So... Today I have this 'finger pointing' session to attend to. Not unusual, unfortunately. The only thing that bothers me is that there would be no problem if I didn't happen to fall sick. In my absence, the development team from the project had a question, I wasn't available to answer, the message was forwarded to my 'colleague' who did not really bother to understand the background of the project before brusquely saying the software version was defective and they should upgrade and telling my supporters on site they were 'incompetent' to perform the tasks I assigned them.
Now, let me put it like this: The guys dealing with the development team have not been trained but they have been doing hands on for some time and compared to the others working in the project they are the most knowledgeable folks we have available. They are my eyes and hands when I am not around. Telling them they are incompetent is definitely an approach we should avoid.
As a result, I had to do some damage control when they said “if we are incompetent, we won't touch the servers anymore - you come and fix your own stuff”. Great, isn't it? That did not help me any.
The other problem was, prior to beginning this project, the customer asked us if they would have to upgrade the software version. There would be no extra charge for that BUT there would be a different approach on implementing the solution and that meant more money for the development team. They did not have the budget so we all agreed we would stick to the version they had. Functionality would be limited but sufficient to attend to their expected features.
When my fellow co-worker said the software was “buggy”, could not provide the features they wanted and they should upgrade (he went as far as to sending them the new version) he created a 'trust' problem. The end user started questioning if we actually knew what we were talking about when we suggested they retained their software version. Worst, they started asking if they should believe us when we said the new version, soon to be implemented in a new project, was compatible. They feared they would make the change and later on they would be informed that “the version they were using was buggy too”.
Do you see the problem? I am not sure if I am making myself understood but I can tell you it was messy. Those were the reasons for our 'finger pointing' session today. But everything will be fine, I know. All's well when it ends well and the damage control has been done.
Tuesday 30 September 2003
Monday 29 September 2003
On the road again
Motion generates motion. And this re-appearing act, though a bit premature if health conditions are considered, is more than welcome to put an end to the marasm that was taking over my life.
I'm on my way to KL. Yes, I'm on the road again. And, boy I'm happy!
I'm on my way to KL. Yes, I'm on the road again. And, boy I'm happy!
Customer service? What's that? (Part II)
Maybe I am indeed getting old and grumpy as time passes. Or maybe I just refuse to accept bad customer service. I tell you a brief story and you judge for yourself...
My ATM card was about to break. Since I needed to go to the bank to withdraw some money to pay my credit card, I decided to replace it while there.
I joined the queue and waited for a couple of minutes. When it was finally my turn, I showed the card to the lady at the counter and explained I wanted it replaced before it was spoiled to the point I could not use it anymore. That's when the problems begun.
- Do you have your IC?
- No. I have my PIN, though.
- Sorry, I can't replace your card then.
- Why?
- Because I can't validate who you are.
- But I am not Singaporean. I do not have an IC!
- Do you have your passport with you?
- No. But I do not have to carry it around.
- You do.
- No, I do not.
At this point, her supervisor noticed something was happening and came to help.
- Can I help?
- He wants to get a new ATM Card.
- Ok, can I have your passport please?
- I do not have it with me.
- Then we cannot help, Sir.
- Why?
- We need the passport to verify you are the account owner.
- I do not have to carry my passport with me. Do you have yours with you?
- Well, your IC then.
- I am not Singaporean. I do not have an IC.
- But your work here, do you?
- Yes, and I have this account for three years already.
- Can I see your employment pass?
- Listen, how would my employment pass help you check I am who I say I am? It has no pictures and you do not have the equipment to check if it's fake or not.
- For your own protection we need some photo identification.
- For my own protection I have my PIN which is what the documents I signed when opening the account said would identify me to the bank!
- Oh, you do have your PIN?
- Of course! All you need is my PIN, nothing else. I can sign the same way, I have other cards with me, I can validate information like birthday, address and phone for you; I don't see why you can't replace my card! I am the customer. Aren't you supposed to make things easier for me?
Then she frowned, asked me to sign a piece of paper to check my signature, asked me to enter my PIN on the machine, asked me to answer a few questions and authorised the card replacement with a remark that next time I should carry my passport. Humph...
But it doesn't end there!
When the cashier gave me my new card I asked if she would withdraw some money for me.
