Bad customer service happens everywhere

Bad customer service is a universal problem. I'm beginning to wonder if culture plays any part in different ways to treat a customer. What I experienced a few days ago is not new. I've had the same treatment in different parts of the world in the last few years. Here's my story:

I bought a promotional coupon for a slimming session and another coupon for a bust care session. I am not fat by any means, but since it cost only $10 for the slimming session and $5 for the bust care session, I decided to give it a try. I was told that each session will take 1 hour 45 minutes.

The first appointment was at the slimming centre. The consultant was a friendly lady who went through my answers on the questionnaire and did a body check. She proceeded to show me photos of past satisfied customers, relating them to my body and how their machines can help me achieve a better body shape. What do I need to do? Buy one of their packages at a very special price for first-time customers. The cheapest package is $688 (normal price $7000+). What a steal! 33 sessions at such a low price just to look good!

Consultant: I know our machines work because I came here at 87kg and look at me now!
Me: No, I'm sorry. I don't want to spend any more money.
Consultant: If money is tight for you, then just try this treatment for one time. You will see immediate results. It's valued at $400 for one session, but I can give it to you for $200. Student price is $300. You won't get this any other time. I guarantee that I will make you look very good.
Me: No, I'm sorry. I don't want to spend any more money.
Consultant: What do you spend on? Why is your money so tight?
Me: Do I need to tell you?
Consultant: Of course not! I just want to help you. All women want to look good.

She can't sell me anything in 20 minutes, so out she goes and in comes her supervisor. Same story. Supervisor tries to sell me the same packages, telling me I look like someone who cares for her appearance and dresses well. Then she tells me that the consultation should take 45 minutes, so she needs to keep talking to me to fulfill the time. She repeats the sales pitch and makes sure I'm not buying, then we talk casually. I have to wait because all the treatment rooms are occupied.

More than an hour later, out goes the supervisor and in comes the manager. This time, she just glosses over all that her staff have said to make sure I'm still happy. When the treatment room is available, the consultant comes to take me in, this time with a black face. No smile, no friendliness. "Process the customer. Get this session over and done with. This customer is such a pain!" That's the message I get from the consultant.

20 minutes later, the treatment is done and I'm free to leave after signing a form. The consultant ignores me, tells the supervisor to take care of me while she goes to the restroom. I am given a sample cream with no instructions on how to use it. I have to ask. The supervisor is still smiling and friendly. She ushers me to the door as I leave. Their machines may be fantastic, but the service leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I don't ever want to go back there again! I'll even tell my friends what bad service I received, just because I didn't buy a package.

Two days later, I went to the bust care centre next door, owned by the same company. I have braced myself for the same bad service. Before she starts her sales pitch, I tell the consultant upfront that I am not going to buy any package. She says, "I'm not going to sell you anything. I want you to try it out first, then you will know what I'm talking about." She gives me a brief explanation on how their treatment works, followed by a body check. She tells me what treatment she will do, then goes to prepare the room.

While the treatment is taking place, she talks to me and keeps me company, asking me if I'm comfortable and which type of treatment I prefer. When it's done in about an hour, I change and go back to the consultation room. Now she gives her sales pitch. No sale. I refuse to buy. Out she goes, in comes the supervisor. No smile. She tries to sell me a package (cheapest one is $888, offered to me at half price). Still no sale. She cannot contain her disappointment. At least she doesn't give me a black face.

Little extra touch that impressed me. She immediately offered me a referral voucher to give to a friend. She made sure I had their phone number and the name of the consultant who attended to me, in case anyone I knew would like to try their service. When I came out of the room, the consultant was still smiling. Both the supervisor and consultant walked me to the door as I left. I was happy. I don't need their service, but they still treated me well.

Same company, different subsidiaries, vastly different standards of customer service. In both cases, I was the same customer who didn't buy anything. Yet, I was treated so differently by different staff in different offices. I am still a potential customer, and so are all of you, my readers. The company is rated #1 in Singapore. I can't say the same of their customer service.

Culture may keep us apart, but customer service need not. Regardless of race, religion or culture, a customer is a customer. We must treat them well.

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Imitations cannot compare with the real deal

What do fine jewelry and English grammar and spelling have in common? Nothing at all, unless you consider the jewelry craftsman and the writer. Both the craftsman and the writer take pride in their respective pieces of work. They both spend hours labouring over a small piece of jewelry or writing to make it the very best it can be. Hours of practice have paid off to hone their skills. The result is a piece of jewelry or writing that they can be proud of and the world admires.

As far as language goes, communication may be the first step. Once you can communicate decently in a language, you will need to work on your vocabulary and grammar. If you are just starting to learn a language, native speakers of that language will be pleased and excited at your efforts. Bad grammar and poor pronunciation will be excused because you are doing your level best. Encouragement and gentle correction abounds. You may even pat yourself on the back for doing so well for a beginner. As time goes on, if you do not improve very much or decide to rest on your minor achievements, native speakers may still be polite, but they may not be so kind behind your back.

I know many friends who have learned languages to varying levels of proficiency. Some were satisfied at being able to simply communicate and get around in daily life. For them, speaking slowly and being able to read fairly well was good enough. I had one friend who was satisfied at his level of proficiency when he could deliver a simple message from the Bible in that language, albeit at a slow pace that made the locals bored or sleepy. He was rather proud of being able to speak so many languages. In reality, the locals' initial admiration had long turned to a "couldn't care less" attitude towards his shallow achievement.

Other friends put a lot of effort into language learning so that they could communicate just like a local, colloquialisms, proverbs, idioms and all. I salute them. I admire them. They have chosen to hone their skills constantly, not satisfied with where they are now. I did the same myself with Khmer. There is still so much I have yet to learn and understand. Lack of reading and speaking practice has slowed me down considerably. I need to keep up my efforts or risk losing my language ability completely, as I did with Japanese.

