Goodbye 2007

My dear friends & family,

It's difficult to quantify my gratitude for all the support, friendship and good times I've been fortunate enough to receive in 2007.

But one thing is for sure: it's real, and I truly appreciate it.

THANK YOU, ONE & ALL.

This is what happens when I don't listen

...to MY girlfriend.



Part 5 of the 5-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In November (PIWIHPIN)

More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIN 5-part series

Fancy a foot reflecxology?

Part 4 of the 5-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In November (PIWIHPIN)

Fancy a foot reflecxology (sic)? Spotted outside Giant in Shah Alam.


More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIN 5-part series

Fu-Yoh, nice stickers!

Part 3 of the 5-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In November (PIWIHPIN)

Stickers for the Fu-Yoh Street Blast Carnival:


More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIN 5-part series

WARNING: You may not remember that you are having your period

Part 2 of the 5-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In November (PIWIHPIN)

Marketing campaign by Kotex. I don't know if their product really makes a difference, but I do think that the choice of red makes an incredible impact. Spotted near the Bangsar LRT station.


More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIN 5-part series

Tune Card stole my money! - Update (1)

It's been 3 days since my email to Tune Money regarding a discrepancy in my account balance. I did not receive any response from them, despite the 48-hour commitment.

I then proceeded with a reminder today via email. Received a phone call from their customer service team within 15 minutes (good), followed by another clarification call 15 minutes later.

From Bad to Badder:

• It's going to take 3-5 working days to investigate the case of the missing RM1
• I forgot to include my account number in the initial email (my bad). Perhaps the email experience can be made better by using an online feedback form that automatically sends the username / account number
• The lady over the phone asked me to disclose my account balance when seeking clarification. I didn't, and neither should you

Poor experience thus far. If I were running Tune Money's web experience, I would make sure that we tracked the blogosphere, and responded fast to every viewpoint. Make someone accountable, and track Technorati, Google Blog Search, etc. You need to know what's happening on the ground - for a no-frills Internet-driven debit card, blogs can make or break your reputation.

Strike 2. One more and you're out of my wallet.

Related links:

• Tune Card stole my money!
• 10 things I dislike about Tune Card

WARNING: You will feel hungry after reading this post

Part 1 of the 5-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In November (PIWIHPIN)

Two great meals worth a mention.

There's this little cafe in Lucky Garden named Capri. They are right next to the Magnum 4D shop, and they serve the best Yin-Yong noodles in Bangsar.


And then there's Mel's dad. He's an excellent cook. I sampled a prawn & asparagus dish which was simply out of this world. I also had the last prawn.


More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIN 5-part series

November to Remember

I celebrated my birthday in November. Yes, I am a Scorpio. We rock.

It was a splendid birthday week. Great times, food and lots of drinks with my closest friends, family and colleagues.

It started off with a birthday cake in the office. Caught me totally by surprise. Yes, everyone sang, and I had three BIG candles.


Then Happy Hours with the boss and a few colleagues over at The Social:


Followed by dinner with Mel and my family over at Delicious. I was a load of fun at this point, thanks to a few rounds of "Indian Golf", and lots of single malt =). This photo is really cool - we're all sitting at the same table! There's a mirror behind Mel. Impressive shot made possible by booze:


I received an amazing birthday gift the following day:


A few days later, Shivani (Sagittarian!) and I shared a birthday cake with the Singapore gang:


Later that day I got another cake. This time, my absolute favourite - Sonny's blueberry cheese cake:


...and blew the correct number of candles this time around:


Topped it all off with a smashing party at Scarlet with my buddies. One great Flaming Lamborghini, lots of drinks, dancing, and I didn't throw up!


A year older, a little wiser, and looking forward to my next birthday!

Where is the Ground Floor?

Part 6 of the 6-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In October (PIWIHPIO)

The most confusing elevator in KL is located in Starhill. No points for guessing why!



More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIO 6-part series

Tune Card stole my money!

Here's a screenshot of my balance and transactions over the last 30 days. Can you spot the discrepancy?



Simple math:

• I started with RM50
• They deducted RM9.99 for the annual fee
• Instead of a balance of RM40.01, I only have RM39.01

I haven't used my Tune Card for any purchasing transactions and I don't see anything amounting to RM1 in Tune Card's fees and charges. Perhaps my RM1 is just hiding on Christmas day.



Let's see how they respond to my email. It doesn't help that their standard turnaround time via email is 48 hours, while customer service calls cost a premium charge of RM0.78 per minute (from 7am to 6.59pm).



Note to Tune Money: to conquer online, you have to address me by my name - that's a cardinal rule. Looks like I'm just another customer today.


