Très Très Annoying

Probably one of my first ever encounters of intercultural conflict occurred when I was 18 while working as a waiter at Indochine Wisma Atria. Due to its prominent location in bustling Orchard Road and the alfresco setting amidst the unforgiving Singapore weather, the bar regularly sees a steady stream of beer and sun loving tourists dropping by for a pint of ice cold beer. I had the utmost displeasure of serving a particular frenchman one evening.

"Can I have your order, sir?", I asked.

"One Carlsberg.", he replied curtly.

"Certainly", I replied and turned towards the bar to collect his drink, sighing as I thought about the long night ahead.

Soon, I returned with the beer and presented the bill to him and he flew into a rage.

"Singapore is very rude, in France we get bill only when we finish our drink! Here, everywhere I go to drink, I get bill straight!", he yelled in his attempt at the English language.

Taken aback, I took a deep breath and explained to the irate customer that it was common practice in local bars for non-dining customers to pay for their drinks upon receiving them. Without drinking a single drop, he slammed a $50 bill on the table and walked away leaving a trail of expletives in a mix of French and English. By this time, the change from the $50 was not enough to erase the stares from everyone in the premises.

My manager advised me that occurances like this, even though uncommon, was not rare. Different cultures have different expectations. The Europeans tend to be sensitive to perceived 'impatience'. My guess is that they bring their day-long coffee drinking culture wherever they travel. The fast-paced life in metropolitan Singapore could be a little hectic for them and the last thing they want is to be rushed to pay up for their drink which they have not even enjoyed.

From then on, I took extra caution and effort to identify different cultures and levels of hostility. The problem was solved by asking customers if they would like to settle the bill immediately or later. Even though the majority of patrons are warm and accomodating, there are always the not-so-friendly ones and it takes a keen eye and a bad experience to identify one.

Business Letter Critique

Dear LIN HANRONG

INSURED: LIN HANRONG

GIRO APPLICATION – REJECTED BY BANK

Thank you for your recent application for premium deduction through AIA POSB GIRO.

Kindly note that the Bank has since informed us of the rejection of your Giro application on account of the following reason(s):

SIGNATURE OF DEPOSITOR DIFFERS FROM BANK RECORDS

For your reference, the rejected Form returned to us by the Bank is attached.

Kindly complete and submit the enclosed new Giro application form to us for processing. Please incorporate the appropriate changes to ensure successful approval of the new application.

We wish to advice that it normally takes two months to secure the Bank’s approval of a Giro application. As such, in order to ensure continued coverage, kindly advance premium payment (inclusive of GST), where necessary, to cover this interim period.

Please feel free to contact your servicing agent or our Customer Care Executive at Tel: 1800-xxx-xxxxx should you require any assistance.

We are glad to be of service to you.

As this is a computer generated letter, no signature is required.

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I received the above letter informing me of a problem with my Giro application. This blog post shall analyze and critique this letter based on the 7Cs in writing as well as the principals of business correspondence.

The letter started off politely with proper salutation and a word of thanks. By using ‘you’ and ‘your’, the company shows an understanding for the customer. COURTESY pleases the reader and is likely to ensure prompt action. CORRECTNESS is important as it shows that the company takes the trouble to be meticulous through use of formal English and lack of grammatical errors. This reflects the company’s professionalism and seriousness. The letter also displayed CLARITY by including all the facts and CONCISENESS by not beating around the bush. At a glance, the reader understands the problem he faces and the necessary action to undertake. Next, transitional phrases, for example, “as such…” ensure that the letter is COHERENT and COHESIVE. Also, to prevent the reader from blaming them for a possible slow response, the letter was made CONCRETE by stating that “it normally takes two months…” This way, the reader knows when to expect a response. For COMPLETENESS, the writer offered assistance including the phone number for the Customer Care Executive. Not only will this make the reader feel important, he is also assured that help is only a call away.

However, this letter also seems to lack a personal touch. Printing the reader’s name in block letters seems a little rude in my opinion. There was also a lack of complimentary closing to indicate the sender of the letter, merely stating that it is a computer generated letter. These particularly do not help to make the reader feel special.

In conclusion, apart from writing with the 7Cs in mind, it is also necessary to proofread and edit the letter as even minor mistakes like misspelling can diminish the letter’s credibility.

Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

Described in this post is the hypothetical scenario in which a local rock band falls out and jeopardises their dreams of rock stardom due to conflicting work ethics.

The cast:
Gitaro Hiro – Newest member, extremely talented guitarist
Ivana Bang – Drummer
John Low – Bass guitarist, leader of the band
Juswanto Singh – Vocalist

The future was looking bright for local aspiring rock band Fell-Out Boys, having just landed an audition for a weekly gig at the Singapore’s most prestigious club, the Ministry of Noise. The band has 2 weeks to practice for the audition and enthusiasm was at a peak. However, as the flurry of practices passed, things started to take a turn for the worse.

After a rather dismal practice session one night, Ivana and John shared a cab home and the following conversation was exchanged.

John: Gitaro is starting to get on my nerves. He's always late for practice and his cocky attitude irks me! I know that he’s among Singapore’s top guitarists but he is not a team player, always showing off!!

Ivana: You should speak to him. You're the bandleader, not Gitaro. Tell him your concerns and I'm pretty sure he will change.

John: It's not like I haven't tried! His arrogance has clogged up his ears!

Meanwhile, Gitaro and Juswanto were on the west-bound train, heading towards their respective homes.

Juswanto: Gitaro, I've observed that John doesn't seem too happy with you. The both of you haven't really been speaking to each other since the last practice. Is anything the matter?

Gitaro: John is such a nag! I know I might be late for practices but come on, the songs you guys play are ridiculously easy that it's almost a waste of my time coming for practice. You guys should be thankful that I am willing to play for your band.

Juswanto: Oh no, more band politics!? I am going to stay out of this! Why is it so hard to accommodate each other, for god's sake, it's only music. I only just want to sing!!

Two days before the audition, John received an SMS from Gitaro. “I’m out of this, good luck to you and your crappy band.” John was at a loss while the rest of the band remained speechless. Please help Fell-Out Boys realise their dreams by posting any comments on what John and his guys should do to resolve this conflict.