Friday, March 25, 2005

ID Theft Risk at Carrefour

Continuing from my previous post about Carrefour Shopping Card, I would like to warn you that there is a HIGH RISK of ID theft and Credit Card fraud when you apply for a Carrefour Shopping Card.

I noticed that when you apply for a card, they will ask you to fill an application form. That application form requires you to write your birth date, birth place and your mother's maiden name (often used as security checks for your credit card account). They would also photocopy your ID card and Credit Card front and back. As you probably know, at the back of a credit card, the last three-digit number is often required as a verification for a credit card transaction on the internet. By having your credit card number, your verification number as well as your mother's maiden name, someone could easily use your credit card for an illegal transaction on the internet.

You may trust Carrefour that they would not use this information illegally, but can you trust the person handling the application?

Lessons:
1. Protect yourself from ID theft or internet fraud by safe-guarding your personal data.
2. You may be able to trust the system, but can you trust the person?

Learn and Grow

Carrefour Lied!

Monday, 14 March 2005
My friend and I went to Carrefour M2. We were looking for a Samsung Hi-Fi. We found one (Samsung DS-720) for a special price of Rp. 2,299,000 and 12-month credit was available if we had a Carrefour Shopping Card. The store assistant offered us to apply for a Carrefour Shopping Card and it would be a four-day instant approval instead of the regular two-week period.

My friend hesitated to apply for the card because she had a bad experience with the card previously. She did apply for the card after the store assistant assured her that the price of Samsung DS-720 would still be Rp. 2,299,000 and the product would be available after four-day approval period. He even stated that the promotion would not be over until the end of the month!

Saturday, 19 March 2005
After receiving a call from Carrefour M2 that the card was approved and ready for collection, we went there to get our Samsung DS-720. When we got there, we saw the price had been increased to Rp. 2,599,000. When we complained to the store assistant, he said that the sale price of Rp. 2,299,000 was not available anymore. We were outraged. We told him to ask the store manager because on the application form, it was clearly written that we would only agree to buy the Samsung DS-720 if the price was Rp. 2,299,000. When he got back to us, he said that the product was out-of-stock, therefore we should consider other models.

We were outraged!
We were very disappointed!

Carrefour lied to us!

Did Carrefour think we were so naive and stupid? I am sure that if we didn't complain about the price increase, the product would not be out-of-stock!

Finally, we cancelled our application for Shopping Card and we decided that we would not go to Carrefour M2 again.

Lessons:
1. Ask for a written statement when someone promises you a deal that is too good to be true.
2. A small disappointment of a customer may cost you a lot of lost sales

Learn and Grow!

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Mr. Mogul and The Car Battery

When we were ready to go back home from the office three nights ago, we had a difficulty starting the car engine. According to the indicators, it was because of the battery. It failed to recharge. We thought it was odd because the car worked just fine in the afternoon. After asking around, the security told us that one of the drivers , Mr. Mogul pour some liquid, presumably distilled water, into the car battery because it was running dry. He however failed to check to see whether the car worked perfectly afterwards. Since there was no other cars around to help us jumping start the car, we took a taxi home.

About 10 minutes after we rode in the taxi, the security guy called whether we would like to go back and get the car because he succeeded in starting the engine. We thought it was too late, so we told him that we would get it the next day.

The following day, Mr. Mogul picked us up to go to the office. He said that the car was fine that morning. My friend gently reminded Mr. Mogul to check the car whenever he did something with it.

Later that night, the car once again failed to start. It was only after trying for 5-10 minutes that she was able to start the engine. The problem was definitely the car battery!

Yesterday morning, we still had problems starting the engine. We decided to get one of the other drivers to check what seemed to be the problem. That driver told us that Mr. Mogul often bought distilled water in a big container for a very cheap price. He suspected that it could be the cause of our problem.

My friend and I knew that Mr. Mogul often did this kind of things. He always tries to get the cheapest alternative to almost anything in order to save money. We appreciate his frugality but sometimes the cheapest alternative is not the most economical. He might think that he saved us some money by buying cheap distilled water, but he could not foresee the consequences. We ended up spending more money on taxi, service charge, and replacing the damaged car battery.

