My Journey with RedRibbon Days®

gotta love nik

2011-09-27T00:39:00.001+10:00

When things gets a bit stressful and out of hand in the office, we do get a bit cranky. It was such a draining and tiring day for us (myself and Nik, in particular) - we were out almost half the day doing site recce and buying some stuff for an upcoming project as well as of course, our Halloween party! A visit to our favourite gift/toy store never fails to pick up any damp spirit. The shop is always equipped with the most up-to-date toys, gadgets and notebooks! (yes, I am a total sucker for pretty notebooks!)Look at what we picked up today (and see how excited Nik is with our purchase)!

Boo!

blast to the past

2011-09-27T00:31:00.000+10:00

We were doing a site recce today in Petaling Street when we stumbled upon this tiny little cafe called "Old China". It was a rather small cafe drown by many big colourful sign of its neighbours. We decided to stop for a cuppa, and of course, to check out this very unique cafe. The entrance of the shop has this old cowboy town type of door - where you push it and it will swing back. Very antique indeed. The place was very dimly lit and there was only a table occupied by a group of Japanese tourist, having their late lunch. Chinese classic song was being played (I remembered a song by "Ge Lan" - as I am quite a fan of these classic old song myself) - and the walls were filled with old pictures (in sepia), chinese words and vintage posters. We quickly scanned through the place, caught the attention of the waiting staff and ordered our drinks. Food menu was pretty decent and intensive from fish head curry, assam fish, stuffed tofu to many other nyonya-style cuisine. It was quite an experience for us all - after all, it is quite hard to find a cafe with such character nowadays.

I thought it would make quite a nice place for a private small event for a hens night, birthday party or even a Shanghai night theme party. Whilst we send our Hunter & Gatherer team to package up something amazing with this unique place, do contact our Pleasure Team should you wish to have an experience there either for yourself or for someone who has the soft spot for all things old and vintage.

Lovely, isn't it?

Red thinking cap

2011-09-26T11:53:00.002+10:00

As we are fast approaching 2012, I can't help but to wonder what lies ahead in 2012. So much prediction for the end of the world come Dec 2012 - but how many of us are actually taking this with a pinch of salt? Come what may, life goes on and doesn't help to just sit around for the whole of 2012 and wondering if it is going to be the end of humanity. So for me, life goes on like normal - and of course, more growth and expansion plans for RedRibbon Days®. Come June 2012, RedRibbon Days® will be 4 years old - and like a toddler of that age, RedRibbon Days® is now walking steadily and is even starting to run. So much to think about for the next course of growth - that I've been putting on my red thinking cap for the past 2 days at work. Of late, I've been thinking a lot. About my team of people, the performer, the letdowns, the next promotion, the next person who will be taking over Nik's responsibilities and duties (while she goes on a sabbatical leave - but my money is on she's trying to conceive).

Things are slightly slower around here on a Monday morning...which gives me some time to dwell deeper into my thoughts and the future direction for the company. Later peeps. Happy Monday.

The thoughts and intention behind a "gift"

2011-07-06T13:16:00.002+10:00

I was having a cuppa over the weekend in this trendy upcoming café when I overhead a group of people having this conversation. They are deciding what to get for their best friend’s wedding. When it comes to the word “gift” I can’t help but to eavesdrop further.

So this group of people, aged between 28 – 35 was discussing an upcoming wedding of one their mate. And most naturally, the topic of “What should we get for them” pops up. It was very interesting – and definitely a new perspective to how people makes decision when it comes to buying gifts. I overheard one of them saying, “We shouldn’t give them anything physical – because they are having difficulties with storage.” And don’t bother with gadgets, because they are well equipped in that area as well. One of the savvier friend then interrupted. “They rarely have time for each other due to their heavy workload. Let’s buy them something that will make them spend time with each other”.

Brilliant decision-making skills, I thought.

Their conversation got me thinking about “gifting”. When it comes to giving a gift to someone, do people in general put in much thought about what they are buying for the recipient? This group of people gave me a new insight to how people make decision when they are making a decision on what to buy.

A gift can make or break a relationship, so I was told once. A great well thought gift will be cherished and appreciated – whereas a bad gift can wreck a relationship. How can a gift in general wreck a relationship, I thought? A gift is a gift, no? A company (with good intention) wants to reward their team of people for a good job done on a project. So they bought everyone involved in the project a GPS (car navigator). It is a good gift, many would think. However, the next two days, the management received a resignation letter. When probed further, they found out that the person resigned because he is handicapped bottom down – and will never ever have the opportunity to drive a car. So why would he have use for a GPS? In this context, the buyer has not put in much thought when deciding what to give as a gift – hence wrecking a relationship.

Back to the conversation I eavesdropped earlier, I was thinking how a RedRibbon Days voucher would satisfy all the requirement of a perfect gift for this group of people. A gift that is not physical (hence not taking up space) and allows the couple to spend quality time together.

If I have the opportunity to ever propose the ideal gift for a couple as such, here’s one perfect gift : An epic day out for the couple.

Since it’s going to be an epic day out, the couple should never worry about driving, finding parking and etc. The couple will be drive around the whole day (from the start of their experience till the end)!

Personal Limousine Chauffeur

Their very own chauffeur will be waiting outside the couple’s house waiting for the couple to embark on their epic day out.

First stop: Hearty Breakfast

There is nothing quite like a big hearty breakfast. Indulge in a range of healthy, scrumptious breakfast in a laid-back, cosy restaurant.

Second stop : ATV Waterfall Adventure

Perfect for that busy couple who is constantly buried with work. Take this opportunity to explore the beauty of our natural surroundings in this amazing experience. With a stop-over at a 7 tier waterfall, pristine surrounding untouched by humankind – this experience will definitely be a good breather from the city.

Third Stop : Mandara Massage

After all that adrenalin rush, head down for a pampering, relaxing and indulging couple massage. Let our masseur work their magic, and put the couple into deep relaxed state of mind. For the next 50 minutes, you will be at total bliss.

Fourth Stop : High Tea

So the couple had a hearty breakfast, and by now, should be feeling a bit peckish. Time to indulge in some sweet and savoury treats. Head down to the savvy BSC and indulge in a high tea experience fit for a socialite! Well known for it’s amazing range of chocolates and macarons, this experience will tease all your taste bud. Indulge in quiche, sandwiches, macarons and chocolates over a cup of fine tea.

Fifth Stop : VIP Shoe Shopping for Her

All girls have a soft spot for sexy, glamorous shoes. Proceed next to the experience, the VIP Shoe Shopping Experience where the show will be exclusively closed for an hour just for the couple! Let our personal stylist attend to the every need and advice on how to wear the perfect shoe for each occasion.

A bottle of bubbly and fine chocolates will accompany the couple while carrying out this experience. Imagine sipping bubbly while trying out shoes, without the intervention of others – definitely an experience not to be missed for all shoe aficionado.

Sixth Stop : Golf in The City for Two

Now that she has gotten herself 3 pairs of new shoes, it is time to do something that will make him happy as well! The couple will head down next for a “Golf in the City for Two” experience – whereby the couple will get to learn how to play golf – indoor style. For beginners, it will a good introductory experience to see if you really like the game (before you invest on the golf clubs) – and for the professionals, it will be a good time to practice your swing , and show her how good you are in this!

Seventh Stop : Stylish and Contemporary Asian Dining for Two

The couple must be famished by now - proceed next to a unique dining experience at ISHQ that features authentic Asian recipes from the humble Thai cuisine to Kampuchea and Vientiane and also the infamous Kahsmiri food. Served with a slightly modern twist, ISHQ dishes retain their original, traditional flavours. Having undergone a million dollar renovation resulting in the cosiest of ambience for patrons of fine dining, ISHQ boasts a large pillar-less dining hall that accommodates up to 200 persons, a garden courtyard with alfresco dining and an upper level which acts as a stylish cocktail bar and lounge.

Eight Stop : Movie for Two – Platinum Suite

What better way to end the night with a movie in the comfort of a Platinum Suite? With plenty of facilities to enjoy before the movie, you and your partner are bound to enjoy every minute of the night! Hop on to the massage chair, sip on complimentary soft drinks or surf the net before your movie starts. You and your partner will watch the movie in a 20-seater hall – fit with deluxe sofa that reclines for your ultimate comfort. There is also a service call button – so feel free to call for service any time during the movie! Slump on the plush sofa, eat popcorn, and relive the day’s experiences.

The perfect gift for the busy couple who rarely have time for each other, and yet nothing physical that will clutter their home! You won’t be just giving them an experience, but also the gift of time and love.

*Note: Package above is just a suggestion of an epic day out. All RedRibbon Days experiences are customizable to suit the recipient’s lifestyle and most importantly, your budget.

To customised a gift as such, email us at info (at) redribbondays (dot) com (dot) my or simply tweet to us @redribbon_days or call us at +603 - 2093 5973

Lean v. Fat

2011-06-30T16:12:00.005+10:00

I had the most amazing conversation last night during an event with a friend and her husband. We were talking almost about everything until my friend's husband enquired about RedRibbon Days, and if I'm doing any marketing at all - as he only knew about it when my friend(the wife) told him about it. Quite honestly, I do not have an up to date marketing plan for RedRibbon Days. All our marketing was executed as we go along - and as a university graduate, I've done 1 subject on marketing - so I know the importance of a marketing plan. Right...Really ? Do we really need to have a marketing plan that we adhere to like a bible?

Back to the conversation I had with my friend and her husband - so, we went on to discuss about the market for "experience gift" in Malaysia, and he went on and mentioned that "RedRibbon Days is a great product - unfortunately, I think you do not have a very strong marketing strategy". I gulped - I had to agree. After being in this business for 3 years, finally, a very honest soul came to me and said that to my face. Was I offended? No. I was thankful.

As we chat into the night, I learnt more about my product - and he went on to give few very critical feedback. He quickly surfed through our website, and within seconds, he pointed out to me things that should be there but was not there - and things that shouldn't be there but was there.

I had to be honest on this. As a growing company, everything that we do is constantly in a "chop chop" pace. Quite simply, there is no room for too many pilot testing - and to gather feedback for everything that we do. Everything has to be done in-house, seeing that I'm rather fussy when it comes to designing work ; from the type of font use, to the very red that represents RedRibbon Days.

And then my friend went on to say "Lean is the way to go" - I had to pause for a second or so ; and I thought it was an answer to a question that has been disturbing me for the past one week. Lean is good. Lean is this context refers to "a small company but with very good,efficient people". It is better than a company that is big(fat), with many team members, but only a handful are top achievers/performers. I had to agree. I had rather have a small team of good, efficient people working with me, rather than a big team - that does nothing productive but give me problems. Of late, I've been very troubled by the fact that I had to let go of some staff. I hate letting people go, as I believe each of them has something unique in them that will do good for the business.

So, when my friend said that - like a light bulb lighting up a room, my question was instantly solved. I do not need a big team for now especially if they are a team of people who are not pulling their weight to meet the company's objective. I need a very lean team - not a fatty team that will cause health problems to the business down the road.

I had to asked myself last night before I slept - Did God/The Universe sent them my way to give me answers to all the questions that I've asked myself before?

We are turning 3 !!!!!

2011-06-17T00:20:00.005+10:00

RedRibbon Days is turning three this 19th June 2011! How time flies and within a blink of an eye, we will be blowing 3 candles on the lovely pavlova cake that we will be having tomorrow. I'm very thankful for what we are today, the group of wonderful people supporting me all the way - relentlessly.

