the O.S.I.M meme is a new topic posted every Monday here on quaintly.net to kickstart the week with some story-sharing. this is my puny attempt at massaging my brain into action every working/academic week, and also to hear stories from other people that i otherwise would not get the opportunity to. O.S.I.M stands for Oh Shit It’s Monday.

this week’s Monday Meme topic is about service in Malaysia, inspired by the horrible customer experience i received from an Air Asia sales staff at the LCCT airport on saturday prior to my departure to Kuching. i’ve never had problems with Air Asia up till lately (not even a delayed flight actually), so i was a little taken aback when i got attitude from the sales staff. so much for service with a smile. i suppose the nastiness comes with working in such cramped and bustling environments.

but instead of talking about rudeness or inefficiency, which we all know already plagues our country’s service industry, i want to share stories of good and kind service where people went the extra mile for their customers even when they didn’t have to. these stories are rare, but so heart warming when found.

reminding myself to keep it brief, my latest story of good and kind service:

some nights ago, i was waiting for a cab from mid valley to go back home. it usually costs me about RM 12, and definitely no more than RM 14. when my turn in the line came, this Waja (slightly spiffier than the 1.6 though i’m not sure which model it is exactly) pulled up. remembering that wajas charge the same metered rates as the sagas do, i got in, but not before the guard at mid valley assured me that it was the same rates as other cabs.

when i got in the cab, the cabbie began informing me that his cab was a special airport taxi that would go by a special rate, but he couched it in very confusing terms which led me to believe that airport taxis could use two rates — one for trips to and fro the airports, and another for the city. by the time we reached jalan istana, the fare was about RM 25, and usually at this point the fare would only be about RM 5-6. shocked, i asked him how much the entire trip was going to cost me. his answer: between RM 50 to RM 60.

upset but still extremely confused, i told him that i wanted to get out as soon as possible, so he dropped me somewhere in san peng. we covered a short distance between my insistence on getting out and the point at which he dropped me off — miraculously, his meter only jumped about 40 cents in that distance, as opposed to the RM 2 it would have cost before i made it clear i wanted to get out. that pretty much cemented the fact that he was conning me with a rigged meter. really, why was i surprised?

it took me about 30 minutes to get another cab out of san peng. no cabbie wanted to send me back because of the traffic congestion; the ones that conceded asked for an extra charge between RM 10 and 15 -_-

finally, one cabbie agreed to take my trip, albeit reluctantly. he sheepishly asked if i would give him an extra dollar above the meter, which was such a relatively cute request, so i laughed and said sure. during the trip home, i told him what had happened to me and he confirmed once again that the “airport cab” should have charged the usual rates. he told me about the various ways that cabbies can rig their meters, and asserted over and over again that i should start driving so that i don’t have to rely on cabs.

at the end of the trip, the meter was about RM 8. as i turned to get my wallet, the cabbie then told me that i didn’t have to pay him, as long as i promised to take care of myself a little better in the future.

O__O

i insisted on paying him (and the one ringgit he initially requested, and then a tip), but i was very touched by his gesture. with cab rent being as high as it is, and malaysian cab meter rates being so low, RM 8 is a substantial amount of money for a cabbie to give up. i thanked him over and over again — he was a timely reminder for me that not all cabbies are mean and crooked.

as an aside, but still related to the topic, i also think it’s really cool how some salespeople in shopping malls — especially sungei wang — rush off to their faraway stock rooms without complaining whenever a customer wants to try on something. i know it’s part of their job, but it’s such a tedious and tiring process to keep running back and forth each time a size is not right. their speed and readiness always fills me with admiration. such service is a far cry from the blunt “no stock” grunt that we often get from salespeople who just couldnt be bothered.

i’ve got many more good service stories, but i think one (un)brief one will do for today. i’m completely exhausted and i have a feeling i’m about to lose my wifi connection very soon. please do share your tales, if any! :)

on another note, the haze today is positively putrid. when is this going to stop? O.S.I.M!