Citibank telemarketer - Rude awakenings
May 15, 2008 Rantings
Yes, nicster has been a bad boy. My apologies for not having posted anything in a few days. I’d say that I was really busy with work - but Adam (yes, the same one who used to secretly fancy me *ahem*) told me last night that it’s just a really bad excuse. Okay then, I have no excuse.
And on to the rant.
Okay, so two weeks ago, I blogged on my The Bangsar Boy article of the week. In the blog, I complained a bit about the service industry in KL.
I didn’t elaborate but basically I had some problems with Avis car rental a while ago when I called to make some enquiries and the conversation got heated with the guy ending up insulting and slamming the phone down on me. Of course, I lodged a complain and wrote several emails to the company. They replied with an apology and said that action will be taken. I’m not sure how it was but I hope it will ensure that no one has to go through the same experience I had.
There has been a few other incidents of course, but none that pissed much as that one did.
Until yesterday, that is. Granted, it wasn’t so much ’service’ provided as it was telemarketing but still, it’s just bad, bad work ethics.
So here I was hungover busy at work when my mobile phone started ringing. I usually answer it even if the number doesn’t register (job requirements, ’nuff said) and most of the time, it’s legit (mostly work, and the occasional wrong number but that’s alright). What is not alright, however, is when it’s bloody telemarketers.
Voice over Phone: Hello, good afternoon. Is that Mr. Cheong?
Me: Yup.
VoP: Oh, good afternoon Mr. Cheong.
Me: Yeah? Who’s this?
VoP: My name is &^*^$&*% and I’m calling from <insert credit card company here>. Are you busy now?
Me: Yes, I’m in the middle of something.
VoP: No problem, I just need a little bit of your time.
Me: I’m not interested.
VoP: But why, Mr. Cheong?
And depending on whether or not I’m in the middle of a game on Facebook how busy I really am, the conversation will end with me slamming down (or at least abruptly pressing the End button) the phone or me being nice and saying, I’m not interested but thank you very much.
Okay, look, to all telemarketers out there, it’s not that I don’t like you. I understand that you have a job to do but please leave me alone (or at least, say “Thank you for your time, have a good day” when I tell you I’m not interested). You are bothering me, taking up my time, so no - I don’t need to explain to you what I’m not interested.
Thing is, I get calls like this almost twice a week religiously. And it’s usually the same banks.
Yesterday’s call was from Citibank and it took the cake. Here’s how the conversation went:
Citibank Telemarketer: Hello, is that Mr. Cheong?
Polite lil’ Me: Yes, who’s this please?
Rude Citibank T: Listen to me first ah, listen to me first.
Puzzled lil’ Me: What?!
Rude Citibank T: No, no, wait. Listen to me first ah.
Exasperated lil’ Me: Who’s this?
Rude Citibank T: My name is fucking asshole &^&%*^$. I calling from Citibank and listen to me first ah, I want to tell you about this Citibank some-promotion-or-other.
Pissed off lil’ Me: I’m not interested.
Rude Citibank T: Why you not interested?
Fucking pissed off lil’ Me: Because you’re fucking rude.
*END CALL* Click.
Now, really. You expect ME to listen to someone who tells me to listen to him first, and not talk? Go die lah. Already this bank annoys me with at least one call a week selling the same thing probably (it’s always this cashback something or other but I’ve stopped listening), but they get such wankers to make the calls.
Even if it was a good package or product they wanted to sell, they’ve lost a potential customer. Surely, a reputable an internationally-known company would employ better staff.
Next time they call me, I’m slamming down the phone. And the call after. And the call after. Tough.
Tags: Avis, citibank, telemarketing
And now it’s China, unfortunately
May 12, 2008 News Breaks
Apologies for my silence over the past few days. I had been in Singapore since Thursday and access to the Internet was minimal (not so much because I couldn’t get a connection, rather because I wasn’t in front of the computer that much).
Wow, it’s one major tragedy after another. Asia is still reeling from the disaster that was Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (and the Junta is still fighting with everyone who is trying to help) but now China has been hit.
Earlier this morning, I read that an earthquake (7.8 on the Richter scale) had struck central China - in the Beichuan province to be exact. I noticed that the death poll was increasing but took particular interests when I read that 900 students were trapped under a collapsed school.
AP reports that over 80% of buildings in the province had collapse, while AFP has reported that the death poll stands at 8,533 currently. This number is expected to hike drastically.
Many countries, including the United States, have pledge to offer aid to China as well.
