
I need to be comfortable and secure in the tool I use.
The price I pay to avail of services - in terms of security or time - has become too high.
Time to part ways.
Update:
Viola!
As soon as I hit "Close The Account" --
a while plethora of options came up!
Now I can hide my profile, and do a lot of settings that makes for a viable option to closing it completely (in case you need it back someday or for temporary purposes).
LinkedIn should make this setting more accessible - not only when someone hits the close account tab.
Hopefully, I need not write in to LinkedIn to shut of the auto-link to my gmail contacts that shoots automated invites to them. Some members have had to do that previously, but hopefully, LinkedIn has rectified that.
Opening another LinkedIn account
Yes, I am closing one account to open another new one.
The old one reveals too much of me.
The new one will have safeguards in place - a new identity that allows me to know that is going on without revealing anything about me.
LinkedIn remains a useful resource that puts many professional profiles at your fingertips. I've been able to communicate with VIPs who otherwise will not respond via other means.
At times, this is also the only way we can find out if an old acquaintance has move on to a new position.
If you are in the market for business or a career, this is also one essential tool that helps you tap into.
The changes are working for the moment.
With the safeguard of an alter-identity, LinkedIn can spam all they want.
I'll just take what's useful, and leave the rest.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Singapore PM Lee out of Qi during National Day speech
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is on a week of medical leave after he had a sudden vasovagal attack hours into his rally address.
PM Lee's expression turned blank after he trembled and swayed, shocking the live audience at the ITE auditorium, as well as those watching the rally live from home.
Unlike the dramatic headlines that claims that he collapsed on stage, he never suffered a fall. As he faltered at the podium, Defence Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen sprinted like a cheetah to provide a supporting armlock, guiding the PM offstage. Singapore is in good hands with such a speedy Defence Minister around. Speaking of speed, it is time to reduce the length of National Service to one year, as under such good hands plus availing of the rapid technological advances of this age, the Army should now be ready to churn out operational readiness in the enlisted men and officers in half the time it had required during the past decades.
The Prime Minister Office offered the explanation that the PM felt unsteady because of prolonged standing, heat and dehydration, and ruled out stroke or heart attack.
Indeed, after an hour and a half, to a sounding applause, PM Lee returned to finish off the rally.
Though modern medicine frowns on it, there are traditional wisdom in recognizing the internal strength that is derived from balancing the flow of qi, which can be depleted. PM Lee has definitely run low on Qi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi) that day, due to a strenuous prolonged schedules.
We hope he will be back to peak form, and after this episode, do look into the strenuously long run of National Servicemen as well.
PM Lee's expression turned blank after he trembled and swayed, shocking the live audience at the ITE auditorium, as well as those watching the rally live from home.
Unlike the dramatic headlines that claims that he collapsed on stage, he never suffered a fall. As he faltered at the podium, Defence Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen sprinted like a cheetah to provide a supporting armlock, guiding the PM offstage. Singapore is in good hands with such a speedy Defence Minister around. Speaking of speed, it is time to reduce the length of National Service to one year, as under such good hands plus availing of the rapid technological advances of this age, the Army should now be ready to churn out operational readiness in the enlisted men and officers in half the time it had required during the past decades.
 |
| Photo Credits: Straits Times |
The Prime Minister Office offered the explanation that the PM felt unsteady because of prolonged standing, heat and dehydration, and ruled out stroke or heart attack.
Indeed, after an hour and a half, to a sounding applause, PM Lee returned to finish off the rally.
Though modern medicine frowns on it, there are traditional wisdom in recognizing the internal strength that is derived from balancing the flow of qi, which can be depleted. PM Lee has definitely run low on Qi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi) that day, due to a strenuous prolonged schedules.
We hope he will be back to peak form, and after this episode, do look into the strenuously long run of National Servicemen as well.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Buying a TV
Significant upgrades in hardware by LG, Samsung and Sony in 2016's line-ups means we ought to study the reviews closely to check out the differentiation across a wide range.
We didn't realise that at first - how fast things had been moving in the manufacturing world of smart TV.
Out of convenience and laziness, we simply proceeded to the mega stores - Best Denki, Courts, Gain City, Harvey Norman, Mega Discount Store, Mustafa, Parisilk - to check out the TV displays.
