:DR’s Corner

There were some details that I forgot to include in my previous post about that trip to Singapore. It has to do with Jakarta’s international airport, Soekarno Hatta. A series of unfortunate events you might say, or in this case, unanticipated by airport authorities, causing annoyances to prospective passengers.

Try and imagine another international airport who’d have service like this:

Most Indonesians probably know that you have to fill in a “Departure Card” after check-in before going to the immigration counter. Unfortunately, there is NO such information anywhere for those who don’t know this. Beginning from entering the passengers area, the check in counter, the fiscal check, and even up to the line-up to meet the immigration officer. No signs, no notices, and no cards to be seen anywhere (you’d think if this was mandatory they’d make it easier for people to see and fill in these items).

I haven’t departed from Jakarta for awhile, and didn’t remember this rule. So, I got through check in, fiscal check, and lined up for quite awhile before I found this out. Shouldn’t there be at least some cards available from the immigratoin officer to fill in on the spot? Noooo way, the officer said it’s the check in counter who’s supposed to have these cards, so we have to walk all the way back to the counters and re-line up after filling in the cards.

So I go to the nearest check in counter and ask for a Departure card from the guy behind the desk. He says that the cards are tailored to each individual airline and we’d have to get ours from where we checked in, which was near the end of the building. I’m a bit sceptical, but decide to follow his instructions. Mid-way through the walk, I see an international airline counter, and think, “hey, why would they tailor each card to each airline? it makes no sense, since the card itself asks for a flight number, and the card is marked ‘Republic of Indonesia’, not ‘Airline Republic A’”; so I ask the person behind this counter, and of course was told the cards are all the same. *sigh, just remembering this makes me pity the customer service knowledge and skills of those people behind the counter*.

Well, you’d think that’s all that went wrong in one night right? Wrong!!!. After lining up the second time and getting through immigration, we walk all the way to the gate printed on our boarding passes. It turns out the gate has been changed to the one right beside it. We can see some people who have already entered the passenger waiting areas after going through baggage and personal screening. Quite a huge lineup, so me and my friend just chat while the line moves forward slowly.

Suddenly, the line just stops moving and people are kept waiting. Then, the officer at the front of the line said that the gate was changed, and everybody, including those who’ve already been screened would have to go to another gate and line up again, because the plane would park at another gate (wth??? can’t they just organise themselves???). So off we go to the new gate, and voila !!! no security, no officers and nobody at the screening area at the new gate. Passengers are just left to stare around for up to 15 minutes before they finally came around and started the screening process.

I just can’t believe how disorganized Jakarta’s airport is, considering that 2008 is supposed to be Visit Indonesia Year (side commentary: check out this snafu by those smart people making that promotion, a case of “we don’t proofread our globally targeted campaigns” - it’s mind boggling that a country’s ministry wouldn’t have at least some competent people who’d be able to correct grammatical errors before it gets plastered on the national carrier planes all over. That would make quite an impression on foreigners, “look, a country whose English knowledge is so bad they actually allow grammatically challenged phrases to be pasted on their airplanes. We’ll definitely have to visit that country”.)

So there goes my rant about Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta international airport. I just hope that the people in charge do something about making it a real “international” standard airport because it’s quite embarassing to see in the state it is right now.

Tags: Airport, Indonesia, Jakarta, Soekarno Hatta

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The last time I went to visit Singapore (not counting transits) was probably more than 15 years ago (I can’t remember exactly when), because either the MRT wasn’t built or it was just finished. In any case, it was a long long time ago :).

Last week, I had the chance to go there for a couple of days, and I must say it’s quite a nice place to visit. Clean air, little traffic, modern, good public transportation, and organized. I only had a little time to go around and sightsee, but managed to go to Suntec City, VivoCity, and along Orchard Road for a bit (I like malls :)).

I’ve heard quite a few of my friends, who’ve actually stayed in Singapore, say that after awhile you do get bored with life there, but for the few days I was there, I really felt if I had to live in Singapore, I wouldn’t mind it at all. Granted, Singaporeans do work like crazy (so I’ve heard), and property cost is off the roof, but should push come to shove and a really good opportunity presented itself, I think I wouldn’t mind trading Jakarta’s pollution and traffic for such a life.

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This time, courtesy of the HobbyCraft store at Mal Puri Indah in Jakarta. Here’s the story:

A couple of days ago, my wife wanted to buy some knitting accessories. She doesn’t know much about knitting and just wanted to buy basic beginner’s stuff, so she went to the Hobby Craft store and based on information she had, purchased a pair of knitting needles and woolen threads.

