The Worst Customer I Ever Met for aircon cleaning………

In this aircon cleaning  trade, you are bound to meet all kinds of customers. There are very understanding customers and also some unreasonable and nasty ones. There was once when I came across this customer who was really difficult to deal with. She was closely watching my workers doing the aircon service on her air conditioners. While my workers were busy doing their job, she would keep reminding my workers not to dirty or wet her floor. In the middle of the servicing, she told them that the louvers were not properly cleaned and demanded that they had to redo again. After everything was done, she would not pay the agreed amount and insisted that we had to give her a discount as she was not happy with the service. My workers explained that her air conditioners were very dirty because they were not cleaned for almost three years and now they had really cleaned everything. As they could not decide on the discount to be given to her, they consulted me. I then went all the way to her house in Jurong from the eastern part of Singapore. I patiently explained to her about the hard work done for her and finally she agreed to pay me.  

My Team of aircon Installation Workers

http://www.billyaircon.com.sg

In this air conditioning service business, it is not possible for me to just work alone. I need workers to work hand in hand with me. My team of installation workers are very skilful and experienced and they are always ready to attend to your needs as and when required. They are excellent in the installation of air conditioners as I had taught them thoroughly. Sometimes when the customers’ air conditioners were not installed properly by some other companies which caused problems like not blowing cold air, so we had to dismantle them and then re-installed them. After rectifying the problems, they were very pleased with my workers’ service and they would then let us do their  aircon servicing under our aircon service contract for a year and so on.

 

My customers are mostly recommended by my old customers and friends and there are also some who came to know of my aircon service company through my advertisements.

 

In Singapore, installation of air conditioners and air conditioning service is island wide and very competitive. In order to have continuous good business I would strive to offer excellent service to customers. As for aircon installation of air conditioners we would use good and durable materials that would provide the air conditioners with a longer life span.

 

With my team of experienced and knowledgeable workers I always get good feedback from my customers.

My Office Staff

I have employed 2 elderly staff doing administration, customer service and some accounts. They have both past the retirement age but I still employ them because of their past experiences. The first staff, Margaret has been working for me for more than three years, while the other one, Lilian just joined last July. Margaret is working on a part time basis while Lilian is on full time. Margaret’s job duties are filing and reminders to customers regarding the appointed time for the aircon servicing and repair of air conditioners. As for Lilian, she has to prepare daily invoices for customers, make payments to creditors, fixing appointments with customers for servicing of airconditioners and also some other duties as directed by me.

 

Margaret had been out of working life for nineteen years because she had to look after her two sons when they were young and of school going age as she believed that she had to be by their side during their growing up years. Now that her sons are grown up and have their own families, she decided to join the workforce. Before joining my company she had been working part time all the while. Lilian on the other hand had been working in a manufacturing company for many years before she came to join me.

 

When I am free I will join them in the conversations that they are on and we always joke with each other. Although I am their boss, I never treat them like they are my workers but respect them very much. I will always ask for their advice regarding looking after children and also some nice recipes and I will ask my wife to cook for me. Both my staff can work along happily and Lilian will always guide Margaret along in the job duties.

 

It really is a blessing to have such staff and I feel like they are my mothers.

Air Conditioner Servicing

In the trade of air conditioning servicing is inevitable. The usual problems which occurred in most air conditioners are leaking water, not cold or installation not properly fixed at right angles. Aircon servicing includes washing cover, filter and tray. The fin needs to be vacuumed and vacuum drainage is essential. The blower and louvres also need to be cleaned. The overall checking condition must be done which includes checking temperature and checking pressure too. Servicing of the fan coil is also part of the job. However, if the air conditioner is very dirty,aircon chemical washing is recommended and even replacing the spare parts when the need arises. There are aircon servicing contracts where the job is done either quarterly or bi-monthly.

 

Regular aircon service done once at every three months is highly recommended because problems will be detected early and so major problems will be prevented. When air conditioners are well maintained, they will definitely have a longer life span.

http://www.billyaircon.com.sg

My Customers

Air Conditioning service

vice is a service line, so meeting up with customers is inevitable. My customers come from all walks of life. I am bound to encounter with customers with all sorts of different attitude. The non- fussy ones were not only friendly but also appreciated what I had done for them. They even offered me and my workers snacks and drinks when we had completed our tasks. Indeed I am so touched by such customers that I even offered to do some extra jobs for them at no extra costs. There was one customer who was very easy going. He was doubtful about the choice of brand of air conditioners and seek for my advice. I then recommended “Mitsubishi Electric” and he just accepted it willingly without further inquiries. He never made things difficult for me. Throughout the whole installation process, everything went on smoothly. Payment too was made promptly.