Facebook, Twitter and text messaging are no excuse for poor spelling and grammar. If you can code switch (use the correct forms in formal writing and use short forms for text messages), fine. If you can't, get working on mastering correct spelling and grammar. Learning a language is more than just being able to communicate at a basic level, bad grammar, poor pronunciation and all. Learn a language with a goal of communicating in correct pronunciation and grammar. Your efforts will not go to waste. The real deal is always far more beautiful than the imitation.

Let's get cracking on learning a language!

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KidSpeak - immerse your child in a new language

KidSpeak Language Learning Software is distributed by Transparent Language. It is designed for children aged 5-13 years. Nine languages are available but in Windows format only, even in Windows 98. This programme does not work in Mac.

Like Rosetta Stone, KidSpeak uses the immersion method to teach children. All activities are interactive and entertaining for children. There are games, puzzles, connect the dots, and songs to help children learn correct pronunciation, alphabet, word recognition, simple sentence structure, plural and singular forms, numbers, etc. A cartoon character is the teacher. No English is used at all, but English can be shown by a click of the mouse.

The younger the child, the faster he will pick up the language. The activity sheets can be printed as another option, instead of point and click on the screen. While children will pick up the language quickly, they will merely be introduced to the new language, rather than be fluent in it by the end of the CD pack. There are no tests or evaluation to tell the parent how well the child has progressed. The entire premise of the package is fun and entertainment.

Depending on the learning style of the child, he may either find this frustrating, boring or fun.

Frustrating because there is no English used at all. He may be in tears due to the lack of understanding.
Boring because the graphics and games are old fashioned. Remember, you can use this on Windows 98 and later versions of Windows.
Fun because it is all fun and games with songs included.

Overall, it is reasonably priced for a starter package. It costs a fraction of Rosetta Stone, with similar teaching style. If you want to try it out on your child without spending a lot of money, get KidSpeak.

Have fun learning a new language!

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Break with tradition to give life

A one and a half year old Japanese girl named Hanano became the youngest organ donor in Singapore. She died in an accidental pool drowning. Her grief-stricken parents made the painful decision to donate her organs so that other children could live.

While this story may sound really noble, what is more significant is that her father chose to break with Japanese traditions and social norms to give a new lease of life to sick children they do not know. Japanese do not normally donate their organs because of cultural and religious beliefs. Hanano's father is a brave man.

Japan is a modern country. It is known for high quality electronics, manga, efficiency, ... yet it is steeped in tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Views on organ donation belong to the deep-seated traditions of Japanese society. Yet, it takes one brave man to make a change. Hopefully, this will begin a new tradition of organ donation.

While we sympathise with the family on the loss of their loved one, we salute Hanano's father for his brave act of selflessless. Thank you for choosing to give life to other children through your child.

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Startup Coffee anyone?

Is this considered plagiarism? No.

Is it copying a famous name? No.

But, what do you think of when you first see this name? You can answer this yourself :)

Creative use of English? Certainly!

Clever marketing!

Cheers!

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Free dining voucher

Either the pronunciation was poor or the listener is hard of hearing.

"My wife is a pain"

My American friend C and his Singaporean Chinese wife ML live in Hong Kong. They told me this real story. Some years ago, they had a Japanese couple living a floor below them. The wife was due to deliver a baby anytime. C told the Japanese husband, "Call us anytime. Don't worry what time it is. We'll take you to the hospital immediately."

One morning at 6 a.m., the phone rang. C answered the phone. Their Japanese neighbour was on the phone. He said to C, "My wife is a pain." C thought to himself, "You call me at 6 in the morning to tell me your wife is a pain???"

What the Japanese man meant to say was, "My wife is in pain" and not "my wife is a pain".

What a world of difference in meaning one simple preposition makes!

"My wife is a pain" is not something any husband should be saying about his wife. Even if he felt that way, he should never voice it out in public.

"My wife is in pain" is the condition she was going through and needed to get to the hospital immediately so that their baby could be born safely.

To the learner of English, prepositions are a pain. Which one do I use when? Does it make a difference? In this case, yes! Sometimes, no. How will I know which one to use? Practice makes perfect. Thanks a lot!

I have to admit. English is just plain confusing. I used to dread trying to explain strange things to my students. My simple advice is listen to the BBC all the time. Sooner or later, the right sentence structure will automatically come to mind when you need it. Learning by osmosis? Maybe. Just get it into your head any way you can!

Have fun learning English!

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Farm-bred insects - just not the same!

Insects? Ewww! That's the standard answer you'd probably get from a western person. Western educated Asians will probably give you the same response. Then you actually go to Asia and find that insects are really good food! Sometimes, they are considered a delicacy to be savoured, thus paying a high price for bugs that run all over your dirty home. Haha

Well, in today's world that is saturated with gourmet food, Thailand has decided that they will fill the hunger for exotic insects. So instead of farmers catching the insects in the wild and cooking them (thus the supply is entirely subject to weather conditions and availability of insects scuttling around), they've decided to create insect farms. Now, ants are cultivated for food. Breeding them must have become a science.

Now the western person who is daring enough to try insects does not have to worry about hygiene. Farm-bred insects are clean, aren't they?

True, but as with farm-bred poultry, the meat just does not taste the same as those caught in the wild. We Asians like free-range chicken, skinny, small in size, tough meat, but oh so tasty! Sooner or later, I think those who have tasted wild insects will not enjoy the farm-bred ones. They just aren't as tasty. Ditto for frogs. The wild ones have sweeter meat.

Having said all that, fried spiders anyone?

Get a book on cross-cultural learning and living today!

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