Last Sunday, we drove down to London to meet up with my sister-in-law who just moved to the UK. My brother-in-law had arrived a few days earlier. I hate driving in London and my sister-in-law was staying in an apartment right in the heart of the city - in Bayswater (near the Malaysian Hall). Fortunately I didn't have to pay the congestion charge as it was a Sunday. Moreover metered spaces and single yellow lines were free for parking.
I don't know what I would have done without my TomTom. A Sat-nav is a must have gadget for anyone who drives in the UK. However, I realised that I need to update to the latest map as it kept telling me to go into one way streets - the wrong way and into roads that didn't exist any more. It also tells me that the fastest route to our house is via the M6 whereas I prefer to take the M40 - which is even faster. It took me more than half an hour just to get out of the city on the way back. Sometimes technology can drive you crazy.
Going back to London again this week and I have to pay the congestion charges. Fortunately a friend has allowed us to park our car in front of her house for free otherwise I would have had to spend a huge amount for the parking.
30 December 2008
24 December 2008
Thrice to Ikea in 2 weeks
I am sure we are the customers that retailers dream about - I mean we went to the Ikea store in Coventry three times in 2 weeks. Not that we have a lot of money to spend but the kids were restless at home and it's freezing cold to go roaming anywhere else. So thinking about a warm place where the kids can play supervised for free, with affordable yet good warm food and maybe grab some bargains at the same time - well the Ikea Coventry store is the only place which ticks yes to all the points above.
Anyway, we were there yesterday - again, to buy the Sultan Sova mattress for our daughter and a new shower curtain. So we left our daughter at Smaland. It's on the third floor near the checkouts. We then went up to the 4th floor where the customer returns are located to return a cup. We had bought it the last time we had been there and later on discovered that it had a chip when we reached home. I didn't think they would but they gave us a refund.
We had gone there to buy the mattress and curtain but along the way some candles went into the trolley, as did a few slippers which were on sale for only 10p a pair, some gift wrappers (49p), a set of glass tumblers, a cup and some items from the bargain corner.
I finally found the 'UK at home' book as I was browsing around for bargains near the checkouts. The book costs £19 but I got it for free thanks to a coupon I had received sometime back and I got a further £10 discount (another coupon) as well.
Took out my daughter from Smaland and we had an early dinner together at the restaurant.
It was a nice day out.
Anyway, we were there yesterday - again, to buy the Sultan Sova mattress for our daughter and a new shower curtain. So we left our daughter at Smaland. It's on the third floor near the checkouts. We then went up to the 4th floor where the customer returns are located to return a cup. We had bought it the last time we had been there and later on discovered that it had a chip when we reached home. I didn't think they would but they gave us a refund.
We had gone there to buy the mattress and curtain but along the way some candles went into the trolley, as did a few slippers which were on sale for only 10p a pair, some gift wrappers (49p), a set of glass tumblers, a cup and some items from the bargain corner.
I finally found the 'UK at home' book as I was browsing around for bargains near the checkouts. The book costs £19 but I got it for free thanks to a coupon I had received sometime back and I got a further £10 discount (another coupon) as well.
Took out my daughter from Smaland and we had an early dinner together at the restaurant.
It was a nice day out.
17 December 2008
Ikea Coventry sale
Both my wife and I are Ikea fans and we decided to pay the Ikea Coventry store in the city centre a visit yesterday. The Ikea store here celebrates their first birthday and we were expecting some celebrations but were disappointed to find out there weren't any.
I had received a few coupons (for being a loyal Ikea customer) and one of the coupons was for a free copy of their new coffee table book 'UK at Home'. Was quite disappointed when I found out that it was not available in the store and the staff apparently did even know anything about it.
We didn't have anything in mind and had gone there to browse through and grab a bite. However, as it usually happens, we came back with a car boot full of stuff. We didn't buy any furniture but we got some great steals from their bargain corner.
They had cut prices on a number of products. I guess the credit crunch has hit them as well and like other retailers are trying to pull in their customers with bargain offers. The choice of candles was amazing - in various shapes and sizes and with different aromas. My wife grabbed a few. Our house smelt of apples and berries nice last night.
We also grabbed a bite at their restaurant.
Anyway, their winter sale starts tomorrow.
I had received a few coupons (for being a loyal Ikea customer) and one of the coupons was for a free copy of their new coffee table book 'UK at Home'. Was quite disappointed when I found out that it was not available in the store and the staff apparently did even know anything about it.
We didn't have anything in mind and had gone there to browse through and grab a bite. However, as it usually happens, we came back with a car boot full of stuff. We didn't buy any furniture but we got some great steals from their bargain corner.
They had cut prices on a number of products. I guess the credit crunch has hit them as well and like other retailers are trying to pull in their customers with bargain offers. The choice of candles was amazing - in various shapes and sizes and with different aromas. My wife grabbed a few. Our house smelt of apples and berries nice last night.
