hoUsE oF bADnANa

FREAKING 1hour phone call

“today is a very irritating day…after I bought my lunch and was about to eat, phone RANG!
Sigh…I hate phonecalls during lunch. The call took about 1 freaking hour! So what is the call about!?
After repeating the story for so many times in office, I guess I will just summarise here.

Get a customer who bought tickets from my colleague claimed that the time is wrong. Should be 2PM instead of 2AM!
And I said that we sent the itineraries a few times before we issued the tickets and she claimed that she do not know that 0210 is in the middle of the night.
What kind of f*cking good excuse is that? It is international 24hr timing.
So she tried to get us to change the tickets, however, it is less than 24hrs to departure, there will be a $200 cost incurred for each passenger (meaning $400 for 2).
So I told her cannot, then she said it is my colleague’s error and my company should bear the cost.

I told her I cannot decide who is wrong or right as I only listen to one side story of both her and my colleague. But what I know is we all wanted to solve the problem quick.

Just hoping to solve the problem, I asked her what is the reason she wanted a day flight instead of a night flight.
She said…because there is no one to send them to airport!~ So I suggested TAXI!
She said security reason, because they are foreign worker, so cannot. Scared they run away!
So, out of goodwill, I said I can personally pick the workers up and send them to the airport and make sure they go through the immigration.
Then she said, so if they run away, you will be responsible? You pay the $10,000 security bond?

I would like….duh!
So I asked who can send then? She said her company managers. So I asked if they could go through the trouble coz we just want to solve the problem here, right?
She said :” cannot because he is Malaysian and need to go back Malaysia everyday”

So after many many phone calls, there is no result. Until the manager slam the phone on Steven. And send us a fax right after that saying that it is our company
Problem and they will stop the cheque immediately.

So, fine…my dad called the person and was on the whole thing again.
Because it is obvious that 0210 is in the middle of the night.

Anyway they were very very rude and my dad cannot take it anymore. He said it is only 800bucks and I wouldn’t call you even if it is 10000bucks.
It is only because my wife said you are old neighbours. I can just tell you, if the cheque is being stopped tomorrow, we will meet in court. It is not very difficult.
Things can be solved easily yet you want to blow up the matter.

So yah…I hate customers like that. Bend on blowing up the matter instead of solving it.
Plus they cant even prove that my colleague is in the wrong. And the funniest thing is the itineraries IN tHEIR HANDS are all stated clearly 0210.
Anyway…just wanna write this down. Sigh….CIAO~

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Another complaint…

I am irritated by a customer today..he is irritating…

blah blah blah…(this is a very brief summary coz i am very exhausted by him)
Customer: How come take away a shopping point need to add money?
Gina: If you want to take up this tour, you have to comply with all the places in the itinerary.
Customer: I wanted a private tour.
Gina: Yes, even private tour package will have shoppings.
Customer: Yes but I wanted free and easy!!
Gina: You mean you told her you want free and easy ? (points to colleague)
Customer: Yes…i told her i want free and easy..
Gina: hm…by free and easy, it means you only want hotel, transfer, tickets, is that so?
Customer: There is no tour meh?
Gina: No if you want free and easy.
Customer: No way..that is ridiculous..i want a free and easy private tour, with a private car and tour guide and i can go anywhere i want.
Gina: that is different. That is not called free and easy. That is a private vip tour where you specify you do not want any shopping and fixed itinerary. and the price will be very high
Customer: That is what i want. I dun want any shopping. I have been to many many places already. don;t tell me you cannot do it. and you didnt state that there will be shopping in this iti!
Gina: (totally exhuasted..), this is a brief itinerary where we highlight to customers on the places of interest they will be heading to.
Customer: then you didnt tell me there is shopping (my colleague did)
Gina: we will show u in the final confirmation after the tour is arranged and confirmed. This is just a flyer for people to take.
Customer: well..if you didnt write here that there are shopping..then you cannot tell me there will be shopping! (as i said…already told him but he denied)
Gina: well…it is impossible to write down every single details in that itinerary. Like i cant write where to have lunch, which restaurant, where, etc (in my heart i am thinking…fine…then i only wrote meals provided…it can be just rice and egg every meal right??)
Customer: Ok fine. i will take that…just dun wanna argue…then you tell me if i can fly domestic from Lijiang back to Kunming?
Gina: Why do you want to do that? you can fly straight from Shangrila to Kunming.
Customer: It is much cheaper to fly from Lijiang! anyway, you can do that right? since you are supposed to send me back to Kunming back car, why not just stop at Lijiang and let me take my flight back.
Gina: It is not possible as it is not in the itinerary
Customer: I tell you..this is possible! why not? you know i can take you to CASE, post on internet that you are doing business wrong!!! I get what i see. and it is NOT ABOUT THE MONEY…i travelled so much!
Gina: (totally wanna faint…like i am scared of CASE..i am not even afraid if he send me lawyer letter…wtf) i know..however i cant do that. why don’t you just fly from Shangarila? It is S$225.
Customer: I want to fly from Lijiang, it is only about S$140.
Gina: fine..let me check for you…(to think he claimed that he has been to MANY PLACES like USA/EUROPE, trying to sound rich and use english….walau…only 80 bucks difference..plus…look down)
Gina: are you sure you want to do that? it will be a 5hr car ride from Shangrila to Lijiang and by then, almost another day gone..
Customer: yes la..why not. then you don’t tell me your tour is fixed time..(he think he is taking the VIP tour)
Gina: …
Customer: you know last time i went Grand Canyon..the guide told me we have 30mins to take photos…i scold him! i told him i want 2 hours…or even if i wanna stay until next day you can do nothing!! then i made all other customers do that and we all stayed for 2 hours…
Gina: … (i understand when guests want to stay longer…but you cannot be too much. some people want to take the cheapest cheapest tour and expect it to be VIP…)
Customer just blah blah blah..he loves to talk…so in the end, i agreed with everything he said…even though i know my profit cannot cover. you know why? i already told him from the start that tour will only be confirmed after i get confirmation from my suppliers and hotels in China. So i decided tomorrow i will just tell him that there are no more hotel. Fuck him!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