Wow, the sales reps sure swim around us like sharks, swooping in even before we could even lay eyes properly on any unit. Competition for sales target is apparently keen since we notice the same sale rep tailing us even though we mentioned that we were not buying - just to gain browsing time, and they probably suspect that too.
Finally, one rep gain control over the others, and before we know it, he had demo'ed to us the pros and cons of every brand across the stores.
In the end, the deal didn't go through as he turned sour when we discover the model he proposed was already replaced with a new model that is soon to come.
Fast forward to the new model's arrival.
We were merely checking out the display when there you have it - one rep swooped in again.
We asked for the actual price (which is never the tagged price), and he as good as take that to mean we are his customer already.
This sales rep claims to have given us the lowest bargain basement rate, which we very quickly found out through googling that it isn't. He admitted that it is our job to source out the lower price, then only would he go down one level to the next in price decrease. So began the rather tedious process of bargaining, which is time-consuming since their best deals are often trumped by savvy HDB shop outlets out for a bite at the I.T. pie. But price matching helps reduce the quotation tremendously.
Due to his persistance, we ended up placing a deposit for a brand we hadn't consider in the first place.
By chance, we found ourselves in the showroom of our preferred brand. We found out that his store's unit of the TV we actually wanted, somehow had its settings tweaked to deter sales. As a result, using the same USB stick of pre-downloaded movies doesn't help. At the official showroom, we were blown away by the superiority of the unit, which had earlier given a rather poor showing at the mega store. It is actually quite important for manufacturers to have their own showroom, or to send their own calibrators to all stores, to avoid the same scenario where settings are dampened unethically by their own dealers, out to steer customers to brands that provide the store better profits, and their sales fellas better commission.
Out of courtesy, we SMS the sales rep to inform that we are cancelling the order in favour of our preferred brand, and for a model that is due to arrive in the coming quarter.
We then proceeded to the store to obtain our refund, which was duly granted after some verification was made.
In the midst of the refund, we suddenly got a call from the sale rep, which we couldn't pick up as we were attended to by the cashier and there was a long and impatient queue behind us. After signing on the refund to finalise it, a flurry of SMS came from the sale rep, stating that there is no such thing as refund on deposit. We have to go down to him and buy something else with the deposit.
That was a shocker. The TV was not in limited stock situation so we had not deprived any customers. The only reason we placed a deposit was he told us we can cancel anytime. No installment plan. No delivery effected. No freebies received yet. We never even receive any invoice.
Gain City has a 8-day cooling period published on its website, which would have prevented their sales rep from having their own ruling. Although this mega store does not publish its stance on refund of deposits, it was willing to allow the same fair practice.
We are lucky then, that we had already managed to get the store to refund us the deposit, ironically because our SMS to the sales rep didn't reached him. If not for the delay in the SMS facility, he is bound to have the refund halted using similar aggressive tactics he applied to effect the sale.
There could have been many future purchases for him, but he ruled out any such possibility himself by not treating us like long-term customers. Merely something for him to hit and run. Ownself rule out ownself, is how some would put it.
We are now quits, of course.
Aren't we glad!
While helpful in driving the price down to match the other quotations, his sales tactic veers on the aggressive side, with reasons such as saying his management would have a bad impression of him if we made him push down the rate then did not go through with the sale, or he needed the sales target badly. It was all about him. Customers are just tools of the trade.
When he thought he had clinched our sale, he went round the store walking like a peacock pointing us out to his colleagues. It felt really funny to be treated like trophies.
We should have taken flight just from his way of transposing his uh-huh uh-huh so impatiently before you could even formulate the sentence. We were expressing our concerns about the unit's performance and about having to pay too large an amount of deposit. That uh-huh uh-huh was another clear sign he was bored already, just foot out the loot and get the sales over and done with willya?
We got way-laid by sales talk, but glad we didn't get side-tracked in the end.
It would have deprived us of years of appreciation for the TV we are soon to buy.
As always is the case with poor customer service, we don't want the product to be associated with the image of bad representation that stays with us whenever we use the product.
We didn't realise that at first - how fast things had been moving in the manufacturing world of smart TV.