We also grabbed a bite at their restaurant.
Anyway, their winter sale starts tomorrow.
11 December 2008
Woolworths' sale now on
Dropped by the Woolworths outlet near our house as I heard that they are having a closing down sale. I heard correctly but I was mistaken about the date. The closure sale starts in all its 815 outlets from Thursday (today). Read the BBR report: 'Woolworths closure sale to start'. Their website has been down for a while now.
There's only one message that says: "Our site is currently undergoing essential maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please check back later."
Anyway, I was able to grab a few bargains. However, was disappointed when I found out that reductions on the movie DVDs and games were only 20%. However the store was packed with customers and a number of the shelves were quite empty. I have never seen so many customers in the Woolworths outlet ever. If business had been that good before, they probably would not have gone under.
Anyway, I will be dropping by the store again and see how much the Nintendo Wii is going for.
There's only one message that says: "Our site is currently undergoing essential maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please check back later."
Anyway, I was able to grab a few bargains. However, was disappointed when I found out that reductions on the movie DVDs and games were only 20%. However the store was packed with customers and a number of the shelves were quite empty. I have never seen so many customers in the Woolworths outlet ever. If business had been that good before, they probably would not have gone under.
Anyway, I will be dropping by the store again and see how much the Nintendo Wii is going for.
08 December 2008
Melayu Boleh revisited
One thing about Search Engine Optimisation is that you cannot afford to rest on your laurels. Take my 'Melayu Boleh' project for example - which started out as a competition initiated by Mohd. Suhaimy but later became a personal campaign to dislodge porn blogs from Google search results for the above search terms.
I eventually won the challenge on February 02, 2007. That was a great effort and in fact, the first results page didn't have any links to porn sits for a while.
On January 12, 2007, my post was #4 in Google search results for melayu boleh. It even went up to #2 and I think that was the highest it ever went up to.
It later dropped and I had to work hard to bring it back to #8 position in Google - 18 Aug 2008.
However, I stopped bothering after a while and now my post is nowhere to be found on Google results.
You can Digg it here.
I eventually won the challenge on February 02, 2007. That was a great effort and in fact, the first results page didn't have any links to porn sits for a while.
On January 12, 2007, my post was #4 in Google search results for melayu boleh. It even went up to #2 and I think that was the highest it ever went up to.
It later dropped and I had to work hard to bring it back to #8 position in Google - 18 Aug 2008.
However, I stopped bothering after a while and now my post is nowhere to be found on Google results.
You can Digg it here.
04 December 2008
Gift cards for this holiday season
The holiday season is almost upon us and the almost everyone I meet seems to be in a jolly mood. It's also the time of the season to buy gifts. Not really sure how the current recession is going to affect the sales. Most of my friends are looking for bargains online.
One thing that will not change will be the big queues in stores at the returns counter where people go to exchange unwanted gifts. I was wondering whether giving prepaid gift cards would be a better alternative. People could then go and buy things that they really wanted or needed.
According to a study by commissioned by Blackhawk Network, the creator of the Gift Card Mall™, 70% of the respondents felt that gift cards are a useful gift since the recipient can get what he/she wants. Further more, the National Retail Federation’s 2009 NRF holiday survey showed 54.9% of consumers would like to receive a gift card this holiday season.
I guess that's not really surprising. I would prefer to receive a gift card rather than a sweater that did not fit me.
I am sure some of you might be worried that with several retailers in financial trouble or even going under, they might not accept gift card. However, the fact is that most retailers are not going bankrupt and those that were are getting rescued and there is no evidence to show that retailers are not accepting gift cards.
So if you haven't thought about your gifts as yet, you might want to consider giving gift cards.
One thing that will not change will be the big queues in stores at the returns counter where people go to exchange unwanted gifts. I was wondering whether giving prepaid gift cards would be a better alternative. People could then go and buy things that they really wanted or needed.
According to a study by commissioned by Blackhawk Network, the creator of the Gift Card Mall™, 70% of the respondents felt that gift cards are a useful gift since the recipient can get what he/she wants. Further more, the National Retail Federation’s 2009 NRF holiday survey showed 54.9% of consumers would like to receive a gift card this holiday season.
I guess that's not really surprising. I would prefer to receive a gift card rather than a sweater that did not fit me.
I am sure some of you might be worried that with several retailers in financial trouble or even going under, they might not accept gift card. However, the fact is that most retailers are not going bankrupt and those that were are getting rescued and there is no evidence to show that retailers are not accepting gift cards.
So if you haven't thought about your gifts as yet, you might want to consider giving gift cards.
27 November 2008
Experience of buying a phone from the 3 Store Coventry
Ever since we arrived in the UK, I have always used prepaid mobile services or 'pay-as-you-go' as it's known here in the UK. I started with O2 and then moved on to Vodafone, followed by Tesco mobile and finally 3. So far, I have been very happy with the service provided by 3.
