The customer service commitment of no.1 bank in Malaysia- Maybank Berhad

31st December 2008 is the last day of year 2008. I would like to take this opportunity to buy some stock from the share market. Blue chips like Resorts, Genting, Star are my first choice. To me, it is the right timing to go in to the weakened share market.

Again, the Malaysia no.1 bank, Maybank has failed me one more time. I am unable to log-in to my on-line stock trading account. After several attempt of trying, I have decided to contact the customer care via 1-300-88-6688.

The frustration is the so called no.1 bank in Malaysia delegates a machine operator to communicate with its valued customers. After selecting the preferred language, chosen the type of service (Maybank2U enquiry), and finally opt to speak to a human being, the phone was put on hold while waiting for the customer executive to pick up my call.

“Sorry, our customer executives are still busy, please hold we will attend to you shortly,” This sentence repeated for more than 15 minutes until I fed up and hang up the phone.

I have then made a call to Aseambanker (the stock trading subsidiary of Maybank). The customer care executive can’t really help and re-directed me to the so-called 24 hours Maybank customer care line. I asked if there is any alternate number because I have been waited for 15 minutes and nobody is attending to my call. The customer care executive seems like really understanding on my frustration and replied,” Sir, this is the only customer care number for Maybank2U.com enquiry.”

Without alternate choice, I give myself another try as well as giving another chance to Maybank to prove its customer service commitment. As expected, I have been put on hold for another 15 minutes and yet nobody is attending to me.

Is this the quality of customer service that the no.1 bank in Malaysia- Maybank Berhad providing to the customers?

Push Pocket in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I am sure you all have heard of 'pick pocket'. A new trend 'push pocket'. Read on for your own good.

A few days ago a new type of crime has surfaced in town. It goes something like this:
Somebody slips a hand-phone into your pocket, sometimes it could be just a wallet with an identity card and a few Ringgit.

A few minutes later, the 'owner' comes up and confronts you, the 'thief '. He makes a big commotion that you stole his stuff.

You, caught unaware, are then pulled aside by the 'owner' for a settlement. You are intimidated and threatened that if you do not pay up the police will be brought in. If you pay up, this 'owner' lets you go. If not, the police are brought in.

Another strange thing is that there always seems to be a 'witness' to your 'theft'.

I am told this often happens to foreigners at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) or even at LRT trains. Given that you're 'guilty until proven innocent' as far as t he Malaysian police are concerned, I understand some poor people are in jail for these 'offences'.

At the KLIA, the 'owner' throws his hand-phone and wallet with the few Ringgit notes into the luggage trolley of a just arrived passenger. The drama unfolds a few minutes later. The real culprit has easily convinced our Malaysia police to arrest the real victim (if he has not paid up the 'settlement' demand). This is a very serious matter.

This is another form of extortionists operating in broad daylight. They are disgusting criminals who will do anything to rob and steal. The sickening part of the whole scenario is that unless you pay the 'quoted settlement' money, they will put you in real trouble by calling the police.

The real culprit gets back his hand-phone and wallet but the real victim (i.e. could be any one of us) is thrown into the police lock up and charged in court.

So do be very careful, otherwise you may end up as a 'thief' as you have no way to prove your innocence.

Pass it on. let more people be aware of such things around them.

-Geh Cheng Lok & Co,Advocates & Solicitors

養成一上車就上鎖的習慣

我老婆開車載著我心愛的小Baby去買炒麵
車子就停在一家快炒的攤子前,
因為車上有 Baby ,
所以就搖下車窗叫老闆弄,沒下車.
然後再把車窗搖上和小Baby 玩 ,
我老婆有一個習慣
人在車上,一定要上中控鎖,無論是發動或停止。
前有一輛銀色的休旅車, 兩個人,
兩個人都走下車.看起斯斯文文的,
走過我們的車,我老婆和小Baby正玩得開心,
突然後座,'ㄆㄧㄚ'!!的一聲
我老婆嚇一跳!!
驚覺有人要開我們的車門