I don’t know if you buy this or not, but some people believe that these disasters - like the 2004 tsunami in Asia - is some sort of cleansing to balance the universe. A friend once told me that is why these events happen so closely to one another. I haven’t fully grasped or understood this theory but whatever it is, I don’t think that people should suffer and die just like that. Myanmar has already ‘officially’ lost 23,000+ people, although United Nations have been reported to claim that actual numbers stand over 100,000. They also claim that another 220,000 are still missing.
My heart goes out to all those who have lost their lives, or people they love, in times like this.
Tags: china, Cyclone Nargis, earthquake, Myanmar
Penang syariah court allows Muslim convert to revert to Buddhism
May 8, 2008 News Breaks
Update:
The Star reports that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has asked the public to respect the Syariah Court’s decision - the first-of-its-kind ruling in this landmark case. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has described it as a welcomed move, as has Federal Opposition Leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
I, too, personally hope that everyone can accept the decision, as it is in line with our Consitution, which states that individuals have the right to profess and practice his/her own religion.
The Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP) said that it would appeal the decision.
Was taking a nap on the bus when I got an SMS alert from The Star that reads:
Penang Syariah court allows Muslim convert Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah (Tan Ean Hung) to return to Buddhism.
Wicked!
Went to Star Online @ www.thestar.com.my and there is already a short news byte on it. My iPhone won’t allow me to highlight text so can’t do links from here, sorry. First time blogging on the move - thank God for EDGE!
Sing like there’s no tomorrow
May 7, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
In anticipation of this week’s American Idol (and hoping that Jason Castro gets the hell off finally get the boot), I decided to blog this post.
Every now and then, when I get some free time, I like to scour Yahoo! News for strange stories which we don’t often read about - smaller stuff that are never headlines but quite interesting. That’s when I came across this article in USA Today headlined: No Idol advice about what singing can do to your vocal cords.
I suppose from the headline, you’d get the idea that the article is about how singing affects ones vocal cords. And apparently, it affects it pretty bad.
The article, written by Rita Rubin, revolves around the research of a professor of communication siences and disorders at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro Celia Cooper/Hooper (the name appears in both spellings in the article). Apparently, C/Hooper and two grad students wanted to see what goes on in the throats of young singers so they brought together 20 middle-high school students to sing three genre of music - opera, gospel and pop.
And apparently, the pop song was the most stressful on your vocal cords.
The conclusion? Well, without proper vocal training, these people will grow up to have ‘rough’ voices - which I assume means raspy - like that of Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia and Brooke White who was just voted out of Idol last week.
I wonder if that’s how Idol season 7 hopeful David Archuleta previously paralysed his vocal cords? It was well-documented in the early episodes of Idol. But then again, as the video below shows, singing like that as a kid, it’s no wonder your vocal chords are screwed up.
What is most interesting, however, is that pop tunes are the main culprit, over such ‘big’ genres like opera and gospel. Which means that anyone going to the karaoke belting out to Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey better watch out. Maybe you should sing a Pavarotti song instead.
Maybe it’s time I stop singing in the shower and to the radio when I’m driving. If not to save my vocal chords, but to spare my neighbours with my wailing - or the people in other cars thinking I’m having a seizure.
Tags: American Idol, David Archuleta, Singing
Cyclone Nargis: Over 22,000 dead so far
May 7, 2008 News Breaks
This morning, I received a phone call from a friend asking if anyone from the office had heard from a colleague of mine who had been in Myanmar. At that point, I knew about the cyclone hitting the country but reports that I was reading only (okay, it’s still a lot) noted 350 people dead.
Just a few minutes ago, as I got my nightly dose of news before I hit the sack, the headline on the main page of Yahoo! hit me - Myanmar death toll soars past 22,000: ‘Entire villages have been flattened,’ says an aid official.
The article accompanying that headline was a news break from the Associate Press, and attributes that number as information from state radio. It also states that 41,000 others are still missing - which sadly means that the death toll looks set to escalate.
This is extremely devastating.
CNN.com has a story of how the dead bodies are being thrown into rivers, while survivors await for aid. US President George W. Bush has also appealed to the Junta to allow the United States to come in to help. South China Morning Post has confirmed that President of China Hu Jintao has pledged assistance to Myanmar. Other reports have stated that the European Commission has pledged 2mil Euros in humanitarian aid, and other countries such as Canada, Czech Republic and Singapore has also offered help.
You too can help. I had donated a small amount when Hurricane Katrina happened in New Orleans, and intend to donate again. Just click here for details (I saw this link on the Yahoo! main page as well).
Oh, and I received an SMS about 11pm, a forwarded SMS from my colleague who had just missed the cyclone and is currently in Bangkok. My heart goes out to all those who perished, their families and others affected by the devastating incident.
Tags: Burma, Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar
