No more Football Craze like last time
The final match of Euro 2008 will be on Malaysian time 30th June, 2.45am. I’m so glad that my favourite team, no other than Spain made it to the final. Yeah!~ I feel so sorry that I missed out all the matches before, but not the final one. I’m going to sleep early tonight so that I can wake up in time to watch the team in action. Germany is also a fine team, so it is going to be an interesting match. I can’t wait!
I don't how I could be so crazy in the years before. I followed nearly every match from the day World Cup starts especially in form 3 during World Cup 2002. When I got back home from school at 2pm, the forst thing I did wasn't eat nor bathe.It has got to be Football time! Sometimes, I watched until I got late to tuition. In school, we forecasted the results and pasted a big football poster (which belonged to Tua Pao Lip) with the latest results on the notice board next to me in form 6. It was a wonder the prefects never question it, I think they themselves peeped at our attractive poster. I was the "Penolong Ketua Ceria Kelas" that time some more.
Basically, I’m not a football fanatic but girls watching football matches has one common thing with guys watching beauty pageant contests. One important factor that makes me support Spain is its handsome yet skillful players. Most teams have one or two good looking players but Spain’s players are averagely handsome, kakaka. Although looks won’t help the players in the game when two teams tie, it is a bonus element that attracts female watchers. It’s not really the spirit of sports. Football fans may scold me or call me shallow but I can’t be penalized for admiring the good-looking faces and muscular bodies during a game, right? A good game will always be a good game and sports will always have rules to be followed. If the handsome guy is a lousy player, he should change his career instead. Like I say, it’s just a BONUS, the match is the main thing.
I bet I’ll have to go to work with panda eyes again the next morning but it’s worthwhile. By the way, it’s my last day with Esprit, the Spring tomorrow. I think I’ll miss all my colleagues there. Ah, time flies.
Working as a Sales Assistant
Currently, I’m working at Esprit in the Spring. In the letter of appointment, my position upon employment should be “Temporary Sales Consultant”. The first day of work was Hari Gawai, a public holiday in Sarawak, so the mall was quite crowded. I find it a bit tough at the beginning because I did several part time jobs before but not much on the retail line. I had to learn little things like how to put sensor tags onto the garments and how to detach them. Besides that, I have to stand for at least 8 hours during work. As a result of exhaustion, my legs protest by sending the veins to the surface of my epidermis as a sign of warning. Although I work in a shopping mall, I feel that the spotlights can shine as brightly as the sun. Long hours of exposure under the lights drives me giddy sometimes. The worst times should be during sales, which is now. The boutique can turn into a battle field in a blink of eye. Our job is to fold the shirts nicely and place them to where they belong.
All of these, are mere challenges, the greatest one would be…………………………………….the customers.
Customers can ask you funny questions. Below is a comparison of the answer of a qualified sales consultant and an ill-mannered “ah moi”.
Customer: Why are the things here so expensive, got people want to buy meh?
Sales consultant: (Smile) Our brand is a trusted brand and we have assurance of products.
Ill-mannered Ah Moi: Aiya, no money don’t buy la.
Truth: I also think the things are quite costly. Even after discount, I won’t call it cheap. If you want quality, you’ll have to pay more.
Customer: Moi, this shirt I buy 2, you count me cheaper la.
Sales consultant: (Smile) Sorry, ma’am. Our price is fixed.
Ill-mannered Ah Moi: You wait lor, until I become the Taukenio then I give you discount la.
Truth: Sigh~ I’m only a small, small sales assistant, even the supervisor can’t give you discount. Dear friends, I believe it is unwise to bargain in shopping malls. Remember, you’re not at a pasar malam!
Customer: Aiyo, why this pair of pants makes me look so fat?
Sales consultant: No…not at all…in fact it makes your legs look longer.
Ill-mannered Ah Moi: Fat ar? Diet la!
Truth: Hello, Miss, I think you are thinner than me. Why do you wana complain when you have a body which is near to perfect? Anything less than perfect is a flaw on a woman’s body but tell me, whose is perfect? Even Kate Moss’ isn’t.
Customer: Can you get me a new one? Did you check properly? Really no stock already?
Sales Consultant: Sorry, but this is our last piece.
Ill-mannered Ah Moi: You think I can get extra pay by cheating you?
Truth: Usually we won’t lie to customers, unless we are extremely busy or lazy. Ah Moi is definitely correct at this case, we don’t get extra pay for cheating customers. Honesty rewards you with more customers and business.
Customer: (Points to the zip) What does YKK mean?
Sales Consultant: I’m sorry sir, I have no idea. (Trying to look as humble and innocent as possible)
Ill-mannered Ah Moi: You go home and Google yourself lo, I’m not an encyclopedia.
Truth: Ah Moi is right again. Sales consultants don’t necessarily know EVERYTHING. I didn’t know customers have so high expectations on people who are paid a few hundred bucks per month. Luckily, that customer has met one who is so willing to learn (i.e. me). I was guessing the whole afternoon what YKK stands for until I read on Wikipedia. Is it the model of the zip or the material it is made of? So, YKK is actually one of the biggest manufacturers of zippers. Along that, the company also produces parts for engineering. Next time you find a YKK zip on your trousers, don’t panic. It is not hazardous, it is a name for good zippers.
The last and most annoying question of all:
Customer: Ah Moi, you’re not Malay ka?Me: (Smile forcefully) No, I’m a Chinese.
Ill-mannered me inside my heart: I have a name tag which tells. If you can’t differentiate Chinese names from Malay names, I forgive you!
Truth: We can discuss this issue some time later. It can be long winded. In short, I’m a pure Chinese, I’m not even a mix-blood.
All in all, I do enjoy this job because I have nice colleagues and also nice customers. Sometimes, it’s really funny and interesting to meet all kinds of people. Today, my manager praised me. She said I’m a fast learner and can handle my responsibilities well. I guess I’m a qualified Sales Consultant after all.
petrol=valuable asset
The price of fuel is rising
again. SIGH~ ( I think this is everyone's reaction when they learn about it maybe except for kids). That means no more 游车河 and speeding (maximum speed of 50 km/h). Why, you'd ask. It's because the faster you drive, the more petrol your car consumes, meaning more money burnt. Besides, if you brake when your car is running on a high speed, the fuel level goes down even more drastically. If not, can consider to not switching on air-cond while driving. I guess it's not that hard when weather is cool. What about during hot days?........
I think I rather ride a bicycle then.
Yesterday evening, I queued to pump petrol till full tank. All the petrol stations were crowded, as if there's a banner which writes "
SALE! up to 70%,
LAST DAY!!!"
There were even reporters. Aiya, why didn't they interview me, so that you might see me in the papers tomorrow. If you see a pretty young lady wearing sunglasses and a turquoise top in a white toyota in a Shell petrol station in one of the pictures of the front page of newspaper tomorrow, that's me!~ haha. But there's really nothing to be happy about.
