7 November 2007

How can one reach his goal when he do not know what his goal is, and putting his focus on reaching it.

Saturday, 29 September

No blogging on weekends

Thought

To change the world, you still have to begin with yourself.

Switch to Metric, NOW

Well to the dearest USA thanks for keeping us all behind for refusing to change to a system which is much easier to use.

You cannot complain about the service, for there is none

Something that gets to me and pisses me off a lot is the horrible manner in which employees treats in South Africa. And I have to come clean, but the majority of the employees who abuse their customers is mostly the black employees.

At Woolworths, except for the long lines at the till and always being out of stock at their food section I was treated terribly by one of their employees. I asked them to put a jersey aside for me and told them that I will come and pick it up in two days time. On the second day I went there and asked for it no one knew where it was, after about half an hour of waiting it turned out that it was sold. So when I asked the guy who were suppose to keep it, he first tried the typical African reaction of it was not my responsibility. So I asked him why not, in a polite manner, at that moment he started to raise his voice at me and basically told me I don't know anything. So I asked him to check on the system if they might have one in stock, he argued with me again. Then I asked him for his manager, he told me that the manager was not there, when I asked him for his supervisor, he went to the till to check on the system.
When we got at the system it turned out that the system is not updated in real time. So their branch still had two in stock, but none can be found.
I asked him if he can check if any other branches have the jerseys in stock, he started arguing again. By that time a white female employee walked passed and saw what is happening so she asked me if she could help.
5 Minutes later I was asked an apology for the black guy have done (loosing my jersey and raising his voice at me), got an update of which branches might stock it, got one set aside for me in a branch 50km from me.
So I still had to travel 100km to get the jersey, but I got it.

At the same Woolworths branch, there is two separate lines for baskets and trolleys. That day I had a basket and after waiting in the queue long enough to read two articles in the Men's Health I got to the front. Normally they use the last till of the trolley line to serve the basket customers, so like the lady who was two place s ion front of me I went on to the till in the "trolley lane" when it opened. I started unloading my groceries then I realized that the cashier is not doing anything. When I looked up she crossed her arms stayed quiet for about 10 seconds in which I got a death stare, then she told me she is not helping me since I am in the wrong queue (you helped the lady just now who was also in my queue). So I had to pack up all my goods while she kept starring at me and move to another till.

At Steers, the lady operating the till pointed at us then frowned and told us to move to another position in an extremely rude manner, not even asking please and using a terrible tone.

Most South African restaurants have which is part of a chain is also very dirty. Notable exceptions is MacDonald's and KFC. Steers is the worse offender and John Dory's and Cafe Bugatti is close on its heals.

At Pick 'n Pay at the tills is sounds like you are in the middle of an tea party. The way in which the cashier and the packer talk to one another is really compromising on the service they deliver. And they are on a permanent go slow, at least the waiting time at their tills is much short or non-existent.

At Mr. Price Home they act like government always sending you to the next person without even walking with you.

At Levi's well that was just terrible, you enter the store and 3 people start to stare at you as if you are a criminal. At the same moment you are bombarded by loud music (and they were constantly swearing in song which they played when I was in the store ). After that you want to run away, but realize that you can't for you need to get a new pair of jeans. So one start to browse. Then choose what you like and move on the the fitting rooms and realize that the one you chose is not the right size so one have to get out of the jeans you have on, put on your own pants, leave the fitting room and go back to search for the correct size. By now the people who stared at you a few minutes ago forgot about your existence and carried with their normal conversation, before you the customer so rudely interrupted them by walking into their store. So eventually you find the correct size then someone would shout from the other side of the store: "Youra'igt!" (More like saying than asking, thus th e absence of the question mark). You lie and tell them that you are fine, not wanting to get anymore stares, put the jeans in your hand back and leave the store.

Okay, enough moaning for one day.

At Meltz, I got exceptional service which was really unexpected. Well done guys!

Well and then there are the regulars (in no particular order) like Sport Scene, Diesel, Polo, The Body Shop, Vodacom 4U (Not Vodashop), CNA, Edgars, Primi and Puma who we all came to know for their good service

Thought

Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.

Monopolies

Monopolies are not bad to consumers. If they were then they would not exist.

Monopolies form because a lot of people want goods and services from it. As soon as they misuse their power, competition will arise and consumers will take their money somewhere else.

If you look trough our recent history, companies that was once thought of as indestructible does not really matter today. A quick example I can think of now is Sears.

The problem with monopolies only arrive if the necessary regulation to promote competition is not in place.

So perhaps to all those people who protest against big companies should rather start to inform the general public a bit more about the problem that some of the big companies cause so that they would rather take their money to another place and thus forcing the large company to change their practices to stay relevant.

Eg. Groups of activists could inform regular shoppers about the benefits of buying goods that was produced locally rather than forcing the big companies to buy more domestically produced goods.
The company is merely providing what the consumers want, to change the whole shopping pattern it would need to happen at the consumer. Companies will adapt to provide what the consumer wants or else they will just disappear from the radar.

If consumers starts to buy more lets say organic goods or fair trade goods the companies will stock more of them, but it is unreasonable to force a company to stock goods that consumers will not buy. The additional costs of holding this product will just be passed on to the consumer by a rise in the prices of other goods and services provided by the company.

So perhaps if consumers are aware that the shop their buying does not treat they staff in a good manner they won't buy there and if they still keep on buying there then your believes is not shared by the majority of people so democratically you have been voted out.
Perhaps to the majority of people the extra costs of buying at Whole Foods is more than the extra benefits and the cost of guild caused by buying from a company which is less ethical. So it simply does not make sense to them to shop at the more ethical store.
This patter of behavior can be changed if activists can use their resources to raise the cost of guild of not buying ethical. Then more people would be willing to pay the premium for ethical goods and services.

So to most consumers Wal Mart is not bad, but I still prefer Whole Foods and Sears have not given the consumers what they want.

GO TO THE GYM

Something quirky I say to myself when I really don't want to get of my ass and go to the gym.

"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands (or wives), they just don't."

So start moving, I am afraid of unfit people, and don't you think I have reason to be.

Go endorphins!

ePos Pret

World's Best Salesmen are Indian

Bobby Naidoo from Durbs, applies for a job as a salesman in Vrede in the
Vrystaat in a hyper store.
The Manager says: "Do you have any sales experience?"
Bobby says: "S'true my Larnie, I was a salesman back in Grey street Durban
'n all."
Well, the boss liked the indian boytjie so he gave him the job.
"You start tomorrow. I'll come down after we close and see how you did."

His first day on the job was rough but he got through it. After the store
was locked up, the boss came down.

"How many sales did you make today?"
Bobby says: "Larnie, Just ONE sale 'n all."
The boss says: "Just one? No! No! No! You see here our sales people average
20 or 30 sales a day.
If you want to keep this job, you'd better be doing better than just one
sale. By the way, how much was the sale for?"
Bobby says: " R1,401,237.64"
Boss says: "Hell man..."R1,401,237.64? What the hell did you sell?"
Bobby stutters: "Sir Larnie Boss man, First I sell him the small fishhook.
Then I sell him medium fishhook.
Then I sell him large fishhook. Then I sell him new fishing rod and some
fishing gear 'n all.
Then I ask him where he's going fishing and he tunes down on the coast, so
I'm tuning him he'll be needing boats 'n all in the Indian Oceancause I'm
Indian and I'm knowing this, so we trapped down to the boating department
and I sell him twin engine Ocean going Craft. Then he said he didn't think
his Ford Bantam would pull it and I'm saying true 'a all, so I took him down
to our jammy automotive department and sell him that 4X4 Hilux double-cab
with a canopy 'n all my Larnie. I then get to ask him where he'll be staying
'n all, and since he han no possi to kip, I took him to camping department
and sell him one of those new igloo 6 sleeper camper tents. Then the guy
said, while we're at it, I should throw in about a R1000 worth of groceries
and two cases of beer and I'm scheming that's lekka 'n all and I gave him
discount.."

The boss said: "You're not serious? A guy came in here to buy a fishhook and
you sold him a boat, a 4X4 truck and a tent?"
Bobby tunes: "Nooit meneer, actually he came in to buy a box of Tampons for
his wife, and I'm tuning him: "Well, since your weekends stuffed 'n all, you
might just as well go fishing.

ePos Pret

ePos Pret

ePos Pret

ePos Pret

Lipstick in School -- Priceless!!

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washingtonwas recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.

He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.


