I ordered something online in an US store and intended to send to my friend in US. However when I checkout, the shipping address, it became my billing address. I wasn’t sure it was my fault or system bug. Anyway when I discovered it, the shipment went out.
I had to make a long distance call to the store customer service. Thanks to Skype VOIP that it is not very expensive for the call.
The CS rep picked up the phone. I can hear from her voice that she must have a bad day. I told her the problem and asked her to help called Fed Ex to change the shipping address. She told me she cannot do that. She said either I go pick it up from the Fed Ex nearest location or I have to call Fed Ex myself. The fact is Fed Ex only will entertain call from the shipper that is the store and not me. Anyway I asked for her manager and she put me on hold. Later the phone got disconnected.
I called the second time and another CS rep answered. She sound nicer and was willing to help. She told me that she will key in the new address into the Fed Ex system. Later my parcel arrived safely. Thanks to her.
The moral of the story is whether one is willing to help or not. If you are willing, you can make you customer happier. If not, you are not suited for this job as a Customer Service agent.
Popularity: 1% [?]
For one thing I do not know how to change a tire or maybe I never tried before. There were 3 cases where I encounter flat tires with the car I was driving. The first time, my friends helped me to change it. Second time, I drove to the nearby tire shop. Third time, my hubby came to the rescue.
Well not all the time, I am so fortunate to get help easily. One thing that give me a peace of mind is that I have with a reliable breakdown service assistance. All I have to do is to call them and they will come to assist.
You must engage one if you are driving a car.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Recently I was really frustrated with the check in process at Penang Hard Rock Hotel. I made a reservation for a seaview room 4 to 5 months back, using my stage pass complimentary voucher. It is clearly written, if I booked on Sunday to Thursday, I am guaranteed a seaview room.
On the check in day, the front desk told me no seaview room. He argued with me that it is only based on availability. I am really annoyed that he didn’t know the stage pass terms and condition. He still insisted it was based on availability. Next he told me that I booked a hillview room. My reservation clearly stated a seaview room.
Then he asked me to wait 15 to 20 minutes. My family waited. He didn’t bother to update me after 30 minutes. I had to go to the front desk to ask again. After which he told me that he cannot get a seaview room for me. I asked him to escalate to his manager. He pulled along another staff.
I had to repeat my situation, she told me that she will check but need to wait another 15 minutes. I waited. Still no news after 15 minutes. I didn’t see any action being taken either, no updates.
By the way, I arrived at the hotel at 1:45pm, they finally gave me the room at 3:10pm. Lastly, one of the staff told me that the check in time was 3pm. The staff should have told me that upfront rather than asked me to wait 15 minutes after 15 minutes. They didn’t even bother to serve us any welcome drink while waiting. It really spoiled my entire stay at the hotel.
Popularity: 1% [?]
I got a big surprised from Paypal, nothing to cheer about. Paypal sent me an email stating that they will limit my account until a proper verification is done. The verification is to submit a utility bill with my address and a code. The code will appear in my credit card statement when they charge a RM10 to it. I will make sure they reimburse my RM10.
Yeap, this is annoying because I have to pay for one of my Ebay stuff I just won. I quickly submitted the documents that they wanted. I don’t have any utility bill as all of it is under my husband. So I submitted my bank statement.
Next, they wanted more stuff. They wanted details of some of my photo ID, transactions and email proof. Wah Lau Weh….
I was in a happy mood, so I submitted it. They provided links for me to attach documents. There were 5 links. 2 of it gave up on me. A tip, never try to type details on their input box because it is only 1000 characters. I wrote everything in a txt document, convert it to pdf and attached it. By the way, they only take in pdf, jpg and other image formats. Don’t try sending in a Word file.
I made a call to their help desk and 2 of the links didn’t work. By the way, some of those transactions were payment for ads on my blog. The agent who answered my call didn’t know what that was and wanted to write to the ads company. It is really fine by me but I am not sure if the company will entertained them. What I was not happy with was the agent told me that if the companies delay in replying, the restoration will be delayed.
I escalated it to her manager. Her manager called me and told me what was wrong with my account. She told me that my account phone number was link to an inactive account. I suspect it was my hubby’s account so I just turn around to ask him. Yeap, it was. I told them, please write to my hubby. Ha! I said, they should not penalize me for my inactive hubby’s account.
Tip No2, try not to use home phone number but office number if you are having a direct line.
The manager was kind enough to restore back my account but I have to go through the pain. Better withdraw my money from there!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Well, it is this time of the year for me to go back to hometown with my family. It is going to be a long 4 hour drive and I hope traffic will be good. First thing first, I must make sure the car is in good condition like having a proper check such as tires with good air pressure, black oil replaced, check engine light and others.
I wished there is a car shop like Chicago auto repair that does a proper maintenance check up for the car. I read so many good reviews and testimony about them. Besides service, they do auto repair too. Well, it feels good when you know your car is in good hands and reliable mechanics are doing a proper job. Make sure you get your car check before you drive through a long journey.
Yeap I am ready to go home! I cannot wait to taste my mother’s good cooking again.
Popularity: 1% [?]
I must say the Malaysia Immigration for passport renewal has improved. Kudos to all the staff there in Penang!! First they sent me a reminder stating my passport is about to expire. I will travel soon so it really helps me to get it renewed. I don’t want to be at the immigration gate only to find out my passport is not valid.
Secondly, I can download the renewal application form from their website. I remembered I used to queue for that form and also need to pay RM1 for it. It is also a waste of time because a number is given only after you filled up the form.
It only took me 30 minutes to get everything done. However it still takes 2-3 hours before I can collect the passport on the same day. I collected the next day instead.
Next is the US Visa application. The online form is driving me crazy. Imagine I filled up half of the form and it all vanished into thin air.
You can download the form here.
Popularity: 2% [?]
TNB has just provided a way for us to check the payment or status of the usage of electricity in our home. Lately there were some news about tenants not paying their electricity bills and it was amounted up to a shocking RM50K (~USD20K) without the land lord knowing it. After the tenants left, the land lord is left with a great debt. Worst is the land lord cannot sell or rent out the property with money owing TNB. The land lord must clear the bill.
However, most of us will wonder why TNB didn’t cut the electricity when the tenant didn’t pay the bill. Worst was, one of the case were related to an employee of TNB where he went through the back door to have his electricity re-connected back after it was cut. More stories here for TheStar newspaper.
If you are a land lord, better go sign up to the TNB Online and monitor the bill of your property closely. You can go to www.tnb.com.my and look for the e-service.

