Wednesday, 10Jan07
Highlights: working for a discount at Dufan + bus
Today I ventured up to Ancol (north Jakarta) to meet with customer service and inquire about group discounts.
I got the typical run-around from 4 different places, and frustration was starting to creep back in. Indonesian rules astound me sometimes.
1. All persons 3 years old and above pay full price.
2. Any child 1 meter tall, regardless of age, must pay full price.
3. For every 25 persons in a group, 1 may enter free.
4. No credit cards accepted for payment at the group services office. Cash talks, credit cards walk.
First of all, I was incredulous that kids 3 years old pay the same entry fee as adults. Huh?
Second of all,,, are they serious with that group discount policy? 1 freebie for every 25? You’re kidding right?
The fourth point, when combined with the attitude of the person telling me, put me over my patience limit, prompting my parting comment, “this is what makes Indonesia a backwards country.” As I walked out.
Working my way up the food chain from one boss to the next, I found my way to Cordova plaza, where the Corporate Plans Division is located. Pak Soleh sent me over to Ibu Sri at Customer Service management (located in the theme park). Ibu Sri sent me to Ibu Nuri (back at Cordova Plaza), where she explained I would need to write a proposal on some sort of official letter-head from my company, and they would consider a discount. Usually this process required a few weeks or a month notice,,, but they would see what they could do.
Hmm. This effort won’t be lost for lack of effort & initiative. That’s what Marines do. A 40 minute trek to the Embassy later, I wrote out said named proposal letter in my best bahasa Indonesia. I employed the good name of the US Embassy on paper for a worthy cause I think. (=
The fax number I was given didn’t work, and the contact phone number for Dufan had yet to be connected,,, so I trekked back to Cordova Plaza to hand it to Ibu Nuri in person. My day disappeared somewhere through all of this, but the effort was worth it, I kept reminding myself.
Finally,,, proposal letter delivered, my work was done. I would hear tomorrow or Friday what they could do. Perhaps 50% or 30% off the full rate. (=
Victory!
To hem in the logistics, I stopped by my preferred travel office and contracted a 52 person bus for 12 hours on Sunday. $140. With 41 people, that comes out to $3.41 per person. Not bad!
Highlights: working for a discount at Dufan + bus
Today I ventured up to Ancol (north Jakarta) to meet with customer service and inquire about group discounts.
I got the typical run-around from 4 different places, and frustration was starting to creep back in. Indonesian rules astound me sometimes.
1. All persons 3 years old and above pay full price.
2. Any child 1 meter tall, regardless of age, must pay full price.
3. For every 25 persons in a group, 1 may enter free.
4. No credit cards accepted for payment at the group services office. Cash talks, credit cards walk.
First of all, I was incredulous that kids 3 years old pay the same entry fee as adults. Huh?
Second of all,,, are they serious with that group discount policy? 1 freebie for every 25? You’re kidding right?
The fourth point, when combined with the attitude of the person telling me, put me over my patience limit, prompting my parting comment, “this is what makes Indonesia a backwards country.” As I walked out.
Working my way up the food chain from one boss to the next, I found my way to Cordova plaza, where the Corporate Plans Division is located. Pak Soleh sent me over to Ibu Sri at Customer Service management (located in the theme park). Ibu Sri sent me to Ibu Nuri (back at Cordova Plaza), where she explained I would need to write a proposal on some sort of official letter-head from my company, and they would consider a discount. Usually this process required a few weeks or a month notice,,, but they would see what they could do.
Hmm. This effort won’t be lost for lack of effort & initiative. That’s what Marines do. A 40 minute trek to the Embassy later, I wrote out said named proposal letter in my best bahasa Indonesia. I employed the good name of the US Embassy on paper for a worthy cause I think. (=
The fax number I was given didn’t work, and the contact phone number for Dufan had yet to be connected,,, so I trekked back to Cordova Plaza to hand it to Ibu Nuri in person. My day disappeared somewhere through all of this, but the effort was worth it, I kept reminding myself.
Finally,,, proposal letter delivered, my work was done. I would hear tomorrow or Friday what they could do. Perhaps 50% or 30% off the full rate. (=
Victory!
To hem in the logistics, I stopped by my preferred travel office and contracted a 52 person bus for 12 hours on Sunday. $140. With 41 people, that comes out to $3.41 per person. Not bad!
posted by jonathan adventures at 2:48 PM
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