However, of late I have discovered that I have been reloading quite often and was shocked to discover that we sometimes spent more than £30 a month. This is despite the fact that most of my calls are to my wife who was also on 3 pay-as-you-go service. My wife went ahead and bought a Sony Ericsson K660i from the 3 site. The phone was delivered within a few days and she also received a voucher worth £20 to buy accessories from their website.
I too decided to get a phone for myself and I was still undecided on the phone. One of my friends told me that the stores had some greats refurbished phone which I might be able to get at a discount. So on Monday, I drove over to Coventry city centre and went to the 3 Store there. Unfortunately, according to the salesgirl, they didn't have any refurbished phones. So I went around and had a look at the various phone they had on display. I really want the Nokia N96 but it was way beyond my budget (cheapest deal was £30 per month). I finally went for the Sony Ericsson W595 for a 18 month contract for £17 per month. 3 has this promotion going on where existing members could recommend a friend (or family and both would receive a £30 credit. However, I discovered that I couldn't put my wife as a recommender because she had been with 3 for less than a month. Plus I didn't receive any vouchers.
I was really angry when later on back home, I discovered that I couldn't use Skype with the phone even though it was advertised as Skype compatible. Anyway, I went back to the store next day and the sales people were surprised as well, when they learnt that the phone was not Skype compatible. They were not very happy when I told them that I wanted to change the phone.
I was shocked to learn that unlike buying phones from their website, you were not allowed to return phones bought from their actual stores. However, in my case they were willing to make an exception as they realised that it was their mistake. The main reason I bought the phone was because it was Skype compatible (or so they said).
Gags (the guy who served me) was quite friendly but he seemed to be poorly trained. He told me that I could choose another phone but I won't be able to reduce the amount that I paid per month. The only phone there for £17 per month was the Sony Ericsson K700i. I should have taken only a couple of minutes to complete the whole process but the managers was busy or something. There was no way I was going to come back again and decided to wait until I got mad, raised my voice a bit and told them that I wanted out. The sales guy told me I couldn't and this went on for a while until their manager finally came out.
I finally got the new phone but was dissatisfied with the whole process. It took almost an hour for me to get the phone changed and that shouldn't happen. I am still loyal to 3 but my advice for anybody who want to sign up with 3 - buy it from the online 3 Store.
1. It's fast
2. You can return the phone if you don't like it
3. You get some nice surprises - like a £20 voucher.
However, of late I have discovered that I have been reloading quite often and was shocked to discover that we sometimes spent more than £30 a month. This is despite the fact that most of my calls are to my wife who was also on 3 pay-as-you-go service. My wife went ahead and bought a Sony Ericsson K660i from the 3 site. The phone was delivered within a few days and she also received a voucher worth £20 to buy accessories from their website.
I too decided to get a phone for myself and I was still undecided on the phone. One of my friends told me that the stores had some greats refurbished phone which I might be able to get at a discount. So on Monday, I drove over to Coventry city centre and went to the 3 Store there. Unfortunately, according to the salesgirl, they didn't have any refurbished phones. So I went around and had a look at the various phone they had on display. I really want the Nokia N96 but it was way beyond my budget (cheapest deal was £30 per month). I finally went for the Sony Ericsson W595 for a 18 month contract for £17 per month. 3 has this promotion going on where existing members could recommend a friend (or family and both would receive a £30 credit. However, I discovered that I couldn't put my wife as a recommender because she had been with 3 for less than a month. Plus I didn't receive any vouchers.
I was really angry when later on back home, I discovered that I couldn't use Skype with the phone even though it was advertised as Skype compatible. Anyway, I went back to the store next day and the sales people were surprised as well, when they learnt that the phone was not Skype compatible. They were not very happy when I told them that I wanted to change the phone.
I was shocked to learn that unlike buying phones from their website, you were not allowed to return phones bought from their actual stores. However, in my case they were willing to make an exception as they realised that it was their mistake. The main reason I bought the phone was because it was Skype compatible (or so they said).
Gags (the guy who served me) was quite friendly but he seemed to be poorly trained. He told me that I could choose another phone but I won't be able to reduce the amount that I paid per month. The only phone there for £17 per month was the Sony Ericsson K700i. I should have taken only a couple of minutes to complete the whole process but the managers was busy or something. There was no way I was going to come back again and decided to wait until I got mad, raised my voice a bit and told them that I wanted out. The sales guy told me I couldn't and this went on for a while until their manager finally came out.
I finally got the new phone but was dissatisfied with the whole process. It took almost an hour for me to get the phone changed and that shouldn't happen. I am still loyal to 3 but my advice for anybody who want to sign up with 3 - buy it from the online 3 Store.
1. It's fast
2. You can return the phone if you don't like it
3. You get some nice surprises - like a £20 voucher.
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