Entries Tagged 'Rants' ↓

I’d always had good experiences with Esso Mobil petrol stations. I grew up when it was just either Esso or Mobil and I liked their old tagline of “Put a Tiger in your tank!”. I also used to have an old punching bag of the Esso tiger as a tot and I liked the Esso tiger because I like tigers.

Today, I had one of the worst experiences ever at an Esso Mobil petrol station.. in fact, at ANY petrol station for that matter.

This is the offending Mobil petrol station at 3 1/2 Mile Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur. Mobil or Esso they are tarred with the same brush since they are both merged into Esso Mobil anyway. It is right at a corner of a turning and next to the Maybank building on Jalan Ipoh. If you know where it is, AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS!

This is a picture of the pump which had stopped at RM69.99. I had paid the cashier inside the station RM70 before filling my tank as is procedure. Initially, I thought my tank was full but when I tried to pump more petrol into the tank, nothing happened.

I’m not usually one to quibble but I was in a bit of a foul mood this morning, so I went into the station and checked with the cashier. Casually, she told me “Oh, pam ada masalah” (”Oh the pump has a problem”). As if that was supposed to be the end of the matter?!

When I saw the attendant, he said “Pam ini memang macam ini” (”This pump is already like that”) and then proceeded to get angry with me because I took my time moving my car from the pump.

He said “Satu sen pun nak bising” (”One sen also you want to make noise”)

I got angry at this point and said “Satu sen pun duit!” (”One sen is still money!”)

How would he like if his boss deducted out 1 sen from his pay every day? He’d feel it won’t he? I thought it was all very uncalled for.

If the petrol station was to scam every customer of 1 sen, 100 cars would yield them RM1. 1000 cars would yield RM10. In a month, it could mean extra income of anywhere between RM30-300 - enough to pay a pump attendant perhaps? Was this their dastardly plan?

And yet these petrol stations had the gall to try to hold customers and the government to ransom by threatening a strike if their demands for lower commission rates for credit cards was not upheld. I don’t use credit cards at petrol stations for security reasons so I’m not affected by this.

Now I’m thinking, stopping the pump from giving you your full money’s worth is one way to scam you. Another way might be to deliver less petrol into your tank even though the machine shows the amount you had prepaid.

Is it not enough that us consumers are already affected by high fuel prices? Do we have to give in to these scammer petrol stations?! I will not. I’m boycotting this particular Mobil petrol station at 3 1/5 Mile Jalan Ipoh and I will ask that you do too.

There is a Shell and Caltex just down the road and another 2 Esso stations in the area that have served me well thus far i.e. without blatantly scamming me. Consumers have rights too!

Picture credit of Kevulike

Never give your all to help a person. A time will come when they forget all you have done for them and they turn around and stab you in the back, twisting in the knife, hoping you never rise again.

People are ungrateful creatures. Not even the dog bites the hand of the master or the person who feeds it, but people don’t flinch at doing it.

Money is the root of all evil. It blinds people to what their rational mind tells them and it stokes the fires of envy and jealousy.

Jealousy is a dangerous thing. When it eats away at you for 20 years, it unleashes itself in a most undignified, most unruly, most uncouth manner.

Religion is a dangerous thing. Recent developments have left me feeling repulsive against those who use religion for their own selfish needs and those who allow their religion to be used for one person’s selfish needs.

Bullies are not only confined to the playground. They are found everywhere even among geriatrics.

*********************

I’m sorry for the downbeat tone to a Monday’s post, but I needed to get some things said. It is all terribly jaded and I hate being put in a situation where I doubt the grand scheme of things God has for us. But this is exactly how I feel now.

How it is people can be so grateful one minute and so ungrateful the next? Why are some people so vindictive to the point that they are prepared to sell their soul to the Devil just for some shortlived personal glory? Why are some people prepared to use God’s name in vain?

I don’t get it.

I don’t get what all these trials are for.

Help.

This is what a motorcycle did to my car side mirrors just this morning.  If this was a human body, it would be the equivalent of bending the elbows backwards till they crack. If this was a human body, it would be deemed to be torture the likes of which have not seen the light of day since WWII.

So, don’t tell me sob stories about people who ride motorbikes and why we, car drivers have to watch out for them; if they persist in acting like dare devils and refuse to watch out for themselves.

Don’t tell me that I, as a car driver, have to avoid motorcyclists who persist in getting right in my traffic lane.  Don’t tell me I should avoid knocking into motorcyclists who think that just because they ride on 2 wheels, they can squeeze into the smallest corners of the roads,  where no wheels should go; never mind that they knock your car side mirrors out of whack or that they scratch your car doors in the process.

