What's up with all this hype about the Conficker Virus attack tomorrow, April 1st? I've read and heard about people scared about this April Fools' day attack and the media hyping this all up is crazy! People are now scared of turning on their computers and connecting to the internet the whole day tomorrow.

News and informational sites about the Conficker Virus claim that there are about 10 million computers affected worldwide from the previous "attack". I doubt mine's even included considering this is brand new and I just reformatted it. So, if you're gonna ask me, I'm not scared about this at all.

If you're using your computer for personal use and you only download from trusted sites, don't be scared. If you're using a genuine Windows and are receiving updates from Microsoft, don't be afraid. If your anti-virus and security software are all updated, no need to worry.

Alright, just reading the last paragraph makes me think that this was all an April Fools' day trick from these software companies. I remember the millenium bug. People were fearing the worst but did anything actually happen when the clock struck 12 midnight and the start of year 2000? C'mon now.

Just relax, people. For the sake of playing it safe, clean out your history, passwords, etc., on your browser and computer. Like always, download only from trusted sites. Make sure your anti-virus software is updated and you should be okay.

If you're a Mac or Linux user, no need to worry. The Conficker virus was designed to exploit weaknesses in Microsoft's Operating system. And from what I've read, those that are affected by the virus might only get some kind of instruction or message from "home" (creators) and won't be that drastic. They're scaring the hell out of those people who are using pirated versions of Windows. Hmmm... fishy, ain't it?

For more information about the Conficker virus and all this hype, check out the links below:

Must-Read: Conficker April Fools Hype
The Conficker Worm at Symantec
Conficker Hype And Debate Build As April Fool's Day Nears at CNN
The Conficker Worm: April Fool’s Joke or Unthinkable Disaster? from NY Times

Here's Part 2 on how I successfully downgraded my new Presario CQ40-340TU laptop from Vista to XP. Like what I mentioned in Part 1, it's okay to downgrade to XP. The only thing that's hard about this is finding the drivers that should work for your device.

So, I compiled all the drivers I used to install all the devices on this laptop and I hope they'll work for yours, too. I believe it should work for all CQ40 models, except if you have nVidia or other devices installed. If you have other devices on your laptop, try to go to the manufacturer's site. It should be there somewhere.

Check out my laptop's specs, we might have the same devices.

Disclaimer: These drivers worked for MY computer. I am not giving you a 100% assurance that it would work with YOUR laptop. It's up to you if you want to take the risk or not. It's worth a try.

I want to thank CherylG of HP forums for pointing me to the right direction and to Rakhmad for posting where to download the drivers.

Here goes. Make sure you install them in the following order:

1. After you've completely installed Windows XP with the SATA drivers (tutorial here), you have to install the Intel chipset first before installing anything else.
Download Intel chipset here or here.

Restart your PC after installation.

2. Install MS-UAA. You can download it here.

3. Install the Mobile Intel Series Express Chipset Family Graphics driver.
Download here.

4. Now, for the audio. This is the HARDEST part since Windows XP won't recognize the audio devices on your laptop. So, I tried 2 things but only 1 worked. I'm going to show you how but word of warning, though. It might slow down your taskbar loading during startup. For me, that's tolerable as long as I have sound. So, again, do this on your own risk.

a. Download the patch here. Extract it anywhere you like.
If you can't download from RapidShare, try this link. There were people who informed me that they can't download the patch from RapidShare so I uploaded it somewhere else.

b. Copy the devcon.bat to C:\Windows\System32\ folder.

c. Copy devcon.exe to C:\Windows\

d. Install the IDT Sound Driver. Download that here or try this other driver that was reported to also work for Windows XP here. (Updated 04/10/2009 with the new working links for drivers you can try. The old one was taken out.)

e. Install Audio Agere modem for Vista which is also working for XP. Download here. If that doesn't work for you, try this.

f. Run AudioPatch.exe from the patch folder from step 4.a.

g. Restart your PC. Then, test if you already have sound.

h. If you still have an Unknown Audio device on Device Manager, try installing drivers from here. Then, restart. If it still won't work, try installing the driver manually.

Note: You might hear a clicking noise during bootup. Just ignore it.

Important Update (5/30/2009):
If you're still not getting any sound, please check the bottom of this post for steps that you can take to fix it.

5. Install other devices:

Realtek RTL8102E Family PCI-E Fast Ethernet NIC - driver
Broadcom Wireless adapter - driver
JMB38X card reader - driver
Bluetooth - driver
ENE CIR - driver
ALPS Touchpad driver - driver

6. Now, if you still have 7 unknown devices on Device Manager, download this. If that link doesn't work, you can download it also here.
You have to do manual installation.

a. Extract the 7 unknown devices.rar into a new folder.
b. Go to Device Manager. Right-click on each Unknown Device and select Update Driver.
c. Point to the location of machine.inf from the folder in 6.a.
d. Repeat 6.b and 6.c until all the Unknown Devices are gone.

7. With my laptop, I still have one missing driver - for the webcam. I don't know where to get the drivers for it because I've tried all the drivers I found that should be suitable for this webcam but they didn't work.
I'll keep on looking and will post an update here once I found it. Check updates below.

4/22/09 Update: I got my webcam working but it's too dark. I wasn't able to test it on Vista before I downgraded to XP so I'm not sure if the downgrade caused it. But maybe the right driver can get it to properly work. I'll update this once I got it completely cleared.

How did I get my webcam working? First of all, you have to make sure you update your Windows Service Pack to SP2 or SP3 (mine's on SP3). It should be automatically detected by Windows XP and it will install it as a USB Video device. Download Microsoft Windows XP SP3 here. I know it's not the official driver but 'til I find the right drivers, Windows drivers should do for now.

After it's been installed by Windows automatically, you can test if it's already working. I did it through Yahoo!'s webcam test page. Click here. Use INTERNET EXPLORER for this test. Other browsers won't load the page properly. If your webcam is working, you'll see your webcam's feed on the bottom of that test page.

---

Still having problems with audio? Still no sound?
Here's something that you can try.

1. First of all, make sure you already have MS-UAA installed. To check, go to Device Manager -> System Devices and you should see something like this:

2. Let's say your main drive or where you installed Windows is at drive C:
Make sure you have devcon.exe on your C:\Windows folder.
If you don't have it yet, you can download it from Microsoft here.
Again, make sure it's placed inside your Windows folder.

3. Go to:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.
Right-click on the window and select New -> Text document.
Rename New Text Document.txt to start_audio.bat.
When you get the prompt below, just click on Yes.

4. Open start_audio.bat in Notepad and enter the following and then save it.
devcon.exe restart "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_293E"

5. Now, if you installed the patch.exe from step 4.a on the first part of this tutorial, we need to disable it from running during startup.
Go to Start -> Run -> type msconfig and press Enter.
Go to the Startup tab and uncheck the entry for audio just like this:
C:\Program Files\JMPEL\audio.exe

Click on OK and then Restart your computer.

You should have audio already. There'll be a DOS window when your Windows boots up but that's better than not having any sound at all, right?

Please leave me a comment if this worked for you.

---

I hope this post will be helpful to anyone who's trying to downgrade their CQ40 laptop to XP. For any questions, feel free to leave a comment. I'll get to you as soon as I can.

Enjoy!

And, if you're feeling generous... give me a tip. :)

Woohoo!! I'm glad that all my faves are still in the running to win American Idol Season 8! And I'm so glad the one who should have gone last week got kicked out this week!

Well, who else should it be but Michael Sarver! He was my fave but his performances after Hollywood week really sucked. He's so into doing his own thing without realizing that he sucks at what he kept on doing week after week. He sounded like 1 of my friends after 5 beer bottles, singing at a videoke bar. Tsk tsk. I'm so glad he's gone.

But why the hell is Matt Giraud in the bottom 3?!? I can understand Alexis from last week, but this week, Matt? Really?! Scott deserved to be there. Megan should've been there as well. I like Megan but I don't want Matt to get kicked off before her. Tsk tsk.

Allison's starting to really bore me. For me, her performance this week was just okay. I expected more from her, with that big voice of hers. I don't think she'll win or even make it to Top 3.

Adam Lambert - I loved David Cook for his originality but, damn, Adam beat him by miles! I hope Adam wins this season. Gosh. He made me love a song that was completely unfamiliar to me. That's what a true artist is all about! He sang "The Tracks of my Tears" by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. I'm loving his version!

By the way, did you see Anoop's reaction when they announced Stevie Wonder's will have a guest performance on results night? And he was all giddy during the results night. Star struck, I guess. Priceless. Hehehe.

