Ruma 的个人资料A Brand New Day照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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2月18日 Have you ever been cross-sold? The scene looks innocent enough: two friends sitting with me in a cafetaria. Soothed by the inviting interiors, we sink into the plush couches, amid a clump of cleverly placed indoor palms, giving the place a garden-ish look. Up comes the polite waiter, saying," Good day, ladies, what can I get for you?" We take in his warm tone, and in a chorus, we say, "Three cold coffees, please!!" The waiter took that down, and then added, " would you like it with cream or ice-cream?" Gullible us, again in unison sing in a chorus, " Oh, ice-cream, please!", for the day had been more than warm. The waiter smiled again , politely, and added, "would that be vanilla or chocolate or butterscotch?", and then again, unitedly, we opted for,"Chocolate, please!". Encouraged by our weak state of mind and body, the waiter again suggestively asks, "would that be with a chocolate-grating topping, or the cookie crumble one?" (whatever that means!)
Needless to say, we are left stumped when the bill arrives. We had ended up paying almost three times the amount we would have, for a normal, common, to-the-point cold coffee. In other words, we had been cross-sold!
I'm sure it's happened to all of you, in some form or the other. Take a look at those banks, and the attractive schemes they keep throwing at customers, cleverly omitting the finer details and hidden cost. " Zero charges for a credit card, Madam", is what they claim. Likewise with insurance policies. The flip side is, that one spends a lifetime getting back from these money-wise companies, when in dire straits. I remember my elderly uncle becoming a wreck chasing the insurance guys when his car was stolen. He ultimately won, but at a huge cost to his health and welfare.
Even shopping malls are not innocent bystanders. "Upto 50% off!", "Money-back guarantee", and "Buy for Rs.1000/- and get one kg. sugar free!" Naturally, customers are excited at such offers. However, on closer scrutiny, we find that the "One kg. sugar free!" offer stands valid only on shopping on weekdays, and not weekends! The hidden messages are seldom revealed to the public.
"Customer service oriented organisations....have realised how easy it is to increase their revenues and profit margins by selling more to their customers rather than seeking new customers. For example, notice how Pizza Hut never sells water. That's because they want you to order Coke, which they could have the pleasure of serving to you in a tall glass, full of ice, and a slice of lime, for a 400% margin!", says Shyam, writing for The Hindu.
Be wary of all kinds of freebies, discounts, and tempting offers at eateries. Each of them is loaded with double meaning, which means that you end up with lighter pockets,and THEY go laughing all the way to the bank. In the New Age scenario of commercialisation, it is upto the customer to decide how much of a thing he actually wants.
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   2月15日 A V-Day story. Here's an unusual love story, which I'd like to share with you.
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Each day of the last three years has been Valentine's Day for a Malaysian couple-she is aged 106 (yes, you heard right!) and he's only 37 years old!
When Muhammed Noor Che Musa and Wok Kundor tied the knot over three years ago, nobody gave their marriage much of a chance. Now, the couple, who reside in Kampung Tok Bak near Kuala Terranganu, have surprised many by staying happily married and proving that love conquers all. The couple admitted that they were not too familiar with Valentine's Day but said it meant a day for professing love for one another, then everyday has been Valentine's Day for them.
Asked how it all began, Noor says it was certainly not love at first sight. What started as friendship developed into "something stronger" and eventually it led to marriage. "Sometimes I wish people would just leave us alone but I guess there's really no chance of that happening as there are not many 106 year-old women with 37 year-old husbands," Wok says laughingly.
" I know why some people are wondering why we decided to get married but rest assured that it has nothing to do with material things as we are living modestly on my income as odd-job labourer and Wok's allowance from the Welfare Department," Noor says.
As for the secret of their blissful marriage, Wok said that like others', theirs also had some ups and downs, but Wok said it was vital to remember not to go to bed angry with each other.
(News Courtesy: IANS reports from Malaysia, and The Deccan Herald, India)
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 2月10日 A Visit to the Vet.( Vet Services in Bangalore City) I am standing outside my Vet's clinic. In fact, he and I had raced each other, neck to neck, through a traffic jam, so I was pretty sure that I'd be his first customer/patient/client. I was also armed with an appointment, and was so sure that there could possibly be no one before me on a weekday. However, I was proved wrong. A bespeckled gentleman was ALREADY getting his German Shepherd attended to, leaving me with mine outside. "Outside" refers to the very public road which is exposed to traffic, people, and the usual sprinkling of the Great Indian Strays.
My dog Lucky, is a hyper energised dog when it comes to outings. There is something about a car ride which either excites him or ennervates him or stimulates him. You can well imagine what he's like when faced by an equally personable stray, who challenges him as to why his territory has been tresspassed upon. Moreover, the bespeckled man with the German Shepherd was refusing to come out. My patience had been tested, and so, when I see the same gentleman refusing to budge, I am obliged to give and SOS to the Vet in question. Voila! I am in the Doctor's Chamber!
