8:07 PM
no matter, dear promised to bring me next year, if he's not working that is. :\
anyway, the race looks great, with perfect dry weather, more than sufficient lamps to compensate for the sunlight.
its rather challenging to have a night race, since many things can go wrong in a race during broad daylight.
another big change is that they have done away with the flags now. they have got digital lights to indicate. it's just like our traffic light type, if there's a yellow flag, it will be flashing in yellow.
oh, i am sure many of the girls would agree with me that nico rosberg is one of the cutest f1 driver! haha. he's only 23 ok! when i first saw him on tv last season, or is it the last last season, i was like, omg he's cute! :X
like what dear has mentioned, not many singaporeans know f1. they dun even know what is f1, nor did they know of f1 existence, until singapore bid for f1. many will say its a waste of $$ and time, to see 20 f1 cars to zoom about in 300+km/hr. u can only hear them, and within a second, they have already zoomed past u. lol.
but, how many times can u see "cars" driving at 300+km/hr and not get caught?
4:34 PM
Dear Ms Jerlyn Tan,
Firstly we would like to apologise for the unpleasant experience that youand your friends had with our Smart driver-SHB7120K.
We had concluded with our investigation and would like to assure you that necessary action had been taken against the driver concerned. Our Management had a long interview session with our driver.
Driver had been warned and informed on the importance of providing good service performance and to be courteous at all times. Driver was told to comply to passenger's request as he served as a customer-service for Smartcab.
Driver added and informed, that he had been tricked and stood-up for too many a times that what makes him not to oblige on passengers request. Nevertheless,we will not take this complaint lightly, and assure you that driver was given a stern warning letter and his performance will bemonitored closely. Any repetitive complaint from the public we will not hesistate to take serious action against him.
We apologised once again for all inconvenience caused and we thank you for you valuable feedback.
Looking forward to serve you better.
Regards,
Ratna
Complaint Officer
Smart Automobile Pte Ltd.
Tel :64857740 / Fax : 64857711
check out my reply:
Hi Ratna,
This is highly unacceptable.
It seems to me that SMART is covering up for their drivers, that is why this particular driver is so bold that he don't even bother if we will be complaining him.
It is not our fault that the driver has met other passengers who played tricks on him. It is not even us, who play tricks on him. It is the driver who is trying to be funny with us.
Even if he has met such mean passengers, is he right to vent his frustrations on us?
Is he right to endanger our lives in such a manner?
Is he right to confine us unlawfully in the taxi, not allowing us to alight?
There isn't any logical or reasonable explanation for the driver's behaviour.
Why is he treating us this way?
Why is he hurling abuses at us?
Why is he not allowing us to alight immediately when we requested to?
Why is he refusing to turn around to pick my boyfriend since he is already downstairs.
Why is he encouraging us to complain about him?
Apparently complaints are not taken seriously. Of course, if this is the way your company conduct investigations, provide an oversimplified "explanation", and then close case, it is no wonder that the driver is not even afraid of us lodging a complaint against him.
I can't detect any sincerity in your email, neither from SMART nor the driver.
The driver endangered our lives by driving off at a top speed.
The driver endangered our lives by not allowing us to alight the taxi, should we try other means of getting off.
The driver made us fear for our lives, fear that he might abduct us and just simply dump us off at some deserted area. Who knows where he will be driving us to?
Is this the right image to portray as a taxi driver, who gets to pick up tourists, foreigners and even our own people?
Does he have the rights to deny us from alighting?
Does he have the rights to endanger our lives?
Does he even have the rights hurl abuses at us just because he had a bad day or he have had bad experiences?
This is an absolutely ridiculous outcome of a so-call investigation, if only a warning letter is issued for endangering lives.
We refused to accept this "apology", or outcome.
I am forwarding this to the Press and LTA. Please take this matter seriously.
Jerlyn
and if you think my letter is fierce, wait till u see mel's reply below;
It is obvious that our complaint is not being taken seriously as it should.
First thing first, what have your investigation concluded from the interview with the accused driver? And what was the 'necessary' action taken (and we weren't informed for that).
I absolutely comprehend the insecurity of the accused driver's, but i demand to know why was he skeptical about his passengers (us) were still in the cab waiting for a friend? And speaking of which, what gives your driver the right to judge us as his other irresponsible passengers who stood/tricked him before? Now, we have another case of slandering and tainting our reputation as working adults.
Singapore is all out to promoting its good reputation in its tourism sector, tell me, how are we ever going get started when Singaporeans are rude to their fellow people?
"Driver added and informed, that he had been tricked and stood-up for too many a times that what makes him not to oblige on passengers request." - It is an irrresponsible comment from the accused driver. And since unfortunate events made your driver skeptical to not oblige on passengers' requests, so how do you convince us that he will COMPLY to his company's rules & regulations?! Irregardless of what, SMART company is providing transportation service and CUSTOMER SERVICE to consumers!