When she got home, she found out that she had bought the wrong type of knitting needle, so she thought, “no big deal, I’ll just exchange it for another type”.

The next day, I accompanied her to the store and just couldn’t believe how crappy their customer service was.

1. The clerk said it couldn’t be exchanged for anything because it was my wife’s fault.

2. The clerk called the owner, and the owner said no exchange because the computer system can’t handle it and will create a mess in accounting.

3. The clerk who sold the item the previous night came in and had the gall to put up an attitude and raise her voice at my wife and kept saying “it’s your fault for not knowing the correct type to buy”

Now, where else can you find such an issue with returning a $3 item except in Indonesia? And this not in a side walk dubious store; it’s quite a well known crafts store in Jakarta.

My issue is that:

1. Yes, it’s my wife’s fault that she bought the wrong item. That was acknowledged when she told the clerk she needed to return the item in the first place. My wife kept saying, “I’m sorry, I bought the wrong item”. Good customer service dictates that you acknowledge a customer’s issue and in good faith respond to it. The principle of shifting blame over and over again seems so unprofessional.

2. What kind of owner risks the wrath of a customer for the equivalent of a $3 item? Just take the god damned item back and gain a new customer instead of risking embarassment should one of those be an influential person somewhere.

3. What kind of POS (double meaning intended here) system doesn’t handle refunds such that it creates a mess at the end of month calculations? And if you have such a crappy system, why not hire me to make a good one for you?

4. Raising your voice/showing displeasure at a customer really shows how bad your customer service skills are. This is even doubly embarassing considering my wife was not even trying to pick a fight with them. I probably could understand clerks getting upset if a customer was shouting obscenities and threats at them, but getting upset at a customer trying to exchange an item is just ridiculous.

5. My wife knew that she probably had to purchase another item in addition to returning the item, and she said upfront, “I’m gonna buy something else and add to the purchase”. By refusing to do this vehemently, aren’t they just refusing profit?

In the end, my wife convinced the first clerk to let her exhcange the item and buy something else in addition. But the experience has left a bitter taste in her mind, and she has told me she’s not going back there even if it means going to another store further away to buy her crafts goods.

So, if you’re ever trying to buy some hobbies/crafts items, I’d strongly recommend against going to the Hobby Craft store at Mal Puri Indah. Bad customer service, unfriendly and an extremely stupid owner.

Tags: HobbyCraft, Jakarta, Mal Puri Indah

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Here’s a general mindset of Indonesians, in action. The individual rather than the group, the specific issuer rather than the brand.

Conversation I had in a retail store yesterday, trying to purchase a steering wheel lock for my wife:

Me: (hands over item)

Clerk: That’ll be Rp. 155.000,00

Me: (hands over MasterCard)

Clerk: (ponders over the card for awhile)

Clerk: Where is this from?

Me: What is where from?

Clerk: This card, which bank?

Me: Canadian bank

Clerk: Oh, foreign huh? (Note: Is there a territory named Canada in Indonesia I wonder???)

Me: Yeah

Clerk: Have any other card?

Me: No, what is the matter?

Clerk: I’m afraid this might not get processed

Me: (It’s a MasterCard for crying out loud, it should be accepted anywhere a MasterCard logo is displayed!!!)

Me: Of course it’ll go through, it’s a MasterCard, doesn’t matter who or what issued it!

Clerk: (Runs the transaction through and what do you know, it works) (duh!).

This is quite mind boggling for me. Somehow the clerk’s concept of a credit card is still wrapped around the fact that it’s issued by a specific bank instead of a bank using the MasterCard brand, as if a MasterCard issued by a foreign bank would be rejected just because the transaction is in Indonesia. Such a narrow mindset makes me wonder just how ready Indonesia is for globalization.

Tags: Mastercard

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Man, for some reason I walked into a convenience store just after lunch and had this craving for all sweet things (weird, considering I like everything salty).

So what did I do? I ended up buying a pack of Kopiko’s (coffee candy for those of you Indonesian-culture challenged :)), a small Kit-Kat White and Chupa-Chups.

The Kit Kat was the first to go, and one of the Chupa-Chups is melting slowly in my mouth right now. Talk about sugar craving.

