AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! July 1, 2008

Permit me to rant and rave. It’s my blog so I’m going to do it anyways. So there.

I wasted a whole freakin’ HOUR today waiting for my turn to collect my rebate at the TTDI post office only to finally get to the counter and have the guy tell me that I can only collect it 3 DAYS LATER because it seems the system – what freakin’ system???? – did not update my details yet. I renewed my road tax the day before and I showed the proof of receipt and STILL the feller didn’t accept it and casually told me I had to come another day. WTF??!!!!! This after the lady at the Ikano post office I went to yesterday told me I could collect it the next day. At least yesterday, I “only” waited 45 minutes! ARGH!!!!!!!!!

I can tell you I laughed cynically when I read this: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/13/nation/21541182&sec=nation

Honestly, it wouldn’t have been so bad if after all that time, I walked away with something rather than NOTHING!

And you know what’s even more frustrating?? This rebate of RM625 doesn’t even cover HALF of my Kancil’s one year consumption of fuel. Maybe 3 – 4 months got lah. Itu pun if I stick to RM40 per week of petrol. And you know what else? I found out that Pos Malaysia takes 10% commission for transactions done at their counters. WTF??? So in reality, the rebate is actually RM562.50!!! ARGH!!!!

Dah lah I already panas baran, the weather was also freakishly hot! Generally I don’t mind it but my air-con decided not to work and was blowing hot air – pretty much like the driver herself – and my car radio was out of whack! The irony. A radio DJ who can’t listen to the radio.

Needless to say I was spewing profanities in the car afterwards. And my poor Big Buddy ended up bearing the brunt of my anger when he unwittingly called me soon after the incident. I answered the phone with a loud, resounding “AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” and then he let me vent. Once I was done, he asked me “You want chocolate?” I kept quiet and pondered for a bit. And then replied “Chocolate, ah? Can also.” I thought he was joking…

The only thing that made the wait somewhat bearable was an sms chat with a friend, S, which helped while away the time. And Big Buddy and Big Mummy-To-Be just dropped by my office doorstep to hand me…. a Snickers bar!!!!! Just to cheer me up. Thank you so, SO much, guys! That really put a smile on my face. I have really awesome friends….

Ok… going to cool down with some papaya and a lychee drink. Hmmm…. I wonder if I can bitch about this on air later….? (Methinks I will….!)

- ONE DAY LATER -

So yesterday I was fuming over the waste of my time at the post office, so Big Buddy decided to do a little research and ask his contacts on what’s what. I’m just going to quote him word for word here:

“No need to pay commission already… Was proposed 10% (commission) but when they launched it, they only charged 10 bucks. But now, when you renew your tax, no more deductions. I just called my friend who baru saja renew his (road tax). All you have to do is fill money order form and they will give you cash instead. My other contact said normally it takes 3 days for the system to update cos they crosscheck your car with JPJ and it would be wise to do it at the same post office where you renewed your tax.”

So I guess this means that I will be getting a full RM625 after all. Hmmm…. My question still remains, why did the lady officer at the other post office say I can collect it the next day and this male officer at the TTDI post office tell me it would take 3 days? Don’t all post offices have the same system to work from?

Yesterday when I griped about my incident on air, we got a caller, Steven, who claimed that when he went to collect his rebate during the “promotion” period, he waited from 9:30 A.M all the way till 1 P.M! Good heavens!! My one hour wait pales in comparison to that! But at least he came away with the cash so the wait was worth it.

An elderly lady who was seated next to me started complaining to the lady next to her how the post office should have allocated separate counters for those who wanted to get their rebates and those who just wanted to pay their bills. I overheard her saying that she was there just to pay the bills and she now has to wait longer than usual as a result of all the counters being used to serve both parties. She has a point. I’d be annoyed if I was her too.

I shall relate my experience after I’ve gone to the post office one more time. Any bets on how long the wait is going to take this time?