Isetan Sales Paradox

Strangely, after the last blog of praising Isetan for a job well done, today I went to the Isetan private sales. Surprising,I find myself in a quene about 15 people long and most quenes are pretty long (meaning more than 15 person). However, I still find the quene moving pretty fast.

I found the place really crowded, maybe it is the year end bonus, making people feeling really rich (like myself hahaha!!!). Disappointed that I did not find anything nice at the sales, but manage to find polo T at TOPMAN at Wisma, fortunately I got 20% discount coupon. I still find the polo T pretty expensive at $42 for a cotton top, but I really like the bulldog print on the polo T, looks fierce, maybe try wear to school. HAHAHA!!!! Imagine the eyes of P, VPs popping out with this "Ah Beng" teacher. It will worth the expensive price tag of $42. :)

Cheers!

Robinsons Sales ESP II

I am pleasantly surprised that someone actually wants to know why Robinsons sales is terrible. HAHAHA. To me, it was terrible not because the discount is poor or I was unable to get the stuff I wanted. But it was terrible because the whole system of payment is terrible.

For the benefit of those, who "fortunately" missed the sales, you need to imagine finding the cashier counter in the mist of the crowd. Upon finding the counter, you have to wriggle your way to the back of the quene which is like 100metres long among all the racks of clothes and all five storeys of the store are the same, lots of people queneing up just to pay. This does not make any sense to me. If I am a store owner, I want my customers to pay me as soon as possible and as much as possible, then I will be laughing all the way to the bank. I do not want my customers to waste time lining up, I want them to spend more time shopping and spending more money. It took me 45 minutes to move through a quene that is about 10metres, so much for the efficient and good service that we peach about. Personally, this is the worst payment system I have come across, compared to Isetan(Sorry another japanese company, but they have really improved much and the Robinsons management staff should pay Isetan a visit this wednesday, which is tomorrow, because it is Isetan private sales.

Just some pointers to take note

1.
In Isetan, there is one quene to 2 to sometimes 6 cashiers, meaning customers just have to join 1 quene, which will be quickly cleared by 6 cashiers. No problem about quene jumpers and customers having to look for the shortest quene. The longest quene I have seen is probably 5 persons in the quene.

2.
Extra cashier counters are setup. Besides the extra cashier couters, the cashier is also important. Some of the cashiers at Robinsons look really young (part-timers, I believe), I have nothing against being young, but experienced cashiers will be more helpful. These young cashiers are really slow and took time to find the buttons and if they do not know how to handle, they will refer to the supervisor at the counter, who will be busy answering questions from customers from 3 counters. Of course, there is lots of frustration from the customers because supervisor was unable to handle amount of enquiry.

Isetan got a upper hand because they can deploy experienced cashiers from other stores to the shaw store for this day. Hence, happy customers equal more money $$$$$$$$$$$

3.
Because of the single quene and fast cashiers, less space is needed for people to quene. Even thought the store is pretty crowded, it is not as packed and uncomfortable as Robinsons. There is more breathing space. Another plus point is the additional cashier counters are strategically positioned at the exit, so that customers can left immediately after making payment.

Sign off got meeting tomorrow ARGH!!!!!!!

Sales Bonaza

Last few weeks since my last blog, I have been rushing to different sales from Espirt to Mango to Adidas and today Robinsons, Metro and Topman and the next one Isetan. HAHAHA and BROKE. "When is the next pay?" I am fiancially unhealthy at the moment. OK OK! Teacher is also human and like to shop.

Three interesting incidents, concerning three companies, happened that really frustrates me a lot.
1) Citibank Singapore SUCKS (Excuse me for the language, but it is true.)
2) C-Jade Express at Wisma is not EXPRESS enough.
3) Robinsons sales is TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!

1. Why

sucks?

Citibank sent out sms and email that if we spend $1000 between this period, we can get a $50 Tangs voucher. WOW! What a good deal! But it did not come true. Why? The first time i went to the citibank counter at Lido, the counter staff told me the vouchers are only only limited to weekends, Saturday and Sunday only. Fine, that weekend, I went again at 12pm (The time which the counter opens) and that same counter staff told me that the vouchers are all distributed already and limited to only 100 customers per day and have to quene before 10 to get the vouchers. RATS!!!! And the following Sat, I reached the counter at 10am and guess what I saw? WAH KAO!!!! The quene extends all the way beyond Lido 3, up the steps outside Lido 4 and back down the slope. The smae Joker Counter staff have counted the number of people and told me not to quene anymore, coz the 100 vouchers have their owners oready. Frustrated, I went to buy movie tickets for a show later that day and spoke to the ticket lady. She said that some CLOWNS actually start to quene at 7 o'clock in the morning and on the first day, some people actually fought.