Anyway, I'm so glad my faves Anoop Desai, Kris Allen, Matt Giraud and Adam Lambert are still in the competition. I just hope Matt won't get eliminated before Megan, Lil, Danny or Scott.

Like what I mentioned in my previous post, I was able to successfully downgrade my CQ40-340TU laptop from Vista to XP. So, I want to share how I did it. This will be the first part of the tutorial - Slipstreaming the SATA drivers into your Windows XP installer.

One of the major reasons why it's not advisable to downgrade from Vista to XP for new models of computers today is because XP doesn't have the new SATA/RAID drivers for newer models. It's very easy, promise. I'll show you how on this post.

Another reason why they don't recommend the downgrade is because most of the drivers available for these new models are for Windows Vista only. It'll be hard to find compatible drivers for your hardware devices but I was able to find drivers that worked for my type of laptop. It should work well with CQ40 models, I believe. That's part 2 of this tutorial.

So, if you're slipstreaming your CQ40 laptop, here are the things you need to do:
1. Download nLite.
It's a very simple but powerful tool in making your customized Windows XP installation CDs.
Install and follow instructions below.

2. Of course, your own Windows XP installer CD.
You need to copy the WHOLE installer CD to a folder in your hard drive. For instance, I copied them to D:\NewWinXP folder on my hard drive.

3. Download the ICH9 SATA driver for CQ40 model here.
Someone reported that the file is no longer available on that page so I uploaded the one I have. Click here to download the SATA drivers I used.

11/24/2009 Update: Someone left a comment saying that the links are not working. So, I uploaded the SATA drivers to 4shared. Click here to download.

That's a zipped file so just unzip them in a new folder. For example, D:\SATA.
You should have the following files:
iaahci.cat
iaAHCI.inf
iastor.cat
iaStor.inf
IaStor.sys
license.txt
TXTSETUP.OEM

4. Run nLite and follow the instructions below:
a. First screen will prompt you to select a language you prefer. Just click on Next on the first screen when you run nLite. You should have the following screen afterwards:

Click on the BROWSE button and locate the folder where you copied your WHOLE Windows XP installer. Just wait for it to scan the whole folder and then click on Next.

b. Ignore the next screen "Presets" and click on Next. You should have the screen below, "Task Selection":

Once you're on this screen, click on DRIVERS and BOOTABLE ISO buttons. Then, click on NEXT again.

c. Click on INSERT button on the lower part of the screen below. Select MULTIPLE DRIVERS.


d. Browse to the folder where you unzipped the SATA drivers you downloaded from Step #3. It will then give you a list like below:


Make sure "Textmode driver" is selected. Also, for CQ40 models, we only need to select ONE of the drivers. So, look for ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller , select it and click on OK.
You should see at least 1 driver listed on the Drivers page. Just click on Next.

e. It'll prompt you to start the process. Click on YES. You should see the screen below. Just wait for it to finish then click on Next.


f. You'll then create your ISO or disk image.

Mode: Create ISO image
Don't select Direct Burn or any other option as seen on the screenshot as it didn't work for me. It'll be best to create the ISO first then burn afterwards.
Device: Make sure your DVD/CD-RW drive is selected.
Label: Change it to whatever you like. For me, I changed it to NewWinXP.
Burn Speed: Select the lowest and not Maximum to prevent any errors while burning the installer.

Wait for it to finish creating the image. It only took about 5-10 minutes for me.
After the image has been created (It'll say successful under Information), click on the BURN button. Click on YES on the popup window confirming it.

Wait for it to finish burning the image and that's it!

Click on Finish to exit nLite.

That's how easy it is. You can then verify the contents of the CD/DVD.
Afterwards, restart and boot from CD/DVD and it'll install Windows XP with SATA drivers.

Next post: Part 2 - Windows XP drivers for CQ40 series

Last Monday, me and Mai decided to buy our own laptop. Well, it wasn't really a decision. We discussed it before but it was all too sudden for me. I guess I didn't expect that we'll be buying anything this expensive considering our financial situation right now. But, yeah, we did. Call it panic buying, impulsive shopping or whatever but I'm actually enjoying this.

Okay, scratch that last line. Since Monday, I have been trying to figure out how to freaking downgrade this laptop to Windows XP because Vista really sucks. Anyway, below are this laptop's specs. This is a Compaq Presario CQ40-340TU laptop.


