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I share all my sporadic and toilet thoughts in here, because I am random like that.
One cabby’s take on China and its people
I was on board a taxicab en route home one weekend (when it was approaching midnight) … when the taxi driver started talking.
Like most Singaporeans around me, I’m not particularly fond of chatty taxi drivers. But I felt that I owed this guy one – he was supposed to be changing shifts at some other part of Singapore but still agreed to ferry me all the way to the East anyway. So I decided to listen.
As it turned out, this fellow had plenty of interesting things to say.
The topic was on … foreign talent.
Foreign talent was a huge issue during Singapore’s General Elections some months ago. For the benefit of my overseas readers, I shall provide a brief run-down. Basically, immigration in Singapore was on an uphill trend in recent years. So much that the local dwellers are beginning to feel the heat, mostly in the form of competition for education, housing and uh, space in general. Not to mention how migrant workers being with them a host of practices and behaviour that is considered the ‘norm’ in their home countries, but didn’t sit quite as well here.
This taxi driver had a particularly huge vendetta against the immigrants from Mainland China, yammering on about his personal experiences with such commuters in his cab.
“You know ah, I can be driving halfway and these China people will suddenly just wind down the window and spit outside! Very disgusting, you know!”
I could only nod politely. Didn’t quite agree with this one. Time and time again, I’ve personally witnessed other local taxi drivers doing the exact same thing. Much less so for the foreigners.
He also went on about their other bad habits such as speaking in full volume, their general aggressive nature and sense of hygiene – most of which I was only partially listening.
Well, I did share the same sentiments but didn’t want to add oil to the fire by contributing my own thoughts. It’ll only cement his general hatred for China immigrants and strengthen the stereotype, no? I have friends from Mainland China and they don’t quite fit into the stereotype of these folks being loud, aggressive and rowdy.
It was only when he began sharing a particularly bad experience from his travels in Guangzhou when I completely sat up and listened.
He was on board a taxicab heading back to his hotel in Guangzhou. For some reason, the taxicab alighted him at the back entrance of the hotel instead of the main, road-facing one. (The reason is not the point here, though.) He simply alighted and made his way in.
Now, to make his way back into the hotel, he had to cut through the kitchen of a pretty well-known restaurant in the hotel premises. According to him, this restaurant was rated four-stars, pretty popular for their dim sum, and was often bustling with enthusiastic customers.
So when he entered the restaurant’s kitchen, he was totally unprepared for the sight that greeted him. Right at the back entrance of the kitchen was a large cage of stray cats. Seated next to the cage was a kitchen assistant skinning them cats one by one and basically slaughtering them for (what’s most likely to be) food.
Mister Taxi Driver began describing in great detail how shocked he was when he came across that sight, and his bewilderment at the sight of stray cats in the kitchen of a four-star restaurant.
He asked the kitchen assistant about it, only to be given the following answer.
“Well, don’t you know that people in China eat everything?!”
It basically scared him off all food in China from then on. Mister Taxi Driver began telling me about how he absolutely refused to step into China since that particular trip, and even shunning food in hawker centres and food courts in Singapore when he sees a migrant worker from China behind the counter.
I sat still in my seat, completely transfixed by his story.
Out of this world as it was, it was completely believable. China is no stranger to food scandals. (Remember the tainted milk, fake green peas, glow in the dark pork and the most recent exploding watermelon scandals?) Not to what my dad (who’s based in China) told me lately about the ongoing recycled cooking oil trade.
It’s little wonder why people are so distrustful of China (and its people) in general. Their (locally accepted but not well-accepted overseas) behaviour certainly doesn’t help.
The conversation with Mister Taxi Driver ended when I had to alight at my home. We bid each other a friendly farewell, and I wished him a pleasant and safe drive home (something which I generally don’t do). Then, we went our separate ways,
Me? Well, my personal perception of China’s mainlanders remain below average – considering my multiple bad experiences with these folks. (If I were to write about my experiences with them both overseas and in Singapore, it’d probably be as thick as an encyclopedia.)
However, I refuse to wipe them off entirely yet. I’ve met fellow students and friends from China who don’t fit into the general stereotype of China’s mainlanders, which leads me to believe that the crass behaviour seems to be limited to the middle-aged generation (while the Y-generation remains untainted). Not to mention how my Chinese counterparts at school and at work are extremely bright individuals, and are so easy to talk to and get along with.