- You can withdraw from the ATM machine in the front of the bank.
- Say what?!? No, I can't. Can you do it for me without me having to beg?
She got the card and asked how much. Four thousand, a hundred and fifty, I said.
- Oh, that amount you can't withdraw from the ATM.
- Exactly! I said without looking at her.
Now, tell me. Am I asking for too much? Are they doing me a favour? Should I be grateful for their benevolence in providing me with service I pay for anyway?
I decided to close the account. I am moving to Citibank. I will have problem with them too, I am sure. But I hope it would be less annoying than these bozos from OCBC.
My ATM card was about to break. Since I needed to go to the bank to withdraw some money to pay my credit card, I decided to replace it while there.
I joined the queue and waited for a couple of minutes. When it was finally my turn, I showed the card to the lady at the counter and explained I wanted it replaced before it was spoiled to the point I could not use it anymore. That's when the problems begun.
- Do you have your IC?
- No. I have my PIN, though.
- Sorry, I can't replace your card then.
- Why?
- Because I can't validate who you are.
- But I am not Singaporean. I do not have an IC!
- Do you have your passport with you?
- No. But I do not have to carry it around.
- You do.
- No, I do not.
At this point, her supervisor noticed something was happening and came to help.
- Can I help?
- He wants to get a new ATM Card.
- Ok, can I have your passport please?
- I do not have it with me.
- Then we cannot help, Sir.
- Why?
- We need the passport to verify you are the account owner.
- I do not have to carry my passport with me. Do you have yours with you?
- Well, your IC then.
- I am not Singaporean. I do not have an IC.
- But your work here, do you?
- Yes, and I have this account for three years already.
- Can I see your employment pass?
- Listen, how would my employment pass help you check I am who I say I am? It has no pictures and you do not have the equipment to check if it's fake or not.
- For your own protection we need some photo identification.
- For my own protection I have my PIN which is what the documents I signed when opening the account said would identify me to the bank!
- Oh, you do have your PIN?
- Of course! All you need is my PIN, nothing else. I can sign the same way, I have other cards with me, I can validate information like birthday, address and phone for you; I don't see why you can't replace my card! I am the customer. Aren't you supposed to make things easier for me?
Then she frowned, asked me to sign a piece of paper to check my signature, asked me to enter my PIN on the machine, asked me to answer a few questions and authorised the card replacement with a remark that next time I should carry my passport. Humph...
But it doesn't end there!
When the cashier gave me my new card I asked if she would withdraw some money for me.
- You can withdraw from the ATM machine in the front of the bank.
- Say what?!? No, I can't. Can you do it for me without me having to beg?
She got the card and asked how much. Four thousand, a hundred and fifty, I said.
- Oh, that amount you can't withdraw from the ATM.
- Exactly! I said without looking at her.
Now, tell me. Am I asking for too much? Are they doing me a favour? Should I be grateful for their benevolence in providing me with service I pay for anyway?
I decided to close the account. I am moving to Citibank. I will have problem with them too, I am sure. But I hope it would be less annoying than these bozos from OCBC.
Sunday 21 September 2003
Pull the damned plugs! I can't take it anymore...
I'm in the hospital. I was admitted yesterday. Well, it all begun Friday.
I had a soup and some cracker with tuna for dinner but I could tell it did not go too well. I felt bloated, burping too much. It pretty much felt like indigestion. A certain discomfort and heart burn; as you would feel after overeating something very heavy.
I drank some soda water, which usually helps, watched some TV and decided to go to bed. By then the slight discomfort was turning into pain and I wondered whether the soup or the tuna was spoiled. I tried some "Eno" and went to bed.
I couldn't sleep, though. It was really hurting and no matter what position I assumed in bed, it wasn't making it any better.
I hate throwing up. Some people do it so easily... For me it's always a nightmare. But since it was really getting worse, I had no choice but inserting a finger down my throat and inducing vomiting.
That, unfortunately did not help any and by 3:00AM I crying in pain. I decided to go to the hospital, determined to either have my stomach pumped or at least medicated for the pain.
I called a cab and proceeded to SGH (Singapore General Hospital). SGH is one of (if not the) best equipped hospitals in Singapore. That did not help me at all. In the end, it all boils down to people, believe me. And the quality of the service provided was lousy.
