November 05, 2004
How Not To Run A Business
If you're planning to start a business, take some what-not-to-do tips from this eejit. 
This guy is really pissing me off, and if he pisses me off one more time I am going to start spreading bad press around. For now he will remain anonymous and I shall just call him The Eejit.
Incident #1
My colleague (from another office) got married overseas recently, and she engaged The Eejit to do her wedding photos and video. Since I was going to meet her for a business trip, she asked me to help her bring the wedding photos over and I agreed. My flight was on Sunday and she told me The Eejit would bring the photos over to the office on Friday.
Friday came without any news from The Eejit. It wasn't until Friday night, long after I had left the office, that he called to say that, surprise surprise, he could not make it. (Duh. You don't say.) Anyway we made alternative plans for The Eejit to deliver the photos to me at my home on Saturday.
Saturday came and went with no trace of photos or eejits. Not a phone call, or even a message. Nada. On Sunday afternoon he msged me - yes, he didn't even have the decency to call me - and said that he was very busy and would bring me the photos at the airport. When I asked if the photos would be very heavy he said that they were not and could definitely be hand-carried.
On Sunday night, we went to the airport. There was no sign of The Eejit, so I went ahead to check in. Then, I still had to wait around for him because he was late. Finally when he showed up about 30 minutes late, he passed me the package, which was FREAKING heavy. (400 photos enclosed in an album is not light.) I had to lug the damn thing all over Incheon and half of Seoul before I could pass it to my colleague.
That he was so tardy already got me quite irritated, but what took the cake was when he thanked me for being the courier and I sarcastically remarked that I would get my colleague to treat me to dinner, he said and I quote: "Don't worry, I will put in a good word for you."
*major eye-rolling going on* Put in a good word for me?! He should have been glad that I didn't start yelling at him for forcing me to hand carry the bloody thing. He should have been on his knees at Changi Airport thanking me for bringing it over and begging me not to complain to my colleague. Put in a good word for me, MY ASS.
Incident #2
That was a couple of months ago. Two days ago my colleague asked if I could help bring the wedding dvd over since I would be travelling in a few weeks' time, and I agreed again. Now this time, The Eejit was supposed to bring it to my office today, but he actually managed to get in touch earlier to ask if I could go pick it up instead. My reply was that I was extremely busy so I would not be able to pick it up. His subsequent reply (and this is what has gotten me really pissed off, enough to blog about it) was:
"I'm also having shoots everyday so it's quite difficult to deliver. Maybe you can send a courier over to collect?"
PLEASE.
1) I am doing you a favour by agreeing to bring it over. Delivery of the product is your responsibility; it is not mine nor my colleague's. Since I'm already doing you a favour, the least you could do is to bring it over to me. You should not even expect me to go over and pick it up.
2) To ask me to send a courier over is just ridiculous. That's just compounding the error. If you want it to be couriered, you should be the one getting the courier to send it over. Why should I go to the trouble and expense of getting something that you should be sending to me?
3) Between today and November 24th, which is when I am leaving, there are 13 working days, and I'm not counting Saturdays. Please don't tell me that you cannot find 30 minutes to drive over and drop the damn thing off.
4) In fact, in 13 working days you could have mailed the damn thing around the world, much less to another address in Singapore. Surely you can find the time to bung the DVD into an envelope and mail it??
What kind of company does he think he is running?! The level of customer service, or rather the total lack of it, is just appalling. If The Eejit pisses me off one more time I promise I will publish his company name here, and tell all my soon-to-be-married friends, of which I have a ton, not to use his services.
DUMBASS.
Posted by scrabbyfoo at November 5, 2004 04:33 PM