So far, I have no problems with its performance. I can do my blogging and graphics design here, plus gaming, of course. But, I haven't really enjoyed this laptop as much as I want to because I just finished downgrading it to Windows XP. I'm very techie but this really frustrated me.

Some people might be asking why I decided to downgrade to XP. First of all, I really hate Vista. But I had the same opinion of XP back when I was still a Windows 98 SE user (eewww). However, I don't think I'll be changing my mind anytime soon.

We got a pretty good deal for this laptop. It came with Windows Vista Starter Kit. So, I thought I'll actually get used to Vista but then I found out there are a lot of limitations with this version of Vista. So, I had no choice. I don't want to shell out a cent to buy a legit Vista installer. And, so, I went looking for guides and Windows XP drivers for all the devices on this laptop.

I was able to successfully slipstream SATA drivers into my Windows XP installer so this laptop is now running on XP (click here for my tutorial and where to get the SATA drivers for this model). I have found and installed drivers for most of the devices. I only have 1 problem - audio and webcam. I'm still trying to figure out where to download it but once I got everything working, I'll post the instructions here. (edit: I was able to get the audio working. See the links at the bottom of this post.)

By the way, Windows Vista Starter was created by Microsoft to prevent piracy by new PC users. But, damn, with all those limits, especially with networking and file sharing, for me, XP is still the best. And I hated that watermark on the lower right side. Sheesh!

And, by the way, Microsoft said they'll no longer support Windows XP. Haller!! Fix all the problems with Vista first before you demand everyone to upgrade to Vista. Oh, Windows 7 is also on its upcoming release. Tsk tsk. I'll stick with XP, thank you very much.

Related Posts:
Tutorials: How I Slipstreamed SATA drivers into my Windows XP installer (downgrade CQ40-340TU from Vista to XP) - Part 1
How to Downgrade CQ40-340TU from Vista to XP - Part 2 - Drivers for XP

This week's American Idol Season 8 performances were way better than last week's. It was a surprise since Country week has been the most boring American Idol week ever. I'm so glad that our faves Anoop Desai and Kris Allen performed amazingly well and they're safe! Woohoo!!

I was kinda bummed that Alexis Grace got eliminated first before Michael Sarver but she really sucked this week. Didn't see the fire in her performances for the past 2 weeks. I pitied her when she was "singing for her life" to try to convince the judges to use their 1-time save this season. I understood why they didn't. Although I liked her, her performances were weak. I expected more from her after her Final 36 performance which got her through the Final 13.

Anyway, I hope Michael Sarver goes home next week. Then, Scott Macintyre should follow. After that, may the best singer win.

Me and Mai agreed and we hate to admit that Danny Gokey is a performer. He chooses the right songs but I didn't like all the screaming during his rendition of "Jesus Take the Wheel". He should go soft sometimes, like what Kris and Anoop did. We loved the first part of the performance, though. Can't blame the judges for rooting for him but he's just so overrated, especially by Paula Abdul.

Anoop Desai was so good, singing "Always On My Mind", that we almost cried watching him (and we're not crazy fanatics of American Idol who cry over our faves). That's the kind of songs that he should be singing! Songs that will move people 'coz he's got the voice to do it. I really hope he performs well week after week.

I was reading articles from his fansite, www.AnoopDog.com, and I find it somewhat funny that Anoop is already being misquoted/misinterpreted as cocky. They were referring to Anoop's reply to Ryan Seacrest's question if he was surprised by the judges' positive feedback. He said, "I'm gonna say no, because I expect myself to do the best". What's so cocky about that?! He didn't say "I know I'm the best" or something to that effect. To expound on that, it only means he strives hard to always give his best. I guess he's already THAT popular to have people misquote him. (",)

Kris Allen's performance was amazing, too! He sang "To Make You Feel My Love". I love his voice and you can really see his sincerity when he sings. Gosh. Gave me goosebumps, too. Mai's still pissed that they keep on showing Kris' wife during the show, which can cost him the win if you think about it. Kris doesn't look like a father or husband figure yet, unlike Michael Sarver. I just hope this won't affect his chances of winning.

Matt Giraud did well, too, this week with "So Small" by Carrie Underwood. He's on my top 3 (along with Anoop and Kris) since the gurls seem to be losing their edge this season. Sheesh.