It is customary for everyone to indulge in a whole day of good food, good cake and good company! (well, it's not like we are already doing that every day!). For lunch, we will be having the famous Sunrice duck rice - the yummy black sauce, thick chilli sauce and sour soup is just mind-blowing. Story of sunrice duck rice begun 3 years ago, during our launch date (19th June 2008) - we were frantically running around for our launch and we were supposed to have that very duck rice for lunch - but we totally missed it as we were too busy. So, it was a whole bag of duck rice gone to waste. To commemorate this very auspicious day, we decided that we should make up for the waste and eat duck rice every time we celebrate RedRibbon Days birthday. Sound silly ? Well, it might be to some, but to us, the whole tradition of eating duck rice must continue and must be adhere to come this day, every year.

And yes, a birthday celebration can never be complete without birthday cake! Last year we had tiramisu and we even water it down with a bottle of bubbly. This year, we have ordered a Strawberry Pavlova cake (absolutely divine) and waiting to be popped is a bottle of Veuve.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my team members (who seldom comment on my blog, although I know they follow me and read my blog ardently). This day, 19th June forever belongs to us all at RedRibbon Days - and without you guys, we will never be what we are today ; and without you all, we wouldn't be having so much fun and food!! Thank you, thank you and thank you for everything bestowed to RedRibbon Days and me. We are very blessed to have you all as part of the team.

Happy Birthday RedRibbon Days and may our future days ahead be filled with abundance of fun, happiness, joy, pleasure, experiences, good food, good people and good PROFIT !!

Father's Day

2011-06-16T23:42:00.006+10:00

Father's Day this year falls on Sunday (19th June). Like any other years, I never had the opportunity to spend Father's Day (or Mother's Day as a matter of fact) with my dad/mum. Come every weekend, I'm either tied down with events or too busy to travel all the way back to my hometown. The 3 hours journey was to me a complete drag and I get edgy even before the journey home starts!

Anyways, I was going through RedRibbon Days website to decide what I should be getting for dad this year. Dad is a very fussy recipient - he never appreciates me buying cologne, wallet, handphone or watches for him. I have actually given all the mentioned to him for his previous birthdays, Father's Day and Christmas. And whenever he sees me giving him a present, like a remote "ON" button, he will say the same thing each time. "Why you waste money and buy this type of things for me? I got so many bottles of perfumes and I don't even go out that often to spray them"....and he will go on and on..

So when RedRibbon Days was borned 3 years ago, I told him - there will be no physical or tangible gifts from us all from now onwards. You will either be receiving cash (who will say no to cash/ang pow, right) or an experience from RedRibbon Days! Dad was clueless at first. What is RedRibbon Days - and what exactly I do in RedRibbon Days? I explained and knowing Dad, he probably nod as if he understood, but when he explained to others about what I do - it is always somehow not that accurate. Anyways, since I won't be going back to spend Father's Day with dad this year, I need to go through the list of "gift options" that is suitable for him and - that gift must be something that he will really like, remember and have no complains about me wasting money ...

Dad loves to eat - but he has to cut down on his food intake due to the rise in his sugar level. So, I'm opting out on our gourmet/dining experiences. He is not really into adventure/outdoor experiences - so that is out too. I'm putting my bet on a get-aways experiences. That is something that he really likes and I know he will not even murmur a word when he receive the gift!

Seeing that we have so many wonderful get-away experience locally, I've filtered my list to the top three get-away experience for dad:-

1. 3D/2N Survivor Island Adventure

2. 2D/1N Jungle Lodge Weekend Getaway

3. Countryside Hill Tour Overnight Getaway

I know dad will surely not object to these gift options as I'm buying it for him and the whole family will be doing this experience together.

What are you planning to get dad for Father's Day this year?

weddings, weddings & more weddings!!

2011-02-26T20:37:00.007+11:00

We are barely into the 3rd month of march and I'm already overwhelmed by weddings! By tradition, the Chinese normally will give red packets on this joyous occasion. Be it a Malay, Chinese, Indian or western wedding, I always ended up giving the couple a red packet as my token of appreciation for being invited.

Ever since the birth of RedRibbon Days, I'm extremely particular about the kind of "gift" on weddings. Nik mentioned to me that she received up to 3 toasters on her wedding day! Boy ! What will a girl do with 3 toaster? Hmm... And I've friends who returned the gift back (and some had the cheek to call up the giver of the gift for the receipt so they can do the exchange!) Gulp!

So, I make it a point from then on that every gift that comes from me on my friends wedding will be carefully thought and intended for. So what makes a good wedding gift, besides cash? Speaking of the latter, I have actually received an invitation card that clearly states that the couple would much prefer to receive their gift in the form of cash. Very direct - but hey, at least they are sparing themselves from the multiples photo frames, toasters and mugs!

I reckon a nice quick getaway experience for the newly weds would be something nice. For those who have no immediate plans for a honeymoon, they could sure do a quick escape from the gift. And a romantic, dining experience never goes wrong. Everybody loves food ! And not to mention, spa & pampering experiences. The newly wed could surely make do with one from pre-wedding preparation.

So yes, I have two lovely experiences nicely wrapped up with our signature gift pack ready to be sent on first thing on Monday morning for two weddings. I sure hope the couples will enjoy the experience and most importantly, understand the intention and emotion behind the gift.

Working hard makes you invisible?

2011-01-19T12:24:00.004+11:00

I came across the saying above few months ago - and today the exact same saying popped up in my head again. Is it true that working hard actually makes you invisible? Well, unless of course, if you are working hard to make yourself to be seen then that would be completely irrelevant.

Since the beginning of the new year, I've been totally swarmed with work, back to back events and hardly had anytime on hand to focus on "being seen". This I refer to appearing on media, interviews and etc. So when I stopped doing all that, am I making myself or the business invisible? But isn't business about being preoccupied about getting lots of "real work" and not socialising or attending functions. Isn't business about providing the best you can to your customers ? If so, why then these hard work will make the business less visible and less renown?

And if I'm only working hard to be seen and not working hard in doing the real work, wouldn't that also reflects on how your product/services is? Wouldn't this affect your business or business credentials in the long run? Yes, I may ended up being really popular, in the who is who list - but if my product / services is crap (due to negligence in running the business, because I'm working hard to be seen) wouldn't that make your affect your business or diminishing its value as well?

Xmas @RedRibbon Days

2011-01-02T13:57:00.004+11:00

Since it is already 2011, and I've already begun a blog on 2011, I will not be blogging about our RedRibbon Days Xmas Annual Company dinner this time. For interesting reads on this, visit our other blogs at :-

http://redribbondays.blogspot.com
http://nikhida.blogspot.com
http://blackbunnyjournal.tumblr.com

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011 !

2011-01-01T14:25:00.003+11:00

In a blink of the eye, 2010 is over and we are bestowed with 2011. 2010 has been an absolutely fabulous year for me personally as well as for RedRibbon Days. I'm extremely grateful for all the things that was bestowed to me last year. Firstly, we moved to a bigger office space that has the capacity to fit in at least 20 new employees! We are definitely in a much better position compared to when we first started - and totally ready to face new challenges. Secondly, I was thrown into "pr" work where I have to socialise with prominent socialites and the get to know the "who is who". Certainly not my preferred cup of tea, but an eye opening experience for me. I got to meet some very superficial people - whom I was introduced to and subtlety snubbed. This however, did not affect me in anyways - if it did in anyways, it only made me stronger and thirsty and eager for success.

As I sat down ushering 2011 last night, I asked myself if I have any resolution(s) of 2011. Quite frankly, this year, I decided to make things easier for myself and the universe. I do not need any resolution(s) - because I believe resolution(s) should be made when it is necessary. For the past 20 years of my life, I never failed to have a list of resolution. Do I actually see and attend to it? I've not much recollection for the past - and frankly speaking, I don't think resolutions works.

So this year, no resolution(s) for me.

However, I strongly believes that the universe is my genie, and my wish is the Universe command.

a wardrobe full of clothes, yet...

2010-12-16T01:27:00.002+11:00

I'm not sure if I'm the only one that always felt this way, but of late, I've been struggling to find a decent work attire to don on for work. Everytime I open my wardrobe door, I only see a wave of dull, boring old clothes (despite the fact that I had just recently added on another cabinet!). I can almost feel myself saying out loud (for the past 1 week), "What should I wear today?", "I got nothing to wear" and "I am sick of my clothes".

If I have a wardrobe filled with clothes, why do I then feel this way? Is this normal ? How long does one need to throw out old clothes and replenish it with new ones? In fact, I realised every time I buy something new, I will be wearing the new attire for a week or so, then to realise again that I do not have clothes to wear. So, my question is, what have I been wearing before I bought this new attire that I have been wearing for the past week? Somehow, I don't remember what I have been wearing before my current merchandise.

And is it okay for me to spring clean my wardrobe every season? And how much clothes does one need to have in order to not have that feeling of "what should I wear today" or "Argh, I have nothing to wear!"

So, what should I wear tomorrow?

my 21st birthday

2010-12-16T00:02:00.011+11:00

So it was my 21st birthday - again!! Okay, let's be truthful about this. It's not my 21st birthday, but hell, I do feel 21 still ! Anyways, age to me is just another number. So whether I'm 21, 35 or 50 - it doesn't matter. Bottom line, I truly feel good about where I am now. I am still very passionate about what I do at RedRibbon Days - and most importantly witnessing its growth by the day.

Anyways, on 26th November (my birthday actually falls on the 27th, but since 27th is a Saturday, we celebrated a day earlier) I arrived at work as usual - and had to admit here, I kinda knew that the girls will be doing something either on my table, my chair or my room. So, I went in and everyone shouted "Happy Birthday". I smiled, went into my room - and to my horror, they placed something obscene on my chair and table. Too obscene that I'm not even inclined to put up any picture of it here. Well, Nik seem to be enjoying it more than I do anyways! haha !!

It was work like usual - nothing special except that Nik and Ming Ne was acting kinda strange- disappearing every now and then. The day started off extremely well - first I received a Melinda Looi dress as one of my birthday gift and a very generous red packet. At that moment, I felt loved - truly blessed to be surrounded by people who cherished me and remembered my birthday.

It is tradition for us to have birthday lunch in the office - so when Nik came over and asked me for lunch, I eagerly skipped out wondering what they prepared for lunch. I was jumping with joy when I saw the spread of nasi padang ! Nik and Ming Ne had gone all the way (cant remember where they got it, though I remembered asking) for this feast. They got my favourite sambal belacan, fried fish, curry fish head, fried chicken, paru, petai and prawns - it was divine!! It was the most satisfying meal I had in a long time!

Nasi padang spread

Lunch was devoured rather quickly - and soon after a heavy meal, it was back to work like normal. Some time around 3pm, Nik came in again - this time to cut my birthday cake. I was not really hungry - but certainly ready for some sweet stuff after the heavy savoury lunch. I was shocked to see Atika and Az in our meeting room - as it didn't occur to me that they will be getting me an experience gift - to be experienced immediately!

