Translating to Chinese sounds weird as well.
And what's with the "the most heartwarming way to share the taste of true love"? A lady was chatting with her ex-colleague over Whatsapp and the subject touched on salary.
She claimed that those people who work in the Central Business District (CBD) are more well-paid compared to those working in suburban offices. "My boyfriend went for an interview and the company told him that his pay will be higher because the office is located in the CBD area," she said. The man replied, "No company will pay a staff a higher salary because of the location of the office." "Why not?" the lay retorted. "Salary is based on your qualification, job fit, skills and experience, ability and performance, track record, what value you can add to the job, etc. It is never based on where your office is. Did your boyfriend ask why basing in CBD will be paid higher salary? What is the rationale behind it? Will his pay be reduced if he is transferred to another location?" the man replied. "It's true. Most of my friends who work in the CBD area have higher salaries. My friend works as an administrator and her salary is higher. Even one of my colleague agreed," she claimed. To which the man replied, "You have to look at what are the responsibilities, job scope and skills required to perform that particular job. You cannot just compare based on job titles. Some companies' secretaries are more well paid than a manager because of the kind of things they are responsible." The lady insisted, "Things in CBD are more expensive. So the company pays its staff higher salary to help defray the costs. My friend got meal voucher and they have staff canteen as well. Those who work at CBD have to dress better." "No company will ever give you a higher pay just because the office is located in an address where things are more expensive. Will a bank pay its teller who works in the CBD higher salary and another performing the same job in a suburban mall a lower salary, when both are performing the same functions? And if a company pays a higher salary for their staff working in CBD like what you say, what happens when it decides to move out of CBD? Are they going to tell the staff that part of the salary will be cut because now they are moving to another address where things are supposedly cheaper." the man said. He further said, "There are companies which will take into consideration the location of their offices and pay a higher salary. But usually it's due reasons like the staff is required to relocate to another city where the costs of living is higher. And if a staff is sent to a less-developed office in another country, they may also get higher salary known as hardship allowance." "No doubt that some companies have staff canteen selling food at cheaper prices. But that is restricted to very large corporations where they recognize that many of their staff do not earn high salaries, which in a way helps to make eating in CBD more affordable. But they will not pay their staff more. It's two different things. Once you pay a staff more, it will be very difficult for you to withdraw later. Whereas by providing cheaper option, the staff are free to choice how they want to spend. Some big companies like Google and Bloomberg have fully stuffed pantry and provide full meals throughout the day. Their staff are very well paid. And they provide this benefit in order to attract and keep their staff happy." "And if your job require you to dress well, it's part of the job whether your salary is high or low. Some rank and file staff get allowances because their jobs require them to wear uniform. But don't expect a company to pay you a higher salary just so that you can dress better. And how better is better? You take a walk in CBD and almost every other girl is carrying a Chanel handbag." The lady still thinks companies in CBD pay higher salaries. All based on what she heard. Did you notice something interesting yesterday?
I was at a bank to withdraw some cash and saw a queue of a few meters at the bank. Initially, I thought they were all queuing to withdraw new notes from the bank for the Lunar New Year. Then I realized they were queuing for the ATMs outside the bank, and not queuing to go into the bank. Usually, when there's such a long queue at bank ATMs, it means there is a machine not in operation. And since the queue is unusually long, I thought more than one machine was down as there are three at the one I was at. Now, there are a few kinds of ATMs. One is for withdrawal of cash and other transactions, one for cash deposit and updating of bank book, one for coin deposit and one for check deposit. Usually, there will be queue for each individual machine and you just need to queue at the line for whichever transaction you need. Because of the long queue, I couldn't make out what is the queue for. Is it for cash withdrawal, deposit or others? instead of walking to the front to check out (being smart or excuse for being lazy), I asked a lady who just joined in the queue. She said, "This is for cash deposit. If you want to withdraw money, you go in front." Hmmm.... Why are there so many people queuing to deposit their money? It's the start of the month (where people get their salaries) but even then, the queue has never been that long. Then I noticed that a lot of people in the queue were also wearing red. It suddenly dawned on me that perhaps it got to do with the Lunar New Year. As it turned out, yesterday was "Li Chun" which marks the beginning of spring according to the Chinese calendar. In the past, "Li Chun" was a significant day for farmers and was celebrated with special events and offerings to the gods to pray for a blissful and prosperous new year. And what has "Li Chun" got to do with depositing money into one's bank account? It was rumored that this practice was suggested by a geomancer or Feng Shui master as they are usually known in this part of the world. It started on a small scale and has now become so wide spread superstition to bank in money while wearing a red top on this day. And it has developed to the stage where you need to deposit money not only on this day, but also at certain time according to your Chinese zodiac signs. There's even a table circulating on Facebook on the best time to deposit money based on your zodiac that will be most beneficial to you. So is it a superstition? Do people really get rich after doing this act? Are there anyone who strike lottery after that? So far there's no evidences or statistics to indicate that the act of doing this will ensure you of prosperity in the coming year. Some say it comes true for them. Some say so far nothing has happened. But that's what superstition is all about. And there's a whole list of dos and don'ts for the Lunar New Year. You have to wear new clothes for the new year. You have to say only good things. You cannot say bad things. You cannot sweep the floor on the first day (and a few days for some) of the new year. Food eaten during the new year must have meanings of luck, prosperity, wealth, happiness. You'll be the luckiest if you managed to be the first to offer your incense at the temple at the strike of 12am (and that's the reason for the mad running once the door opens at the temple). You cannot get angry or frown. Your rice pail must be full so you will not be hungry. What other weird things have you heard before? Of course, there are people who do not believe in such superstitions. And that's their beliefs. What are your customers' beliefs? |
AuthorOutrageous Marketing Archives
May 2020
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