因為鎖住,他們又裝作若無其事的走回去車上。
我老婆說給我聽的時候 ,
我覺得太不可思議了 ,
這事情就在光天化日下發生 ,
如果沒有鎖的話,我真的不敢想像會發生什麼事情
希望大家有上鎖的習慣 ,
他們都是從後座下手的.
因為這樣最容易制服一個人 ,
況乎車上有小Baby,
你會放他不管就下車嗎 ？
看到這消息真是令我感到驚訝,
以前都是接到別人轉手好幾次的訊息 ,
都不太覺得害怕,這真的十分重要!

我爸媽上個月底到新莊的台北醫院探望親戚,
之後準備到地下停車場開車回家,
當把車子開上來在收費亭繳錢後,
出來一轉剛好遇到紅燈就停下來,
就在此時中控鎖尚未自動鎖門 ,
兩名青年就這樣從後門左右個別進入坐到後
還好我爸媽反應快,馬上拔掉安全帶及車鑰匙後, 迅速站在外 面,
那兩人一樣不動聲色的坐著,
我媽拉大嗓子跟他們吼說 :
'我們也有很多人在醫院樓上要不要叫他們下來?'
後來他們走出車外說'對不起,坐錯車了'(怎麼可能.分明是要搶劫)
然後旁邊一台車(有兩人在內)迅速開來載走他們.....
真是十分恐怖 !
以前我們家的車雖有中控鎖,但不會自動在開車後鎖門,
而換車後我們又太依賴自動鎖.....
所以人千萬不要太鐵齒 ,
一直認為自己不會碰到,
但現在實在是越來越多搶劫詐騙案件 ,
請大家還是要多加注意.....
切記 !一上車就要鎖門

昨天突然心血來潮開車去幼稚園接我小兒子下課! 紅燈時 !
我的車停在路口算來約第三部或第四部。
過一會兒,突然有一部摩托車停在我車子旁邊,
車上有兩個約20歲左右的年輕男生。
以摩托車的習性而言,除非是躲陽光,
否則在前面有還有空位時摩托車通常還會往前停。
但昨天台北下著毛毛雨,不可能是躲陽光。

更奇怪的是,他們兩人還一直往我車內張望,
因為覺得奇怪, 所以也看了他們一眼。
然後綠燈了,起步了,
就在起步的同時,
我聽到其中一個人用閩南語說:'車門都鎖起來了'
然後車子就騎走了 ,
聽到話的同時,我楞了一下,等到發現他們的企圖時,
我開始覺得害怕,但是想去看他們的車牌時已經來不及了。
事後回想,他們當時的企圖要不就是搶車,要不就是搶錢!
更可怕的是,也許會打開我的後門把我兒子抱走, 然後綁架勒贖 !
如果我當時車門沒有上鎖,或許人多車多時他們不會有動作
但他們可以尾隨,伺機行動。

之前也曾聽說有人一上車,車門還沒鎖,旁邊就有人開了後門坐進車內,
拿刀架在駕駛人脖子上搶劫的事。
想提醒大家的是,現在車子都有中控鎖,為了自己的安全,
一上車就要記得把中控鎖按下去,外面的人想開車門時才不容易得逞。
只是一個小動作,但卻可能避免一個社會新聞的發生!
之前提醒過身邊其他人很多次,但是真正放在心上的人不多。
昨天遇到的事情讓我慶幸自己養成了一上車就上鎖的習慣,
現在景氣不好,想走捷徑的人那麼多 。

請大家一定要多花點心思和時間保護自己,
無法想像這種事情如果發生在自己或是關心的人的身上,那種錐心刺骨的痛會有多深切 !

Marco's comment:

The market is bad now, so does the safety level surrounding us.

In the month of December 2008, one of my friend has lost her car at the car park, one of my customer has been robbed by armed robbers, one of my colleague has lost his laptop while it was travelling in the car with him (the snatch theft broken the car windscreen and take it away just like that).