There are teachers, and then there are educators...

Dumbledore is not dead.

Well just about everyone I know who read Harry Potter have one opinion or another about what is going to happen in the last book.

I believe that Albus Dumbledore is not dead. He either drank Polyjuice Potion and swopped appearance with either Aberforth or Snape, or (since we now know that there is an opposite of a horcrux) transfered his death into this thing.

1) Why was there always a character close to Harry killed since the second book?
I think this is to make the reader believe that Albus is really dead.

2) Would Albus ever plea to another wizard not to attack him?
Nope

3) Why did Aberforth met with Mundungus? to exchange goods?
The necklace around Harry's neck on the cover perhaps?
Will this contain Albus' life or death?

4) Why would Albus who is one of the greatest wizards have such a rather pathetic brother?
Well might just be that he have a greater part to play.

5) Why did Albus always trusted Snape?
Albus was clever enough to know who trust and who not to trust.

One thing I'll bet on is that we'll learn more from Aberforth in this coming book.
I do hope that my other prediction that Dumbledore is not dead is also correct.

Quick lesson from Africa and Asia

Quick lesson I learned through various trips abroad.

In Africa people exploit each other to reach the top.
In Asia people use each other to reach the top.

Thus in Africa people pull each other down, deeper into poverty, while in Asia people work together to be better off than before.

When touring in Africa, locals want to rip you off all the time to make a quick buck from you while in Asia they rather give you more than you paid for.

Guess where one spots progress when one steps of the plane?

I Love GP

BASIC RULES FOR DRIVING IN GAUTENG

1. Turn signals will give away your next move. A real Gauteng driver never uses them.

2. Under no circumstance should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled by two Golfs, a BMW and an Uno, putting you in an even more dangerous situation.

3. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.

4. Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will only result in you being rear-ended.

5. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving you a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.

6. Never pass on the right when you can pass on the left. It's a good way to check if the people entering the highway are awake.

7. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as a guideline. They are especially not applicable in Gauteng during rush hour. That's why it's called 'rush hour...'.

8. Just because you're in the right lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that a Gauteng driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.

9. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tyre. Never stop to help - you will be mugged.

10. Learn to swerve abruptly. Gauteng is the home of the high-speed slalom driving thanks to the Metro Police Department, which puts holes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keeps them on their toes.

11. It is traditional in Gauteng to honk you horn at cars that don't move the instant the light turns green. This prevents storks from building nests on top of the traffic light and minahs from making deposits on your car.

12. Remember that the goal of every Gauteng driver is to get there first by whatever means necessary.

13. In the Gauteng area, "flipping someone the bird" is considered a polite Gauteng salute. This gesture should always be returned.

14. On average, at least three cars can still go through an intersection after the light has turned red. It's people not adhering to this basic principal that cause the big traffic jams during rush hour.

15. A solid white line is the same as a staggered line in Gauteng . The Metro Police Department just have to save paint to buy new cars for all the new directors. A solid white line next to a staggered line means they have sorted the directors out and the paint contract has been awarded to their wives.

Now guys, go out there today and make Gauteng proud!!!

What can American car companies learn from Jaguar?

If this is the future face of Jaguar, I'll bet on it and so would most people I know.

Perhaps the American carmakers can learn from the whole Jaguar fiasco. Stop designing new models that looks like the ones it is suppose to replace.
Times change constantly, thus the need to change the design of goods and not just keep on updating it.

We have learned from items such as the iPod is that consumers value aesthetics which translates into an overall "cool factor". At the time of the iPod's release other mp3 players might have been better, but none was cooler.

The coolness factor of the iPod is starting to fall, but luckily Apple now has the iPhone.
From this one can see that there are times when more than a update is necessary to keep something cool.

Updates keep something relevant, while redesigning something keeps it cool.

I think the main problem with American cars is a lack of coolness, thus the big truck and SUV craze which have been of the few products which was constantly redesigned and thus retained its "coolness factor".
(Not that American car companies lack the ability, the new European Ford Focus is a cool car. (by the way it looks quite different from its predecessor)).

I think they should learn from companies like Mercedes, take the "C-Class" wikipedia, none of the "styles" look anything like other. When one looks at a car like the "Crown Victoria" wikipedia the current model looks like the 1992 model, with updated headlights.