"Nevertheless,we will not take this complaint lightly,and assure you that driver was given a stern warning letter and his performance will be monitored closely.Any repetitive complaint from the public we will not hesistate to take serious action against him." - Action speaks louder than words, prove it to us. We are not convinced the accused driver will change his attitude should the same incident happen to him again. Since he is so skeptical toward passengers who make him wait, I doubt he will ever changed his mindset on this issue.
We will definately pursue this matter further should we not have a satisfactory reply from the SMART. The competition between taxi companies is intense and if the matter blown up, I believe SMART's reputation will be affected.
Yours Sincerely,
Melissa Lim
now u guys know who is the real complain queen?
LOL
as usual, i posted in the forum, and guess what, some people there ask me to be specific about what kind of outcome do we want. an apology? compensation or what?
while some, just simply feels that i am childish and stupid. ask me to stop making a fool of myself, and if i go too far, i will be the one getting sued.
thats funny, coz i have no idea why would i be getting sued. LOL
5:09 PM
My complain letter to SMART and LTA:
My friends and I went on board of a SMART taxi, the car plate should be SHB 7120 L, or SHB 7120 K, at Tampines ST 32, opposite Ngee Ann Secondary School, at about 7.00-7.15pm.
We have told the driver to go to Tampines St 11 first, as my boyfriend needs to take his passport, and then followed by Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
The driver refused to wait while my boyfriend needed to rush up to his flat for his passport. We have assured him that it will only take less than 5 minutes, and after several persuasion, the driver relented.
Through the journey, the driver keep complaining that he had an experience of waiting for someone to go up to collect his luggage. The passenger also assured him that only 5 minutes is needed, and he ended up waiting for 30 minutes, from a fare of $2.80 to over $10.
He was terribly unhappy, and keep on with his verbal abusement, saying we the youngsters never keep our word, etc etc. We have assured him many times that the longest it would have taken is probably 5 minutes. He raised his voice and told us off, saying that 5 minutes is too long! He will drive off immediately once he felt that he's waiting for too long a time.
Nevertheless, he stopped at Tampines St 11 to allow my boyfriend to rush up to his flat. After waiting for less than 3 minutes, the driver drove off without telling us, while the other 3 of us were still in the cab.
We were shocked! I asked him where he is going to. And again he raised his voice saying he has waited too long, and he will be sending us back to where we boarded.
Just then, my boyfriend called to say that he has reached downstairs only to see the taxi drove away. My friend then tell the driver to turn back, as my boyfriend is already downstairs. The driver refused, continuing to drive off towards Tampines St 32 at a top speed. We again told him to drop us immediately, and he keep on with his verbal abusement and refused to stop.
After the 3 of us keep demanding him to stop, he finally stop at the bus stop near BLK 206 Tampines Ave 2. We were so furious with his attitude! Is this how a taxi driver should behave? It is not as if we will not pay for the fare, and he only waited for less than 3 minutes.
Even if he felt that it's wasting too much time for a 3 minutes wait, he should not drive us away without telling us. He should not refused to drop us immediately and insisted on driving us back to where we boarded the taxi. What is the issue with dropping us immediately and what is the purpose of driving us back to Tampines St 32?
His behaviour deeply affected us and disgust us. There is no reason for him being so rude. If we have made him waited for 30 minutes, I will admit it's our fault. However, it is only less than 3 minutes. Does he have to treat us this way, along with his verbal abusement throughout the journey?
What is worse is that when I told him I lodging a complain against him, he retorted by asking me to go ahead, and telling me his car plate number.
Is this the way your drivers are treating the passengers? I am terribly disappointed and disgusted that even with LTA's campaign and regulations, such taxi drivers still exist!
I can't help but think that since the driver can righteously tell me to go ahead to complain with his car plate number, will the complaints made to your company be taken seriously.
I will be writing to the Press and LTA to conduct an investigation and explanation on the driver's behaviour. This is not the right way to behave, we are all puzzled by his behaviour and convinced that he might not be mentally stabled.
SMART company replied:
Dear Jerlyn Tan,
We regretted on the unpleasant experience that happened to you and your friends at Tampines ST 32, opposite Ngee Ann Secondary School,at about 7.00-7.15pm.
Our company took complaint seriously and will not tolerate errant driver. At the moment we are inquiring into this matter,once we have finalised with our investigate we will keep you posted.
We appreciate your kind understanding and we thank you for your feedback.
Regards,
Ratna
Complaint Officer
Smart Automobile Pte Ltd
Tel : 64857740 /Fax : 64857711
My reply to SMART:
Hi Ratna,
I thank you for your prompt response.