Among all the credit cards I have, Citibank is the WORST!!! I can say this coz I have credit cards from no less than 5 banks. If I know that this promotion is so crappy, I will have sign on my son medical bill on the Espirt Standard Chartered Card, at least, I got Espirt dollars to spend. My wife too faces lots of problem with the Citibank credit card, so much for all the brainless first class honours people that they hire.

2. C-Jade Express is not express.

First, I have to define what is Express to me, to be fair. If a eatery states that they are express, obviously they have to take orders and serve the food fast. This idea is taken from fast food. After my failure in getting a voucher(Thanks to Citibank), my wife and I decided to try the new C-Jade (Not so Express) EXPRESS. After making my order, I waited for 15 minutes for the food to come before I make noise. We are rushing for a show too, being EXPRESS, we thought everything will be fast. Waiting 15 minutes for fast food is way out of my idea of fast food. Hence, I took the time to analyse the system and compared it to YOSHINOYA and PEPPER STEAK, both japanese fast food.

C-Jade should be like YOSHINOYA by serving food to customers immediately after customers make their order. If not able to do so, then C-Jade is just merely a eatery, should not used EXPRESS, giving customers false promises.

If C-Jade insist on using the number tags, then they could learn from PEPPER STEAK. All customers are required to quene at the counter. When the customers make order, the staff will plan where the customers will sit, which is a plus. Because only customers who have made order will have a seat and they do not have to find their own seat. At C-jade, any customers can just go in and sit there, leaving these who have ordered without a seat. Another plus point is the staff knows where are the numbers and able to serve the food quickly, unlike C-jade, staff waste time looking for number tags.

Another thing to learn from both fast food resturants is serve the customer their drinks immediately when they make the order and with their food. Why? What to they expect me to do when I wait for my food? play with my toes? With a drink, time do not seem to fly so fast.

Thirdly, I believe all the food can be pre-prepared. You do not have to wait for the customer to order chicken rice to chop the chicken. My school canteen aunty can serve more customers in 30 minutes than C-jade in 1 hour, can you believe this? The food is chopped and in their proportion before recess. After all C-jade serve similar stuff steamed chicken and roasted duck, right? It took them 20 minutes to serve chicken rice and roasted duck rice, they must be out of their mind.

Let's leave Robinsons for the next blog while this gets a bit long.

Smile and have a great DAy!!!!1

Just a note, SIX MORE DAYS to school re-open ARGH!!!!!!! SO HORRIBLE!!!!

Son on Track to Recovery

07/12/2005, Son just finished go through the operation to remove his port-a-cath, so still a bit drowsy ("blur") , but refused to lie down to sleep. Poor Mum has to carry him while he rest and sleep in this position----------->

Praise GOD!!!

This operation was fast, about 20 minutes, boy is out of the threatre. Since, it is a day surgery so just a bed for him to rest before going home.

<---About 2 hours later...... The sedating drug wears off, the cheerful boy is back and allowed to drink milk. He is really hungry, din drink or eat still 11:00pm the night before till now about 10:15am. Mum and Dad really happy that he is fine. Praise GOD! After milk, boy is going around to explore the place, find food.

EATING CHEEZELS!!!!!!! ARGH......!!!


Dun tell the nurse. HAHAHA!!!!

He is not allowed to eat till at least an hour after milk and here he is eating tibits.





Sign off and leave you with a picture of the port-a-cath below.

Good DAY and GOD bless...........

MY Son's Operation in 2 Days time

Holiday is great!!! Counting down to the last week which is after Christmas, when work and meeting began to come in. ARGHHHHHHHH........!!!!!!!!!!

But in two days time, my son will be going for a minor operation to remove his port-a-cathe in his right shoulder, about one and a half years since he was diagnosed with Wilm's Tumor when he was only three months old. PRAISE GOD!! HALLELUIAH!!!!

On 09/06/2004, my son went to KK hospital to be treated for diarrhoea, but a x-ray discovered a mass in his stomacke, which was diagnosed to be Wilm's Tumor (a childhood cancer that affects children from 0 to 14years with no known cause. Worse, it is a maglinant cancer, which will spread of not discovered early.) Thank GOD that the KK hospital was so inefficient about it that we took him out of the KK hospital and found a really wonderful paediatric oncologist and surgeon in private practise for our son. The paediatric oncologist really put us to ease by explaining to us about the cancer and the treatment process. Praise GOD!!! And from the x-ray film, it seems to affect only the right kidney, which has become a tumor becasuse the cells were unable to differentiate to form the kidney, so became a lump mass.