I would like to congratulate them on the redevelopment (not design) of their other models, but the cars are not aesthetically pleasing (thus not design).
the Focus looks like a French car from the 1980's and the Fusion is just ugly. Why does it take them so long before you get the new design on the market?

The Ford Flex is nice, but still, do we need cars that look like ones from the 1960's with modern trimmings. The companies should forget about their heydays, it was not because people liked the way the cars looked like then, but because the cars were the best design for their time.

Stop updating the car, go redesign it. Give us something that is so radical, something that its is cool to have, something that one actually need to have, something like an iPod nano in 2005.

Tip: Gen Y will be (is) the most eco conscious generation ever and they like to get what they want.

University of Pretoria

Some advice to all matrics. TUKS is a very good university, but do not come here if you want to go to a university who actually cares for it's students.

The university have some very good courses, but the problem is that the university is not on standard with the provision of electronic services and have a very restrictive internet policy.

A lot of the infrastructure is also quite old, and this is starting to show. There is also a lot of beurocracy in certain departments which makes it hard to get things done or to get specific information.

This can be solved if the university makes use of current technology.

First they should provide a better internet policy to students.

They can also ugrade their lecture halls to include LAN ports or wi-fi, so that it is easy to log into the universitie's intranet. (I know Uppsala University has simmilar facilities.)

They need to upgrade and just clean their library and study centre to provide a better atmosphere to study in.

The food provided in the residences is very expensive and not of a good quality. Even after a lot of complaints nothing has been done about this. (You see they do not care about their students.)
And the residence buildings are just old and blown lights is not changed, toilets is blocked for days. (Unless someone reports it, then they respond to the problem quickly, but why is this necesary when they empoy people who's work it is to inspect the buildings make sure that these problem do not arise or get fixed as soon as possible. Well some people is not doing their job.) There are no facilities in the residences to prepare your own meals.

The university could tell more of its lecturers to have blogs. Like this one gregmankiw.blogspot.com, so that students can get more insightful and practical examples about the course they are studying.

They can make more use of their website to provide information to students.

But then, they are the best is South Africa, with the course I am studying and Pretoria is a nice place to live.

So you decide.

Current Hero

Hero

Vodacom
From my experience the fastest mobile broadband speeds. And all of this at the lowest prices.
Problems:
1) My data contract expires, I already have a Vodafone Mobile Connect Card and don’t want another one or USB modem. Come on I don’t even have a desktop computer. I just want a contract that gives no freebies, but a lower price.

2) My normal talk contract expires. I do want a new phone. Why cant you make it a more pleasant experience and create a special kind of "money" that can be used to buy my free phone or all the other "freebies" you currently include. E.g. With my Talk 1000 I get 1000 "Yebo Bucks" which I can trade in for, a new phone of 750 "Yebo Bucks", DVD player of 150 "Yebo Bucks" and a price reduction with the remaining 100 "Yebo Bucks". That way the consumer get what he wants. My mum can get her a new TV and a mini quad bike, while my father uses all of his for a price reduction.

3) It takes ages for new phones to be available.

That L word

MTN
Well done you've conquered Africa and beyond, but you’re still no match for Vodacom service and price wise. Your service is pathetic; your HSDPA is slower than someone sticking to the speed limit. And please tell the people at your call centre drop the YELLO!, your speaking to ... Be professional

Hope:
Was first to launch HSDPA, but it was such a mess up. It was launched but none of your employees or reps had information about it.

Reduced the prices of data before Vodacom.

If I am not mistaken you were the first to offer reduced rates on your premium packages.

And you give much better phones for free on a similar package level than Vodacom.

You are still the best competitor around.

Not even talking about
Virgin Mobile
Not much to complain about, but your piggy backing on the worse network
Best call centre, and no I don't have a sexy voice.
Just be more professional.

Cell C
Started out excellent, you were a trend setter. I still remember your first ads, the packaging of your first starter packs.
But then you lost it.
Your service is pathetic, really pathetic. Spend more on teaching your staff, but first you have to fire the current ones and get ones that is actually capable of doing what is required from them.

And do you really think that people will prefer EDGE to HSDPA, for roughly the same amount?

Go find your soul again, be stylish. Drop the children’s writing and drawings.

"Loop Speel."

Hope this blog will make it a better place.

So that everyone will have more time to "loop speel".