The social security outlook is alarming, be cautious, do whatever you can to ensure that you are safe.

請珍惜你身边的傻女人

女人有時真的好傻,可以為了愛一個男人,而拋下自己的父母,來照顧那男人的父母;但男人不用。

女人有時真的好傻,可以為了愛一個男人,而寧願自己挺顆又重又大的球十個月,只為了替那男人生下一個跟男人姓的下一代;還得承受生完小孩後的體質變差、身材變形的後遺症,但男人不用。

女人有時真的好傻,可以為了愛一個男人,而放棄一卡車追求他的好男人,只為和男人長廂廝守,卻埋沒了最美的青春;但男人卻不為青春所懼,反而愈老愈值錢。

女人有時真的好傻,可以為了愛一個男人,而放棄父母給她二十多年的姓,而跟著老公姓,又被冠上'太太'二字;但男人沒變。

女人有時真的好傻, 可以為了愛一個男人,而早上上班,晚上煮飯做家事帶小孩,有工作也有家事的壓力;但男人沒差,反而多了個賺錢的人和不用給薪的女傭。

女人有時真的好傻,可以為了愛一個男人,而去適應一個完全不同的家庭和面對男人的親友團批評,女人懂事的試圖尋求男人的保護時,換來的是...男人不僅沒有保護他的女人,反而一起落井下石,在一個女人孤力無援的環境裡。

男人啊 ! 若你您的身邊有這樣的一個傻女人時,請當她的笨男人,好好的珍惜她、照顧她吧。

別忘了,她不是天生就該來照顧你們全家大小的,女人很單純也很懂事,只要當她受傷時,好好傾聽她、支持她、保護她,為她拭淚,她就會感動一輩子。

更別忘了,當男人年老時或生病時為您把屎把尿的,絕不是已老的也要您照顧的父母,最有可能的就是從年輕到老,始終在您身邊的女人。

女人们,你们赞同吗？
男人们,你们有珍惜吗？

Marco's comment

Many friends of mine preferred to return home late night every working days. The lame excuse given was they (men) need to entertain customers after work, business discussion with so-called clients, and etc.

In fact, they are just entertaining themselves. They go for happy hour, SPA, KTV, clubbing and so forth. The true reason that make them stay away from home during week days is this group of men enjoy night life, and by putting the working as excuse, it seems to be valid, especially if the wife is not working.

What do you think? Do you value your wife? Or just looking around for 'lust'?

November 2008 Adsense Performance

In the month of November, The world is filled with the fear of economy meltdown and the financial crisis that hit the United States and the European countries.

With 1919 page impressions, the impressions performance almost reached the highest rate as the August 2008 performance. Despite that, the earning was further declined for 2 subsequent months.


Month-to-month performance review:
Page Impressions (November 2008 vs. October 2008): ↑48.76%
Earnings (November 2008 vs. October 2008): ↓31.33%

所有員工在職時都很重要, 離職後都不重要。

在職場不做徒勞無功的事

記得以前有位同事離職前多拉了幾個人走,以為會對公司的業務造成影響,經我觀察的結果做了結論:完全沒有影響,缺人找人,頂多資深員工辛苦點,對公司來說,「所有員工在職時都很重要,離職後都不重要」,沒有一個員工是非留不可的,這似乎就是職場常態近20年以來,我長時間在美台兩地以理財專家的立埸談理財,幫助客戶及社會大眾做好理財。

我常強調做好理財的目的是錢盡其用,讓錢發揮最大的效用,一個相關的重要原則就是凡事講究划算。

我覺得以這樣的現實觀點來看工作,和我倡議的『回到蠻荒』觀點倒是有相通的地方,那就是不做徒勞無功的事,或沒有成果的事。

蠻荒的動物都能秉持這樣的原則工作。所以依現實的原則看工作,現代人工作的目的應該只是為了能賺錢,除此以外無他。

以下是探討這類觀點的專家所提供的一些工作原則,不妨做為參考:

原則 1:工作真的只是一份工作
不要期待工作與生活能兼顧,事實上也沒幾個人能將工作與生活成功的整合起來,工作並不是生活,我們工作是為了要過生活,或保有自己所喜歡的生活。

想想看,你一天或一個禮拜能有多少時間和家人相處,或和親朋好友去做一些你喜歡做的事,就可以知道要兼顧工作與生活是不可能的。工作只是工作,目的是為了賺錢。

原則 2 :不要害怕換工作
工作既是為了賺錢,只要可能賺更多錢,或做起來更愉快、更有滿足慼,何妨就換工作？

而且,以這樣的原則換工作,收入當然會越換越多,跳槽可能也會變得稀鬆平常。

只要每次工作時都全力以赴,有稱職的表現,對雇主和業界都能交代,應該隨時可以找到下一個工作的機會。

原則 3:一鳥在手勝過十鳥在林
很多公司都聲稱他們有優渥的福利制度,包括退休金計劃。可是不斷有事實告訴我們,越來越多的人在屆滿退休之前就失去工作了。所以爭取眼前的福利可能更實際,比較值得期待,例如包括健康醫療保障在內的團體保險、托嬰照顧、親職休假、績效獎金的分發,增加加班費或年終獎金等等。

原則 4:謀生本事不厭其多
新世紀的工作與收入可能會變得不穩定,產業的興衰或輪替也會變得快速無比,在同一家企業內辛苦一輩子可能會以失業收場。

所以橫向拓展各方面的技能,會比縱向的在企業的組織內向上攀爬追求位高權重還要實際。其實現在已有不少企業也『學會』了一些聰明的技巧,對授予好聽的高階職位並不吝惜,可以讓你擁有耀眼的頭銜,但對薪資增加並沒有多大幫助。

與其追求這種虛名,不如讓自己能具備十八般武藝可以多方面賺錢,隨時跳槽。

原則 5 :做好份內工作就回家去
再提醒你,工作只是工作,公司少了你一個人的工作,照樣可以運轉下去。

踏實的學習你的工作所該具備的技能,努力做好你的工作,但不要奢望你可以憑一己之力多為公司創造多少業績或產能。

不要因此耗掉你大量的私人時 間,讓自己從生活中抽離出來。記住,做好自己份內的工作,然後回家去。

原則 6:遠離辦公室政治
你工作的目的是為賺取合理的收入,而不是追求虛名與權位,所以不用在心思在辦公室政治上。

當紅炸子雞可能因改朝換代而去職走路,被冰凍的失志衰老也可能鹹魚翻身。

與其耗費時間介入這些無實際意義的辦公室鬥爭,不如多花時間在自己的家庭。

Five Basic Tips to Save Water

Water is precious! It is fluid of life. Do not waste water even it is affordable to you or the water bill is cheap in your geographical area.

Practise these 5 basic ways to save water now and make the Earth a better living place.

1. Run your washing machine or dishwasher only when they’re full and you could save 3,875 litres a month.

2. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway and save 300 litres of water every time

3. Put food colouring into your toilet tank so you can see if it leak into your toilet bowl. Fix it and you could save over 2,000 litres a month.

4. Got a leaky tap? Grab a wrench, fix it, and you could save 2,000 litres a week.

5. Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth, you could save 15 litres a minute!


Looking for more ways to save water?
Find out more from 30 ways to save water in and around the house.