I was thrilled to see boxes and boxes of shoes laying on the floor ! It was actually one of the many packages that I personally created and packaged up. This experience that I received was called "Serious Shoes Lover". When creating this package, I was thinking of the convenience of shopping without having the need to leave the comfort of your house/office. I like the idea of not needing to drive through jam and find parking (can be a bitch especially during peak hours). So when they gave me this gift, I was pleased. I felt so VIP.

The girls (well, we are pretty much an all ladies company) all got excited - all circling around me checking out the range of shoes and bag. The girls all ended up trying the shoes and bags. They were gleefully excited. It was a really cool experience (for me too, even though I was the one that came up with the package!) and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. So without much difficulties, I picked up 3 pairs of very lovely 5" heels (one black, one beige and another in dark blue/silver) and a gold clutch.

Here's some pic I took on that day :-

The angels that brought the shoes and bags to me !

My Louboutin birthday cake & another courtesy of Fuji Xerox

All in all, it was a wonderful day - and once again, I'm truly blessed to be surrounded by lovely people who went all the way to make my day truly special and memorable.

My Age and Passwords

2010-12-04T14:48:00.002+11:00

You know you haven't been blogging in a while when you tried accessing the account and then you realised that you do not remember the password. Yup! It just happened to me - while trying to access my very own personal blogspot. Is it a sign of ageing or simply, there are too many accounts one need to sign up these days? In the world of the internet, almost everything requires you to sign up as a member, open an account and etc..I have an account with gmail, google, blogspot, digg, delicious, hotmail, yahoo, messenger, skype and the list goes on and on and on. While some site is totally fine with a short and simple password, some sites simply make it difficult and requires alpha-numerical passwords!

So about an hour ago, I was extremely pumped up and driven to blog about the year of 2010 - when I tried accessing my very own account and I realised I have completely forgotten my password. And it wasn't that long ago, that I celebrated my 3x birthday. So I had to do the normal process of "forgotten password" - reset the password. When I'm finally log in, I have totally lost the urge to write. My mind is now totally focused on am I getting older - hence the slight memory lost or quite simply, there are too many passwords one has to remember that I'm confusing one password with another?

when customer can't see themselves in our shoes...

2010-10-23T19:05:00.004+11:00

Last week was indeed a very rough week for everyone in RedRibbon Days. At RedRibbon Days, we take pride in what we do, and each and every experience is of penultimate importance to us. Hence, when a customer come to us and passed crude remarks about our service and how we should be doing it, it was really upsetting. Especially so when the customer kept expecting us to compensate them despite the fact that it is totally not our fault and beyond our control.

In this very instance, one of our flight and flying experience was grounded for this week. And unfortunately, one of our customer had purchased this experience in conjunction with her dad's 60th birthday. I can totally comprehend the excitement and how eager they (the buyer and the recipient) must be. So on the very morning of the experience day, we received a phone call from the buyer, ranting to us about the cancelled flight. We then contacted our provider and asked them for a full explanation in regards to the cancelled flight. We then conveyed the reason to the client (the buyer and the dad) and even our provider called her to explain the situation. What happened next was unimaginable!

Instead of being totally understanding about the whole situation, this customer wrote us a threatening email saying that she will expose about how bad we are in doing what we do to her family/friends and even the media! My response upon reading the email ? I was appalled. It was made clearly that the flight was cancelled due to some last minute regulation that was imposed by DCA and even the Captain who was accompanying the customer (the buyer and the dad) tried to explain it to the customer, but it fell on deaf ears. In her email, she even asked me to close down my business ! What audacity ! And she even asked me to put herself in her shoe!

Quite frankly speaking, I was very apologetic and upset about the whole thing, especially when I found out that it was a gift bought in lieu with a 60th birthday and it was something the dad has always wanted to do. Yes, and I can totally comprehend how disheartening it is when the customer has to walk away without experiencing "the experience". It is after all what we had promised to deliver : an amazing and unforgettable experience for everyone; convenience of buying for the buyer and for the recipient, the opportunity to do a once in a lifetime experience.

I wonder if this customer can actually put herself in our position and try to understand the whole situation. We do try very hard to convey information as accurate as we can to all customers prior to their experience day, but when it comes to experiences that could be affected by weather, technical issues, airport security - these are simply beyond our control and we are not in the position to be liable for the inconveniences caused. So to come back to us and holler rude remarks and to ask for full refund(including delivery and packaging cost!) this is totally unacceptable for us.

I do try very hard to make our customers happy ; making sure their experience (from the minute the establish contact with us, to after the experience) is as pleasant as possible. For issues which is our fault, I have no qualms on bowing down, apologise and offer a compensation. However, for issues which are totally beyond our control, it is then not our obligation to please and compensate.

a "wonton" post

2010-10-21T16:54:00.011+11:00

For those who loves "wonton" you will know how much ingredients it goes into making just one wonton ... so for this post, I've called it a "wonton" post because, I've decided to lump everything that happened (since i last blog) into one posting :)

CSR : Corporate Social Responsibility (RRD Initiative) - 4th September 2010

It has been almost a month since my last posting, and so much has happened that quite simply, time flies. Right after our Merdeka Day event (the Bungy Jump challange), we had another event the following week for 4 orphans from SUNBEAM and RACTAR in lieu with our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative. To kick start this initiative, we contacted 2 orphanage and held a simple competition to the orphans, and 4 lucky orphans were chosen to experience our RedRibbon Days KL City Sky Tour. Having met this kids personally, literally changed my opinion about life - and to what extend do we measure from one another. Being compared to these kids, I'm way luckier and fortunate. These kids has never been up close and personal near a plane what more being on one.

Here are some pics taken on the day :-

Open for Business - RedRibbon Days with Freda Liu (BFM 89.9) - 21st September 2010

When Katja from BFM contacted RedRibbon Days in regards to an interview slot on BFM - Open for Business, I was thrilled. Firstly, I have always been an ardent listener of the radio station, and yes, I've always tuned in to Freda. I was nervous, unsure of what is going to be asked on air - and certainly the thought of my voice live on the radio kinda freaks me out ! Anyways, the day came and I marched up to the radio station. I was brought to Freda - and her comforting voice and genuine smile put me at ease and eventually calms me down. The butterflies were still fluttering in the stomach but it was manageable.

I chat with Freda for couple minutes before we went on air - and in that few minutes, I felt like she's a friend from the past. An old school mate or someone I have met before. Even Freda herself mentioned that I looked awfully familiar - but she can't remember where we could have met. The interview went well, and the 10 minutes was over in a breeze. I flipped a little, fumbled for some words, but all in all, it was a good experience.

Here's the link to the interview:-

And here's two pic I took with Freda in her studio :-

IDEA Forum @ Sunway University - 23rd September 2010

Next up, I was invited to be one of the speaker for a forum held in Sunway University in lieu with 1Malaysia - Entrepreneur Week. It was my very first time as a speaker - especially one that geared towards being an entrepreneur and tips of how to be one! It was a nerve-wrecking moment for me, of course. I had no time to prepare for anything, so the day before the event, I kinda quickly put everything in a word document and PRINT. I thought it should be fine now that I have a hard copy on my hands. But I was wrong !! I was shocked to find out that the other three speakers were so well prepared that they do not even need a piece of paper on hand. And one of them even said, well, thats what entrepreneurs are all about - you just wing it ! Gulp! So I am NOT an entrepreneur now that I have a piece of paper on my hand? Geez..I'm just trying to be prepared and I need to make sure I'm sharing substantial stuff with everyone present and not just utter rubbish!

Well, as usual, since I'm not that much of a speaker nor am I born to be one, I endeavour to share as much as I can on my entrepreneur journey. I shared everything that I know with everyone present that day. And at the end of it, though my speech was not as entertaining as the other speakers (mine surely did not attract much laughter), I sure hope I did impart some valuable lessons to the students. I may not inspire all, but I hope at least 1 or 2.

All in all, it was a good experience. I met few interesting people that day, learnt few new tips from the other speakers and definitely honed my public speaking skills!

Here's a picture of me with the other speakers:-

And a plaque (pic below) that was given to me towards the end of the forum as a token of appreciation. Hmm....perhaps, they should start giving out experience vouchers instead of a plaque?

The JUMP for Merdeka Day

2010-10-02T14:04:00.008+10:00

It was an exciting moment for everyone at RedRibbon Days. Just days before Merdeka Day (Malaysia's National/Independence Day) we released a competition in our Facebook fan page for a new experience in lieu with our Merdeka Day. This experience is like no ordinary experience - it is after all the very first in Malaysia! (it may well be common in other countries, but it is certainly new for us). BUNGY JUMP ! Everyone in RedRibbon Days was eager to try out the new experience once news broke out that Bungy Jump is ready to be experienced !

So hastily we released the competition and crossing our fingers that Malaysians would be brave courageous enough to do this experience. To align it with our Merdeka Day, interested parties were invited to write in a simple sentence on why they deserve to win this experience in lieu with the special day. Many interesting answers came in, however we were only allowed to pick 3 lucky winners.

After much deliberation, 3 lucky winners were picked out and the best answer goes to Reuben Rethinalingam :-

"Though its a working day tommrow it doesn’t stop me from giving this challenge a shoot to overcome one of my greatest fear which I still haven’t been able to conqeur apart of my other fear which is, SEA WATER.
I personaly think I should be given a chance to experince this challenge of bungee jump to break free myself and getting me to conqeur my fear of hights. Its makes it more signifact in conjuction with Merdeka Day as it perfectly resembles of me being able to MERDEKA myself from my fear and how I’m able to rule my own fear like how Malaysia fought for its independence and now is able to rule its own country and not being a slave to others. It’s 53 years we have got the independce and I think its time for me to get my indepence of overcoming my fear of 27 years."

On the fateful morning of 27th August, the three lucky winners were gathered at the location and were all geared up for the jump. The weather was perfect, scorching sun and no sight of possible rain or thunderstorm. Nik and Ming Nu was sent to location to capture each and every jump, to interview the winners and of course to be part of the experience.

Here's some pictures taken on that day :-

In orange : Wei (one of the winner), Rueben (in stripe red and white) and Donna

The winners are grouped together to fill in an indemnity form, briefed on safety and etc, donned on the Malaysia flag around their shoulder and waited patiently for the moment. Reuben was the first to do the jump, after all he has the best answer. It was all dandy for Rueben until the moment came for him. His fear of heights finally took over him and he was hesitant about jumping (for at least 5 minutes). After calming himself down, Rueben finally set his fear aside and plunge! It was such an exhilarating moment seeing him shouting hysterically and triumphantly with our Malaysia flag.

The terrifying moment was finally over for Rueben and Wei was lined up next. Without much hesitation, Wei took the plunge shouting "This is for Malaysia!". It was a beautiful dive and was over within minutes. Donna, the only female winner in the competition took the challenge with a pinch of salt. She even requested for her head to be dipped into the water !

So now that all the winners had experienced this experience, I know it will be my turn soon. I have no fear of heights, in fact, I love flying fox and high ropes. Perhaps, this will be the experience for me on my upcoming birthday?

Though a bit late, but hey, its better late than never, right? So to Malaysia - Happy National Day/ Happy Merdeka Day !

Here's a video clip taken on the day - enjoy !

truly blessed

2010-08-27T16:06:00.003+10:00

I recently read a book and it asked me to list down all the things that I'm grateful for in life. Without hesitation, I picked up a pen and paper, and start penning down the list. And as I was going through my thoughts rummaging for other things that I am grateful for, I stared at the two names that I've written down. My two business partners - both who are my best friends in life.