Related link: 10 things I dislike about Tune Card

Chin Geh, Frances & Me

Part 5 of the 6-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In October (PIWIHPIO)

My uni-mate Chin Geh got hitched in October. I was their emcee for the night. Second stint after Tsu Lin's =)





More: Photos from Chin Geh's wedding

More: Amazing pre-wedding photos by Robin Ng

More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIO 6-part series

Do you C?

Part 4 of the 6-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In October (PIWIHPIO)

Spotted these stickers somewhere in Bangsar. A mysterious Project C and Professor Nabeel Laleewala: http://profnabeel.blogspot.com/. Some context over here.

Smells like viral marketing =)



More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIO 6-part series

10 things I dislike about Tune Card

Dear friendly people of Tune Money,

I just signed up for the Tune Card, after receiving confirmation via your Customer Service team that I can transfer funds from PayPal. Well, I will leave that bit for another time. Here's a review of my experience thus far.

My experience with the application, collection and activation process has been far from perfect. I am sure that this is all part and parcel of "growing up", so here's a list of improvements that I believe will make the experience a more pleasant and memorable one for your new users.

1. Treat first-timers like gold: After clicking Apply Now and acknowledging the T&C, I am taken to a page with login fields. Then I notice the secret passage way for first-time customers. What's up? The average user will always assume that signing up means a fresh application process, irrespective of whether your million-dollar back-end system ties all products to a single username.


Solution: scrap the extra click, and find another way to accommodate existing users.

2. Make your forms smarter: Have you seen it lately? SIX steps, and it's probably the longest forms I've filled since Google thought us all about simplicity goodness.


Granted you are in the business of money, where trust and security is paramount. But then again, why can't you break the norm and simplify or at least make the experience better?

Solutions:

• 6 steps - what are they? Can you tell me up front?
• Tune Money ID - make this the first focus if all applications ride on a single username. Perhaps then it would simplify the task of saving and continuing with my form at my convenience
• Test your form in Firefox - it's broken in some places where Javascript is required. Savvy users won't spread a good word if your forms break
• Hide what is not necessary until it is really needed. E.g. "Tick here if Permanent Address is same as Mailing Address". Perhaps just show me the additional fields if I need it

3. Username & password validation: Gosh, this is worse than the other local banks I am with. And NO, having more conditions for the password isn't going to make it more secure. People will just create the weakest string and write it down on a post-it. Bruce Schneier covers the topic of real world password security. I'd suggest picking up some pointers from him.



4. Security questions: "What is my dream car?" But what if this changes next year when Ferrari gets bought over by Proton? Stick with factual and historical questions. Ask Citibank - they've done a good job with this.



5. Popup madness: Seriously, have you seen how your site works with popups? It's horendous, and the inability to switch back to my main window for reference is a nightmare.



6. Remind me, it's free: I opted to collect my card from the local post office. Why not remind me via email - perhaps once it's ready for collection, or 24 hours before the targeted collection date. Fortunately, I put this down on my Nokia calendar.

7. Make it a real surprise: I would have preferred if I had the chance to open up the envelope myself. Instead, it turns out that the post office clerk has that first right. Supposedly, they have to tear off the bottom half of the confirmation slip. Think about it - most of your users are likely to be first time card holders. Why not give them that great feeling of opening up the envelope, and pulling out their Tune Card - wouldn't that be nice?



8. The little things count: Look at the mess I had to take home. The envelope was ripped because it was glued to the stack of papers inside. Moreover, the fee sheet had to be ripped out. I am sure this is just a minor anomaly, hence a heads up here for your attention.



9. Activation process: Show it to me upon login. The screen below is a few extra unnecessary clicks away.



10. Personalised emails: Just like how your team is pioneering real faces on your ads, why not put a real person behind the email replies and notifications?




I do believe that Tune Card is on to something good and great. Here's to its continued success. In the meantime, I hope it doesn't let me down with the things I want it to do for me =)

Simplicity versus Complexity

This image shows homepage screenshots of Google and Yahoo! between 1996 and 2005. Google has maintained it's simplicity over the years, while Yahoo! has chosen to be a complex directory of links.



Take a pick, it's your cup of coffee.

Credit: MIT

Devi's Corner is relocating

If you're a Bangsar fan, then this will be news.



The ever popular Devi's Corner is relocating to the corner lot formerly occupied by the famous Chinese restaurant, Fu-Yu (Cheap Charlie). They are targeting to be operational on January 2, 2008. (I am not sure if this will involve any downtime in the supper supply for the Bangsar clubbers)

Word on the street is that the owner of the block housing the current Devi's Corner intends to sell his entire shop lot. The Fu-Yu lot is supposedly owned by the group behind TMC. (Can anyone confirm this?)

Personally, I feel this new lot is much better suited for Devi's Corner. They will be taking up both floors, and the location is closer to the Telawi central attractions. Also on the same block are 7-Eleven, Kiosk and Telawi's one-and-only DVD shop.