女生要注意囉．被騙了這麼久，原來橫條比直條還瘦？

上個月有一個有趣的報導，傳遍了英國、南非與印度。你覺得，胖子應該穿直條衣，還是橫條衣，看起來會比較瘦？

夜市看衣服，很少會同時有一件橫條和一件直條讓我們「比比看」，所以我們老是認為，橫條的看起來會更胖，一定要盡量買直條的。

結果英國科學家找來200張模特兒，真的讓她們穿上「橫條」與「直條」的同樣款式的衣服（如上圖），兩張照片對照，拿給更多的實驗者看，結果很震撼：認為「橫條」的比較瘦的，竟然比「直條」的還多了足足 6%。

他們說，其實這件事早在18世紀就知道了，德國的物理學家Hermann von Helmholtz畫了兩個正方型（如圖下），左邊的方形裡面都是橫線，右邊的都是直線，你看看，哪個方形較「胖」？

橫的哪裡胖了！是直的比較胖吧？

當年這位物理學家曾寫給女性時尚界，他當時的解釋是，橫條會看起來「較高」，因此就「較瘦」。但顯然沒人記得這件事。

我們就在想，穿橫條紋的看起來會胖，是捌？是誰說的？真的嗎？

若真的穿直條較胖，他們說或許有個不太科學的解釋可解釋這件事──女性身型，本就有弧度，若穿直條的，那個條紋會跟著妳的幅度而跑來跑去，將身材勾勒了出來，胖子就無所遁形。從這邊我們竟也看到一個創業機會──那，只要是不會跟著幅度跑或刻意修幅度的直條衫，就有瘦身的錯覺囉？

還沒找到這件錯覺衣服前，應該考慮買幾件，以前總避之危恐不及的「橫條」來搭搭看了。

-The Times

Old Town White Coffee- take your time

More than half a year ago, my wife and me were on one day leave to do some banking and financial arrangements.

On the way back to home, we were passing by a newly opened OldTown White Coffee outlet at Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur. We made an instant decision to drop by to enjoy a cup of coffee at the no hurry atmosphere.

It was such a precious moment that both of us were enjoying as we were not rushing as normal working day. Most of the city folks were rushing to work in the early morning, rushing to pick up the kids after work, rushing back to home before the moon changing shift with the sun, rushing to bed as tomorrow is going to be another busy day and etc.

I am still looking forward to enjoy this kind of relaxing moment with my wife, probably we shall have it at least once a month.

On 1st December 2008, theSun newspaper has published an advertorial of OldTown White Coffee, it explains how people lives in the old days, to me, this is how we shall live, as life shouldn’t be constantly in hurry. To live at leisure pace, let’s practise work life balance as a start.

Facts about OldTown: 50,000 people with only one doctor. How does OldTown cope?

They don’t. Because no one at OldTown gets sick. Amazing, you might say. How can one town be illness-free? Do they work out everyday? Do they takes tons of multi-vitamins, antioxidants and all those things that us normal folk ingest to have a healthy life? No.

To the people of OldTown, it’s really quite simple. They do things at an easy pace. They take their time but not in a painstaking, call-them-procrastinators way. But the kind that makes them enjoy each and every moment. Minute by minute. Second by second.

This no-rush attitude doesn’t mean doing less or having lower productivity. Rather, it means working and doing things with greater quality, perfections, with attention to detail and less stress. So multi-tasking to them is considered a big no-no.

People in OldTown tend to hangout a lot, too. It’s usually done in a typical OldTown coffee shop with cups of White Coffee. Coffee that is roasted so well, it results to a distinctive taste and deliciously strong aroma. So, there’s more coffee in every cup. That’s why people in OldTown take their time to savour each and every cup.

And let’s not forget the food. The really delicious food. Cuisine that OldTown is very much known for. This is the kind of food that’s worth taking your time to eat. Because it’s that good.

Now what to do while savouring White Coffee and yummy food? A lot, actually. People can have great conversations, relationship can be rekindled, jokes can be cracked (yes, even the corny ones) and smiles become brighter.

Nice isn’t? And healthy, too. No wonder people in OldTown don’t get stressed out. Because they live life at leisurely pace. The result? No heart attacks, no cancers, no high blood pressures, no diseases owed to stress. Oh, and since everyone take their time, no accidents, too!

Which bring us to an unemployed doctor with nothing to do. Well, not really. He’s actually a veterinarian who take care of OldTown’s animals. But, don’t worry, they’re not stressed either. But animals being animals, they just need a shot or two now and then.