Within 2 weeks, our three month old boy was scheduled an operation to remove the tumor and was in ICU for two days. MY wife and I prayed. As a father, my heart cry for my child. It has to be the will of GOD to allow this to happen for His purpose as GOD is a good GOD. The histogram (meaning the report after they slice up the tumor in the Lab to diagnose the tumor further) came back with good report that it is stage1, meaning cancer cells only found in the right kidney. (Higher stage , max,5, will mean the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body) PRAISE GOD!!! HE is merciful to allow us to discover it early. on our part, we also did some research and read stories of other children of different stages and the trials that they go through and the strong chemo drugs that was injected into the children.

By the way, the surgeon was good enough to also place the port-a-cathe (cost S$1000) under the skin at the right shoulder during the operation too, so that only operate once. This port-a-cathe is where the chemo drugs will be injected into the body through the port-a-cathe because the veins of baby is small and difficult to find when need to administrate the chemo drugs, which can be so strong that it will burn the skin. My son went for chemotherapy till Nov 2004, but the port-a-cathe is not taken out, in case of relapses, so throughout the one year, my boy has to go for regular flushing of the port so that it does not clog and regular utlrasound scans to ensure no relapses.

In two days, my son will clear the next hurdle, removal of the port-a-cathe from under the skin. After this, it will be ultrasound scan for the next four years, then my son is free.

I thank GOD for His grace and mercy over my son and his provision in terms of finances. It is when I am weak, then GOD can show that He is GOD to give strength.

Son, I am proud of you. You have been tough and resilent by going through things, which I may not be able to go through myself. I hope that you can be a living testimony for GOD, a disciple of GOD and carry the gospel to the ends of world. Amen.

To my students, appreciate the good life that GOD has given you, do good works and don't waste your life away. Health is a gift from GOD.

After I have seen the children in ward 76 in KK hospital, which is the ward for all the children suffering from cancer, I count my blessing that I am healthy. As for the children of ward 76,

24The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;

25The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;

26The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually)

Numbers 6:24-26

Amen.

National Service @ S$5000

Read an article on TODAY "Dodging National Service - Confusing Signal". The arguement has been ongoing for the past few days, about this Singaporean pianist, who did not served his National Service (NS) by going oversea, then decided to return and was fined S$5,000.

What interested me was the law in Singapore is common law, which we have adopted from our past colonial rulers, of course, there are slight variation due to the passing of time. Hence, it means future judgement can be based on present or past judgement and can be used as a case study in court. Quoting from the article:"....justice is a servant of precedent." In this case, if anyone of our male citizen decided to skip NS and go oversea, when he reaches the age of 40 (same age as the pianist) and decided to return, he could just be fined S$5,000, which he could easily afforded. Imagine if he lives in England, S$5,000 is only £1515, with a conservative exchange rate of S$3.3 to £1, a amount he could have easily saved if he lived in England for 10 to 20 years, which works out to £160 every year, £14 every month (for 10 years). Wow! I am amazed and think that it is an awful cheap price to pay for skipping the two years (two and a half for me).

Let's try another method of calculation. In business, we always talk about oppotunity cost, meaning the loss of income by doing or not doing something. Since, in the calculation in previous paragraph, I have used pounds. To give it a common ground to compare, I will also used pounds again.

Say if I skip two years of NS and the cost of this is S$5,000 = £1515. That works out to £757.50 per year and £64 per month. If I take up a job within this two year that pays me conservatively £100 a week (actually more from the word of my friend), then that put me £400 a month, which is actually very low and working only part-time., but minus the £64 per month, it still leaves me with £336 per month in revenue. Why i use revenue? Because there are still other costs like living expenditures etc. But the oppotunity cost of serving NS is the £336 (S$1,108) every month and more if the pay becomes better.

Of course, many times, we cannot measure the serving of NS in monetary terms, but still the pianist is fined, then it should have being a reasonably calculated sum. Presently, I do have a son, unfortunately (or fortunately) I believe he will not need to serve his NS in 17 years time, due to some illness, but if I do have another son, I may consider this option because S$5,000 is not a hefty sum to pay for missing the two years of NS.

On the hind side, I must say that I am glad that I have serve my NS, I will not forget the tough, but happy times that I share with my army buddies. I have to admit that this is the time when boys become MEN and prefer my son to serve his NS. Hmm....S$5,000 in savings, but ........ in oppotunity cost (losses). HAHAHA!