Someone mentioned that Nirwanas should take over the old Castle corner lot to compete with Devi's. But that's just plain bad luck considering how Castle has been bad business for the recent string of tenants. I think Nirwanas will do just fine where they are, and continue to give Devi's a run for their money. And a steady supply of awesome fried bitter gourd.

Goodness Gracious Me

A little bit of blog goodness for the holiday season. You can find them on the sidebar to your right.

Recent Comments is handy list of the newest comments on this blog.


Advertlets - I've chosen to display their banner as it frequently displays interesting promotions from Malaysian and Singaporean retailers.


Google Custom Search - so Prashant can finally search for his favourite postings.

Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT - Update (2)

My letter to SMRT has been published verbatim in the Singapore Straits Times ST Forum.



Read: SMRT taxi driver made customer's day with kind act

For context:

• Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT
• Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT - Update (1)

Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT - Update (1)

I just received a response from SMRT, acknowledging receipt of my email.



Hope it makes Mr. Teo's day =)

For context: Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT

Everybody has somebody

Are you Happy?



Happy is a no-frills prepaid service by DiGi that was introduced on December 7th. Here's a gist of what it has to offer:

• Per second billing at 1 sen - so your short 5-second calls will only cost 5 sen
• Maximum of 99 sen per call - so your long 20 minute lovers quarrel will only cost 99 sen
• 10 sen per SMS to any operator - so you can keep in touch with ALL your friends
• 60 days validity - so that you can spend your money over a longer period
• RM5 starter pack with RM2 preloaded airtime - so that you can have fun playing with it right away!

Sounds fantastic? Well, it gets better - buy it online, and have it delivered to your door step for FREE.

It's nice when things work.

Simei, Sin Meng & SMRT

I just got back from a weekend with my best friends in Singapore. Here's my letter to SMRT (a Singaporean taxi operator) regarding a taxi journey on Sunday.

Dear SMRT,

The following email highlights my recent journey with an SMRT taxi, of which the experience exceeded my expectations despite the initial dissatisfaction.

My partner and I boarded the taxi with registration number SHB5507S near Neptune Court, on Sunday, December 16, around 2:15pm. The intended alighting point was Simei Street 1, which I mentioned to the driver upon boarding. Being weekend travelers from Kuala Lumpur, we were not familiar with the routes, but were happy that the driver asked us if it was okay to use the CTE, of which we duly acknowledged while stating that we preferred the fastest route.

As the journey progressed the meter fare and travel time exceeded our initial estimates. We then realised that the driver had taken us towards the Sin Meng area. At this point the fare was already about $12+, as compared to $8 when we traveled earlier in the afternoon (Simei - Neptune Court).

Upon clarification that we intended to go to Simei and not Sin Meng, the driver was unable to provide us with a travel time estimate, but assured us that he would get us there in the fastest time. At this point our itinerary was in disarray as we had spent over 20 minutes in the taxi, and were due to board a bus out of Singapore at 4:30pm from Novena Square.

Upon finally arriving at our destination in Simei, the meter fare was around $23. The driver apologised for the inconvenience, and offered to accept a fare similar to what we had paid for the past journey. We offered $10, but he refused and only took $8.

We were comforted by this act of genuine kindness, and acknowledge that even though it was an inconvenience, it could have very well been an honest error.

We would like to thank the driver for making the journey a memorable experience, and for getting us to our destination safely. Many a times we hear stories of unfriendly and dishonest taxi drivers, but not on this encounter. I believe this SMRT experience under the circumstances is a worthy benchmark to emulate.

It is definitely a "uniquely Singapore experience", and we look forward to riding with SMRT again on our next visit.

Thank you,

Praveen Rajan

Can you spot the sleepy cat?

Part 3 of the 6-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In October (PIWIHPIO)

A real cat nap. This coffee shop in Lucky Garden also serves the best Pan Mee in KL.



More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIO 6-part series

Why women love shopping

Part 2 of the 6-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In October (PIWIHPIO)

It's the subliminal messages which guys tend to miss. Spotted this in Bangsar Village.



More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIO 6-part series

The biggest pumpkin in Bangsar

Part 1 of the 6-part series: Photos I Wish I Had Posted In October (PIWIHPIO)

Spotted this at the Village Grocer in Bangsar. Aptly named the Big Mac.



More: View all photos from the PIWIHPIO 6-part series

6 weeks later

I'm back.

I'm sorry for the extended absence. Where did I go? Nowhere. My typing fingers were just a little temperamental. I don't touch type perfectly, so that's between 4 to 6 fingers running around the keyboard aimlessly when I blog. Not very efficient as you may imagine.

As Ranga puts it: "tonnes of bloggable material", over the last 6 weeks. I was just too lazy, period. And then there was (is?) FoodFoo, but I'll let Prashant blog about that.

Thank you for leaving comments, and for constantly "poking":





I hope to be a better blogger.

(For context, please read: I'll be back)