You won’t know how cheap can a person get.

Today a CHINESE lady walked into our office..

here is the convo:
Lady: Hi, do you know where is BENSTA ATHASDF (shows me a piece of paper)
Gina: Hmm…I didnt hear of this place before (It is some indo words)
Lady: Oh..can you check for me? do you have indo map? (she doesnt look like she wanna buy any tour, more like asking for info)
Gina: Hmm…actually no. Are you trying to find a tour to this place or what? (trying to find out her motives)
Lady: Yah, i want to go to this place.
Gina: Ok, let me check for me.

After Cam checked online(She happened to be here..), this place turns out to be Bintan(Name of the ferry terminal).
So we showed her some brochures of Bintan resorts. Cam took a Banyan Tree Brochure for her. I was like ” Hey..that is too expensive, show her the Nirwana”. Then Cam told me “She wanted the MOST expensive one!”
These went on for about 10 minutes and Cam told me she finally decided she wants to look at the CHEAPEST ones because Banyan Tree is like DAMN TAKAI. (About $1200 single room for 1 night!!)

Moments Later….(Cam left already..rushed back to work after lunch)

Lady: Are these the only pictures you have on these brochures?
Gina: Yes. (Already quite irritated by the obvious insincerity of wanting to buy a package)
Lady: You don’t have picture of this hotel? (Points to Banyan Tree Brochure)
Gina: Hmm.. NO. (Obviously don’t want to waste too much time on her already)
Lady: Ok thanks… (walked away)

Lady: (appearing suddenly again)…sorry ah…This is the price for SINGLE PERSON? (Points at S$1200 Banyan)
Gina: Yes.
Lady: Thank you. (Walked away)

Lady: (Come back again)..sorry sorry. Do you know which is the hotel that advertise VERY BIG last year at Cityhall??
Gina: Don’t know. (Cam told me after that that she already asked this question before.. and Cam advised her to find out from other people that she knows…hehe)
Lady: Ok..So this is single person, SINGLE BED?? (Points at Nirwana brochure)
Gina: Yes, of coz! It is for ONE PERSON.
Lady: Cannot have QUEEN SIZE bed???
Gina: (exhausted..) Of coz not. If you have 2 people, this is the price (Points at TWIN)
Lady: Oh..(Looks “greedy”)
Gina: (quickly tries to explain)..that is price for one person in a TWIN Room, if 2 person need to times 2… (coz obviously the TWIN price will be cheaper for one person)
Lady: Ok..thanks (turning away….and then turning back)
Lady: Do you know which hotel has the MOST FOREIGNER??? (WALAU!!)
Gina: Huh…all of them has…since it is a resort place..(her intention is f***ing obvious!!)

Lady walked away.

I was sooo irritated but at the same time feeling sooo funny. So I told all my colleagues and they were laughing like crazy.

Then…20minutes later….phone rang..

Colleague A: YOUR BANYAN TREE CALLED!
Gina: What she wants?
Colleague A: Ask for Banyan tree number!!
Gina: What the hell? (Colleague finding…)

Then…10 minutes later…phone rang…
Colleague B: GINA!!
Gina: WHAT!
Colleague B: YOUR BANYAN TREE CALLED AGAIN!!
Gina: WALAU! WHAT SHE WANTS AGAIN????
Colleague B: She asked if Banyan tree is near the beach!!
Gina: WALAU! TELL HER ALL NEAR THE BEACH LA.
Colleague B: NO LEH…I TOLD HER THERE ARE NO BEACH!!
Gina: HAHAHAHHAAHA

Moments later..Colleague A came back from toilet..
Colleague A: did your BANYAN TREE call?? I am supposed to help her find Banyan Tree phone.
Gina: Yes la.
Colleague A: SHE REALLY CALLED?
Gina: Yes…and asked if Banyan Tree is near the beach.
Colleague A: HAHAHA..tell her it is up on the hill.
Gina: Nearly…B told her there is no beach. wahhaha….and SINCE WHEN did she become MY BANYAN TREE?

haha…its really DUH…at her extent of wanting to hit on some guy…probably rich ones too… that is almost one typical day in my office! hahhaa…sometimes we have very crazy person…you can probably remember some of my earlier post about crazy people! hahhaa….