Popularity: 2% [?]
When you build a security system such that no one can use it, it is useless. I was trying to book some movie tickets from GSC using M@ybank to pay for it. I tell you it is a real pain! The bank encourages us to do Internet banking but putting a bad security protection such as TAC (Transaction Authorization Code) just make their ease of doing transaction USELESS!!!!
Here is what I encountered. I reserved some seats for Toys Story 3 at the GSC website and I select to pay by M@ybank2u. It brought me to login to M@ybank2u, everything is fine and I click request for TAC. Wait…wait….wait…wait….never came. The screen logged me out, it is a security feature. Guess what? The TAC came BUT I CANNOT USE IT because YOU LOGGED ME OUT! The TAC is only valid during that login. *GERAM BETUL NI*
I tried 3 times and I gave up. I resort to use my Credit Card to pay instead.
Please M@YBANK, you should go and relook into your Internet Banking Tool. If not, it will sit there to collect dust.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Every year when I renewed my car insurance, I get a auto insurance quotes reminder from my agent. They are really efficient because they send me the quotes and reminder a month plus, before due date.
I like their service because I will always remember to renew my car insurance and pay my road tax. I would recommend them to anyone.
On top of that, they are also very efficient on my claim. Yeah many years ago, I had a terrible accident where my car was sandwiched in between. Thank goodness, I wasn’t injured but got a shock. My insurance company processes the claim for me and I got the repair done in no time. I stuck with them till now.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Here is how you submit a Consumer Tribunal Case…
You can go to the online to submit your case here. First you have to register to get an account to login.
With that account, you (Penuntut) can submit Form 1 (Borang 1), state your case and the party you want to claim from (Penentang) online. If you are not sure whether it is a valid case, you can submit an enquiry without any fees and wait for their reply. The system doesn’t send any notification, so you have to go in to check every now and then.
After you submit Borang 1, you need to pay RM5. You can use internet banking to transfer the money. A receipt will be given to you.
Print out the Borang 1 and you need to send or give the Borang 1 to the party with a witness. If you are sending, you need to register the letter and get AT (Akaun Terima) card. Ask the post office about AT card. The AT card will indicate that the party has received your Borang 1 and details of the case. The AT card will be send back to you by the post office if your party received the registered letter. Ensure the address is correct. No AT card, no case! If got AT card and the defendant didn’t attend, you will be awarded.
AT Card:

Wait for the hearing date listed on the Borang 1 and a blue Borang 4 will be send to you. Remember to bring your myKad, AT and Borang 4. Important: If you have evidence, bring it with you.
The defendant will need to submit a Borang 2 which contains his defendant statement. You have to read through it before the hearing. Some defendant may want to settle and if you agree, just tell the judge before the hearing. The settlement will be documented.
On the date of the hearing, you and your defendant will be called. Judge will advise for a settlement to get a win-win situation. If not, hearing will begin. You will give your statement and your defendant will give his. Show all your evidence if judge asked.
If you are awarded, you need to wait for the awarded letter. Within 14 days, the party has to pay you whatever you are awarded. If not, they will be fine or jail or both.
In Summary:
1. Register an account in
http://ttpm.kpdnkk.gov.my/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=43
2. Submit Borang 1
3. Pay RM5
4. Print out Borang 1 and send/give to the defendant. If registered letter, get the AT card.
5. A blue letter Borang 4 will be sent to you.
6. Wait for hearing date, be on time.
7. Bring myKad, Borang 4 and AT card.
8. If awarded, get awarded letter.
9. Case closed.
Simple right?
Here is the award letter against Celcom….

Popularity: 2% [?]
The other day I picked up a property brochure and one look I like the design. The brochure printing is of good quality. Brochures can help attract people to pick one and read the content. It is a good way to market your product.
It doesn’t have to be expensive because I know some printing companies offer affordable prices. The main thing is attractive and content must not be to lengthy, straight to the point. Have pictures helps to explain things. A picture paints a thousand words.

