when it rains, it pours...non-stop
i stumbled through last week, desperately seeking to recover from the sudden loss of Mickey. just when i thought it was safe to get excited about moving house this week, i get socked in the face by life again. a couple of times.1. my granny got admitted into A&E last friday due to a dangerous build-up of blood fluid in her skull. the pressure by the blood on the brain was simulating a stroke and for the entire of last week, she was forgetful, couldn't hold items like utensils properly, her mind was distracted and unfocused. the doctors at the A&E scheduled an immediate operation on saturday. tk god that she went through surgery fine. but as you know, life is never so simple. even though we bloody wish it could be less complicated. during the op, she became one of the 5-10% of patients that suffer fits after surgery. doctors got worried that her mobility on the right side of her body was affected. as it is, the first 48 hours post-op is the most important for recovery and all signs show that she is getting better by the moment.
she couldn't even speak or focus on saturday and by yesterday, she was off pure oxygen and breathing normal air. her surgeon says the brain needs to re-expand to fill up the space that was occupied by the blood. but if it expands too fast, that's not good. if it expands too slow/doesn't expand, then that's not good either. can't it just be simple??
so today is the last of the 48 hours and into the care component of recovery. my aunt's getting her room retro-fitted with handle bars, and anti-slip material on the floor and etc. now if only the powers that be can make her recovery as uncomplicated as possible.
2. again, as if having to deal with the granny situation isn't tough enough. my lawyer calls me about the house. the ex-owner, under the new ruling by CPF and banks and all, does not have enough to pay both the bank and CPF for the amount taken out. under this new ruling, the bank gets priority. of course, the lawyer assures me that this is normal procedure, the ex-owner only needs to waive off the amount. of course, that really doesn't make the churn in my gut get any less. all i really, really, really want is for legal completion to complete and the ownership formally transferred. i am moving in later this week, for crying out loud. how much more ups and downs must there be, just to buy a damn house??
fingers crossed that the move goes smoothly this week and nothing more screws up. my gut will think it's being targeted by something.
3. mickey's ashes came back home last night. it is really heart-rending to see sandy (my last remaining dog) go looking around their common area trying to find mickey. it's heart breaking to sit through a storm knowing that sandy no longer has a companion to keep each other warm and to provide each other company. i miss mickey.
4. baby's having trouble with an ex-associate. if i could settle this for her, i would. but i have to be content with addressing it legally through proper channels. if her ex-associate so much as breathes a word in her direction, to my face, someone's going to get a rough time.
5. starhub. if there was a bigger name this week for inefficiency and bureaucracy, i cannot find it. luckily, there are still persons within the beast that actually have authority to do something. so i am moving out this week and applied for the transfer of my cable + internet service. my dad goes down to a sales ofc and tries to apply for a new cable subscription. the sales rep tells him he cannot because my account is still there and that the system will refuse to let him apply. even if ALL he wants to do is just apply, pay and arrange an appt with the technician for sometime post-thursday.
so he calls me, i call starhub at 1633 and i speak to this guy in the internet dept for 20 over minutes establishing that the ONLY option i have is to transfer my account over immediately so that my dad can apply at the sales ofc. unless, i or my dad choose to take more leave and come back down on thursday to do the application. of course, we cannot book a technician until thursday and then the next available date is the following week for installation. Come bloody on, all we are trying to do is make sure there's no disruption to our normal lifestyles in the coming days but then that's starhub's way. and it seems to be the only way. how good it must be for them to run a monopoly.
so i do the transfer out, my dad does the new application. the sales ofc convinces him that the installation is simple to do. no need for a technician. when will the idiots there realise that it's not about simple installation. it is also about customer service. an older person of 60 and above will find the easiest technological procedure complicated. it isn't about language or onsite demonstrations or even *shudder* manuals. they want the psychological assurance and peace of mind that an 'expert' has done the installation for them; that someone who knows what they are doing has done the difficult bit for them. and people like my dad are WILLING to PAY for it. ref: my point on the monopoly above. STARHUB, ARE YOU LISTENING?
finally, my dad calls me and says there's no internet in his package. i have a quick talk with the sales rep and he tells me that my current modem is tied to an account name whereas the services are tied to a residential address. how smart is that? and therefore since my current account is still alive and in another residence, i cannot use my modem to connect to the internet at my old place even though i am not physically moving yet. all these trouble because the starhub system cannot let my dad process a new cable application.
so i call 1633 again. and speak to this girl who listens to my entire story BEFORE telling me she isn't the right person and gives me the number to call the right dept. by the way, it's a wrong number. so somehow i manage to press enough keys on that stupid automated system before someone transfers me to the right person in the right dept. this person is called Des. now Des is a very patient person, he listens to the story and askes me what i want to do, what's the best case solution for me. i have absolutely NO problems with Des.
i do have problems with starhub still tho. apparently, my cable + internet account could actually be split into two different locations for a short duration, upon my authorisation. wow. and no one bloody thought of telling me this in the first place. the reason why? because i could stand to lose 3 days worth of bonus HUB points. WTF! who cares about that damn HUB points? how many HUB points can i blardy earn in 3 days anyway? what? i am a muncho premium subscriber is it? i will lose 10 billion HUB points if i split the account. for the record, i do NOT care about the HUB points. i care about the inconvenience NOT having my internet at home will cost me.
why does STARHUB make it such a DIFFICULT thing for their customers to enjoy better service? is it because there can only be the STARHUB way? i repeat, it must be nice working in a monopoly. well, in 3 years time, maybe the exclusive rights to content like the EPL will be up for grabs. maybe there will be competitors. i pray so. if only, so that the executives in Starhub can learn to sweat and actually make customer service, tuned in to the customer.
Labels: customer service, HUB points, starhub
posted by inspirethereal @ 9:31 AM
0 straight, not straightened
crystal mirror
the one thing that i disagree on though, is the price. apparently it's like $400+ per person to enjoy the full visual and gastronomic pleasure of entertainment, dinner and drinks. i honestly didn't think the performance is worth that much. 
bridge@ clarke quay overlooking 'Central' - taken with a Nokia N80. love the view. had to wait for the bum boat to pass under. 
IT SHOW 2007!
Mosaic Opening party@ esplanade's theatre studio
couple of misc. shots that i have to share - all taken with a Nokia N80.
taken at republic polytechnic. i think that we need to cut the education budget more and let us middle-income people actually breathe easier, knowing that even though we are the only 40% of the population that pays farking income tax in SG, that at least it isn't going to some foreign architect who's laughing to the bank after he finished RP.
caught this scence at Ikea Alexandria. isn't the kid really comfortable?
another picture from Ikea again. i didn't realise that they did auctions. but doesn't the guy holding the loudhailer actually inspire confidence in you that you 'might' be getting a good deal. maybe with a wig...
