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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Taxi Cabs, Incompetence, and No Hack Compensation Policy


Okay, before I start ranting I'd like to share with everyone the latest poster for the Ragna Rally '07 Campaign. We're going to be putting this up on almost 10,000 internet cafes, nationwide. Hopefully people will respond to it and go to the Ragna Rally events which we are currently finalizing the schedules.

Okay, now to the rant. The top two things I hate are: Philippine taxi cabs and incompetence at work. Let me start with the cabs. I really don't have a problem giving a generous tip, especially if I'm taking a cab from Quezon City (where I live) to Makati. What annoys the hell out of me is how the cab drivers keep refusing to take on passengers. I mean, I'll only give the guy a tip if he lets me in the cab first. Just this morning, I flagged down a cab and was about to board. When I was about to go in, the driver asked me where I'm going and I said Makati City. I was about to say that I had no problem with adding to the fare but he cut me off and said that the traffic along EDSA was bad and he just closed the door and left. WTF???!!! Since I was so angry, I took down the plate number and company name as he was driving off. This will be the first time I actually file a complaint at the Land Transportation Office (LTO). You're going down evil taxi man -.-;

Anyway, next is INCOMPETENCE. Jesus Christ, I HATE people who keep saying that they did something and they actually just sat on their ass. It's amazing how people want you to think how good and how competent they are at work. However, when the smoke clears and the dust settles, you see them for who they really are: posers. Actually, this doesn't happen often these days at work. Eversince I got my new team life has been much easier here, and I would like to thank my Game Manager, Adrian and Community Manager, Blue, for always being coming in at 110%. I'm a bit sad though that like me, they are working their butts off to pay for the sins of the past.

Now that the ranting is done and over with let's go to semi-good news. Eversince I was a player there was one policy at Level-up that I really hated: The No Hack Compensation Policy. Marketing practitioners around the world know that it is cheaper to retain a customer than acquire a new one. I know a lot of players who quit Ragnarok because they got their characters deleted or their items hacked. Well, if you actually think about it, I was one of the people who raised hell at the Ragnaboards and in public when I got hack deleted two times. The good thing about being at Level-up now is that I can actually change things. Over the past few months, I've been actively arguing with other managers about the No Hack Compensation Policy. I'm very pleased to say that in a few days from this post, pRO players will be able to have somewhere to go when they get hacked. Just stay tuned for more official announcements about this one. :)

That's it for now. I'll be going to Davao tomorrow to represent Ragnarok and Ragnarok 2 for the Level-up Trade Launch. I'll try to get one more post in later about Perfect World if I can. Cheers and Rok On everyone!

9 comments:

Joel Tan said...

I agree with both your points, bro, but you have to realize that, first, not all taxicab drivers are like that. I have very good friends who were, or still are, taxi drivers. These good guys sometimes give rides for free, without expecting anything in return. I'm not raising the torch for all cab drivers, man, just saying my piece. =)

Second, about incompetence at work, there are times when incompetence at the lower echelons is a reflection of incompetence at the high end. Take, for example, the case of a striving cub reporter for a major newspaper (sorry, can't think of any other profession =P). The reporter has the basic know-how, especially if he's a journ graduate. But how to use that knowledge in the field effectively is a different matter entirely.

I have had the privilege of working with the best in the business, and with their guidance, my path was shaped, not perfectly but enough to give me the ability to use my know-how effectively.

Now what if a striving reporter has an incompetent (or kahit na hindi incompetent pero likas na tamad lang) supervisor? He can do his best to excel, and he will, to some degree, but he will also fall into the trap that had caught his supervisor--that of slipping into the oblivion that is complacency.

Just my two zenies' worth lang po. =)

Joel
GAME! Magazine's resident demolition man =P

X!S! Darn, I can't keep a straight face knowing one of my arguments is flawed.

Carlo "Wauks" Ople said...

Hi Joel!

Nice to hear from you. With regards to the cab, I think I came on too strong and it looked like I generalized all cab drivers. I was just so pissed off this morning thus the outburst. There are some cab drivers who are accomodating and very friendly - but I will reiterate the word *some*. hehe. ^^;

For the incompetence at work - I agree again with you that the development of that person also relies on the shoulder of his/her manager. What's sad is that the people im talking about feel like they did such an awesome job when in fact they didn't @_@.

I know the effects of having a good boss and I know the complete opposite as well. I'm really fortunate that when I was with netGames I had several good bosses and I learned alot from them :)

Anyway, consider my post an angst rant XD Rineregla lang ako. Ampf. Lol.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

taxi drivers from hell. unfortunately this only happens here in our country. X_X I still remember the first time na napuno ako sa mga taxi driver ang naisagot ko nung tinanong ako ng "Saan tyo boss?" ay "Sa impiyerno manong, sasama ko lahat ng taxi driver!" sabay baba at lakad papasok ulit ng mall to blow off some steam.

I learned a trick po para sa ganyan, call their dispatcher po para susunduin ka sa bahay and may log ka kung what body number ng cab ninyo po. Since you have said you normally give tips, i'm guessing na you will have suki drivers in due time. ^^

Carlo "Wauks" Ople said...

Mhuu,

Thanks for the tip. I'll just call for a cab that way the next time I need one. Btw, on the opposite side of the coin, my GF and I rode on a cab once (AVIS ata) with excellent service. Aircon was cool and very spacious. Driver was also courteous and ma-chika. The only problem was the flat rate of 350 PHP anywhere you go (lol).

Mike Abundo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mike Abundo said...

I'm a bit sad though that like me, they are working their butts off to pay for the sins of the past.

It's working. I haven't bashed Level Up in weeks.

Anonymous said...

Finally, something's being done about
this "No Hack Compensation Policy". I've known countless people (like you Kuya Carlo) who've been hacked/hacked-deleted in RO and only to find no help for LUG regarding this. (If they do help, it comes like a hundred million years later and the compensation is like 1/100th of the loss... Ok maybe I'm exagerating... =P)

Just recently, quite a number of my friends/guildmates have had their accounts hacked. Not only were items taken away, even the accounts themselves were unwittingly unlinked from their respective mylevelup accounts... If it weren't for their strong love of the game and the help of their guildmates, they would have quit right then & there. And take note, these are players who've been playing since beta days who've spent counltess hours days on end with their characters, only to receive little or no help for LU...

This change is good news indeed. ^_^

Zarah said...

Me nasumbong na akong taxi. I also usually give tips pero naiinis ako pag yung driver ang nanghihingi. One time nangyari to, tinawagan ko talaga yung operator para magsumbong. Haha.

Btw, added you in my blogroll. Add mo rin ako. :P

Carlo "Wauks" Ople said...

@Zarah
Done ^^