Singapore River Hongbao 2007 schedule
For all of you interested in going to the Singapore River Hongbao thingy, it will be held from 16 Feb-4 March.
16 Feb (Fri) - Opening Ceremony
9:15 to 9:30 p.m.
Duration of Fireworks : 3 mins
17 Feb (Sat) Eve of CNY
9:00 p.m.
Duration : 5- 8 mins
18 Feb (Sun) - 1st Day of CNY
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins
19 Feb (Mon) - 2nd Day of CNY
9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins
24 Feb (Sat)
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins
25 Feb (Sun)
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins
4 Mar (Sun) - 15th day of CNY
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins
Labels: fireworks, Singapore River Hongbao 2007
Comfort Cabs complaint investigation sucks!
i think that Comfort Cabs should take a long and hard look at preparing proper responses to customer complaints. this is of cos with reference to the complaint i made against cab driver 3220 last friday evening. our dear frens at comfort took over a week to respond to me, only calling me this morning. if they had waited one more day, i would have penned a letter to the Forum pages but since they beat my internal timeline, i will have to be content with a blog-post.
the best part, of cos, are the results achieved.
the results outlined:
1. informed driver of complaint
2. educated driver on being polite
3. given warning to driver
for fark's sake, they needed 8 days to do this??!! and so i pressed on. 'what did you tell the driver?', 'does he realise the impact of the warning?', 'what type of training do both drivers and operators receive?'...and so on.
of course, all the Comfort customer rep would repeat, in a really bored voice, was 'yes they undego training', 'another complaint for a recalcitrant driver would mean a review of their service agreement' and the clicher 'the operators and drivers are asked to practice what they are trained to do'.
is it just me or to an irate (and yes i was really irate!) customer, just handing out simple one-liners like these just isn't enough. i made a specific complaint regarding the driver of one vehicle number 3220. i want to know why he did what he did, was there a basis for his frustration, why did he react in such a manner, what is the company going to do about it and importantly, what measures is Comfort Cabs going to take to reassure me that such behaviours are not tolerated and will not be repeated?
i spent my time calling and preparing a fair account of the complaint detailing my actions and what i expected from Comfort Cabs. if that time is not reciprocated with a proper investigation, what assurance do i have that the company is watching out for my interests as a paying customer?
perhaps this is really a case where i should make an effort to switch cab brands. comfort may have the largest fleet but it doesn't mean that customers should put up with such service standards.
Labels: Comfort, Comfort Cabs, customer service
jedi!!!
still waiting to hear back from comfort for their update on that cabbie that pissed the shit out of me last last friday. any ideas on how to scare them really good and make them start to think of valuing their customers more?
the green fairy tastes really good, but only the red one, the green one is a little bit too rough on the throat. and...home-prepared absinthe tastes more authentic then bar-prepped ones. tks cheong! *grin*
apprently indonesian durians taste better than malaysian ones. woohoo! Singapore beat Malayisa to get to the finals! ole ole ole ole ole!!!
so this weekend was somewhat packed with the green fairy on fri & sat, celine's wedding on sat, then cheong's on early sun morning before blair's for aussie day brunch (tks B!) and finally settling down to watch bolton possibly beat arsenal (current score 1:1).
but the real highlight, after lots of wine and another absinthe shot, was this. check out the screen shots.
it's fun being a kid again sometimes.
it's been a long January...and it cannot seem to end fast enough
long long January. kinda figured that it would be a fast track all the way once Jan 8 started. launched this little baby at this place opposite the Tyler Print Institute along Md. Sultan.
Nokia N76. looks really cool and this time round at least the functionality works out to be a full package. good MP camera, landscape mode, clamshell and large screen. the keypad has to be tried to tell but overall design looks really fantastic. and it comes in black as well for that ultra chic look for the non-red inclined.
work piled up as usual. what else is new? i said this in 2006 and said that it's funny how the year revved up so quickly. i bet that 2007 was waiting around the corner, laughing.
'boy, he has no idea how 2007 is going to begin.'
so anyway, work aside, i got the keys to my apartment. the current owner is this really good chap. he and i have a common aim: to get the transaction of the apartment settled ASAP. lawyers are advising that i might be able to ge ownership sometime in march, which suits me really well. *fingers crossed* hope nothing happens to affect this timeline.
spent an entire day at the new place waiting for the interior design firms to come and measure the area in order to prepare a design quotation. there was this guy from Unique who should never be used again. we made an appt with him to come do the measurements during one of the exhibitions at the Expo. he did a no-show. we called him at the office and found out that he had a 'walk-in' that caused him to do a no-show. so no call to explain that he was held up, no call to inform us that he needs to change the appointment. and all he could offer was a half hearted 'sorry' and a 'can i call you again to fix an appointment?'. now if you have given me such a bad first impression, what makes you think i will give you another chance.
btw, i called the customer service manager to complain. i have yet to hear back from them.
had a really lousy cab ride one night last week. called from a cab to pick up from great eastern centre.when i reached there, found out that there was some large scale construction going on and the entrance to the lobby was blocked. so i crossed the road, called the operator to inform the cab to pick up from one george street instead. operator reports that she cannot get through to the driver. i am one step away from cancelling but she says that from the tracker, he is somewhere near me so i didn't. 15 mins later, he pulls up at a side street next to where i am. and from the moment i get in complains about 3 things - that he had to wait for 20 mins at another lobby, that he had to wait for 3 days since i wanted to pay by credit card and that he was upset at the operator.