Out of convenience and laziness, we simply proceeded to the mega stores - Best Denki, Courts, Gain City, Harvey Norman, Mega Discount Store, Mustafa, Parisilk - to check out the TV displays.
Wow, the sales reps sure swim around us like sharks, swooping in even before we could even lay eyes properly on any unit. Competition for sales target is apparently keen since we notice the same sale rep tailing us even though we mentioned that we were not buying - just to gain browsing time, and they probably suspect that too.
Finally, one rep gain control over the others, and before we know it, he had demo'ed to us the pros and cons of every brand across the stores.
In the end, the deal didn't go through as he turned sour when we discover the model he proposed was already replaced with a new model that is soon to come.
Fast forward to the new model's arrival.
We were merely checking out the display when there you have it - one rep swooped in again.
We asked for the actual price (which is never the tagged price), and he as good as take that to mean we are his customer already.
This sales rep claims to have given us the lowest bargain basement rate, which we very quickly found out through googling that it isn't. He admitted that it is our job to source out the lower price, then only would he go down one level to the next in price decrease. So began the rather tedious process of bargaining, which is time-consuming since their best deals are often trumped by savvy HDB shop outlets out for a bite at the I.T. pie. But price matching helps reduce the quotation tremendously.
Due to his persistance, we ended up placing a deposit for a brand we hadn't consider in the first place.
By chance, we found ourselves in the showroom of our preferred brand. We found out that his store's unit of the TV we actually wanted, somehow had its settings tweaked to deter sales. As a result, using the same USB stick of pre-downloaded movies doesn't help. At the official showroom, we were blown away by the superiority of the unit, which had earlier given a rather poor showing at the mega store. It is actually quite important for manufacturers to have their own showroom, or to send their own calibrators to all stores, to avoid the same scenario where settings are dampened unethically by their own dealers, out to steer customers to brands that provide the store better profits, and their sales fellas better commission.
Out of courtesy, we SMS the sales rep to inform that we are cancelling the order in favour of our preferred brand, and for a model that is due to arrive in the coming quarter.
We then proceeded to the store to obtain our refund, which was duly granted after some verification was made.
In the midst of the refund, we suddenly got a call from the sale rep, which we couldn't pick up as we were attended to by the cashier and there was a long and impatient queue behind us. After signing on the refund to finalise it, a flurry of SMS came from the sale rep, stating that there is no such thing as refund on deposit. We have to go down to him and buy something else with the deposit.
That was a shocker. The TV was not in limited stock situation so we had not deprived any customers. The only reason we placed a deposit was he told us we can cancel anytime. No installment plan. No delivery effected. No freebies received yet. We never even receive any invoice.
Gain City has a 8-day cooling period published on its website, which would have prevented their sales rep from having their own ruling. Although this mega store does not publish its stance on refund of deposits, it was willing to allow the same fair practice.
We are lucky then, that we had already managed to get the store to refund us the deposit, ironically because our SMS to the sales rep didn't reached him. If not for the delay in the SMS facility, he is bound to have the refund halted using similar aggressive tactics he applied to effect the sale.
There could have been many future purchases for him, but he ruled out any such possibility himself by not treating us like long-term customers. Merely something for him to hit and run. Ownself rule out ownself, is how some would put it.
We are now quits, of course.
Aren't we glad!
While helpful in driving the price down to match the other quotations, his sales tactic veers on the aggressive side, with reasons such as saying his management would have a bad impression of him if we made him push down the rate then did not go through with the sale, or he needed the sales target badly. It was all about him. Customers are just tools of the trade.
When he thought he had clinched our sale, he went round the store walking like a peacock pointing us out to his colleagues. It felt really funny to be treated like trophies.
We should have taken flight just from his way of transposing his uh-huh uh-huh so impatiently before you could even formulate the sentence. We were expressing our concerns about the unit's performance and about having to pay too large an amount of deposit. That uh-huh uh-huh was another clear sign he was bored already, just foot out the loot and get the sales over and done with willya?
We got way-laid by sales talk, but glad we didn't get side-tracked in the end.
It would have deprived us of years of appreciation for the TV we are soon to buy.
As always is the case with poor customer service, we don't want the product to be associated with the image of bad representation that stays with us whenever we use the product.
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