First, there was no queue but the lady at the admission desk took her time in filling in whatever details she had to input in her computer. Seriously, she took more than 10 minutes to insert my data and prepare my 'case'. Come on! Four o'clock in the morning, nobody waiting, no long queues... Is it asking too much to expect 'emergency' to be regarded as emergency? I realized that unless you are bleeding and unconscious, it's not an emergency. If you're having a heart attack, someone will come to ask questions and help you after you collapse. If you can spit some blood and open your eyes wide in a terror face or like a madman before the actual fainting, that could help getting a little bit of attention but it's not a guarantee.
After being admitted I was sent to see some recently graduated doctor who asked me the trivial questions: Are allergic to any medication? Have you ever undergone any major operation? What seems to be the problem?
Then she sent me to ECG saying heart attacks sometimes cause abdominal pain. Fair enough but, bloody hell, I was still in pain.
To make a long story short, I was attended to after 5:00AM, they had no idea what the problem was, I was given Buscopam for the pain, put to "observation" and released around 8:00AM.
Since I did not sleep much (or at all), I was very tired. That together with the Buscopam enabled me to finally rest a bit. But I woke up with pain again. This time I called Fred and WT for assistance. They recommended Gleneagles Hospital, a private one. Fred even drove me there. WT came to join me and help me shortly after.
I was diagnosed with gallbladder inflammation and scheduled for operation. Unfortunately, the doctors want to observe the pain I am going through in order to be sure the diagnosis is right so they don't want to give me any strong pain killer.
The suffering never ends...
I had a soup and some cracker with tuna for dinner but I could tell it did not go too well. I felt bloated, burping too much. It pretty much felt like indigestion. A certain discomfort and heart burn; as you would feel after overeating something very heavy.
I drank some soda water, which usually helps, watched some TV and decided to go to bed. By then the slight discomfort was turning into pain and I wondered whether the soup or the tuna was spoiled. I tried some "Eno" and went to bed.
I couldn't sleep, though. It was really hurting and no matter what position I assumed in bed, it wasn't making it any better.
I hate throwing up. Some people do it so easily... For me it's always a nightmare. But since it was really getting worse, I had no choice but inserting a finger down my throat and inducing vomiting.
That, unfortunately did not help any and by 3:00AM I crying in pain. I decided to go to the hospital, determined to either have my stomach pumped or at least medicated for the pain.
I called a cab and proceeded to SGH (Singapore General Hospital). SGH is one of (if not the) best equipped hospitals in Singapore. That did not help me at all. In the end, it all boils down to people, believe me. And the quality of the service provided was lousy.
First, there was no queue but the lady at the admission desk took her time in filling in whatever details she had to input in her computer. Seriously, she took more than 10 minutes to insert my data and prepare my 'case'. Come on! Four o'clock in the morning, nobody waiting, no long queues... Is it asking too much to expect 'emergency' to be regarded as emergency? I realized that unless you are bleeding and unconscious, it's not an emergency. If you're having a heart attack, someone will come to ask questions and help you after you collapse. If you can spit some blood and open your eyes wide in a terror face or like a madman before the actual fainting, that could help getting a little bit of attention but it's not a guarantee.
After being admitted I was sent to see some recently graduated doctor who asked me the trivial questions: Are allergic to any medication? Have you ever undergone any major operation? What seems to be the problem?
Then she sent me to ECG saying heart attacks sometimes cause abdominal pain. Fair enough but, bloody hell, I was still in pain.
To make a long story short, I was attended to after 5:00AM, they had no idea what the problem was, I was given Buscopam for the pain, put to "observation" and released around 8:00AM.
Since I did not sleep much (or at all), I was very tired. That together with the Buscopam enabled me to finally rest a bit. But I woke up with pain again. This time I called Fred and WT for assistance. They recommended Gleneagles Hospital, a private one. Fred even drove me there. WT came to join me and help me shortly after.
I was diagnosed with gallbladder inflammation and scheduled for operation. Unfortunately, the doctors want to observe the pain I am going through in order to be sure the diagnosis is right so they don't want to give me any strong pain killer.
The suffering never ends...