Indeed at this moment, I felt very fortunate to have them both as my business partners. I've known both Nik and Ming Ne for close to a decade, but our relationship is still going strong and working as a team with them makes me feel wonderful about doing what I'm doing.

Never did it crossed my mind before that I would be doing business with my two best friend, and to achieve such amazing result as well. Each of them brings along with them a different set of skills and know-how, and this I strongly believe is the reason to why the three of us can work so well together, harmonically and happily. Of course there are days when we do get a bit under the weather, but we are always there to support and cheer each other on. When time gets rough, we will pat each other and motivate each other to persevere and move on.

I've known them both since university days - and have gone through thick and thin together. We partied together till wee hours, supported each other when we are broke (overspent on our allowance) and of course, those days spent on playing "shithead" and cooking "mee soto" and devouring the whole chicken between us!

And now, we are all sitting in the same office, working towards the same goal - doing our best for RedRibbon Days.

To my two best friend and best business partner, Nik and Ming Ne, this post is dedicated to you both. Thank you for believing in me, and supporting me throughout ; without qualms and hesitation.

Looking forward to our "mee soto" session tomorrow !! :)

The Adventurous 4

2010-08-09T17:09:00.008+10:00

Couple months ago, I purchased an experience from RedRibbon Days for TY (we also call her moley) for her 32nd birthday. TY is adventurous, definitely an outdoor person and loves to have fun ! So, I chose a ballistic experience for her - and yes, you can imagine her response when she received the gift pack on the morning (while recovering from a massive hungover from the excessive, crazy drinking the night before). She went totally ballistic and messaged me saying "Wow ! This is the best gift ever!"...

And few months down the road, TY booked in for her experience (Oh! I got her a package experience called "The Adventurous 4") and she decided to make Alice and Howie who was visiting to do the experience with her! I knew she will like this gift because she had on numerous occasion mentioned to me that she really wants to try it out. And I clearly remember the personalised message I included in her voucher "Happy Birthday, have a great one - and roll yourself silly and get drunk!". So yes, kinda like a riddle - the experience is a combination of two experiences ! One involves rolling and another involved, yes drinking !!

Everyone arrived on time on that very morning - perfect weather conditions, albeit a bit cloudy. No sun ! It was perfect for me, because I was personally doing the delivery of the picnic basket and champagne myself. And I am certainly no big fan of the sun! The new site for the experience is at Serdang - a good 30 minutes drive away from Bangsar. A quick scan around the new area tells me there is a lot of new potential for development and for our suppliers to add on and bring in more exciting experiences. Compared to Lake Titiwangsa, this place feels almost abandon - it is lacking of the ice-cream man, yelling kids and couples strolling hands in hand. Let's hope our supplier can bring Gackaroo and water orb there soon!

The adventurous 4 looks slightly nervous now - not knowing what to expect ; but the big plastic ball that they are soon to dive in certainly intimidate them a little.

Without much delay, TY and Howie did their first dry sphereing together. TY was looking slightly pale and worried. So while they are getting strapped up and all, I poked my face into the ball and took some pics.

The wet ride certainly was a favourite. All 4 of them were drenched from head to toe. The verdict ? They finally get to feel how it is to be inside a washing machine!! It was hilarious seeing how wet they were and how much fun they all had.

What better way to end the experience but with a delightful picnic basket and a bottle of bubbly ? By now, everyone was famished and the food in basket was quickly and quietly devoured within minutes.

I have personally tried our Dry Sphereing Ride before - it was done very spontaneously; I was not mentally prepared at all. In fact, we were there to oversee an event, and somehow, I was convinced to try it out. After all, we have to personally try out our experiences to make sure they are safe, fun and exciting enough to package it as a gift ! I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, though Nik was yelling at my face for the whole 30 seconds! I literally had to yell back at her to make her calm down !! It was indeed a very unforgettable experience for us both, as every time we talk about this particular experience, it never fails to make us laugh !

Seeing all my friends enjoyed their experience definitely made me feel proud and happy of what we do here at RedRibbon Days. Not only we provide people with memorable experiences and unforgettable memory ; we also have the power to make people happy.

if "the secret" is true...

2010-08-05T21:04:00.004+10:00

Everyone is talking about "The Secret", "The Laws of Attraction" - and I've recently watched the dvd and read the book. It says, if you think hard enough, and imagine yourself always owning it, and how happy you are - the universe will then work it to your way and voila you will have the thing you wish for. Because the universe said "Your wish is my command".

As such, I shall command to the universe to bless me with this lovely, to die for - black and sexy red sole : Louboutin so when I wear my red-sole Seed shoes no one will tease me.

Hello Universe ... are you listening to me? I believe in the secret so you shall bestow it to me. NOWWWW !!

blogging essentials

2010-08-05T20:47:00.003+10:00

I simply love reading blogs. Not those mambo-jambo blogs, but proper blogs of influential people, Of recent, I've taken liking to Anita Roddick's blogs. To me her blogs are not superficial (like some blogs that I've come across); truthful and rantings of her life encounters and etc.

I do wish sometimes I could be as transparent as some when it comes to blogging. Prior to this, I have never blogged and never even heard of the term blogging. The whole blogging phenomena began almost 3-4 years ago, when RedRibbon Days was still being conceived. Anyways, my point is - when it comes to blogging - how much truth are we blogging, and how much information about yourself can you put out there? Some bloggers are paid to blog about something (which to me defeats the whole purpose of blogging) and some people blogs about nonsense. Why would I be bothered to read about someone that blogs about what they dream of when they sleep or how they sleep?
(trust me, I've indeed come across such a posting!)

As hard as I want to put my heart and soul into blogging, certain things do hold me back. Can I really be that politically correct about everything I want to say ? In the first place, I don't even know who is reading my blog, and who will be reading my blogs. I've written many blogs only to have "select all" and "delete". In fact, to some blogs posting, I do not even have the courage to put it up. These I am referring to very petty and insignificant happening around my life and of course, in RedRibbon Days.

So, if I can't blog and rant as much as I want, what is the point of blogging and why bother?

Celebrating RedRibbon Days' 2nd Year Anniversary

2010-07-07T10:32:00.009+10:00

Here's the delayed posting on how we celebrate RedRibbon Days' 2nd birthday ! My apologies for the delay as I was busy with so many projects and juggling it between a rather extensive travelling schedule..

Since we missed our 1st year birthday/anniversary, we thought it was necessary to celebrate RedRibbon Days' 2nd year birthday as much as we can this year. The morning started out perfect - weather was beautiful; it was a Friday - so everyone was clad in our RedRibbon Day's official Friday uniform.

We kicked start the day with an early lunch - with our favourite duck rice from 'sunrise'. It was perfect. The duck rice was extremely delicious and everyone enjoyed it including our new addition to the team, Shiva and Theing. It has become a custom to eat rice at every RedRibbon Days' birthday as this was the very same food that was served to us an hour prior to our official launch back in 2008. Somehow, this very 'duck rice' reminds us of that very day when RedRibbon Days was born, inaugurated and how happy and excited we all were back then.

We then introduced the girls to our launch song - Mercy by Duffy. Don't ask me why that song - all I remembered was I had to pick a song for our photo collage, and I do not have much choices then. Besides, it was the year when Sex and the City (the movie) was launched, and I thought it was a good/nice song?

For cake, we have chosen Tiramisu from Alexis - accompanied by a bottle of Pink Champagne of course!

The Three Musketeers : Nik, me and Ming Ne

The RedRibbon Days Team

We sang a birthday song, cut the cake, and eagerly devoured the bottle of champagne. Claudine our "temp" was knocked out within second, joined in by Nik. (and she only had a glass!)

Claudine & Nik - smashed and drunk at 3pm !

Nah ! No one got drunk !! It was a picture we took just for fun to commemorate the day ! Since it was a Friday, and it is RedRibbon Days' birthday, everyone was in their joyous and in the mood to celebrate. We headed next to dinner at our favourite joint at Vincenzo.

The food at Vincenzo is always good ! Remy diligently served us and attended to all our needs. It was a very joyous moment for me to see the whole team sitting together, enjoying each other companionship and most important - the spirit of RedRibbon Days.

We were honoured to have DK to join us for our dinner - and the night couldn't get any better! Remy even arranged a small chocolate cake for us with the message " Happy 2nd Anniversary"

Happy Birthday, RedRibbon Days !!

2010-06-18T13:13:00.003+10:00

We are officially two (okay, because today is a Friday, and RedRibbon Days birthday happens to fall on a weekend- we decided to make today the celebration day) Yipppey ! So what is different about today and any other day in the office ? First we celebrated today with our favourite duck rice for lunch ! Yes, you read me right. Duck rice. Two years ago, we had duck rice for lunch as well, 4 hours prior to our official launch/inauguration. But we were too busy and nervous about the launch that the duck rice was left sitting there, untouched. So we decided to eat duck rice today in conjunction with RRD'S Bday !!

Well, work still goes on in the office, but we do have a cake and a bottle of champagne chilling in the office (as I'm writing this blog) - ready to be popped ! And also the after work drinks and dinner tonight at our favourite joint, Vincenzo.

Next year today, we will be celebrating our birthday in a new environment, with a bigger team. That is my birthday wish for this year :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my baby!

sick and bed-ridden

2010-05-13T11:22:00.002+10:00

Once again, I'm attacked by the flu bug and this time it has got me good. This bug is simply persistent; my nose has been running non-stop consecutively for 4 days and today, I'm down with sore throat. Great! I hate to be sick when work is piling and I simply do not have the luxury to sleep in the bed and recuperate.

I've downed a whole bottle of manuka honey, 5-6 packets of lemsip (only to discover today that they are expired) and countless glasses of vitamin C. And nothing works. I'm still feeling sluggish, sick and weak. Maybe the expired Lemsip is making it worse.
I'm so prone to flu that I'm really contemplating to start wearing a mask every time I go out. This is also the very reason why our office has a very strict policy - if you are sick even with the mildest flu, stay away - IF I'm in the office. Because the bug simply loves to attach itself to me, and share the love.

When I was working for other people, I never hesitate to call in sick - and will take at least 2-3 days of MC (exaggerating the severeness of my condition). Now that I run my own business, falling sick is the last thing in my mind - and taking a day off work is totally impossible.

I tried to reply a business email earlier today, but my mind was in such mess that I could not even construct a proper email without making spelling/ grammatical mistakes. So here I am, stuck to the bed, unable to do work! Good riddance! I wonder when this horrible bug will go away and find new love.

In the meantime, I guess I just have to make full use of this moment to rest, sleep and perhaps read a book.

Is customer always right ?

2010-05-08T14:53:00.003+10:00

It's Saturday. I received a call from Nik and she sounded agitated and upset. Nothing really upsets Nik unless it is matters relating to our customers. Nik teared a little - and I could hear her frustration over the phone on how irate she was at a customer who was being unreasonable and painfully rude. In our industry, we try our best (in fact, we go beyond the call of duty) to make sure every experience with RedRibbon Days is as pleasant as it can be. Most important of all, we want all our customers to feel happy whenever they experience a RedRibbon Days experience.

But when we already committed so much and yet customers insist on demanding more - that is when we could tolerate no more. Prior to this, I always think yes, customer is King. And being a customer myself, I demand a lot of a product or even a service. But when customers starts demanding for more than what they pay for, then I would beg to differ. Customers are not always right, but they are always insisting that they are right and we are (the service/product provider) wrong.

