Waves Of Change Crashing Into Singapore

An opposition party (Workers Party) finally won a GRC. A GRC a.k.a. Group Representation Constituency was meant as a way for minorities to get elected as an MP (Member of Parliament). Many Singaporeans viewed the GRC as a way for the PAP (People's Action Party) to get weak candidates elected by riding on the coattails of stronger candidates.

Instead of having one person in an election ward, a GRC groups several candidates in a larger area by combining several election wards. So voting is for the whole group, not the individual.

The GRC made it hard for opposition parties to get elected to the PAP controlled parliament. This is due to a lack of capable candidates willing to join the opposition and fear of the ruling party. Most older Singaporeans have some level of fear for the PAP. Some of this fear has transferred to the younger generation.

Unfortunately for the PAP, this fear has mutated into resentment. Many of my peers feel that the PAP have lost touch with the people. There's a strong sense of disconnect.

The PAP has had uncontested power for so long that they think they are gods, or at least that's how many Singaporeans sees it. The PAP just does whatever it wants without regard for Singaporeans' opinions.

Well, the PAP finally lost a GRC. The Workers Party fielded strong candidates to contest the Aljunied GRC and won. Congratulations and please make a difference in parliament.

Change and the Little Red Dot

It's been a long time since I blogged. I've been so busy with my restaurant. But there's so much energy in the air it's hard to ignore. It's the energy of change.

Change is sweeping the world. The future is exciting. What excites me the most is a little red dot 85 miles north of the equator. Singapore. My homeland.

Singapore will have their General Elections on May 7. The PAP will retain control of parliament but it'll be interesting to see if the opposition makes any gains.

I'm one of the "losers" so labeled by the PAP because I chose to seek greener pastures elsewhere. I guess being a "lesser mortal[s]", it's only natural I'm a "loser". But how does that make me a "bacteria"?

Yes. The PAP has called Singaporeans "losers", "lesser mortals, and "bacteria". Great way to win votes.

I love Singapore and think the PAP did a great job, but maybe it's time for a little change and a huge dose of humility.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not easy. Especially if it's betrayal by someone you trust[ed].

Somehow, it wasn't difficult this time. I must be getting more mellow as I grow older. Maybe it's maturity. Who knows?

Groupon Or Not To Groupon? NOT!

Groupon has been trying to get me to advertise with them for a while. They make it sound good by telling you it's free advertising and you will drive up business volume. What they don't tell you is that it eats into your margin and you'll probably make a loss.

Here's how the math breaks down, and this is just a simplified example. They expect the business to make an offer of at least 50% discount. They take 50% of the sales. Industry average for food cost is 30%. So for every dollar sales, 50 cents is discounted, 25 cents is Groupon's share and 30 cents is food cost.

You're losing 5 cents on every dollar before including rent, wages, utilities and insurance.

The Groupon people tell you that it'll bring in lots of new customers. They don't tell you that most of these customers won't come back unless they get another coupon.

I still believe that the best way to build a customer base is to offer a good product and a great value.

Win Some, Lose Some

Working with young people is very interesting. Despite the generation gap, the good ones still stand out. In fact, one of my favorite was fired by me once while the other was almost fired.

JV couldn't get along with one of the previous cooks. He got drunk at work and left one of the kitchen equipment running all night. I fired him.

I felt bad when I fired JV because I said I would take care of him. But drinking while working is a serious no-no. JV begged me to rehire him. I did. Now JV is one of my best kitchen staff.

HJ had some attitude issues. She often cussed loudly within earshot of customers. HJ was also very calculative. I cut her schedule and was going to let her go. I had a talk with HJ and gave her a chance before making my decision. Now, HJ is one of my best front line staff.

HJ has potential to be successful. HJ does't let criticism affect her emotionally. She is able to accept criticism and move forward.

CK was let go by me recently. CK was a sweet girl but she was very forgetful and couldn't focus. She was slow at packing and had an error rate of about 20%. That means that 1 out of every 5 bags had a mistake (I caught half but the other half went through). This was a logistical nightmare as the drivers had to make extra trips to fix her mistakes. Also, CK was slow at taking orders.

Being slow at packing and taking orders means the drivers aren't able to take as many orders per trip. This also increased the chances of an order being late.

I tried talking to CK but she was very defensive. CK takes criticism very personally and exudes a bad attitude.

Once, there was a box of brown rice left over after packing. I asked CK to check if any of the bags was missing a brown rice. She was so adamant that all the bags were packed right and didn't check. I checked the bags and found one that was missing a brown rice. CK got defensive about her mistake.

I can deal with slow learners (to a limit) but I won't tolerate bad attitudes.

Can't win them all, but I'm really glad I gave JV and HJ a chance.

Sigh... Damn Kids...

My parents are visiting from Singapore. Took a few hours off so I could have dinner with them. Left T in-charged.

When I got back to the restaurant, a customer complained about my staffs' lack of decorum. Her exact word were, "I won't be back if you don't control your kids."

It is not T's fault as he had to go on a delivery. Really disappointed in those kids.

These teenagers don't understand how much effort, time and money went into this restaurant. Only Jen knows all the sacrifices made.

If the restaurant fails, all they lose is a job. Jen, Emily and Chloe lose a home and a secure future.

Every customer is important. Losing customers because of boorish, childish behavior is unacceptable.

I encourage a fun work environment but there has to be professionalism. They're probably too self-centered to even know they did wrong.

Dog Days

Got back from work pass midnight. The only time I can make the sauces is before and after work. Have to get in early to make the rest of the sauces in the morning.

I am following the advice of Anthony Bourdain - keep high standards from the beginning and never let up. Keeping high standards is difficult when there are so many units working in tandem. Really need to develop a capable assistant.

Haven't had much time with the wife and kids recently. I know Emily misses me a lot and Chloe isn't close to me anymore. Feel sad.

I have been putting in 7-day weeks for more than 2 months already. During the final phase of building, I was sleeping 4-6 hours a day. At least now, I get 8 hours occasionally. Plus I get to see the wife and kids in the morning.

Tony has been a great help. He is loyal and hard working but needs to develop better social and decision making skills. Restaurant is a tough business. Not everyone can take the rigorous demands.

Need to stop here. Just fell asleep typing.

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