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I’m back in the annual NBA Fantasy League with a group of friends after finishing 3rd last year due to injuries to key players in the semi final round. Trying to hopefully gain a high pick after being ranked 12th and 11th in the previous Yahoo drafts, Yahoo indeed screws me up again by giving me the 10th pick this year!!! Well, maybe in 9 years I’ll end up with 1st pick somehow :).

Here’s this year’s picks for me:

1. Chris Paul - I chose Paul over Kidd just because of his younger age.
2. Rashard Lewis - Amare and Yao both gone back-to-back at that tail end of the first round, 3rd year in a row I have Rashard. Hope he’s as good as last year.
3. Carlos Boozer - 20-10 guy in an out.
4. Mike Bibby - Yeah, I know he was injured on the 26th of October. I last read the news before he was injured and didn’t bother checking during draft time on the 27th.
5. Raymond Felton - Hoping for a big year from Felton.
6. Tyson Chandler - Looking quite healthy and always a rebounding champ threat when on the court.
7. Samuel Dalembert - Bibby and Dalembert played all 82 games last year. The moment I pick them, one is out 2 months and this guy has a stress fracture on his foot that has not healed properly.
8. Boris Diaw - This is the only player I know of who ever got G,F,C eligibility on Yahoo 2 years back. Impressive stats if Amare even misses a few games.
9. Larry Hughes - Trying to gamble that Hughes still has a resemblance of his old-Washington-Wizards skill left at 9th pick.
10. Marvin Williams - Looked good in pre-season stats.
11. Jamaal Magloire - Maybe a chance to shine in front-court challenged New Jersey?
12. Desmond Mason - Back in starting role in Milwaukee.
13. Steve Francis - Think that Stevie Franchise in the 13th round was possible 2 years ago?
14. Shavlik Randolph - I thought he was ok last year when Webber went out for awhile.
15. Louis Williams - Heard he was tearing up summer league.

Since that fateful draft day, I have traded Bibby and Dalembert for Okafor, dropped Randolph, Willams and Magloire to pick up Derek Fisher, Martell Webster and Rashad McCants.

I don’t think this lineup is as strong as mine last year considering last year I picked Rashard in the 4th, Butler in the 6th, Deron in 8th and Mo Williams at 9th (this year all those players were gone way before 5th round); I’m just hoping this team has some surprises in it to make a splash this year.

Tags: Basketball, NBA Fantasy, Sports

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… to make me governor :). Just kidding, I know it’s nearly impossible to fix this situation without probably blowing up the whole city and doing proper urban planning. But here’s some ideas I think would reduce traffic congestion by a huge amount (just don’t know why nobody’s doing these since they’re pretty common sense if you think about it).

So here goes my Jakarta Traffic Solution Guide:

• The Busway is a good idea, but the implementation in Jakarta is as bad as you can get. It’s supposed to have its own lane created from scratch, not taking an existing lane and converting it. If you really want to do this, then accordingly, take out all the other public transportation on the regular roads to reduce congestion. Without doing this, it’s basically, “oh, let’s cramp these already packed 3 lanes into 2 and see how people like being squished together in cars”.
• Everyone in Jakarta knows that most of the old public transportation like the “MetroMini”, “Kopaja”, “Kopami”, “Mikrolet”, “KWK” and the rest of them drive like maniacs and have no regard for everybody else on the road, plus they stop wherever they want whenever they want, thus causing havoc on the roads. Get rid of these and leave maybe 1/4 of the ones that drive properly.
• As an added bonus of doing the previous step, we’d probably cut Jakarta’s pollution by a huge amount.
• Double or even triple the amount of current Busway armada. Right now, there are roads all across Jakarta for the buses, but hardly enough buses as evidenced by the sardine-like packed terminals at Harmoni during peak hours. With enough buses to ensure comfortability, more people will be enticed to use it.
• Make the Busway stations and buses comfortable for people to use. Right now people are sweating it out in the stations because there’re no air conditioners. Now imagine this at 5 PM with Jakarta’s striking heat and a whole place full of irate, annoyed people who just want to go home.
• Provide parking lots near end points of the Busway routes. There are stations right now, but where do you expect people who drive cars to park them? In the middle of the road?

Ending thoughts: As I said at the beginning, the Busway is a fine concept with bad implementation. The government says they’re trying to get people out of their cars on to the buses; but who in their right mind would do such a thing if it meant suffering through heat, long wait times and crowded transportation? Without improving the conditions of the terminals and buses, I hardly see anybody in their cars wanting to leap for joy and join the Busway crowd.

So, anybody care to make me governor someday?