I am starting to wonder, perhaps I used to be like that too, until I was an owner of a business myself - and I liaised with customers from all walk of life. Some customers are really nice, and some customers are preposterously unreasonable and will say all nasty things to us to make sure they get what they want. The latter group are the ones who pays you for your service and expect a 101% percent return. They simply do not have the simple business acumen - i.e. in a business world, there are invitation to treat (Fisher v Bell) ,exaggerated marketing and of course - every word you say will be used against you.

So I came to a conclusion, not until these people own their own business, they will never fully comprehend this. They are always the group of people who always talk about customer is king and customer is always right. And they are also the group of customers that will always give you problems when they buy from you.

And sad to say, I hate to be bothered by customers like that, and sometimes I rather not have them as customers at all. If you buying from me not only gives me more headache and problems, but tears and heartache (not to mention - a loss), then I'd rather not have your business. There is no one that owns a business and not wish to keep their customers happy - but if all their customers are like the group of unreasonable customers - I'm sure everyone that owns their own business would agree with me.

Customers are not always right, but we always have to give in to them because they always think they are right.

my love-hate relationship with dentist

2010-04-29T16:50:00.004+10:00

yes, we all have our fears and things that we are scared of - but nothing can beat my fear for dentist. I am terrified of cockroaches, but I do not cringe with fear when they are around. I do have a very sensitive sense of smell for these horrible little creatures though. Back to my dentist fear - it all began when I was a little school girl. Having studied in a local, government (or kebangsaan) school, we do get these annual privilege of dental check-up. Sounds good isn't it? Truth is, my first confrontation with the dentist was horrifying and those memories are still vivid in my mind.

The sound of the drills and sharp objects, metal cups, and the horrible reclining chair (that made me feel absolutely helpless when I'm lying there!) - all made me cringe with fear, and sometimes, sleepless nights. The fear was instilled and etched in me deeply like a buried treasure till today. From my first brutal confrontation with those "f*&K&^s" (a term I dearly called them) - I've never want to get close to one. And that yearly school dental check-up ? On few occasions, I forged my dad's signature to forbid them to check on mine. And of course, my dad was furious when he found out cos now he has to pay money to send me to private dentist ! (which are equally as bad and horrible as the school ones!!!)

I delayed the 6 months dental appointment to a year, 2 years and longer if I can tolerate it. But when you were much younger and in your teens, you tend to eat a lot of sugary stuff- hence those dental visits are simply unavoidable. My worse experience ever was when I was 17 year old. I had to take out my wisdom tooth as they were giving me so much problems and pain. So my best friend pushed me to one (whom she claimed was really gentle and good). I would surely not go to one if the pain wasn't so unbearable. So my best friend drove me to the dentist on this ordeal. She promised me it will be over before I knew it and the pain will soon be gone.

Facing my fear, I was crossing my fingers so hard that this experience is going to be different from the others, because I so badly need the tooth to come out. The dentist ( I'm always very cautious of dentist - the more they smile, the more I see a line of evil grin in them). I can almost see them laughing and drilling my cavities away while I'm drowning in fear ! So this particular dentist told me its going to be almost painless once they jab me. OK.

I closed my eyes, open my mouth (and I hate it when they asked me to open bigger - i will if I can! duh!) The first jab came stinging on my right gums - and I can so feel it. Then the second, then the third. Then the doctor tried to take out the tooth, but I was feeling everything that I gave him my infamous cock-eye. He said "Oh, I'm sorry , can you still feel that?" He then jabbed again, (mind you , this is the 4th jab and my neck was already wet with my tears and yes, saliva). He then told the nurse "Eh, we are not injecting the right roots (WTF!) and they had to inject another 4 (2 on my inner cheek and another two some-where near the gums). Seriously, at that point of time, I felt so vulnerable and I really felt like running out of there and never never ever come back! But I can't ... see, those 4 jabs was numbing my other parts of my mouth that I could literally feel a jello effect on my lips.

The 5th- 8th jab somehow did the trick, and now they are grinning ear to ear to take out my wisdom tooth. And the dentist was perspiring. He told the nurse to hold my shoulder now, and he stood up holding a plier looking tool on his right hand and charged towards my tooth. He was using so much energy that I could see his facial expression - twitching every now and then. And the nurse, trying her best to hold me down. I almost feel like he was trying to pull a nail (that was deeply hammered into a piece of wood) out. Then he took out something. I felt something came out. I thought the whole thing was finally over. Then he said, "Oh, it broke into half. Now we may need to cut up a bit. At the edges and sew it up later"

GAAAAHHHHHH !!!

I tried to mumble something but nothing was coming out - see by then, my mouth was filled with 8 jabs of anaesthetic - so you can imagine how numb I felt.

Anyways, the whole ordeal went for another 10-15 minutes, including the sewing up.

I was as sore as a _ _ _. My lips was sore and was so jello- I could feel it going side-ways.

The next few days, was totally insane. I was popping painkillers (non-stop) and changed a dozen zillion gauzes!

Well, the best part of all, the pain that was caused by the wisdom tooth disappeared after a week. The numbness went on for almost 24 hours. (okay, I exaggerated a bit, but definitely more than 12 hours)

So, I do have a love hate relationship with dentist. I hate them to the core for the pain and fear they implanted on me and I love them because they can take the pain away. Now that I'm in a much better position to take care of myself and afford a better and decent dentist, the fear is slowing going away - but it still creeps up to you like a boogeyman.

My advise to parents ? Always let your kid have a wonderful, first experience with the dentist. And once they lose their milk teeth, show them dental care and bring them to the dentist. And don't ever allow let those government dentist touch your kid's teeth. They will be scarred for life - well, at least I can speak for myself.

we are 2 soon !

2010-04-15T11:49:00.004+10:00

Come this 18th June 2010, RedRibbon Days will be officially 2 year old. To celebrate this joyous occasion, I've something planned for everyone in RedRibbon Days. This 'plan' however will not be disclosed anytime soon. I'm however, eagerly waiting for the day to come.

I am thinking about what to say to my staff and business partners on the day. I'm thinking of a promotion. So many things going through my mind as I'm looking at my to-do's check list. 2 years ago, when RedRibbon Days was still in its infancy stage - there were so many uncertainties; so many setbacks; and so many negative influences in the office. But now things has changed. So much has changed in one year - we added two new staff to the team; and the focus was completely on the business and nothing else.

We have brought joy, happiness and wonderful memories to the lives of many - and we will continue to do so. We pledge to deliver the most amazing experiences to our customers and we will always deliver happiness and memorable gifts to your loved ones. Many has said to me that the process is going to be excruciating and slow - some even said it is not viable to do this business in Malaysia. But whenever we get a very positive feedback from our customers, it always push me to strive even harder and make this business work - and for Malaysians to embrace the concept of experiential gifting.

Theing recently blogged about one of the event we organised and planned for a customer ; and her entry ascertained my love, passion and confidence for RedRibbon Days further. She said in her entry that RedRibbon Days is not just another gifting company, but we deal with "events of the heart". I am now more convinced that RedRibbon Days will continue to bring pleasure, happiness - and most importantly - a gift of memory to many for many years to come.

Job Relationship vs Love Relationship

2010-03-19T15:49:00.004+11:00

I'm extremely compelled to elaborate further on my earlier posting today. I was talking to another friend who was down in the slump in his relationship (well, I suspect the gf is cheating on him with another while still stringing him along). Anyways, it just suddenly occur to me the similarity of how if one is going seeking for employment (while still under the employment of another) is the same as someone being in a relationship, but seeking a potential new relationship at the same time). In both situation, it is called cheating or some people like to call it - stepping on two boats.

I can't help but to wonder if that is the case for most people. When someone is not happy in a relationship or not happy in their job, they tend to look for greener pasture (i.e. better partner to date, better job ; so it seems) - but in the meantime, they will not let go of their current attachment. They will string it along until the better someone or better job comes along. Then they will kiss the old partner or old job - adios! Without the slightest feeling of remorse.

So will you cheat on your partner ? If you won't cheat on your partner, so why would you cheat on your employer ? Don't forget employers can cheat on you too - employers will string employee along until they find a better employee and then they just kiss off. Because a wise man once told me, "no one is indispensable". And I had to agree.

employee vs. employer

2010-03-19T09:30:00.002+11:00

Looking back at those years when I was working a 5 day, 9-6 job - I can't help but to wonder how laid-back and easy life was back then. I never had to worry about the business (cos I don't own it - it's not mine). My job description are in black and white, so quite simply, all I need to do is do what I'm paid to do. I took leave when I want to, without worrying about affecting company's productivity - or quite simply, when I feel lazy or when the "I don't feel like going to work today" feeling creeps in. Even better, when you start to get bored with your job - you start job-hunting while holding on to your current job. You still collect money from your current employer and get paid for job surfing and attend interviews on a working-day ! And you call in one day to request for a "emergency leave" with excuses like period cramp, feeling under the weather or something more severe- family matters to attend to. (cos you know employers can't be unsympathetic about this). I then welcomed each public holiday with elation and loud proclamation of how wonderful it was that its going to be a long weekend ! And there were those days when my bosses came in with sombre expression and called for a meeting that raised issues such as sales etc etc. At that point of time, I seriously don't think I care so much as whether sales is good or bad - because it was quite simply not what I'm paid to do - and once again, it is not my company. As long as they continue to pay me, I'm happy.

As an employer myself, I now see the frustration my employers were going through then. I can even relate to what crossed their mind when I pull in that sickie or sudden application of leave. Employer's need is never aligned with employee's need. The latter serves to work for an employer that can help her reach their life goals (i.e. make money or a stepping stone to something better and greater). The former on the other hand, can help solve employee's problems (by paying them salary and they get money!). But how often it is when employee can see your company objectives and work relentlessly to help you(employer) to reach your goals (i.e. make more money, increase market share, increase sales etc). My point is if employee works for an employer because he/she needs money - shouldn't they realise that without them doing their job properly, the company (i.e. employer) will be unproductive because the employer has to waste time worrying about the employee rather than focusing on the business.

Writing this blog makes me think back of my first job after my graduation. I was attached to the company for a good 3 years before we go our separate ways. Towards the end of my 3rd year, I was head hunted by another company and they offered me a good position with a better income. Obviously, since my objective (as an employee) is to get more pay, I accepted the offer. I was disappointed that my employers didn't took it well. (Duh!) My boss was upset with my decision - as later I found out he has so much trust and hope in me. How was I to know all these when I'm obviously more obsessed with more money - and yes, I thought the grasses were greener over the other side. It took me 5 years down the road to understand why he was upset that I left - his hopes were pinned on me and I disappointed him. No wonder he never wished me well when I packed my stuff and left the building.

And just yesterday, the board of directors were just discussing about promoting an employee (i.e raise of salary) when that particular employee had to do something that revokes his/her right to that promotion. That leads me to believe that it is not always the employer's fault (as employees always rants on that) - it is in fact your (employee) actions and doings that determines it.

a journey with many ups and downs

2010-03-09T14:47:00.006+11:00

Being an entrepreneur may sound very exciting and glamorous to some. Before I took on the challenge of having RedRibbon Days, I have always look on the positive side of things - very seldom I will think of the risks and the negative aspects of it. Having the courage to start your own business is simply not enough to make a business work. There are so many ups and downs, challenges, and setbacks that will crunch you. Speaking from my own personal experience, RedRibbon Days is coming to 2 years of age and I am proud of where she stands today. But I have also faced many rejections, sneers and discouragement not only from people whom you want to work with but also from your closest friends and even family members. I survived from all these attacks and brace forward. I continue to put my head high and to each rejection - I swallowed it and took it as a valuable lesson to improve myself and how we convey ourselves better.

