Oh man....we should wait for such an entry on someone's
blog.
*the taxi driver refused to do the cha-cha for me...*
She replied:
"First, thanks to those who wished me happy birthday. Thanks as
well to those who support the previous post. As for those who said
kudos to the staff at OCBC, I agree with you. The staff reacted
well enough, I think. Two of the ladies seemed quite amused. The
third one just seemed a bit disinterested after performing her
banking duties. I think the gentleman also saw the funny side of
the incident. Our conversation basically revolved around whether
there was a sufficient basis for the ad to be reenacted. As I said,
if he had insisted I had a super cute daughter with me to get a
cake, he would have won.
I don't know if the OCBC gentleman paid for the cake out of his own
pocket but I've asked David Conner and Andrew Lee, respectively
OCBC's group CEO and Senior EVP of Global Consumer Financial
Services, to make sure he's reimbursed.
I'd like to point out that I didn't insist on getting a cake from
OCBC, technically, at any point in time. I asked if I could get a
cake. I was told no, I couldn't. Which was fine. I then asked why I
couldn't get a cake. I was told it was because the commercial was
just a commercial. Which was also fine. I then asked why OCBC had a
commercial about giving away birthday cakes when it didn't have any
birthday cakes to give away. If the staff had given me an
acceptable explanation, I'd have walked away. Or if they hadn't
given me an acceptable explanation (nor a cake), I would then ask
OCBC's senior management for one. But I can't complain to the CEO
straight away without giving the ground level staff a chance to
show whether OCBC really gave their customers birthday cakes,
right?
Some people say I got a cake from OCBC's employees, not OCBC, and
that I shouldn't have tormented the staff when my target was the
corporation. I'm sorry, this argument cuts no ice with me. The
incident was during business hours, the staff were wearing OCBC's
uniform, serving OCBC's customers on OCBC's banking premises. They
were representing OCBC whether you or they like it or not. It's a
tough job working in a banking hall but hey, whose job is easy, eh?
Other than the President of Singapore? Sure, the frontline staff
aren't responsible for the ad. They don't make as much as David
Conner. But they know they're getting paid for being the conduit
between retail customers and 'the bank', which they're a part of.
Should they perform only mechanical tasks because they make only $x
per month? Any unexpected incidents not listed in the training
manual is none of their business? Come on! If they do that, they're
no better than machines. And if they're no better than machines,
they should be replaced by machines. And bank tellers have been, to
some extent. The next wave of workers to be replaced will be those
cashiers who mechanically scan, pack and collect the money. Cold
Storage Great World City has a lane for those who prefer to scan,
pack and swipe a bank card themselves. Such facilities are already
quite common in the US.
I think it's a bit over dramatic to say I 'tormented' or
(emotionally) 'maimed' the staff at OCBC, or spoilt their day or
weekend. As for those who use the word 'misery', well, you have no
idea what misery is. Misery is when you have stage 4 cancer. Misery
is when your country's at war. Misery is when there's no rice in
the house. Misery is when your dog's run over by a car. Misery is
when you're homeless in a -10°C winter and you're five years old. A
crazy customer making a crazy request? That's a nice distraction
from the tedium of being a bank teller. Nevertheless, if I did
really cause anyone at OCBC any distress, in any minor or major
way, I apologise, unreservedly and sincerely. And I suggest you get
out of the service industry. If you can't take the heat, get out of
the kitchen. If you can't handle crazy customers, then don't handle
customers for a living. Or you would have to face many more crazy
ones and make yourself 'miserable'.
I've enjoyed reading the comments, even those that are are
downright rude. I'm perverse, I know. (Hey! I think no one's used
that word on me yet!) There's a diversity of views, which is not a
bad thing. But there's one thing we all agree on: the cake's bloody
awful!
Ok, over to you, guys. Fire away."<!-- / message -->