This is not the first time he did this kind of things. There were a lot of similar incidents. I simply lost count on how many times he did something like this. Most of the time, we were just too kind and simply reminded him but I think it is time he learns a lesson and not repeat the same mistake over and over again. Perhaps, we will make him pay and reimburse all the cost so that he would finally feel the consequences of his action. I wonder whether he would finally learn from his mistakes...I certainly hope he would!

If you are interested to hear more stories about Mr. Mogul. I may write a series on his stories and we can learn a lot of lessons.

Lessons:
1. The cheapest alternative is not always the most economical.
2. Sometimes a gentle reminder or reprimand is not enough. Sometimes a person needs a shock therapy to learn a lesson.

Learn and Grow!

Thursday, March 17, 2005

The Idol Phenomenon

For the last few years, we've been bombarded with reality shows such as American Idol, Indonesian Idol, and AFI where the audience votes for their idol. It seems that they are bigger than life and a lot of people want to be just like them, they really idolise those idols.

This phenomenon raises questions. Is it wise to idolise someone? What are the effects?

Since I was 15 years old, I have a role model that I always look up to. I've always wanted to be like him. In my mind, he is a gentle, kind, and successful person with integrity. He helps me a lot, especially in the area of personal development. As a leader, he loves and cares about his people. I trust him completely and I listen to his advice on almost anything. I really admire and adore him.

In the last few months, I finally realise that it is unwise to idolise someone or to expect too much from a person. The higher you see that person, the harder the fall when you finally realise that he is not what he seems to be to you. The more you expect from a person, the deeper the disappoitnment when he fails to meet your expectations. Nobody is perfect. Sooner or later, you will see the other side, the question is what are you going to do about it?

As for me, I truly appreciate that he has shaped my life for the better and I thank him for it. I am grateful for his leadership, guidance, generosity and support for all these years. I will not however blindly follow him nor simply agree to whatever he says and does.

(If you happened to read this blog, I am truly sorry if I disappoint you. I apologise.)

My friends, I hope you can learn from my experience and decide for yourself what you are going to do if you have a similar incident.

Learn and Grow!

Inge Santoso

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Sleep

This morning I woke up at 4.30AM. There is nothing unusual for me to wake up this early in the morning because I usually wake up between 4-5AM everyday.

The extraordinary thing is that I slept for 11 hours! Yesterday I took a nap at around 5PM. I thought I would wake up at 6 or 7PM, just in time for dinner, instead I got up at 11PM. It was too late for anything other than sleeping, so I slept on until this morning.

I woke up feeling very refreshed and rested. I think it could be because I haven't had enough rest and sleep since last week.

Lessons:
1. If you want to take a nap in the afternoon for only a few hours, set an alarm.
2. It's perfectly fine to overslept once in a while, especially during weekends when you need to recharge your body, mind and spirit :)

Learn and Grow

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Oops! He Missed The Plane!

Yesterday my friend was supposed to go back to Solo by taking the first flight at 6.20AM. When I woke up at 5.15AM, he was still having a shower. I was worried that he'd be late because going to the airport usually takes around 30-45 minutes and he should've left the house at 5AM. Despite the possibility of being late, he was still very calm. He told us that once he arrived at the airport 5 minutes before departure time and still could get onto the plane. Finally he left the house at 5.30AM.

At 6.30, my friend called me and said that he had missed the flight. He arrived at the airport at 6 AM while the counter was closed 30 minutes before departure. Finally, the driver had to drive back to the airport to pick him up and took him back to our place.

Because of him missing the plane, my sister's schedule for the day was ruined. She had a lot of appointments and had to re-schedule them because my friend used the car.

Lessons:
1. It's better to go to the airport earlier rather than missing your flight. Be there at least 45 minutes before departure.
2. Remember to set an alarm if you have an important appointment.
3. There are consequences and repercussions to your action or your failure to act.

Learn and Grow!