Tuesday, July 25, 2006 . 10:25 PM

on bad service

"What do you want?" the shopkeeper questioned me like how a police interrogates a criminal.

"May I know how much is the Fuji F30 camera on the shelf?" I asked, slightly annoyed with his insolence yet forgiving him because he looks like the typical uncouth "uncle".

"620," he replied curtly.

"Wa..." I thought to myself. "This is a rip off! The other shop is selling the same camera at 580"

"So what's the capacity of the memory card that comes with it?" I casually questioned.

"16." Another curt reply.

I believed I shot a look of utter astonishment at him, but I daringly asked him (even though I know he's not going to strike a deal with me) "How much does a camera with a 1 GB xd card cost?"

"How much are you willing to pay?" He began picking up a calculator, fingers hitting the tabs furiously. I took a while to think of a reasonable price I feel would be a win-win for both of us... "How much you want?" he started to become impatient with me. "People usually have a price in mind one what...."

"500-550???" I temporized.

"Are you buying now?"

"Let me consider first...."

"You consider finish then come and look for me" he seems as though he's mocking me for not being able to afford such a pricy camera (which of course is r-u-b-b-i-s-h!), *dirts* and strode of to the other side of this puny shop like a school girl galloping to the canteen.... GRRRRRRRRR.... How mad I was then.

That was what happened at Chinatown last week when I was out hunting for the F30 and a luggage. I can't help but lament that the Singaporeans, especially those in the service/tourism sector have a very long way to go in being the gracious and courteous society the government wants us to become. By the way, whatever happened to the "Courteousy campaign"??? I think the standards of excellent service have plummeted severely and many a times, I'm truly put off by some of the attitudes some Singaporeans have toward foreigners and compatriots alike. Digusting. Some you really want to squeeze them at their necks and bury them deeper than hell.. Ops... I have friends just coming back from other countries, many telling me that the service in Japan is top-class and that they don't want to come back to Singapore. They sure know how to make consumers feel like kings. And I think it's only right for these retailers to make consumers feel at home when they do their shopping and to have no regrets parting with their dollars and cents. Having been to Thailand and Cambodia, I can safely say that service there is at least 100 times better, even though it isn't world class. Sigh...

F30, F30, where are you???

dash