I am not promoting the coffees and foods of OldTown at my blog, but I am promoting the ideal lifestyle that all of us shall aim for.

Oldtown coffee shops are not something new to Malaysian, and if you are foreigner who plan to visit Malaysia and would like to experience the above explained atmosphere, kindly visit OldTown website to locate the coffee shops at http://www.oldtown.com.my/ .

做一個管的住自己的女人

網絡世界真是奇妙，一個素昧平生的朋友可以每天都豐富你的精神生活，下面是關於女人應該怎樣對待男人，挺有意思。一般周遭的朋友，皆以第二種和第三種為主，第一種好像已機瀕臨絕種了，第四種境界比較高，有陽春白雪的感覺。

文章轉載新浪閱讀-《和大家共享》
　　做一個能管住自己的女人
　　澳大利亞有位婚姻專家說，
　　女人管住男人無非有四種方法：
　　第一種是管住男人的胃；第二種管住男人的錢；
　　第三種是管住男人的人；最後一種是管住自己。
　　使用第一種方法的女人最善良 (管住男人的胃)
　　一個男人如果娶到這樣的女人，應該感謝上帝的恩賜。
　　因為她給了自己所愛的男人所有自由，
　　她最大的願望只是奢求男人能夠經常回家，
　　在品嚐她給他烹飪的美味中想到她的好。
　　使用第二種方法的女人最狡猾 (管住男人的錢)
　　她知道錢是男人的命脈，
　　是男人之所以成為男人的最後資本。
　　用錢控制人最有效，最直接，最事半功倍。
　　幾乎所有女人都喜歡這種方法，
　　它在女人們的眼裡是“綠色環保”的。
　　使用第三種方法的女人最不明智 (管住男人的人)
　　如果一個女人在控制男人的時候使用了這招，
　　幾乎可以馬上判斷出他們黑暗的明天，
　　沒有一個男人願意被女人死死管住，像牽小馬駒那樣。
　　使用第四種方法的女人最真實也最智慧 (管住自己)
　　這樣的女人往往是洞悉了婚姻的本質。
　　這個世界上並沒有長久的東西，
　　管住男人的胃、錢和人，
　　即使你擁有了整個世界，可是自己丟失了，
　　這個世界對你來說又有何用。
　　做女人就要做一個能管住自己的女人，
　　為自己而活，為自己的快樂而快樂，善於經營婚姻，
　　但不把自己的生命和一切全押在婚姻的身上。
　　這樣的女人應該是樂觀的，心態是平靜的。
　　她應該知道工作對她的重要，即使她的丈夫擁有萬貫家產，
　　她也會要求自己去工作。她時時刻刻明白從工作中，
　　從生活中尋找到自己的價值的重要性。
　　這樣女人無論如何也不會把自己丟失。
　　男人離開她了， 情人背叛她了， 她也會淡然而笑的面對。
　　因為她的生命不屬於一個男人，它屬於自己。
　　聰明的你，應該選擇做哪一種呢？

是啊! 當自己的心智成熟，看法清澈態然
什麼樣的男人都不會困擾妳，換個角度分析
因為妳愛自己甚過他
妳的世界又怎麼會因為他而風雲變色?

-白木麗子

Success Breeds Success

There was a farmer who grew superior quality, award-winning corn in his farm. Each year, he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honors and prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew his corn. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" The reporter asked. "Why sir?"

The farmer replied, "Didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen grains from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior, sub-standard & poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I have to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors to grow good corns."

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbors' corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions and areas of life!

Those who choose to be in harmony must help their neighbors and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others live well. The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches...

Success does not happen in isolation; it is most often a participatory and collective process. So share the good practices, ideas and new knowledge with your family, friends, team members and neighbors and all.

As they say: "Success breeds Success."

'' Everyone has beauty, but not everyone sees it........'' Do what you can, for whom you can, with what you have, and where you are ! -Anonymous