When sales are slow, it will push you to the edge as well. You will start wondering if you are doing the right thing and if you should continue running the show. And when the business grow, you will need to think of hiring people to work for you - and saying so, this is the most daunting task ever! Getting the right people to fulfil a role is the hardest job of all. The numerous interviews, trainings and if you are lucky - you will find the right person without much difficulties. I remembered when we first put up ad to hire an administrative staff with an online recruitment company - that charges you a good RM400 for one position ; and your ad for this position runs for a month. Over the course of the next 2 weeks, be prepared to get all sort of resumes - from all sort of applicants. And what amazed me was some resumes that was forwarded to our HR department was completely not relevant to the position that we advertised for. You would be lucky to get at least 2 or 3 suitable candidates. So I've learnt from this and never advertised with an online recruitment company ever again. I put up my advertisement in Facebook which was free of charge - and I found myself a fabulous staff !

2 years down the road, the journey has been fulfilling though not completely rewarding - yet. I believe there are plenty of room to grow for RedRibbon Days and the journey ahead of me is getting harder, and not easier. Over the course of time, the dynamics of the business will change, and so will the direction of the company. At present, I'm faced with the challenge of educating Malaysians about experiential gifting and of course- the importance of giving a memorable gift. Yes, two years down the road- and I'm still on the course of doing so. The journey of an entrepreneur is of one that is always about learning new things, experience new things, you may fall, you may fly - but the result of this will make you stronger and wiser.

I do get bogged down relatively quickly - whether it is from an unhappy customer or a sale that did not go through. This I have learnt to take it as it comes. The most important I've learnt so far is to learn to know how to stand up when you had a bad fall and continue to walk to your destination. Picking up yourself after a fall is never easy - it may take you just couple of minutes to see the positive side of things, it may take you days or weeks. But most important thing of all , never stop what you are doing and continue the journey even if you have to limp. What lies ahead may be blurry, but your destination could be just a limp away. And remember, tears will flow and they should not be spared - but you must know when to stop.

Payment Gateways in Malaysia

2010-03-01T21:20:00.004+11:00

On some days, I absolutely adore my job and on some like today, I loathe it. I loathe it because I'm faced with problems which are beyond my control. When these "beyond my control" problems clogged up, I wish and wish that our business is not based in a country like this. For those that own an online business, you are well aware of the need of having a 3rd-party payment gateway in order for your online business to accept credit card payment. And these payment gateway will then impose a transaction fees on each sale transacted through their gateway. And these transaction fees are shockingly high, mind you. Some payment gateways imposed a 4% transaction fee and some as high as close to 5%. And yes, RedRibbon Days happens to use the provider that charges a 4% transaction fee for each transaction.

So for a 3rd party that impose such "high-fees" on your business, you would expect them to provide the best customer service and be professional in their area of work. Shockingly, this is not the case. Our provider (whose name I had chose not to disclose yet at this point of time) had the audacity to not bear any responsibility for a technical glitch that happened earlier today. Many phone calls and emails were exchange between us today and after a heated 8 hours of "ping-pong-ball" communication, there is still no solution to the problem. We have proved on our end that there was completely nothing wrong on our end , and it is obvious that the problem is on their end - yet they have decided to sit on the fence and deny all responsibilities and adamant that they are not at fault. How can they not be at fault when they have clearly chose to perform a system upgrade on their end without notifying us in the first place? They even admitted in their email that it is their fault for not informing us of their upgrade, hence the error - yet they are not going to be liable for the problems caused. (i.e. disburse on any discrepancies)

It almost drive you nuts when you are liaising with people like that. They are almost impossible and preposterously hard to work with. This really makes me wonder about the quality of customer service in Malaysia. Are they purely "lip-service" and when it comes to crunch time to deliver the so called "after sale service" - it is simply not in within their job scope anymore?

I'm appalled with this type of customer service and makes me wonder if it is worth to continue using their services especially when you have to pay give them a 4% of each transaction made.

Christmas Dinner @ Carcosa Seri Negara

2010-02-24T14:25:00.017+11:00

It is way past Christmas - and I apologise for the long delay in posting this entry. It was in fact an entry that I've been meaning to write and share with you all, but kept forgetting about it until the good news came just couple weeks ago. For those who follow closely on our RedRibbon Days' blogs, you would be aware of the reopening of our favourite Carcosa Seri Negara hotel.

It was Friday, 24th Dec 2009. Our dinner started at approximately 7.00pm and we turned up gleefully excited and famished. Carcosa Seri Negara stood majestically handsome amidst the lush greenery surrounding it. It was supposed to be the last two night before it was closed down indefinitely for a major renovation. We were greeted and welcomed by the hotel manager, Ms. Caroline. Within minutes, we were ushered to our reserved table and we quietly and politely assume our seats. The restaurant was already packed by now - everyone seems merry and happily chatting away. The place was filled with merriment and laughter.

I suddenly realised that I am way under-dressed for the occasion (I couldn't be bothered to change into something "christmas-ty" as I had to rush there straight from work). I could only pretend to be immaculately dressed and hope someone will come in inadequately attired like me. Who was I kidding? The next group of people that walk in was dressed to the nines. They were all glowing from head to toe - with glittering dresses, accessories and gorgeous looking high-heels. My feet responded fast to that, and immediately, I pulled my dull looking black working heels underneath the table, hoping no one would spot the worn out shoes.

Drinks were served and I immediately gulped down half a glass of white wine - in hoping, it would numb my conscious state of mind. What was I thinking ? It was a french dining experience - and of course,everyone would be dressed up for it! D'oh!

Amuse bouche was served quickly - I peeked into the menu and it read "Fine de claire oyster, shallot of vinaigrette ad pumpernickel clive. (I may misspelt something here - as I have scribbled it down on a piece of used paper in a hurry).

I am always a big fan of oyster, so without much delay, I quickly slurp down the oyster on my plate. Yummy! (could be better if I have a glass of champagne!). The oyster was very fresh, and so smooth that without much chewing, I just had to swallow it.
Fine de claire oyster, shallot of vinaigrette ad pumpernickel clive

I would wish for more oyster, but it was a pre-set 5 course dinner, which means, it would make me seem like a glutton to order another serving of oyster. Our plates were quickly taken away, and within the next few minutes or so, our next course was served.

Foie gras terrine with glazed figs, brioche

The verdict ? I love my foie gras - and though this may not be the best foie gras I have ever eaten, it was actually not that bad. I'm very particular about foie gras and more often than not, they turned out to be too gamey for my liking. This was actually not too bad, especially when it is being accompanied by figs. The latter happen to be one of my favourite fruits - so anything that could go with it, wouldn't be that bad. I did not finish the foie gras. I would normally have more than what was served - but that night I've decided against it.

By now, I no longer care about what I was wearing and beginning to enjoy the night. It was getting merry, pianist was playing Christmas songs and yes, I had about two glass of wine and by now, I'm jolly and care less about what other people think, or what I really think. The wine served was a Sauvignon Blanc - something very light and a good match to what we were eating (considering we were eating everything sea-food-ish up to this point). Or perhaps it wasn't a fantastic wine, but I had to numb my senses at the start of the night - so even mediocre wine will be consumed without much hesitation.

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke with turnip and mussels

Ah ! Artichoke - another one of my favourite. Cook it the right way, it is absolutely divine. When the dish was brought to me, I was hoping that it will not disappoint me. I picked up my spoon and took a sip of the creamy broth. I can hear yummm and mmmm from the others, and indeed, I had to join in and mutter the soft yumm and mmm. The broth texture was smooth, and wasn't creamy ( I have no tolerance for creamy, buttery liquid). This was perfect, and the mussels made the broth sweet and the combination of artichoke and mussels was just mind-blowing. I wish I could slurp my plate, but it would seem rather inappropriate to do so in such fine restaurant. Well, I did not even spare a drop. We took the bread and salvage each drop. The plate was as good as unused.

Butter poached lobster, la ratte potato and white chocolate

What can I say ? This dish was even better than the previous ones! The lobster was fresh, and the potatoes and white chocolate was a good match. I had to admit, I was getting very full - and we are not even on our main course yet!

Turkey fillet baked in ginger bread - dark cherry & winter vegetables.

I had to admit - I can't say much for this dish as I was too full from all the other courses. I took a bite of the turkey though and it was indeed very tasty. Certainly something that I would devour if not for my already near-exploding stomach. Perfectly wrapped in the ginger bread, this dish looks absolutely pretty. The others devoured everything - and I only had space left for more wine.

Dessert was next and this time round, I managed to scoff down a few spoonfuls down my throat.

I was full and tipsy by now that I have completely forgotten to write down the name of this dessert. But I remembered clearly how indulging and divine it was when I ate the meringue and chocolate cake. I did not try the fruit cake (which was served with rum, if I'm not mistaken) but the others complimented it well.

After a satisfying meal (by now we are all very happy and full), we bid our farewell to Carcosa for the last time and I could almost remember ranting to the others about my unhappiness and discontentment on why such a beautiful building had to go through the whole renovation/ redevelopment crap. Blame it on the alcohol or the gastronomic meal that I just had - I thought to myself then, what a pity it would be to close it down and the Malaysia government should start preserving colonial buildings with historical value and this is definitely one of it.

Verdict : 7.5 stars out of 10

Now that Carcosa Seri Negara is back in business, I would have no qualms about getting this experience as a gift for Christmas this year!

social media and Malaysia

2010-02-19T14:56:00.005+11:00

Of late, I've been reading a lot of SEO related articles and how social media is the new phenomenon of the internet. Every article I read seems to imply that old marketing (newspaper, billboards, radio ad etc) is now outdated and doesn't work anymore. Businesses (smaller organisations) could spent up to ten over thousands of dollars for such advertising gimmick but the ROI is certainly (in my point of view) not measurable.

The hype now is on social media such as twitter, facebook, blogs, online forums and so on and so forth. I have no qualms on following this trend - as it is much cheaper as opposed to traditional advertising. And the beauty of social media is like a virus, they spread very fast and they can be contagious. Social media is indeed in new way for businesses to advertise and be out there, especially if you are looking for prominent branding on the web. But I'm having doubts if it can really boost local business based in Malaysia (a developing country that is crawling behind not only in terms of technology but also many other things). Are malaysians ( and I'm not referring to ALL malaysians, of course) that savvy to at the forefront with the advancement of social media ? My point is there are in fact many big organisations out there ( even those of Fortune 500 companies) are still not social media conscious.

I read a book recently titled "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" and there was one particular sentence that makes me wonder - should a business like RedRibbon Days ignored all traditional marketing rules and focus on social media ? If Malaysians can't embrace the concept fully, and still inclined to traditional marketing rules ( I do have my point for saying so), how can a young fledging company like RedRibbon Days turn a blind eye to the old marketing rules?