 

Meanwhile, the other kind of customers whom I met were disgusting. They were demanding and very fussy and would not accept our advice. They were not only difficult to deal with but also delayed payment. These types of customers in particular took up so much of my time with unnecessary work and non-ending questions. That certainly would affect my next customer’s appointment which was due on the same day. There were also customers who would cancel their appointments after they had fixed them. Some even forgot about it and were not at home when we reached their house. As such, these would mess up my other customers’ appointments.

 

I believe that service line in other trades will also encounter the same problems. Well, we have to endure all these because after all, this is our ‘bowl of rice’ and customers are always right.

My Childhood Days

My hometown is in Malacca and my childhood memories there were most unforgettable. The place that I lived is the kampong style, whereby we planted fruits and even growing our own vegetables. The good thing about living in kampong is that there is not much traffic, so it is pollution free and the morning air is very fresh.

 

During my childhood days, I usually hanged around with neighbours around my age. We had a lot of things in common, so every day was a happy day for us with no arguments and worries. Life was just happy-go-lucky for me. There were also times where I was very mischievous and I encountered many incidents. There was an incident where I had a fall and injured myself with a sprained ankle. I was climbing up a tree to pluck some mangoes and before I had plucked I just missed a step on the tree and fell onto the ground. For the next two weeks I was in clutches with a limp and so I had to obediently stay at home. During that time I missed my playing times with my neighbours. I could just watched them playing and running around by the window.

 

At the age of seventeen I went to Singapore and that was the first time I left my family. I was the only son and my mother would not bear to part with me. However after much persuasions from me she reluctantly allowed me to go ahead. In order to pursue my career I had to make such a decision. While I was in Singapore I went to stay with my aunt, my mother’s sister for about six months. After that I rented a room because at that time I worked till very late and I did not want to impose on my aunt too much.

 

Now I have my own flat and I find that things look brighter for me now and I am still moving forward for an even brighter future to achieve my goal.

The 3 Important Festivals celebrated by Chinese Taoists

‘QingMing’, Dragon Boat Festival and Hungry Ghosts Festival are the 3 important festivals celebrated by Taoists in Singapore.

 

‘QingMing’ is a festival which Chinese Taoists pray to their deceased ancestors once a year during the third month of the Lunar calendar. During this time all the tombstones in the cemetery will be swept clean before praying and offering of food to their ancestors.  For those that are cremated, their descendants will go to the temples to offer their prayers and offerings. Offerings does not only include food but also paper clothes, paper shoes and even paper jewellery. At the end of the prayer these paper offerings will be burnt so that their deceased ancestors would receive them in the nether world.

 

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the Lunar calendar month. On this day, dumplings made of glutinous rice with meat, wrapped with bamboo leaves are then boiled for a few hours, are offered to the deceased ancestors. To add to this festival, you can see dragon boats racing with one another on the sea. The paddlers are seated in neat rows and happily paddling their oars and moving fast forward. This is so exciting when you happen to be strolling along the beach catching the live show.

 

The Hungry Ghosts Festival falls on the seventh month of the Lunar calendar month. During this whole month the dead are released and wander around. As usual, offerings are being prepared, but most importantly, prayers must be outside the house. The reason is that all Taoists’ houses have their talisman stuck above their doors for safety purpose. As such, the ghosts are afraid to enter on seeing the talisman.  This particular festival is quite different from the rest of the festivals. Around every corner of the void deck of every high-rising flats, you will surely see a table with candles lit up and food for offering. This is actually meant for the ghosts to eat. These offerings will be displayed until the last day of the seventh month. Everything will be cleared before midnight as the next day will be new day in the eight month. Operas performing on the streets is a form of entertainment for the deceased to enjoy. Dinner too is held for those participating members who donated. On the stage, biddings for various items add to this limelight. During the dinner, people will bid for the items and the top bidder will get to have the item. Payment has to be made immediately or next year before the next celebration.

 

These three festivals have been going on for many decades even until today.