Popularity: 2% [?]
Do you believe it that twice I went to Pizza Hut here in Penang, Malaysia, twice they do not have what I ordered? They are always running out of food. I am very curious how they do they inventory management.
I ordered pasta, they told me no penne pasta.
I ordered salad, they ran out of coleslaw and another time, ran out of thousand island sauce.
I ordered ice-lemon tea, they ran out of ice.
I ordered ice-cream, they ran out of strawberry or chocolate flavor.
Management if you are reading this blog, you better upgrade your food inventory. If not, you are just chasing your customers away unless you don’t bother. I wonder if one day, you will run out of pizza to sell.
Popularity: 2% [?]
A lot of us have bad stories about their maid but for some of us, we may have some good ones but never bother to tell.
I must say I had a maid who drove me up the wall and I decided to let her go back. Then I went for a part time maid. How did I find this part time maid agency? They drop in info to my mail box and I called them up. At first the maids they send to me were not good, one took a long time to clean 1 room, another practically took down all my stuff from the shelf to wipe but don’t know how to put it back and one didn’t have a clue what cleaning was all about. Finally, they sent one which I stick until she went back home. The agency sent another one which is as good. So far, I am sticking with this agency because they trained them well. The rate is RM9 per hour, minimum of 5 hours.
We do have bad impressions of maid, probably from horror stories we heard from people. Or it is us that we set high expectation of them. If they do not meet it, we get angry and scold them. When they are scolded, they perform worst and it is a vicious cycle. End of the day, both losses. Extreme cases end up in newspaper headlines. I can safely say, most of them are not trained at all. Who is to be blamed? The agency and not the maid but the maid kena left and right.
Anyway, I want to say good things about my part time maid. She does her work very well, everything she does is clean and tidy. She is honest, she returns back the money she found in pockets while doing the washing. One day, I had to leave her at home alone because I had another appointment. I know I shouldn’t but I have no choice. When I return home, everything was done accordingly. She didn’t even take the opportunity to be lazy. Only complaint is, often I have to remind her of certain places to clean. She does it when she is reminded. I am pretty please with her. I do reward her with bonus and gifts. End of the day, she is happy and I am happy.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Recently I noticed my phone balance reduces very quickly. I suspect something amiss. I went into Celcom online to check my phone usage. All you have to do is to sign up to their website to have that feature.
I saw a lot of 050|10005 type charges. I called up Celcom careline. The agent told me it is internet charges. Believed me I have my Edge turn off and I went to my iPhone browser, I cannot load anything. Now I am not sure how my iPhone can surf the net. The agent asked me to go to a handphone shop to format my phone. That does it! What kind of answer is that? It is just like telling me to have my PC formatted if my browser doesn’t work. Apalah! Celcom please trained your agent not to give silly solution to your customer. *FRUS*
You know why Celcom do not want to put any APN setting? Digi actually put an APN setting, it ensure those who wants to use Edge will need to key in the login and password. It prevents user from accidentally turn on Edge. But Celcom wants to suck all our $$$.
Now if you are a Celcom user and you don’t want them to suck your $$$. You better go to APN setting and put “SILLYCELCOM”. That does the trick. It will stop Celcom sucking your $$$ from your phone. Actually it prevents you from using Edge/GPRS. If you want to use it, just remove the APN setting.
One more thing, you also need to turn off auto PUSH from the email setting.
Goto Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network
APN sillycelcom

Latest:
Here is the award letter against Celcom….