As I mentioned before, traditional marketing is still very prominent in country like Malaysia. Our national newspaper (The Star) is as thick as a book, and every page you flip - you are bombarded with advertisement after advertisement. Billboards stretches along the highway - and you can practically see billboards no matter which direction you are coming from! Still on the same note, it will cost advertisers at least 20k (if not more) for a full-colored page advertisement in the national newspaper - yet businesses are still throwing money in the name of traditional AMP.

Unless you are a MNC or own a multi-billion organisation, then such money spent is certainly of no pinch to you, but for newly start up small-medium organisation - who wants to play the rules of AMP right, but do not have the money to do so, can we really afford to ignore traditional marketing and focus totally on social media?

time flies ?

2010-02-18T10:31:00.007+11:00

Couple of weeks ago, I had some friends over at my place and we were whiling time away, talking about everything from alcohol, work to age. Some agreed that at my age, I can still check the early 30s box while some insisted it is about right to check on the mid 30s box.

At that point of time, my life flashed past my mind like a projector running a slideshow. I can see me as a kindergarden school girl with two pony tail, running around the school with friends - playing and quite frankly speaking, studying wasn't exactly my cup of tea. I was playful and mischievous. More often than not, teachers will complain to my parents that I am such a chatterbox and I do not pay attention in class. And of course, when I got home, I will get a good lashing from my parents - which of course fell on deaf ears.

Secondary school came and went. It was the best years of my life, I had to say. I was never the popular girl in my school - well, I don't give much thoughts to looks anyway at that point of time. I was in the best class (science stream) though I'm certainly not the brainiest! In fact, I consider myself lucky to be stream into the best science class. I was very active curricular wise, I was the president of the Geography club, committee member of few student clubs, recreation officer for Interact Club and of course, I'm still proud to be the school badminton player! Those are memories of my secondary days - etched deeply in me today. I believe, these involvement have somehow shape my confidence and decision making skills.

I left high school after graduation and the rest (college and university) - they are simply history.

Looking back, I've come such long way to where I am today. But the road ahead of me is now even further. So I was thinking to myself, time did not fly as fast as I thought - it still allows me to sit down and ponder about my past, my present and my future. Well, at least it is giving me the time to sit down here today, experience life and blog about my journey, my life.

The year of the tiger : 2010

2010-02-15T16:46:00.000+11:00

14th February 2010 marks the start of a new year for the Chinese. According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, it is the year of the tiger. Curious about what the new year holds for me, I googled my zodiac sign (horse) and the predictions for this year.

And here's what I found :-

The Horse

Fun, charming and attractive sums up the Horse’s traits perfectly. They love parties and crowds and being the centre of attention. They can also be egotistical, hotheaded and impatient. The Horse is a considerate and protective friend and partner and when in his company, there will always be excitement around the next corner.

Forecast for 2010 The Year of the Tiger will be an exciting and lively year for the Horse. On the home and family front, there may be some changes with family members moving in, moving out or relocating to another location altogether. On the social front, the Horse will be in much demand with invitations to parties and gatherings increasing as the year moves on. Health wise, with such a busy year and added pressures, the Horse must ensure that he looks after his diet and gets adequate rest. Otherwise, irritability and heated arguments could arise unnecessarily. Those born under this sign will do exceptionally well career-wise this year. However, they must follow up leads and career openings with vigor in order to take advantage of the fast paced energy of the Tiger year. A word of caution for the Horse – they need to keep a careful eye on their finances as overspending could happen very easily. August through September will bring fantastic opportunities for those looking for love. March through May will be lucky for changing jobs or careers while November and December will bring fun and lively social gatherings.

Interesting Horse Facts:
Zodiac Stone: Golden Topaz
Special Flower: Rose
Best Hours: 11am-1pm
Season: Summer
Horoscope Colors: Orange, White, Yellow

So the reading says it is going to be a good year for me - how far its true, I don't know. I always believe we have to make the best for ourselves, but of course, with some positive encouragement as such, it will definitely boost my confidence further and I endeavour to make the best out of a good year.

Pilot for A Day

2010-02-01T16:09:00.001+11:00

I always pride myself for being spontaneous and adventurous (well, sometimes). So when the time has finally arrived for me to do our Pilot for A Day experience - I immediately sign up for it and without any qualms - booked in a date and time. I eagerly awaited for the day to come and on the fateful day - I was up early and gleefully excited on the prospect of flying a plane for the first time!

I arrived nice and early and was shown around the hangar area - and get a glimpse of many private planes and jets of the rich and famous. I signed a disclaimer form, and was given a 15 minutes briefing by the Pilot of the day, Captain Dylan. He showed me the plane that we will be flying in, (a Cessna model) the mechanics of the plane and many other interesting parts of the plane that contributed to a plane's flying mechanism. I sat myself inside the plane and playfully manoeuvre the wheel! There were so many buttons and controls on the plane that I was beginning to get confuse.

The plane that flew with us on that day was a 2-seater model. It was small and almost looked like a toy-plane from afar. By now, I was starting to feel a bit "chickeny" - (def : chicken out ; back out at the last minute). It was after all my first flying experience - and it was only normal for me to feel - nervous. When Captain Dylan told me we are ready to fly, I quickly buckled up my seat belts and put on the head set. The engine started up - which startled me slightly and put me back to the reality. The engine came to a full force and just like a normal commercial plane, the Captain manoeuvre the plane to the take off area. He allowed me to take control of the plane this very instance - simply by keeping the wheel straight and follow the yellow line on the tarmac. It was fun! After few minutes on the wheel, instructions came in from tower control asking us to standby for take-off. For a minute or so, butterflies started fluttering around ferociously in my stomach. I swallowed my saliva so hard that I could literally hear it - to keep me from being nervous or paranoid. Gulp*

In less than 2 minutes after the tower gave us the green light to take off - the plane took off without much effort. The plane started climbing up and as usual, I was busy snapping away ! We went up above 1000 feet and after much communication between the tower and the pilot - the pilot turned to me and asked me to take control of the wheel. Without much hesitation, I put my hands on the wheel and start manoeuvring the plane. The wheel was so sensitive that it reacts to the slightest motion command. For a good few minutes, I had the vision of me in an immaculate pilot suit - the 4 stripes on my shoulder and sleeves. What a wonderful feeling that was !

The best part for me was when tower control gave instructions for us to stay longer on that level as there are some commercial planes flying past above us. To the pilot it wasn't much of a good news - as now he can't land the plane as planned. Having extra time on air, Captain Dylan decided to pull some stunts without giving me any warning beforehand. He suddenly plunged the plane and I felt my heart dropped and sudden pressure to my ear and I almost felt my head popping out from where they were! I knew this sounded insane - but I actually enjoyed that feeling. Seeing that I'm quite a dare-devil, Captain Dylan decided to pull out the other hidden stunts he has under his sleeves. He manoeuvred the plane so hard to the left and then to the right that it almost felt like a roller coaster ride! Captain Dylan normally doesn't do this to other customers - so he said. He only did it to me because of who I am- and he believes the Founder and CEO of RedRibbon Days should get a different treatment ; the challenge and experience should be heighten with hint of madness!

Thanks Captain - but I truly enjoyed the experience despite your best effort to see me go green.

After flying around for a good whole 20 minutes, the tower finally gave us clearance to start descending in preparation for landing. Once again, I was given the power to control the wheel to descend the plane. It was so much fun and I was so disappointed when I had to let the pilot take over the wheel as we are now ready to land the plane. The plane landed without a glitch and effortlessly. By now, my hands are eagerly waiting on the wheel and I can't wait to manoeuvre the plane to the parking bay.

I enjoyed the experience tremendously - and was extremely pleased with myself for doing it. It is definitely an experience not to be missed and an experience that everyone must experienced at least once in their lifetime. And after doing this experience, I know for sure, it will be the best and perfect gift for that someone special in your life.

A Great Start to 2010

2010-02-01T15:16:00.000+11:00

2009 ended well for me and RedRibbon Days. 2009 has been quite a challenge on both personal and business level. For the latter, we have grown bigger. We had two new staff at our KL office branch and I'm pleased to have them onboard. Welcome Shiva & Theing!

On 8th January 2010, we had our first company dinner at EEST Restaurant @ The Westin, KL . It was a small and cosy gathering for us and it was such a good bonding experience for everyone in RRD. We had a bottle of champagne, (I would have ordered more than a bottle if I wasn't feeling ill! ), salmon sashimi, thai fish cakes, spring roll, and few main courses from grilled salmon to grilled king prawns. Unfortunately, I felt slightly ill after the entree but managed to push myself to stay on till the end of the dinner.

We had few round of games (good way for the attention to shift away from me because I was feeling ill and everyone around me looks seriously concerned and worried) after our Kris Kringle (gift exchange). My secret santa gave me a bottle of hand lotion which I have put it to good use. I felt better as the night goes on but I was truly hungry when I got home!

It was a first company dinner for us and seeing my staff happily enjoying themselves made me truly proud of where RRD is at today. We have come a long way from where we first started and definitely a moment as such spurred all kind of emotions deep inside. I believe I would have teared a little if not for the pain in my stomach. At that moment, I mentioned to Nik - I'm hoping one day, and I believe we will book out the whole place for our RedRibbon Days Annual Dinner. And this will be my goal and resolution for 2010.

To Nik and Ming Ne, my best business partners - you two are true assets of the company and thank you for believing in me. Working together with you both has been fun, exciting and I believe with our unique mix of abilities and skills, we will achieve our vision and goals very soon.

To Shiva & Theing, I sincerely welcome you to RedRibbon Days and I wish you all the best in your roles and enjoy your experience.

And to 2010, I'm looking forward to kick-start the year.

Business is business, personal is personal

2009-12-04T10:26:00.000+11:00

I normally wouldn't like to rant about my discontentment or unhappiness in my blog - and neither do I like ranting it out to other people about it. But today, I feel the need and urge to rant it all out and be truthful about what I feel. A dear friend once told me, I bottled up too much - and I will or could never be that much of a happy person if I don't let my voice or discontentment heard. So, I will in this blog - try to be more honest about what I feel.

I could never understand the exact meaning of "Business is business, Personal is Personal" until I was in the situation myself. When a business (regardless of a process or sale) involves some terms of endearment (i.e. family or a fraction of someone that is related to you in someways) - things do tend to turn out a bit more ugly than it would be with a normal paying customer ( no strings attached).

I do have my point on saying so, and here's my :-

When it comes to "family-customers", they do have their expectation - but their expectations differs slightly from those of a normal paying, unrelated customers. I do my best to meet all my customer's expectations, demands and requests. And end of the day, when I deliver what they asked for and paid for, my customers are happy paying customer. When it comes to "family-customers", there are certain soft issues (besides billing for it, of course) involved. They tend to be more demanding, outrageous and they simply love to say "we are family" - and yet, expect to get away with it, by paying less or in some cases, they do expect it to be FOC.

And when you show a slight dissatisfaction towards this "family-oriented" business deal, you are done for life. You will be put on the accused stand and be judged like a criminal. I'm not one who likes to tell people of what I truly feel - but my experience in life has taught me, when you are put on the accused stand by another "family-customer", you are as good as guilty without a trial, especially of course, when the defendant is adamant about saying the worse of you - and the jury are the other "family members". To make the defendant(i.e. "family-customer) feel good and right about him/herself (even if they are obviously in the wrong to begin with), the latter will bring the case to other "family-members", who will eventually take stand with them to judge you. My point is if I were to brought to a court room to be judged- I want my side of story to be heard as well. But in my experience, my explanation or my side of story is not required. I'm guilty as charged and a sinner, indefinitely.