at the beginning i was willing to humor him but when he started calling up the operator manager halfway through the drive to complain, when he began to tailgate and speed needlessly and the clincher, when i paid by credit card and upon checking which slip to sign, he went 'you pay by credit card, should know what to do', that really hit the limit. i paid, got out of the cab and made a complaint.
similarly, i have not heard a word from Comfort yet. btw, the cab number is 3220.
and finally, i learnt a solid lesson at home today. things don't always happen the way you want them to BUT the rejoiner can read: that roles are reversed and tables turned; what once was can be the basis and foundation for what will be. why can't extremes meet in the center?
*really looking forward to a holiday. somewhere far. away from work. away from other factors. just to chill, recharge and refresh.*
happy birthday mummy!
happy birthday mum! *hugs*
recap: 2006 & crystal ball: 2007
recap:2006
the last 7 days from christmas to new year's eve (NYE) was a blast! had so many things lined up one after the other. but it was a good break away from the pressures of work and the usual so-i-really-have-to-do-this actions. here are some of the highlights that i can remember...
had a dinner to celebrate my granny's 80th birthday at SICC on the 23rd. didn't realise how a table full of old people could be so vibrant; and very glad to see her look happy. 
spent christmas eve over into christmas really high then drunk. lotsa fun at traders hotel suite. everyone brought alcohol; we didn't bring any back. *fingers crossed* that the hotel doesn't find the damage. i won't bother posting any "before" photos, especially when the "after" photo kinda sums up the state of the room and the success of the party.
i promise i will try to get the photos out to the necessary people once i figure out how.
the following friday was my baby's party. this one was tamer. only one person got knocked out, and one birthday boy hopefully drunk or at least very happy by the time he reached zouk, and a couple of others more happy than high. this one no incriminating photos. dang.
saturday was amanda's birthday steamboat lunch and her 'surprise' games. good effort babe! but really the torture came from the blardy aerobic exercise tapes you screened with one Richard Simmons. gosh that guy must have been a reject from the 70's.
notice his attire. then look at the back up support dancers/exercisers he has with him. what an ego boost he must be nursing. happy birthday amanda!
then of cos it was the NYE at jean's place. this one was special. it is the one and only year i spent the first morning of a new year...running around marine parade looking for someone. literally running. nothing more to say, save that next NYE - i will bring a strait jacket. actually maybe i will bring more than ONE.
strait·jack·et Pronunciation[streyt-jak-it]
–noun
1. a garment made of strong material and designed to
bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.
those were fun days for the last days of 2006. and i think as a recap, i am glad that 2006 ended the way it did with all the fun since 2007 already seems to be building up to be a really serious year. 2006 was really a different year in that, to me, at the beginning in January, it just felt like an extension of 2005. if so, i have had 24 months to learn the following:
things i have learnt in 2006:
1. focus...that no matter how swarmed over by anything i could get, that somehow i can turn the tide and concentrate on the components and get each little bit settled, one slow agonising step at a time.
2. patience...to deal with the fools i meet along the way. (if you need to think whether you were one of them, then don't worry you aren't. i do not suffer fools gladly)
3. clarity...to finally see the bigger picture and start planning to reach it. yeah, i always have a master plan but did you know that plans move through draft stages too? maybe this one is going to be the final one.
4. friends...thanks to all those who lent me a ear, gave me a pat on the back and pushed me forward. even when all i wanted to do was stay still. don't worry, no i do not blame you.
like i pointed out above, this seems to be shaping up to be a really serious year. makes me wonder where i will be at the end of the next 12 months. will this year be full of harmony and good karma after the struggles of the last? or will it be another 365 days (now 361 days) of torturous and slow movement forward and quick slides backward?
two major milestone at least in the next 4 months. the first - getting the keys to my new apartment after watching it get torn partway to the ground and built right back up. god knows that would be enough excitement to last the remaining 8 months after. the second - moving/bunking in with my baby. *grin* this will be a happy milestone; provided the forces that be don't throw any more curve balls than they already have. (god, you listening?)a new year is often a time for resolutions. well this time round, i have decided not to hogwash it and actually create a couple of them. these are the ones that can be shared. 1. try and leave office before 7pm everyday. (if i manage 3 out of every 5 days, i reckon this is a sucess. next year can try for 4 days. )2. eat more, weigh less. (still inspired by baby's cousin-in-law...do i smell meat?*yum*)3. run more, bulk up. (nuff' said)4. look after my fish better. (i luurrvee my fishies.)5. spend more time with my granny. ( i realised in a flash that's she's 80...)6. be even more insanely patient with fools than i have been. (but if you fill up my time with inane chatter, someone is goin' to get a beatin'.)7. go for a holiday...finally. somewhere. hopefully enjoyable, with lots of rest and food. (missions to purchase cheaper items from chatucak or saigon or bali do not count - yay! more holidays!)8. master chinese cooking. (might as well, since i will have a kitchen in 4 months and less money to eat out. =p)okay then, report card due in June and then December 2007. maybe i will remember half of them. *fingers crossed* i will try my darnest! *earnest voice*