Popularity: 3% [?]
I was about to head home from office and the phone RRRRRRINGGGGG….grrrrhhh
Me : Hello, Michelle speaking.
Caller: Hello, please can I speak to Michael XXX? *always pronounce my name wrong*
Me : Michelle XXX speaking.
Caller: Hello, please can I speak to Michael XXX? *ok didn’t get through to her*
Me: Michelle XXX here. There is no Michael. How do you spell her name?
Caller: M I C H E L L E
Me: It is pronounced as Michelle, not Michael.
Caller: Oh sorry. Please can I speak with Michael?
Me: There is no Michael, only Michelle. Hey I am rushing for time. What do you want?
Caller: I am from CIMB Telemarketing. I want to speak with Michael. Is he around?
*I give up, she still insist that M I C H E L L E is pronounce as Michael. She is also expecting a male. Gatal Betul*
Me: Sorry I am not interested. *hang up*
Now you know why Malaysian needs more English subjects in school. If you are promoting stuff, please ensure you know how to pronounce your customer name. It also reflects poorly on the company to send out marketing staffs and does not provide any customer service training to them. Isn’t it a golden rule to get your customer’s name right first before selling?
Second golden rule is to LISTEN to your customer. I already told her that she has mispronounced my name. Or could it be she doesn’t know the meaning of the word “pronounce”. Sigh.
I really wanted to ask her name and call her something else. It really annoys me when someone called me Michael. Just spoil my Wednesday evening!
Popularity: 3% [?]
I got a package from someone and the courier service Skynet failed to deliver it after many attempts. They really drive me mad. First, they called me on my off day at 3:30pm while I was having a nap. The customer service asked me whether will I be home? I told them I am and he put down the phone, not giving me time to ask any questions. He didn’t tell me when he will be coming.
He turned up at 5pm and I went out to fetch my son. If he told me the time he was coming, I could have waited for him. I cannot just sit around the house does nothing and wait for them to come.
I told him to come during my lunch time at Xpm, next day. Second attempt, he came. Xpm – 40 minutes and expect me to be there like I don’t work.
The customer service calls me again and this time it was a lady. She asked me whether they could deliver to my office.
CS: What is your company address?
Me: XXXXX
CS: How do you spell that?
Me: *oh no, spell it for her*
CS: Address?
Me: Free Trade Zone
CS: Apa tu?
Me: *sigh*, just put FTZ
CS: Thank you
I cannot stress that English is very important in school. Any day I am for Maths & Science in English! I am so proud of us every time a foreigner say to me, Malaysian do speak fluent English. It means more jobs here too!
Popularity: 2% [?]
Today I went to PBA (water utility) and TNB (electric utility) office to get a new meter install in my condo. First I went to PBA, I must applaud them for great service. They have given me good information. I walk in and the service officer processes my applications within 5 minutes. PBA has a very good centralize system.
Next, I went to TNB. First obstacle, the customer service personal with no smile and asking me what do I want. I told her that I wanted a new meter at my condo. She asked me where the condo is. I gave her the particular. She told me to go to another branch for the application. I believed that the branch is the nearest to my property. No centralize system which causes the customer a little hassle.
Comeon, it is not so difficult to have a centralize system right. PBA can do it, why TNB cannot? All they have to do is to key in the application and transfer to the nearest branch. Why do you need the customer to go to the nearest branch? Ini system tak boleh jalan!
By the way, I think Malaysian pay more to TNB than PBA! Service is poorer than PBA.
Another feedback is, I asked her so TNB opened this Saturday. She told me no, only Mon to Fri. I asked her this Monday open, she said yes. I asked her again but this Monday, Prophet Mohd birthday. She shakes her head. The security guard sitting next to her said “Tidak buka” meaning close. Sigh, now I have to go on a working day down town!
Popularity: 2% [?]
Anyone of you moving house or offices? I believe it is a great workout with all the loading, carrying, packing and unpacking. You think about it, it is already exhausting.
However UPack.com will make your life a little simpler with moving pods. It is affordable. It provides you a ReloCube that is lockable. The size of the ReloCube fits in your parking space. The size is 6’ x 7’ x 8’ and you can order as many as you want. You get charge with how many you used. You can load your boxes into the ReloCube at your own convenience. It will be a breeze for your family.
Do check out the UPack.com website for more details. It certainly will take some problems away from your relocation project.

Popularity: 2% [?]
I am surprised that there are so many flights going into LCCT but there is no expansion being made to cater for the increase. There are only 3 conveyer belts for incoming flights. 2 incoming flights shared one station.
I had to wait an hour to pick up my baggage. It takes longer than my flight from Penang to KL. Not to mention, another hour to travel to KL from LCCT. In total, 3.5 hours from Penang to KL. That is the same amount of time if I drive and cheaper too.
Lots of people were complaining about the late arrival of their bags. Penang airport did a very good job as my bags came out within 5 minutes of wait.
Another thing I found it is very stuffy and air condition does not cater for the amount of people in there.
If you have a connecting flight, you better plan hours in between for delay, baggage claims and travel from LCCT to KLIA.

Popularity: 3% [?]
I am so looking forward to this day where my road tax expired. Now I can claim back my subsidy from the government, cash worth $625.00. Today I went to JPJ and saw a huge crowd there. Never go to JPJ or bank on a Monday, start or the week where most people choose to do things on Monday. Never go on a Friday where people like to do things last minute. In between weekdays is alright, less crowd.
Anyway, with that crowd and overheard the official mention, lots of agents with a stack of road tax to pay, I changed plan. I decided to go to a secluded post office to renew my road tax and claim my $625.
Finally my turn, the officer did my road tax first. Strangely, she asked me to pay my road tax first. I was a little shock, wondering why she cannot do both concurrently and pay me the difference. Anyway, I was in a good mood, so I paid my tax first. Then she went on to process my claim. Sigh. Later she paid me $625.
With a portion of the money, I spent on this….Guess what is in the box?

Popularity: 2% [?]