Sometimes, not that we Singaporeans like to complain but really hor, complain letters work better and faster than calling up the so called customer service officers...

Take for example, I misplaced my DBS debit card on 14 Dec. I called in to report loss and it took them like 3-5 working days to send me a replacement card. Ok, fair enough since it's the Xmas season and all and they did inform me of the delay.

I tried to activate the debit card according to the instructions on the mail and found that I could not activate the card. Of course I called the customer service dept. The answer given was I needed my ATM card to activate the debit card. Duh?!?! Will anyone still use their ATM card when their debit card has the same function and more??? That is dumb lor. So the alternative was to sign the acknowledgement slip and then mail it back to DBS for them to activate. So being the Mr Nice Guy that I am, thought maybe I forgot to read the fineprints and therefore faithfully did as told.

2 weeks passed and my card was still not activated. I'm losing patience and tried to call the customer service dept again, which by the way always seem to be engaged. Another customer service officer said she would have to check what's wrong as 2 weeks is too long for activation of cards (like I did not know that already). I asked if I could activate the card at any POSB/ DBS branches but she said cannot, die die must be activated by the main branch or something. She promised to call me back which of course she never did.

So by now I sibei tulan liaoz cuz I need to do internet transfer to my other bank account and wait for 2 days before I can access my funds. Tulan people of course write complain letters:

I have reported loss of debit card about 2 weeks ago and got my replacement card last week. However, I could not activate the card at the ATM without my! ATM card or mailing back the acknowledgement slip.
First of all, this is ridiculous as no one will continue to use their ATM card since the debit card can be used to withdraw cash as well. Nevertheless, I mailed back the acknowledgement slip last Friday and it has since been a week and my card is still not activated. I have called the customer service a few times but they cannot confirm if they have received my acknowledgement slip. Can DBS do something about this asap? It's the festive season and it is very inconvenient for me not able to use my card. I have to resort to doing interbank fund transfers and it takes a further 2 days before I have access to my funds.

See how I can't be bothered to even say 'Hi' or 'Dear...'?
This was the reply I got over the weekend:

Dear Mr Dennis
We refer to your email below. We have received your acknowledgement slip on 31 Dec 07. However, we are unable to activate your card as your signature on the slip is different from our records. Hence, please visit any of our branches to update your signature and do a urgent activation of your debit card.
Thank you for the opportunity to address your concern.

I mailed the letter out the week before Xmas and they received it only on New Year's Eve? But that's not the point. After receiving the reply, I called the customer service people again and they have the cheek to tell me they are still investigating lor!

So being still tulan, I replied:

Hi,
Thank you for your reply. It seems to be faster than your customer service officers.
The last I heard, they are still investigating.
I did check with them on the possibility of activating the card at the branches since I can verify that the card belongs to me but the customer service officers told me I can only activate the card via ATM card or acknowledgement slips.
Why is there a difference in the answers? They should have told me I can do an urgent activation the first time I called so that I do not have to waste 2 weeks waiting.
I’m not sure if this is a training issue that customer service officers are not fully aware of the policies and procedures but I do urge DBS to look into this so that other consumers are not inconvenienced.

I'll be interested to know what their reply will be...

And as for Cycle and Carriage, finally they managed to replace the exhaust pipe for 小疆尸. But the paintwork gotta wait. The guys are gonna check thoroughly for any chips and respray everything if neccessary, so they will ask me to bring 小疆尸 down one more time when they have a loan vehicle ready... Gonna waste another trip but at last everything can be fixed once and all and FOC... And should rightfully so...

Ah... The wonders complaint letters can do...