Wednesday 10 September 2003
On the spotlight
I don't know... Maybe I should avoid having too much coffee or maybe it is time to change jobs again. I get so pissed with certain things... But I am getting ahead of myself. This is what happened:
A good friend, a colleague from the office, is in Singapore. I am supposed to follow her around, accompany her to the customer's site. Since it was supposed to be just a meeting, I decided to wear a suit. I have some. I like them and though I do not *have* to wear them, I do not mind doing so and will do it whenever I have the chance.
In other words, if I am not going to be crawling under tables as it happens now and them in my line of work, I will wear a suit. I look good in them and as sad and silly as it is, the fact is: people treat you differently when you are in a suit.
Some guys from the office do not like it very much. Perhaps because they are not used to wearing suits. The weather in Singapore is very hot. Or perhaps because they do not want to look better than the customer they are visiting. But my opinion is that you should look your best for your customer. I mean, if you are going to pay the big bucks for someone's service, wouldn't you expect that someone to look good?
I know it sounds silly, but bear with me for a minute. Let's say you are going to have a heart surgery. You are going to pay over $2000 dollars a day for some surgeon's service and pretty much put your life in his hands. You go visit her/him and she/he is dressed in sweat pants and a worn out T-Shirt. Do you get a good impression? I don't think so.
Sure I am exaggerating things for the sake a making a point but in a smaller scale this is basically the same situation I have on a daily basis. Customers do pay over US$2000 for my services. I could show up in jeans but, does that cause a good impression? Point made? Ok.
So this is what happened. My friend and I are going to meet the customer. It is a pre-sales engagement so I do not have to fix computers, go under desks or anything like that. She is nicely dressed and I am wearing a suit. At the customer site we meet the Sales Manager and he's not wearing a suit. My problem? No, I am sorry. The customer looks at me and goes "Oh, you look sharp today, huh?" and before I can say thanks he jumps into conversation saying:
- Yeah, he's Brazilian. I guess they do not have many chances to wear suits there.
Hey, hold on a moment! Where the f*ck did that come from? I got pissed instantly. I don't get paid to get this kind of crap. But I smile and pretend I did not mind the stupid comment...
Oh, the things we have to do to keep our jobs...
After that comment the customer lost the respect. Now the "guy in the suit" is "ok" and "it's ok to make fun of him". Gosh I HATE this.
I had to go to the toilet and the bloody office is one of those stupid buildings where everything is locked and the restrooms are outside the office area. I ask the customer:
- Can I borrow the pass to the toilet, please?
- Are you going to the toilet AGAIN?, she asks.
- What do you mean again? I just arrived!
- Yeah, but you went to the toilet yesterday, right?
- Oh, ha... Yes. Haha (pretending to find the joke extremely amusing. Duh!)
Then the Sales Manager asks:
- How often do you go to the toilet a day?
- Well, if you really have to know, I go once every half hour. Do you have a problem with that?
There was no reply. I guess he noticed I was getting aggressive already. Good. Maybe he will leave me alone for the rest of the day.
A good friend, a colleague from the office, is in Singapore. I am supposed to follow her around, accompany her to the customer's site. Since it was supposed to be just a meeting, I decided to wear a suit. I have some. I like them and though I do not *have* to wear them, I do not mind doing so and will do it whenever I have the chance.
In other words, if I am not going to be crawling under tables as it happens now and them in my line of work, I will wear a suit. I look good in them and as sad and silly as it is, the fact is: people treat you differently when you are in a suit.
Some guys from the office do not like it very much. Perhaps because they are not used to wearing suits. The weather in Singapore is very hot. Or perhaps because they do not want to look better than the customer they are visiting. But my opinion is that you should look your best for your customer. I mean, if you are going to pay the big bucks for someone's service, wouldn't you expect that someone to look good?
I know it sounds silly, but bear with me for a minute. Let's say you are going to have a heart surgery. You are going to pay over $2000 dollars a day for some surgeon's service and pretty much put your life in his hands. You go visit her/him and she/he is dressed in sweat pants and a worn out T-Shirt. Do you get a good impression? I don't think so.
Sure I am exaggerating things for the sake a making a point but in a smaller scale this is basically the same situation I have on a daily basis. Customers do pay over US$2000 for my services. I could show up in jeans but, does that cause a good impression? Point made? Ok.