Adam Lambert's version of "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash was crazy! I loved it! It wasn't country, though, but still, he nailed it! Gosh. I simply love him!

By the way, I'm starting to really hate Kara Dioguardi, the new judge. She's so insincere and it's obvious. I'm sick of it. She's not genuine at all. Also if you haven't noticed, she loves using the "sandwich method" when she gives feedback - y'know, positive, negative, then positive so the negative criticism won't be noticed. I got excited when I found out there'll be a new judge. I thought she'll be the female version of Simon Cowell. I guess you have to be British to be like him hehehe. Having Kara on the show made me appreciate Paula's presence. We used to skip Paula's feedback before. But, now, we're doing it whenever Randy or Kara's saying something.

Allison, Alexis and Michael were the bottom 3 this week. No surprise there, really. They were all boring. Allison is very talented but is choosing boring songs for 2 weeks now. I was really rooting for her but if she doesn't step it up, she can go home really early.

Okay, now, I want to show you 2 photos of Megan Joy that I got from watching this week's performance night. I think she's the only gorgeous woman I know who can get away with these funny faces...

Crazy, right?! This is why we love her! LOLz! She's so humble and cool. We call people like her "cowboy" (pronounced as "ko-boy") here in the Philippines, meaning she's not a high maintenance person. What was her ex-husband thinking?!

These photos sure can brighten up anyone's day. I laughed when I re-opened them to post them here. She's really cool. I think she doesn't know how gorgeous she is. Or maybe she does but she just doesn't care about it that much and just wants to have fun. She looked hot this week, even with that corky dancing and all.

By the way, she's also VoteForTheWorst's bet this year. Remember Sanjaya Malakar? They claim to be the ones responsible for keeping him in the finals for sooooo agonizing long. Why her? She's so lovable and her song choice haven't been that bad. She's just relaxed. I guess they were looking for someone who's not that great but has personality or star quality, like Megan.

If you came here expecting some nude or scandalous photos of Megan, shame on you! Hehehe.

Can't wait for next week's performances. And, about that judges' save, I don't think they're going to use it 'til Adam or Danny is in danger of getting eliminated. It's just too obvious. But, I hope they'll use it for Anoop or Kris.

I hope Anoop, Kris, Matt, Adam and Megan will still be in the running. Go home already, Scott and Michael!

Quick Update: Jasmine and Jorge are out of the competition. Woohoo! Wondering why they put Anoop against Jorge again on the results part of the show. Tsk tsk. I strongly believe he's not part of the Bottom 2, really.
Jasmine and Jorge were both on my Bottom 4 for last night's performance so I was right!

We just watched American Idol Season 8 Final 13's first performance night. The theme was all Michael Jackson songs so I was actually excited because I thought it's gonna be hell of a show.

Well, I was quite disappointed, especially with my faves. I don't know what's up. When the judges said that this is the most talented contestants yet (err, they say that every season hehehe), that's just bullshit. I feel hopeless after watching tonight's show. I keep reminding myself that it's just their first week so they'll get better. Well, they better 'coz the past American Idol winners were really great.

Alright, I had a difficult time ranking them based on their performance last night but here we go...

Adam Lambert was clearly the best of the night. He was the only clear winner for me this week. I don't like the tone of his voice completely but he did an amazing performance. Woohoo! And he wasn't even on my top 7, huh? Hehehe. Well, anyone can change their mind, right?

Lil Rounds started the night great. It wasn't the best song choice but she performed well. I just hope people love her, too. She reminds me now of Whitney Houston during her good years, if y'know what I mean. I hope she'll be back next week and into the finals.

I was going back and forth with Kris Allen but I liked his performance. I would've loved it more if he didn't have his guitar with him. I would've loved to see him dance and draw the crowd more. Simon was harsh, by the way, when he said that Kris shouldn't have mentioned the wife too early into the competition. It was hurtful but Simon actually has a point. But he could've just shut up about it 'coz it emphasized it more and it could affect Kris' standing. I'm still looking forward to more performances by Kris!

I hate to admit it but Danny Gokey did perform well tonight. I was pretty surprised that there was no mention of his late wife during the introduction clip. As much as I want him to be eliminated ASAP, I can't deny the fact that he is a performer. I just don't feel he's genuine, that's it.