Today's Vetenary services have grown in leaps and bounds. No longer do you see a dry looking vet in a shabby room, taking a look at your dog with primitive equipment. Now, the animal clinics are done up in an attractive way, colour coordinated, with cute dog blow-ups on the walls. Charts and visual aids inform you on your pet.There is an Operating Theatre, a Dog bath, contemporary digital weighing scales, and an entire shopping area consisting of dog-related products.....collars, leashes, dog-coats,toys, chew sticks and bones of different sizes for different age groups and breeds, dog bedding, frozen foods, non-frozen food from all over the world, and Kennel services for those wishing to go away on vacation and don't have a reliable place to keep their beloved pet. Indeed, it would seem as if dogs pretty much have the same requirments as a human would.
I am lucky to get Lucky a good doctor. He checks his coat for skin infections, gives him the required treatment, and at the end of it all, I return a happy, (if a little poorer) customer. By the time I come out of the treatment room, there is already a queue of patients: a Dobermann, a cute Golden Spaniel, A Labrador, and a Daschund. All the "patients" look cute, but I have to be careful so as not to arouse any jealousy in Lucky. I pay up my bills in the computerised billing desk....and wonder where all the money flies!
Thankyou, Doctor....my dog is actually having a peaceful sleep today! 2月9日 Have you read any of these? It's well near impossible to keep up with the latest book releases, but what's the harm in updating our knowledge of the national bestsellers? Here's some food for thought: if you think you're a well-read person, check this list out before jumping to conclusions!
TOP 10 (A monthly list of national bestselling books compiled for 'India Today'.
FICTION:
1. The White Tiger Arvind Adiga, Harper Collins.
2. The Three Mistakes of My Life Chetan Bhagat, Rupa.
3. The Tales of Beedle the Bard J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury.
4. Twilight: Film Tie-In Stephanie Meyer,Atom/Hatchette Book
5. The Rozabal Line Ashwin Sanghi, Westland.
NON_FICTION
1. Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century, Nandan Nilekani, Penguin.
2. Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. Rashmi Bansal, CIIE, IIM-Ahmedabad.
3. The Secret. Rhonda Byrne, Atria.
4. Outliers: The Story of Success Malcolm Gladwell, Allen Lane.
5. Curfewed Night Basharat Peer, Random House.
OTHER INDIAN BOOKS IN THE TOP 20.
FICTION.
1 Sea of Poppies, Amitav Ghosh, Penguin/Viking.
2. Between the Assassinations, Arvind Adiga, Picador.
3. Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri, Random House India.
NON-FICTION
1. The 24*7 Marriage: Smart Strategies for Good Beginnings. Vijay Nagaswami, Westland.
2. Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul. Jack Canfield, Westland.
3. Go Kiss the World. Subroto Bagchi, Penguin.
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HAPPY READING!! For the complete list, click on: www.indiatoday.in
2月1日 Matrimonial sites: Proceed with caution. Last week, I received a call from my close pal, Rita. That's not unusual, as Rita and I are almost always calling each other, and our telephonic chats last a minimum of 45 minutes. What made THIS call extraordinary was, that Rita had a PROBLEM on her hands, and sounded desperate. I heard her out....
About five months ago, Rita had had the chance to visit long lost cousins, on her trip to Malaysia. One of the cousins, a young lady of about 30 years old, struck Rita as a person who was just at the "right" age to get married off. The cousin's name was Tanya, and she was as accomplished as she was beautiful. She worked as a opthalomologist at the city hospital. However, she had already gone through a bad marriage, and was now divorced. Tanya, it seemed was very open to marriage at this point, and so Rita lost no time in getting back home and logging into her computer, to a famous Indian matrimonial site. In no time at all, she seemed to have hit upon the right candidate for her deserving cousin. This was a doctor gentleman who was about two years older to Tanya, and his resume showed that he was equally accomplished, smart and caring. He too, was married, but divorced, and had two children to whom no access had been granted by the court. Soon enough, he and Tanya met online, and within two weeks, the two seemed to be madly in love with each other. Rita was overjoyed that her efforts were paying off, and she had the satisfaction of having done a good deed for a family member.
No one knows what exactly happened after this, but for reasons known best to her, Tanya's mother decided to break off the budding romance between her daughter and the young doctor. Surprisingly, her daughter agreed to her mother's whims, and posed no challenge. However, the young suitor in question was furious. The hitherto polite and well spoken doctor, showed a side that one couldn't even suspect him of possessing. Hurling abuses at the family, he threatened to personally come over to kill them all."Dr. Venom"(as I have dubbed him) has made several printouts of the chat sessions between himself and Tanya, and has send copies of the same to around 10 family members, in his quest to besmirch her image. He didn't even spare my friend, Rita, who was the match-maker, and till date continues sending hate mail to her. Rita's husband and children fear for her security and well-being. I have advised Rita to delete all his messages, and if need be, get hold of a good lawyer and/or undercover detective agent to track down the authenticity of the proposed suitor of her cousin. Later, I visited several websites dealing with online matrimonial frauds and even a website of the Andhra Pradesh State police, warning users of such sites, of the traps they may fall into. The "doctor" who was so sweet all along, turned out to be a sort of psychopath when he was turned down politely, and that too after only a fortnight of correspondence. The girl Tanya, is now a traumatised person, who should thank her lucky stars for not having to continue her life with this modern Dr. Jekyll and Hyde. However, since the experience is all too fresh, it will take months or years to get over. There is a lesson to be learnt from other's experiences, and this is just one of them.
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