Leah’s Cafe

Do you experience problem with streamASS in the last few weeks? One of the reasons that all my blogs have not been updated much in the last few weeks. It’s just so frustrating, we have to call the 100 customer service numbers six times in the last three weeks!

Though was able to connect to the Internet off and on, but the speed is so turtle, it’s a waste of time trying to get online. The customer service person asked me to test the speed. Yeah, when I can load the pages then I will test it! Have you ever experienced this: you open up the browser, went to take a nap, came back two hours later, the page has not been loaded yet!!

Though the technicians are quite efficient, they almost always show up the next day when we called on a weekday, the same old problem kept coming back after a storm. We were told they have to replace the faulty ports. How to work with Internet that has more downs than ups in a week, some more have to change pots and pans six times in three weeks!

Not that we have a choice, this lousy service provider is the ONLY provider in this boondocks. We need another competitor who is more competent!!

There are a few people I would like to ask this question last week, but I didn’t ! Incidentally, they all work for the bank! Which make me wonder what kind people they hired to work in the bank nowadays?

The first incident, I walked into the bank, requested a “reduce of mortgage interest rate”, two customer officers told me there is no such thing. When I insisted there is, they asked me to write a letter.(And you thought that’s a special talent of government bureaucrats to stop people from bothering them!) I live 45 minutes away from the bank, I was not going to drive home, type out a letter and drive back there, so I requested a piece of paper and drafted a letter on the spot and asked them to fax the request to the HQ. I got a call from the HQ the next day, offered me a 2% reduction in interest rate!!

The second incident is an old issue that had not been solved for four years. I have a margin trading account with this bank and have an online account for stocks trading. Four years ago, I forgot the username and password, my account was suspended after three unsuccessful attempts. I was told to go to the branch to restore the account and the fellow at the branch asked me to call the customer careline. The customer careline people asked me to see the fellow at the branch to get the access code, after being kicked around like a ball for a few times, I just gave up. Recently, as I am trying to take care of the banking and financial matters before leaving for IL, and I wanted to sell the remaining stocks, I went back to the branch to enquire about how to restore the password (Amazingly, the same guy I talked to four years ago still works there and deals with this kind of problem) But, looks like he has not been equipped with the right product knowledge in this four years! Guy A at the branch asked me to call the customer careline, guy B at the customer caerline asked me to see A, so I told A and B, why don’t you figure out what to do and call me! That was a week ago, I am still waiting for their calls!

The third incident happened at the same bank of the first incident, I handed in a few security documents for verification and certification to a woman officer, was told it would take 2 weeks to get back to me. As I didn’t want to go down again to pick up the documents, I requested for the documents to courier to me. After two weeks, no news, but I was too busy accompanying my mom on a hospital tour and didn’t drop or call to check on the status of the documents. Four weeks later, I called the branch and enquired about the status of the documents, the woman who picked up the phone told me she couldn’t tell me anything wouldn’t check anything for me on the phone, I have to go to the branch personally. I got really annoyed with her, I asked for her name but she refused to give me. I then called the customer careline, made a complaint about it and asked to trace the whereabouts of the documents. The man on the customer careline was helpful, he was surprised that I was even told it would take two weeks to verify the documents, he said the branch could usually do the verification on the spot! Anyway, he verified with his superior, called the branch and managed to get them to trace the documents. He then called me back a few hours later, told me I could go to the branch to pick up the documents the next day, they would be verified. I was not free the next day, so I went in the following business day. Guess what ? I drove 45 minutes down there, was told they need to send the documents to HQ for verification and the woman who was in charged of this matter was on leave and I have to come back the next day. My face must have changed color, I tell you. I sat there, insisted that I would not leave without the documents. The woman who served me didn’t know what to do, she went inside and came back with another woman who looked like she is the supervisor or manager. (What’s wrong with this people who never identify themselves? Isn’t that a common courtesy to let your customers know who they are dealing with? ) She apologized for the “miscommunication” and offered to courier the documents to me the next day, so I don’t have to drive one and half hours to and fro just to pick up the documents.

The ridiculous thing is: after all the hassles and five weeks of waiting for the documents, was told they are no longer needed by another institution who required it, just because they never update their website!!!

Malaysia boleh!

My patience has worn out again with the big boy. Our last cold war ended when he did the adult thing - start a plan. It has been three months now, I could see the old habits died hard and signs of him slacking off.

I am jumping up and down here and he could take months to file the papers. Just touched base with him this morning, he hasn’t sent out the papers yet. Of course he needs a suitable envelope to put this papers together before he mails them! But, does he need a few weeks to get a suitable envelope? So he can cut a tree to make the paper for the envelope? There is really such a thing as “qi shi ren”, isn’t it a miracle I am still alive to tell you how ridiculous it can be. It’s so tiring to pull a cow up the tree!

That’s how it feels like right now! The wise man said you couldn’t pull a cow up the tree, and who was I kidding to try that? 

Just done my fair share of yelling on the phone, to the slow in action forty-something who wants to stay as a seven years old spoilt brat. What kind of dumb cow takes two weeks to come up with a personal budget that doesn’t balance ?! I gave up, never try to pull a cow up the tree!

Was at a few licensing agencies dealing with the officers regarding the transfer of ownership and license for the business that we have sold. At one of the agencies, was told the nice officer who was in charged of our file had been transfered out and need to talk to the new officer

I waited till 2.30p.m to go to the government office so that they got ample time to idle after lunch. But still was told by the receptionists that the said officer has gone for prayer. I waited for about half an hour and saw her came in with a plastic shopping bag! She actually went for shopping during office hours!!

The new officer is one big fat lazy ass who probably needs alli diet pill, she didn’t even take out our file when she dissed out that stupid “buat surat” instruction. Another woman who was ear dropping our conversations chipped in and gave some more pointed instructions. I am pretty sure they created them themselves because they are the typical brainless to create more paperwork instructions.

Can we blame this people? What do you expect from an education system that required children to fill up pages of paper work (sometime as young as 4-5 years old)? They grow up good in creating paperwork!