No apology, no remorse. The motorcyclist actually glared at me, as if it was my fault that it was a traffic jam and that I had the audacity to take up space on the road. This was after he had bent my mirror out of shape. Lucky for him, the wonderful people at Toyota anticipated the horrid driving styles of Malaysian motorcyclists so the mirror bent right back with only a little scratch.

But still, it was a hell of a way to start the morning! I’m not feeling charitable towards any motorcyclists at the moment. So, don’t tell me I should be feeling sorry for any one of them right now.

I’m not.

Late yesterday evening, the announcement was made after much speculation, that petrol prices in Malaysia were being increased by a hefty 78 sen. That takes us up from RM1.92 to RM2.70 per litre. RM2.70! I remember when a plate of wantan mee was RM2.70.
That’s a very substantial increase and the biggest ever price hike in the country’s history. You know you are (a) old and (b) bitter when you can recall petrol prices of RM1.10 as a kid. This price increase comes hot on the heels of the denial and statement by the Minister of Domestic Trade just 2 days ago that fuel prices will only be increased in August 2008.

This is also a typical case of “Esok Tak Ada” which were the immortal words of the Prime Minister just a day before Parliament was dissolved to pave way for the General Elections.  If there was a compilation of the most oxymoronic phrases uttered by our leaders, this “Esok Tak Ada” would go down in history right on top at No. 1. (Note to all government agents reading this: Please look up the word oxymoron in the dictionary before arresting me for sedition yes? )

So, with only this amount of petrol left in my car fuel tank

I grudgingly hauled my butt over to the nearest petrol station to fill ‘er up at the never to be seen again price of RM1.92 per litre of petrol.

All in all, it took me an hour to get to the pump, fill up to full tank and drive back home. Was it worth it? I think so. At an increase of 41%  I saved RM23 last night as opposed to pumping my car today.

The man in the car before me was drastic enough to tilt up and lift up the hose of the pump to make sure that every single drop of petrol flowed from the pump into his car tank. Some people looked like they had been sitting in a jam for hours as the first thing they did when they reached the pump was to run for the toilets. Others stood around griping and sharing their misery with other like minded consumers. Interesting how it is in times of adversity such as this that the people will bond.

With the price of fuel going up, so too are the electricity tarrifs effective July 1. Expect your chicken rice to similar rise in price as well as every other consumer good out there. Inflation will soon hit an all time high, I predict, looking into my foggy crystal ball.

It looks like hard times ahead.

In my case, the early bird gets my business!

I was down in Melaka yesterday morning and at about 9.35am found myself done and at a loose end. I had driven down early at about 6.30am so naturally, I needed my morning caffeine fix. I can’t function without it!

So, spotting a Jusco mall nearly, I figured that would be a good place to start.

There was free parking, and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf right there in front of me. Woohoo! But wait! It was closed! Huh? Checking the small print, I saw they only opened at 10am. WTF!? This place serves breakfast sets and they open only at 10am?!

Next to it was a Secret Recipe. There were bodies inside and lights were on, but again, I was turned away because it only opened at 10am. Seriously, what’s wrong with these places?!

Walking along, I saw the familiar red and yellow McDonalds sign. Well, beggars can’t be choosers right? If I can’t get my regular cappucino, a McDonald’s coffee would have to do. I was already thinking of the RM4 breakfast Egg McMuffin I could get there. But WTF?!

They were similarly closed till 10am! There were bodies in there preparing for the opening, and delivery motorcycles were parked in there. I could not resist taking a picture of the sign that said “We deliver 24 hours”.

The irony! If I had just sat out in the car park, and called in my order at 9.30am to their delivery line, I’d get my coffee and Egg McMuffin with no problems at all. But try to get it in person and I’m faced with a locked glass door.

I guess I’m spoilt by living in KL City, where places serving coffee and breakfasts actually open early enough for customers to get their morning coffee and breakfast, without having it stretch into lunch or brunch. Or maybe people in Melaka just prefer to go to their local kopitiam.

Either way, I was not terribly amused. At 10am, I presented myself again at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and was met with the smiling countenance of the server and I got my double cappucino in hardly any time at all, with free wi-fi to boot. That sort of made up for the wait.

Sort of.

And on a happier note, Rinnah has organized a little tea party for Klang Valley bloggers! She kindly labelled me co-organizer but honestly, she did all the work and came up with the idea. I said I’d help if she needed it but hey! It looks like she didn’t!

When?
Saturday, 31 May 2008. Tea time begins at 3.00pm and ends whatever time you want it to end…

Where?
IZZI – Uptown, PJ
No. 45G & 47G, Jalan SS 21/37
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia

Telephone : +603 77290855
Fax : +603 77290955

I’ll be there unless something unexpected pops up to spoil plans, so I hope to see you all!

Happy Weekend everyone!