I was excited to see Matt Giraud perform and I'm pretty happy with his performance. He could've done more with a better song but it was all okay. I hope he still continues on to next week.

Allison Iraheta is starting to irritate me. I love her voice and she's 1 of my faves but her personality really sucks. I mean, she's boring and obviously isn't used to being on the spotlight and being interviewed. I just wanted her to shut the hell up when she was asked about her reaction to the judges' feedback. She was like... "I'm not dark... I don't cut myself or something". Errr... not good to say that in front of the camera, sweetie. And her choice of song was rather BLAND. I wished she performed "Beat It" instead of Anoop 'coz it'll suit her better.

Me and Mai were actually amazed by Alexis Grace's performance but when the judges gave their feedback, we were like "Wait.. what just happened?!" And when they played back the performances, I actually understood what they were saying... that Alex did kinda oversing the song with all that yelling. I guess we're not familiar with the song that's why. But, anyway, she's still my fave.

Anoop Desai, gosh. I was really rooting for him. He wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I would've loved it if he sang something slow or mellow like "I'll Be There". Sheesh. There are a lot of Michael Jackson songs that will suit him alright but why "Beat It"?! He's better off singing songs that will make him connect with the audience. I'm really hoping he stays so he can make up for this performance. I hate Simon for saying that Anoop was really the last choice during the Wildcard round. Errmm... really?! Jasmine was better than him?!?! Not in a million years.

Megan Joy was just adorable! She really had fun and I like her weirdness, especially the sound she made after the song, like she was an eagle or some bird ("Kakaaahhh"). If you didn't catch that, well, too bad for you. It was kinda funny. Hehehe. I love her. I hope she doesn't get eliminated that early.

These 4 are the people that I'm really hoping will be voted out this week. I love Scott but he doesn't have the voice, really. Jasmine and Michael were flat and I don't understand why the judges loved their performances. And, Jorge, I didn't like his song choice.

THE TWIST
Simon and Ryan said that they'll be doing something different this season, implying that the judges have more control with the results than in the past seasons. It actually upset me 'coz they liked Jasmine, Michael and Scott and they gave negative feedback to Anoop and Alexis. Argh.

Mai guessed that maybe, they'll announce the bottom 3 or 4. Then, the judges will decide who gets eliminated, just like in "So You Think You Can Dance". Nigel Lithgoe is one of the producers of both American Idol and SYTYCD so it's a big possibility they'll be doing the same format this season.

Whatever that twist is, I hope it won't affect my faves' (Anoop, Kris, Allison, Alexis, Lil, Adam, Matt, Megan) chances of going through to next week.

Can't wait to know what that twist is. Sheesh.

Quick Update: Well, we got close to the actual twist - the judges have the opportunity to save those who are about to get eliminated. I'm glad they didn't save Jasmine or Jorge. The show's better off without them!

The judges can only save a contestant ONCE the whole season and they can only do it up until the Final 5. Who's worth saving? Let's see. I actually like this twist 'coz some of my bets got voted out early in the past seasons. At least this time, that someone will be given another chance... and it's up to him/her if he/she blows it.

And, if they do save someone, 2 people will be eliminated the following week. They already implemented this with French Idol so I hope the judges will use it wisely.

I'm happy with the results! Can't wait for next week.

Working in call centers for more than 4 years now made me a very demanding customer. In my job, I always ensure that me and my team provide quality service to our client's customers.

There was really no formal training on how it should be done but EMPATHY is the key. We had discussions and role-playing but really, learning how to provide quality (to say the least) customer service is a no-brainer. Anyone with common sense can do it.

That's why I get frustrated when I deal with my fellow countrymen who are in any kind of business that's open to the public. For instance, crew in Jollibee (cashier, janitor, etc.). Were they not at least given a seminar on what is expected from them?

Today, me and Mai had a rather frustrating but funny encounter with a trainee cashier in Fresco (Cabancalan branch) - let's name her MRN (just missing 2 vowels, figure it out). We bought some bread and a Blueberry Cheesecake from them. Mai instructed MRN that she wants the first slice to Mai's right. MRN took the 2nd slice on the left side (okay, maybe she was thinking HER right side). Mai repeated her instruction and this MRN started to look frustrated, maybe she was thinking that Mai was too picky.

