Until now there words were an Oxymoron to me. You know quite similar to American Intelligence. But today I made the most appalling discovery at how stupid and irresponsible some people can be.
And it all starts with a pair of shoes.
Not just any shoes but a pair of Dr.Martens boots. I have been a fan of Dr Martens boots for many years. I still remember quite fondly parting with 80 pounds which was a far more princely sum back then even though the pound was only Rs.100 in London for my first pair of cherry colored Docs. And how good I felt when I held them in my arms much to the amusement of my travel companion. Believe it or not I am using this pair of shoes to this day. And the only thing I had to replace in the past ten or so years has been the laces.
Well recently while I was in Singapore I treated myself to two more pairs of Dr. Marten boots which were absolutely awesome. The first pair of boots was perfect and was an absolute pleasure to walk in. However the second pair of boots was kind of tight especially the right foot making it quite uncomfortable to wear. I can distinctly remember that the shoe I tried on was absolutely comfortable and I was quite confused as to how everything could change once the shoes were bought.
Not just any shoes but a pair of Dr.Martens boots. I have been a fan of Dr Martens boots for many years. I still remember quite fondly parting with 80 pounds which was a far more princely sum back then even though the pound was only Rs.100 in London for my first pair of cherry colored Docs. And how good I felt when I held them in my arms much to the amusement of my travel companion. Believe it or not I am using this pair of shoes to this day. And the only thing I had to replace in the past ten or so years has been the laces.
Well recently while I was in Singapore I treated myself to two more pairs of Dr. Marten boots which were absolutely awesome. The first pair of boots was perfect and was an absolute pleasure to walk in. However the second pair of boots was kind of tight especially the right foot making it quite uncomfortable to wear. I can distinctly remember that the shoe I tried on was absolutely comfortable and I was quite confused as to how everything could change once the shoes were bought.
In fact I was thinking I had eaten so much in the past few days that my feet have put on weight. Well I sent it to Mr. Mint as well as a variety of other cobblers to see if they could stretch it or do something to make it less painful to wear but no one wanted to accept the challenge.
This morning I took the boots and tried them on hoping I could break them in by wearing them for about half an hour just so that they might stretch a little bit.
This was when I realized that the left shoe was bigger than the right shoe! I could not believe my eyes. I looked closely at the labels, extremely closely and finally found the solution to my problem. They have given me one size 8 shoe and one size 7! The shoe I tried on was perfect because it was the correct fit.
I managed to find the number of the store and called them. The first time I dialed it was a nightmare as the lady on the other side could not understand English very well. And her thick accent did not help. But I did manage to get a number and speak to someone more capable, another sales executive and he wanted me to bring the shoes over. Now how am I going to do that? Finally I decided that I will send it through someone who goes to Singapore regularly and get the shoes sorted out.
I could not believe how someone could be so inefficient to be able to mix up a pair of shoes. Specially in a country such as Singapore where it was believed people were more smarter and more efficient. At least I thought so.
To say that I was frothing was an understatement.
I was relating this story to a visitor from abroad who was working with us and had lived a very long time in Singapore. What he told me really surprised me as he said this kind of behavior was “Typically Singaporean” and that most Singaporeans were quite lackadaisical in their work ethic. And he outlined a couple of instances where he had been treated shabbily. Some of them were quite unexpected and quite an eye opener to me. But deep down inside I knew I could have avoided this trauma if I had taken an extra moment to try on both shoes before buying them.
Of course I still think that the guy who mixed my shoes up is an imbecile.
This morning I took the boots and tried them on hoping I could break them in by wearing them for about half an hour just so that they might stretch a little bit.
This was when I realized that the left shoe was bigger than the right shoe! I could not believe my eyes. I looked closely at the labels, extremely closely and finally found the solution to my problem. They have given me one size 8 shoe and one size 7! The shoe I tried on was perfect because it was the correct fit.
I managed to find the number of the store and called them. The first time I dialed it was a nightmare as the lady on the other side could not understand English very well. And her thick accent did not help. But I did manage to get a number and speak to someone more capable, another sales executive and he wanted me to bring the shoes over. Now how am I going to do that? Finally I decided that I will send it through someone who goes to Singapore regularly and get the shoes sorted out.
I could not believe how someone could be so inefficient to be able to mix up a pair of shoes. Specially in a country such as Singapore where it was believed people were more smarter and more efficient. At least I thought so.
To say that I was frothing was an understatement.
I was relating this story to a visitor from abroad who was working with us and had lived a very long time in Singapore. What he told me really surprised me as he said this kind of behavior was “Typically Singaporean” and that most Singaporeans were quite lackadaisical in their work ethic. And he outlined a couple of instances where he had been treated shabbily. Some of them were quite unexpected and quite an eye opener to me. But deep down inside I knew I could have avoided this trauma if I had taken an extra moment to try on both shoes before buying them.
Of course I still think that the guy who mixed my shoes up is an imbecile.
1 comment:
The fabled Singaporean work ethic is the thing of the past. The present day Singaporeans are indolent and unambitious. That's why they are importing planeloads of skilled immigrants.
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