What are your thoughts about China folk?
What’s in a brand? It’s beyond just a name.
The following snippet from a random conversation got me thinking.
“That’s a nice watch. Where did you get that watch from?”
“It’s from Swatch,” says I.
“Really? Are you sure? I don’t see the word ‘Swatch’ anywhere leh!”
Swatch is a brand that’s pretty well known for their pop, funky watch designs. In fact, I personally believe they are one of the few watch brands with a clear identity. They’ve established their branding so well that any watches they create are distinctively Swatch.
Such is the beauty of good branding where brands are recognized by the identity they create or the personality they exude.
Unfortunately, it still seems that people still recognize the value of a possession primarily by the presence of a brand name on it, which is pretty sad. The unsung heroes behind a company with a good branding (usually the designers and branding managers) are not given the recognition they deserve.
This may not be representative of the general population but based on my own experience in a predominantly Asian country and surrounded by materialistic people. A Coach bag is not a Coach bag unless it has the Coach logo on it. A Louis Vuitton Bag is not a Louis Vuitton bag unless it’s emblazoned all over with the LV logo. “Don’t buy that bag, it doesn’t have the Coach logo on it. No one will know it’s a Coach bag!”
I’ve encountered the above conversation snippet more often than I can count on both hands and I can’t help but feel indignant for the designers behind the brands involved.
I understand people love to associate themselves with brands as it feels prestigious. I’ve no argument against that. We’re a status-obsessed society anyway.
But surely, there’s a better way to associate oneself with a brand other than having a fixation on the actual presence of the brand name or logo on one’s physical possessions.
At the most simple level, how about an appreciation for the design instead? Does it suit your needs? Is it nice?
What kind of personality does the brand exude? (An executive feel? A youthful, funky feel? A contemporary feel with an emphasis on simplicity?) Does the it reflect you? Some people love to associate themselves with brands that are in-line with their beliefs (i.e. philanthropy or a brand’s viewpoint and action towards issues such as ‘against animal testing’) or whose designs represent who they are.
That’s so much better than being fixated on a mere logo or name.
My name is Brenda. But, must I walk around with my name plastered on my chest for my friends to know it’s me? True proponents of a brand see beyond a name.
Just like how individuals are recognized based on a whole bunch of other characteristics such as behaviour, personality, ability, family background and looks by the people they matter to most.
Not the name on their identity card.
Apple needs more balanced surveys
In view of my recent purchase of an iPhone 4 cover from Apple (Yes, I was one of the cheapos who opted to redeem a free iPhone 4 cover before the offer expired end-September), I was asked to fill out an online survey pertaining to the iPhone.
And so I did.
I was pretty much perplexed when I chanced upon this question on the second screen, though.
Second question from Apple’s survey.
I guess that Apple (or whichever survey company they chose to employ) had conveniently forgotten that there’s more to the web than merely the Apple and Singtel websites.
And the only other option available?
“None of these, I have not required help using the iPhone.” (Whut?!)
Either way, there seems to be huge assumption made in constructing this survey question – that people with iPhone issues will only opt to refer to either the Apple or Singtel. And that those who don’t visit any of these websites for resolution, have no iPhone issues at all.
Unfortunately (for them, at least), this is not true at all.
In response, I expressed my dissent in an open-ended question in the next screen about general feedback with my service provider.
Honestly speaking, I have had loads of issues with the iPhone – but the options provided in the previous page (listing only either Singtel/Apple websites) was not sufficient in answering my questions.
I consulted numerous online forums, discussions and weblogs via Google Search in order to resolve the myriad of problems I experienced with the iPhone.
Examples of problems:
Syncing of contacts with the iPhone.
Syncing purchased apps downloaded via the iPhone to iTunes.
The need to restart my phone continuously because certain app sessions were constantly having issues.
And the like …And honestly, trawling through Google Search (which is so ubiquitous, easily accessible via my browser toolbar) is so much easier than trawling through either the Singtel or Apple websites. The discussions and options sought are more balanced too, than one sided.
When it comes to Singtel Support, what can I say? Having to wait 25 minutes on the phone with a mechanical voice constantly on replay with annoying music before I get to speak to a real person is not cool at all.
Just couldn’t resist. :P
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