So this is what happened. My friend and I are going to meet the customer. It is a pre-sales engagement so I do not have to fix computers, go under desks or anything like that. She is nicely dressed and I am wearing a suit. At the customer site we meet the Sales Manager and he's not wearing a suit. My problem? No, I am sorry. The customer looks at me and goes "Oh, you look sharp today, huh?" and before I can say thanks he jumps into conversation saying:
- Yeah, he's Brazilian. I guess they do not have many chances to wear suits there.
Hey, hold on a moment! Where the f*ck did that come from? I got pissed instantly. I don't get paid to get this kind of crap. But I smile and pretend I did not mind the stupid comment...
Oh, the things we have to do to keep our jobs...
After that comment the customer lost the respect. Now the "guy in the suit" is "ok" and "it's ok to make fun of him". Gosh I HATE this.
I had to go to the toilet and the bloody office is one of those stupid buildings where everything is locked and the restrooms are outside the office area. I ask the customer:
- Can I borrow the pass to the toilet, please?
- Are you going to the toilet AGAIN?, she asks.
- What do you mean again? I just arrived!
- Yeah, but you went to the toilet yesterday, right?
- Oh, ha... Yes. Haha (pretending to find the joke extremely amusing. Duh!)
Then the Sales Manager asks:
- How often do you go to the toilet a day?
- Well, if you really have to know, I go once every half hour. Do you have a problem with that?
There was no reply. I guess he noticed I was getting aggressive already. Good. Maybe he will leave me alone for the rest of the day.
Wednesday 3 September 2003
But, when you're not looking...
Ok, this is old news already but though I haven't been updating so frequently I just could not let go of the information. The need to write about it has been nagging me for a while.
Remember I mentioned Muslims say they do not care about non-Muslims affairs? Well, turns out a local paper in Malaysia published a small but very elucidating article about a 'conflict of interests' on the planning for next October's Deepavali, the Indian New Year.
According to the article, the Indian community in Malaysia was very upset with the government because of an imposed ban on dancing, singing and liquor consumption during the Deepavali festival in 'the interest' of the Muslim community that could 'perhaps' attend.
Indians were shocked, of course. This is a cultural thing for them and, being non-Muslims, there is usually lots of singing, drinking and dancing. They are like that. They wait all year for that. Now, after years of tradition, the government wants to make it illegal? Because Muslims would *perhaps* attend? Does it sound fair to you? It certainly did not to them.
They approached the authorities in disagreement and a whole argument started.
I say: They are non-Muslims. It's a non-Muslim festivity. Put a huge sign outside the festivity surroundings saying "Fellow Muslims Citizens, welcome to Deepavali; here we dance, sing and drink. If you find it offensive and/or do not agree: PISS OFF!". Then, make sure the police is available to punish any Muslims that try to get in and have fun. Problem solved.
As I told you, this is old news and though I kept the original article I could not find it while writing this. Nevertheless, you can find traces of the original discussion by browsing the online version of The Star.
Humph! Minding their own business, huh? Yeah, right...
Remember I mentioned Muslims say they do not care about non-Muslims affairs? Well, turns out a local paper in Malaysia published a small but very elucidating article about a 'conflict of interests' on the planning for next October's Deepavali, the Indian New Year.
According to the article, the Indian community in Malaysia was very upset with the government because of an imposed ban on dancing, singing and liquor consumption during the Deepavali festival in 'the interest' of the Muslim community that could 'perhaps' attend.
Indians were shocked, of course. This is a cultural thing for them and, being non-Muslims, there is usually lots of singing, drinking and dancing. They are like that. They wait all year for that. Now, after years of tradition, the government wants to make it illegal? Because Muslims would *perhaps* attend? Does it sound fair to you? It certainly did not to them.
They approached the authorities in disagreement and a whole argument started.
I say: They are non-Muslims. It's a non-Muslim festivity. Put a huge sign outside the festivity surroundings saying "Fellow Muslims Citizens, welcome to Deepavali; here we dance, sing and drink. If you find it offensive and/or do not agree: PISS OFF!". Then, make sure the police is available to punish any Muslims that try to get in and have fun. Problem solved.
As I told you, this is old news and though I kept the original article I could not find it while writing this. Nevertheless, you can find traces of the original discussion by browsing the online version of The Star.
Humph! Minding their own business, huh? Yeah, right...
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