Please note that this experience has deeply disturbed us, and we will be expecting a response from you by the end of this week. We are now considering to take further action on the driver.
I have lodged a complaint regarding this issue to LTA, and has forwarded the email to the Press. If we were not to receive any logical explanation or action taken, I will be escalating to the higher authorities.
Thank You,
Jerlyn
- they have not reply until now.
LTA reply:
Dear Ms Tan
CQ:ATTN: Bus and Taxi Regulation Department (Complaint on SMART taxi)
FEEDBACK NUMBER: 698267
We refer to your email of 15/09/2008.
LTA does not condone any malpractice or misconduct by errant taxi drivers in any incident involving taxi passengers and view all complaints lodged with us seriously. In this respect, we wish to inform you that we will be assigning an Investigation Officer to look into your feedback against the specified taxi.
The investigation officer may contact you for clarifications when necessary. If your case is a straight-forward one where evidence against the errant driver is strong and the facts are not disputed, we will strive to reply within a month from the date we receive your feedback.
However, if the case is more complex, we will need more time to ascertain the intricacies of the case and we seek your understanding that we may take longer than a month to reply to you.
We thank you for writing in.
Yours sincerely
(SIGNED IN LOTUS NOTES)
LIM WAH ERH WILSON
EXECUTIVE SERVICE OFFICER
BUS & TAXI REGULATION
PUBLIC TRANSPORT REGULATION
My reply to LTA:
Hi Wilson,
Thank You for your prompt response.
We are absolutely puzzled and disturbed by the driver's behaviour, and are now considering to take further action on the driver.
We understand that time is needed for an accurate and thorough investigation on this issue. Nevertheless, I hope my friends and I will be able to get a reply as soon as possible, updating us on the progress of the investigation.
Please feel free to contact me if you need further details or information. My friends and I will be more than happy to provide assistance.
Hope to receive your updates soon.
Thanks,
Jerlyn
LTA reply:
Dear Ms Tan,
Please refer to your feedbacks dated 15 September 2008.
We view all complaints lodged with us seriously. We will investigate the complaints thoroughly and fairly. To enable us to do so, we would need to hear from both the complainant and the driver concerned, and secure statements from both parties.
I would appreciate it if you could assist to clarify the following for incident of taxi No.SHB7120K :-
1) What was the date of the incident?
2) How much did you pay for the fare?
3) Are you prepared to give evidence in Court if required by the LTA?
In addition, we also need to have your undertaking to testify in court if required. This is so as we are of the view to issue summons against the errant driver should the case be substantiated.
Your presence in Court may be required if the driver disputes the summons and decides to claim trial. In this regard, we would like to interview and record a statement from you.
We would appreciate it if you could call at our office located at No. 10, Sin Ming Drive, Bus & Taxi Regulation Division (3rd Storey) on 22 September 2008 (Monday) at 03.00pm together with your witness(es), if any.
If you are unable to come on the appointed date and time, please contact me at telephone no. 6553 5804 for an alternative arrangement. If we do not hear from you by 24 September 2008, we will look into it and take necessary departmental action on the matters.
Thank you for bringing the matters to our attention.
Yours sincerely,
LIM LAI HUAT for REGISTRAR OF VEHICLES
My reply to Mr Lim:
Hi Mr Lim,
In reply to your email below,
1) The date of the incident is 12th Sept 08.
2) No, we did not pay for the fare. How can the driver expect us to pay when he did not do his job by driving us to our destination? He even refused to let us alight, which is wrong of him in the first place!
3) Yes, we certainly do not mind if we have to go to Court.
We do understand that LTA and the relevant authorities need to investigate the matter fairly. However, we do not have the time to go down to the office for statement, as all 4 of us have different work schedules and commitments. It is very difficult for us to be able to meet at a single appointed time. We do not mind doing phone interviews. I hope you will understand.
Could you please update us whether has LTA or SMART spoken to the driver? How is the investigation going on? Did the driver admit or dispute against our claims?
If we did not make any statements, how will LTA deal with this issue? Will LTA just close this case and let the driver escape?
Please feel free to contact me at ********, if you need anymore details from my friends and I.
Thank You,
Jerlyn
shortly after my email, Mr Lim called me and explain the need for us to go down to the office for statement. It is for in case the driver dispute against our claims, and they need to go to the Court. Even if we can't go down to the office, they will ask for the driver's statement from the cab company and from there they will conduct the investigation. If we win, the driver is likely to be fined.
He promised to get back to me in a week. So let's see then. If not, I will be forwarding to the press again, stomp, transport minister (which dom so kindly provide me with the email address).
i am currently thinking what should I reply to the SMART company.. let me post again when I have got any idea.
10:24 PM
come and tell me what you are going to buy for your gf when both of u have been together for 7 years ok.