Why can't family-oriented business deals take place like any other non-family related business deals? I can understand when my customers have their demands - after all, they don't know me. They are paying customer, and they have the rights to be demanding - after all they are full paying customer! On the other hand, "family-customers" will have more outlandish demand(because you are family) and yet, they do not expect to pay in full and promptly like a normal paying customer. The irony is, they expect me (as a business provider) to be 100% professional and committed to the deal when doing the business because (remember, we are family and I have to give my very best to the deal) and when it comes to their role as a customer, they do not need to act like a normal customer - because we are family, and family get perks and benefits! What about their expectations on me in the very beginning? What about my business expectations?

I take my stand very strongly from over a year ago that business is business, and personal is personal. I am certainly not the type of person that can mix business with pleasure(aka personal). I may have in return gain myself quite a reputation in taking my standing (nothing positive, mind you) and family-members can't see me as a family-member anymore. My status in within a family has changed - because I need to stand by my company policies and I am definitely NOT running a charity organisation or a playground whereby my business is something for family members to take advantage of and/or to while away their time.

On a highway but ...

2009-11-16T10:46:00.000+11:00

I read Nik's blog and had an urge to rant further on a statement that she made - "on a 110kmh highway, but going at 50kmh"

I can't help but wonder if that is the case for almost everything in Malaysia. I do have a point in saying so, and here are my thoughts to it:-

MSC - MSC status but when it comes to ecommerce facilities we are still lacking. Our internet is constantly down in the office - and it happens at least once if not twice in a week. When being queried at the appropriate department - the same reply was always given. "Oh we are doing some maintenance work around your area - it should be up in the next few hours". NEXT few hours?? Well, so here I have a 110kmh highway - but because of their maintenance work, I'm forced to drive at 50kmh or come to a complete halt for the next few hours. Great!

Online banking system - Being an online (ecommerce company) the efficiency of my online banking system is excruciatingly important. I need to constantly check for transfers and etc. Since 10th November till today (mind you, that is exactly 6 days) our online banking system is still down. I've made numerous calls to the bank - but they are constantly reassuring me that its fine - and they are going through a maintenance work (what? Another maintenance work? - What kind of maintenance work takes up to 6 days?)

Meeting - A lot of work can be done through the internet nowadays. I would prefer to get majority of my things to be done via email if possible. However, it is not the case in Malaysia. People simply loves to meet up - spend the whole 2 hours whiling away telling you a quarter of their life history and only 15 minutes listening to the reason for our proposed meeting. And you would assume after that 2 whole hours of bonding, a partnership would be successfully formed and we can proceed with whatever necessary to kick start the whole partnership. This is what went wrong after the 2 hours meeting. You bid your goodbyes, promised to send a recap email to them and will forward them all information they requested for during the meeting. We went back to the office, delighted with the meeting( though can't help to admit it was tiring) and had a good feeling that everything will go as planned. Then we started penning down the email, recapping on everything we discussed and you click that "send" button. Over the next couple of days, we waited for the reply email. Nothing. Another week passed. Nothing. We picked up the phone and make that phone call. Suddenly the person whom we sat down and had the 2 hours of interesting conversation turned out to be unavailable, extremely busy with work that he/she forgot about the email, they had to revert to management about the meeting, and they don't seem to be that friendly anymore!

My point here is - the 2 hours (excluding traveling time) could be saved if only the other party is susceptible to reading our email and try to comprehend what we are looking for from them, rather than insisting on a meeting and not able to give us a positive reply thereafter. On the same note, not all meetings are pointless - there are cases whereby fruitful partnership were formed, serious discussion took place and prompt and straight forward replies given almost immediately if not after a day or two. I recalled this very particular person we met over a year plus ago - he was the most sympathetic and nice guy we thought (at the time of the meeting). He was so enthusiastic about what we were proposing, offered us the most outlandish ideas that he wants to work with us, telling us all sorts of mumbo-jumbo about us being very strong, young entrepreneur and how much he respect that (bollocks!). In short, he offered everything we could ask for from a business meeting. He was positive and the meeting ended very well, with him assuring us on the partnership and how much he look forward to hearing from us again (he requested for a detailed list of what we discussed and new ideas). A day passed after we sent the email - it then turned to 2, 3 ,a week and so forth. Calls were replied but he was always giving us the same unoriginal reply - Oh, I'm so sorry, I've been busy .. will get back to you soon. Weeks turned to months and now, it has turned into almost a cold case.

So here is someone who gave us an opportunity to be driving at 110kmh (during meeting) but because of his inefficiency in responding to us, we were held back at 50kmh - just emailing him, calling him every now and then and waiting for his reply that never came.

So, is a meeting really necessary ? I've formed many business partnership via email, tele-conferencing and phone calls. And these have saved me hours and hours of traveling, meeting time and other mumbo jumbo.

I could seriously go on and on about this but I'm on a 110kmh highway today so I'm ending it abruptly right here.

The Reviews

2009-11-12T10:43:00.000+11:00

Every end of the year, I take a day off to evaluate RedRibbon Days - I read back reviews, feedback from our customers and of course, the overall performance of the business. RedRibbon Days is almost two (come July 2010) and like a mother to a new born baby, I watched RedRibbon Days grow by the day. I love reading reviews and feedback from customers. I like it when my customers tell me how happy and how much fun they had with their RedRibbon Day experience. But I like it better when they give me suggestions on how to improve their experience and the negative side of their experience, if any.

So here I was going through the stack of reviews when just for fun, I segregated out each reviews and assigned them to each partners. What caught my eye was this stack of reviews which I successfully singled it out to one particular partner. The reviews towards this particular experience was always a one-liner sentence and miraculously - they always well, convey the same meaning to me.

"We had fun. It was great."

That's it ?? There should be more to it. Tell me more about how it went - what happened, did you scream your lungs out, did you yell, did you turn green and purple? See, when I come across reviews like that I'm extremely tempted to contact the customers to dwell deeper. How was it REALLY like for you? Was it really fun? See, for me, I will only give that kind of one sentence review if I reckon that the experience was just so-so and nothing really spectacular about it. So here are a whole stack of my customers who gave that kind of reviews.

So I picked up the phone and call our business partner.

Here's the conversation:-

S: Hi, is this X ? I'm Sherin from RedRibbon Days. How are you ?

X: yes. speaking. Ya?

S: (pause and clear throats) Oh, I'm just calling to say hi, and see how are things going on your end and also to follow up on the last few customers.

X : ya.

S: How did it all went? Did the experience went well?

X: YA. Everthing OK.

S: (that's it?) Hmm..everything OK. Great! Well, if there's anything we could do on our end to improve the experience, do let me know.

X: OK. Don't worry. We take good of your customers.

S: Thanks X, let's catch up soon for a drink or two when I'm in town.

X: ok .. no problem. U buy me lunch ah...

conversation continues ....

I'm wondering why is it so hard to get people to rave about their experience ? I love it when my customers tell me about their experience regardless of positive or negative. Personally, I love giving my feedback to service I received whether they are positive or negative. If they don't tell me the truth, there's no way I can find out about it unless of course we send our 'mystery tester' to seek the truth. In this particular case, we do not have a choice but to do so. If the review comes back negative, we may have to let it go.

What are you thoughts on a review that is a flat one liner sentence?

The End of An Era

2009-11-10T12:43:00.000+11:00

Come this 26th December 2009, one of my favorite hotel in Malaysia - The Carcosa Seri Negara will be closed down indefinitely for a redevelopment project. How long the curtains will be drawn down and close - no one knows. What I know is - it is still operating as usual now - though some of the experiences we previously sold in our RedRibbon Days is no longer available.

For those who was born and bred in KL, Carcosa Seri Negara is not a uncommon name. It is renown for its historical and beautifully arched colonial buildings and to me, the perfect and ideal place to sit down, relax and indulge myself with a traditional English Afternoon Tea.

This charming boutique hotel is built in the 1904 - the official residence of the highest British representatives of the Malay states. Carcosa Seri Negara is the hallmark of Malaysia’s national heritage and the Victorian-styled building is set amidst four acres of lush landscaping.

I can simply while away my Sunday afternoon doing nothing, but kick back, relax and sip my favorite cup of tea, indulge in scones and delicacies and fully embrace the serenity of the surroundings. Who can resist such a tempting way of spending a lazy Sunday afternoon? Certainly not me.

Carcosa Seri Negara and the renown Traditional English Afternoon Tea will be dearly missed.

The Christmas List

2009-11-10T09:10:00.000+11:00

Since young, I've enjoyed the pleasure of gifting and of course, receiving gifts. I simply love wrapping up gifts in lovely boxes and embellished them with a big red ribbon. Christmas is a time of gifting - a time to tell your family and friends how much we love them, thank them for everything and of course, wishing them well for the new year!

There is no exception to this as I grew older. And normally, by the time of this year, I would have a long list of christmas presents assigned for each of my family members and friends. This year, it has completely slipped my mind and struck me this morning when I was flipping through my diary! Well, yes, it is more than a month away - but I hate to do this chore at the eleventh hour. I simply hate going to the mall when its packed with people - everyone is pushing and literally rubbing shoulders to grab 'something'. Let's not forget too that traffic in KL is just horrendous during rush hour like this. Then I'll have problems like not being able to find the 'perfect gift', and most importantly - I have to recall if I have purchased this previously for that particular someone. Yes.. it does happen. Before the convenience of experiential gift - I'm always buying albums, photo frames, mugs, ties, wallets, diaries, perfumes and the list goes on and on. After 12 years of gifting - I'm simply clueless. When I pick up a diary, questions like this will run through my mind :

"What did I get for J last year? Did I get her a diary, or did I get a perfume? Or wait...perfume was last last year, and diary was well, the year before the last last year. See, this is what I meant when I mentioned above that I hate to leave this to the last minute. Doing so, will end me up with bad presents, bad wrapping and of course, where is the thought behind the whole reason of gifting?

This year, I have decided to give my family and friends a "gift of memory". It will be something that they will remember forever - be it something that they have always wanted to do or something that they will truly experienced once in their lifetime. See I'm very fortunate because since the birth of RedRibbon Days , most of my family and friends have always mentioned to me what they like to do, how nice if they get to experience it, and it would be the most perfect gift for them if someone gave them an experience! So, I took the liberty to pen down their thoughts and all I need to do now is simply flip through my diary - and I will be getting them their dream gift for Christmas!

So here's my final list:-

Dad - Age 66 : Never fly a plane before - Pilot for A Day
Mum - Age 55 : Loves massages but never had a full-day pampering experience
Sis - Age 33 : Stress with work lately and she did say something about flying free like a bird in the sky ! - Paramotor
Bro - Age 25 : Loves food and wine !
MN - Age 28 : We did a sky tour back in Queensland together - so this time round, we will be doing it in KL !
Nik - Age 28 : I overworked her whenever I travel - loves nature !
K1 : Age 8 : Loves food & movies
K2 : Age 6 : Favorite disney character - Princess
Nana : Age 68 - loves photos !
Staffs at RRD : theme party with lots of food & drinks!
20 x :Range vouchers

Delivery : Courier

Date to order : 18th Dec 2009
Date of delivery : 22nd Dec 2009