Mai had to repeat her request more clearly this time (the first time was clear enough but she didn't understand so...) and this MRN took the first slice on the left, even after Mai pointed her hand to the slice she wanted and the right side that she's referring to. When Mai said that's not it, MRN took the whole tray out of the display cabinet and asked Mai, a bit rudely, which one exactly does she want. It really pissed me off 'coz she had the nerve to be mad at us when she's the one who's not listening.

While she was calculating the totals of everything we bought, I can still see how pissed off MRN was so I said out loud, "Masyadong mainit ulo mo" (You're too hot-tempered). She looked at me angrily and I stared back at her rather rudely and looked down on her, from head to foot. I really wanted to say more to her but I chose not to. Mai simply said that we've been a long time customer of Fresco so MRN doesn't have the right to treat us that way. And, we walked out pissed off. I was actually mocking her in my head.

We went to Rose Pharmacy to buy something and went back out to our car. We were still discussing what just happened. We were parked in front of Fresco and MRN looked like a moron (ok, that's the word) standing in front of their glass window staring at us. And she said something to the customer inside, trying to get someone to side with her I guess. Low life. It was pretty funny, really.

Mai's really pissed off and she felt like she wanted to go back and talk down on MRN. But I told her we shouldn't stoop down to MRN's level. No wonder she's still a trainee in a bakeshop. With that kind of attitude, she ain't going nowhere but down. I hate to say it but her behavior is inexcusable. I wanted to humiliate her, really, but I won't give her that satisfaction.

I remember another story from Mai's mom. They were checking out Forty Winks at SM Cebu, trying to window shop for possible/future furniture shopping. A salesperson came up to them and said, and I'm not kidding, "Mahal po dito" (Everything here is expensive), trying to look down on them as if they can't afford to buy anything from their shop. Hah! If I was there, good luck. I'd tell that salesperson, "Magkano ka?" (How much are you?). Crazy, huh?! Just like in the movie "Pretty Woman". Yes, it happens in real life, too!

There's a saying that goes... "Customers are always right". I don't agree completely because in my experience, customers think that they're right and it's our job to educate them. Like what my friend Jonah (trainer in my past company) said during one of our discussions, "Customers should always be treated right". My gosh. If only MRN was taught that simple line, it will make hell of a difference.

EMPATHY is really the key. That's what I always say during my coaching sessions with my agents. If I listen to one of their calls and they sounded a bit rude or they didn't perform the necessary steps because the customer was difficult, I will always ask them - What if you were the customer, how would you feel? What would you expect from the customer service department?

That's why I can't understand why it's too damn hard for people like MRN to treat customers well. It's a freaking easy job! I know there are difficult customers but that's part of your job. You have to make sure you leave a good impression on every customer, difficult or not. And if those customers are not around, you won't even have your job.

This applies to any kind of business, really. When you're feeling frustrated over a picky or difficult customer, put yourself in their shoes. Everyone is somebody's customer at the end of the day, right? So, it's just common sense that you should know that customers only want their money's worth.

On the other side of the story, there are a few irate customers who are not worth keeping but you'll only get to deal with them like less than 5% of the time. Examples of this type of customers are those who abuse by asking for more compensation than what they deserve, not listening at all to explanations and those who curse like there's no tomorrow. How do you expect CSRs to solve your problem if you won't listen?

To end this all, I want to say that aside from learning how to demand good customer service, I also learned how to be more patient towards other customer service people/representatives. And I became more appreciative of those who actually take time and effort to leave a good impression. I just hope everyone will learn a thing or two about quality customer service. It'll make everyone's life easier, I promise.

Have you had any bad customer service experience/s? I'd love to hear your stories, too! Please feel free to share them with me.

P.S. If MRN gets the job, as I'm sure she will since Pinoys aren't that keen with customer service, and we happen to drop by and see her, magdasal na sya. If she doesn't change her attitude, we'll make sure her supervisor hears from us.

I'm sorry for the late posting of my Top Entrecard Droppers and Advertisers for February. But, here are they now.

I've got 5,000+ unique visitors since August of last year and I feel glad that people are reading my posts and even linking to them.

My most popular posts are:
How to Make a Scrolling Blogroll/Bloglist in Blogger - That you can Edit
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Thank you to all my visitors! I hope I can blog more about things that interest me and you.
I, most especially, want to thank the following...

TOP 5 Entrecard Droppers for February 2009





My Entrecard Advertisers for February 2009

Top Advertiser: ShortInfoSec

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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