Oh, for some dirt somewhere

Wednesday January 16, 2008



COMMENT

By MARINA MAHATHIR



Despite certain annoying traits, and the fact that wandering around shopping malls ranks as a form of exercise for Singaporeans, there are some things that they do well.


I KNOW we hate to compare ourselves with Singapore as a matter of reflex. And indeed all that antiseptic-ness of the city-state does make you wish for some grime or dirt somewhere to make it seem more human.


You yearn for people who don’t fall in line so easily, who have an opinion about things.


Of course they have their faults, the prime ones being a tendency to condescend to their neighbours; but they do it in an almost innocent way.


I recall hearing one earnest young thing once declare: “In Singapore, women have equal rights, but I understand in other countries they don’t.”


It never ceases to amaze me how the mere matter of a Causeway between us is no deterrent to an astonishing level of ignorance about how Malaysians actually live.


I remember once, after the premier of a movie I helped produce which featured trendy young KL kids, a Singaporean, wide-eyed in wonder, said: “I never knew you all lived in houses like that!” (Meaning modern suburban housing estates).


And I thought all this time I should feel guilty about stereotyping Singaporeans!


Still, despite these annoying traits and the fact that wandering around shopping malls ranks as a form of exercise for them, there are some things that Singaporeans do well.


The sheer efficiency of the whole place sometimes comes as a blessed relief after the irritating unreliability of some of our services.


They haven’t reached the level of the Japanese, who would almost kill themselves if they imagined they’ve offended a customer, but there are some things that they do right.


My friend called for a taxi to Changi for me, and I was amazed that she didn’t actually have to talk to anyone to book the taxi. It’s all done over the mobile phone.


Press certain numbers and voila, you are told that a particular taxi is headed your way in approximately five to 10 minutes. And they actually do arrive within that time!


What’s more, it’s an extremely clean taxi, they go by the meter, and they even accept credit cards! How very First World!


It sure beats our age-old system where you dial up the taxi company and hang on until they deign to answer, whereupon you have to put up with someone who manages to be rude in a language unknown to most of humankind.


After you’ve given your details, they then tell you 'No taxi!' and immediately hang up. You then try another taxi company and repeat the whole process.


If you are lucky enough to finally get one, you then have to steel yourself to risk any number of diseases sitting in it. You also have to remind yourself to check that the driver did put the meter on, just to avoid any arguments later on.


All in all, a stressful experience.


At Changi Airport, one of the most noticeable things is the numbers of old people working there. They are mostly directing passengers to taxis or retrieving baggage trolleys.


Not exactly mind-enhancing, but it does keep pensioners gainfully employed in a place where they get to watch people coming and going.


Here we import people just to push trolleys from one end of the airport to the other, a total waste of energy for both the employer and the employee.


While service in the stores in Singapore does tend to make your skin crawl sometimes, at least you do have service. In these desperate retail times, it’s not unusual for salespeople to almost literally jump out of their stores to accost you and persuade you to come and look at their merchandise.


It may be more attention than you want, especially when you don’t intend to buy anything, but for a brief moment at least you do feel slightly important.


Which is more than I can say for many of our stores. I don’t understand why retailers put salespeople who know nothing about their products to work. If you do get any attention at all, this would already be a small miracle.


After that, the decision to buy is left entirely to your mood, not how persuasive your salesperson is. I’ve left stores simply because salespeople have seemed so disinterested in selling me anything.


Let’s not even get started on customer service on the phone. My Internet connection at home has been down for some 10 days and that’s because, despite my persistent complaints, the service provider is not interested in coming over to see what’s wrong. I am now seriously looking at other providers.


I don’t think I could last living in our southern neighbour because I would get bored too quickly. But as for those brief visits, getting things done quicker and more efficiently can really be quite exciting.