Tags: Jakarta, Traffic

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Wow, it’s been almost 7 months since my last post. Quite a few things have happened since then. Here’s a minor update on that:

• The kids seem to have adjusted fine to Indonesia, except that sometimes they get sick from the pollution and food. Although recently, their immune system seems to have kicked in and so don’t get sick as often.
• I’m helping out a friend of mine with his IT projects. A couple of them are on the go with a few more on the horizon, so got some income right now. We’ll see what happens next year. I’m not really interested in finding a job in Indonesia because I wanted to do something on my own and due to this next reason:
• Traffic jams !!!. Everybody already knows how bad Jakarta’s traffic is, but you really have to experience it yourself to appreciate the madness of it all. Imagine traffic at 9 PM on a Sunday; and that’s just the mild case. Try going out anywhere between working hours until 9 PM on a work day, and you’re pretty much guaranteed a 2 hour trip to and 2 hour back from anywhere.
• I actually lost weight here :). Been working out and running the treadmill every other day for the last few months and dropped like 8 kg’s. The last 2 weeks have been no workout week because of the projects that I’m working on. But I’m trying to continue this pattern for the near future.

Will try posting more regularly from now on. Don’t know if anybody’s still reading, but oh well, just a place to pour my thoughts.

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I’m sick and tired of these guys bugging me all the time, and even sending an email through a newbie lawyer trying to intimidate me with a SLAPP. Even though they claim Barrick vs Lopehandia applies to this situation, I don’t think they have any ground. And even if they somehow win, a company like Barrick only got $75,000 in damages, so Impress International / Impressive Getaways should probably only win a small fraction of that.

If any of you legally trained readers care to give me differing advice, then I’m open to suggestion, but since I’m overseas, and they’re in Canada, and if they sue and I’m not present then they can win by default, I think I’m just gonna let this rest right here.

Technorati Tags: Impress International, Impressive Getaways

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Hello everyone, I’ve arrived safely in Jakarta last Thursday. Didn’t manage to get internet until a few days later. The journey from Toronto to Jakarta was quite interesting to say the least, here’s some of the highlights:

- Trying to check in 7 luggages was quite a pain. Air Canada only allows 23 kg per baggage, no matter that we were connecting on their Star Alliance Partner, Singapore Airlines which allows 32 kgs per baggage. Hence, a rush at the airport, stuffing 2 bags until the limit and paying an extra CAD $70 for it.
- Plane was delayed from Toronto - Newark by 1/2 hour or so, and yet we arrived ahead of schedule, go figure.
- Couldn’t get the seating arrangement we wanted because there were only 2 bassinets on the plane, and there was another family with baby. We ended up sitting in a row for 3 and founda another space somewhere at the back (not a full flight).
- Plane was delayed by 1 1/2 hours from Newark - Singapore. With 2 kids due for their sleep, that was quite tiring. So the 18.5 hours supposed total travel time was increased to about 20 hours in plane.
- Luckily the seats in SQ21’s Executive Economy class can recline quite far and has footrests that can come up horizontal to the seat. My 1 year old could be put to bed there, and was quite ok with it.
- The flight was quite nice, lots of snacks in the counter at the small lounge area at the back of the plane. Only 2 meals though, after take off and just before landing, in between there was lots of snacking and cup noodles :).
- Arrived in Singapore late, missed our original plane, had to run to catch our next connecting flight and nearly missed it (last passengers in, gates closing).
- Arrived in Jakarta, told that our luggages were delayed by 1 flight since they couldn’t make it to our flight.
- Found out that 1 of the 7 luggages was lost in limboland. Got it back delivered the next day.

I really expected much worse with 2 kids (the small one also had a cough and cold throughout the trip), but they were great in the plane, slept for the majority of the trip and weren’t too cranky considering the trip we undertook. My older one has adjusted quite well, with lots of toys and playing space in my in-laws place, while the little one was scared silly hearing dogs barking and roosters crowing. He still hasn’t adjusted yet, cries everytime he wakes up (normally he just sleeps and when he wakes up calls out to us) due to the different environment and they both sweat profusely due to the humidity.

Right now we’re trying to find a house and school for my older son, as well as internet connection for me. The speed and prices here are quite ridiculous, most of the cable/ADSL that are “high-speed” here are a max of 384 Kbps down and 64 Kb up for about $80 USD.

Still not sure what I’ll be doing here, but it does seem opportunities abound. Just have to find the right ones.

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