Singaporean Tai-tais

I’ve always wondered how to get those “discount codes” when buying online. My friend clued me onto some sites where you can just get the codes without having to sign up for anything. Why not, right? I guess these are affiliate marketing codes or something. Whatever they are, they do provide a legitimate discount to purchases so I’m all for getting the Internet Promotion Code for online stores I frequent.

If you have friends or relatives in the US who can help ship items back to Asia, you should take advantage of the currency fluctuations in favour of the Singapore dollar right now. One of my favourite stores is the Sierra Trading Post which has great outdoor gear that is rugged yet stylish.

Fossil watches are also a steal when buying online versus buying in our department stores, even with local sales or credit card discounts. I guess the only time its cheaper to buy locally is when you know someone at the store who can buy it for you at an employee 30-40% discount.

Lastly, don’t forget that Apple products in Singapore are much much more expensive than the exact same thing in the US of A, again because of the currency which is fixed by Apple, but fluctuates in the world market. Even with the recent drop in prices for ipod nanos, and ipod touch, it is still cheaper to buy from the US, even with shipping costs!

Life is tough enough.  They shouldn’t put up signs that require serious mental calculations to figure out.  To stop or not to stop, that is the question. 

Last night I watched yet another episode of CSI: Miami and couldn’t believe I sat through it. Don’t get me wrong, I love CSI but I can’t stand one character, the language and pose challenged David Caruso. And yet, this post is not even about that type of CSI.

This is a gripe about the other CSI: Continual Service Improvement. Right now, our business is overrun with people who want anything and everything to be hooked up to an IT system of some sort. I love technology and am all for improving efficiency and lowering costs. But I also believe, at the heart of the business, training and appreciating people is far more important than automating and handling everything with strict processes.

At the end of the day, its the people who actually do the work so whatever CSI is implemented, the staff don’t only need to get certification and MCSE training , as in our case, but also actually believe that the system benefits everyone, internal and external. Without the “buy in”, the organization just runs into a lot of resistance both in training and actual implementation. The talk around the proverbial water cooler also becomes one filled with complaints and jaded comments and just brings everyone’s morale down.

People always resist change unless they can clearly see how it benefits them or others.