Hey me! Talk to me!
Today, both Secretary of Security and Secretary of Finance announced their resignations and have been accepted by the CE TCH. Too bad, my dearest Director of Health, Welfare and Food Bureau Dr. Yaoh didn’t. I’d say they should all do what the 500K people wanted and resign, and don’t reassign the positions. Let them big mouths run for Government for a while, and see how they bring the world economy around.
Three cheers for the people! Hip hip hurray…
About 3 weeks ago, I wrote this. Festival Walk, a local shopping mall owned by Swire Properties, had decided to stop accepting cash for their parking lot payment entirely early this month. This turned out be much more than just an annoyance.
Yesterday, after finished shopping at the Park ‘n Shop, we found that the Octopus machine for redeeming Park ‘n Shop’s free parking coupons was out of service. We had to drive to the other side of the parking lot to redeem the coupons. After which, when I have my card checked at the exit gate, the machine says “card error”. Immediately, I thought this is so stupid. Had they lost all my entry and credit info, I would have lost all the money as well as the entry time in the card, where neither of which I would have any prove to make my claims.
This isn’t the same as using the Octopus card for the bus, where a fixed charge is listed right there at the point of payment for you; nor is it the same as using it for the MTR where there is only a difference for a few dollars involved. A full day parking could be charged in case of the lost of a regular parking voucher could run you some HK$300 or more, which might turn out to be the same case for losing the entry record for the Octopus card. Had they have the entry time printed out on a invoice for you for Credit Card and Octopus card payments just like a parking voucher would do for cash payments, that would eliminate any unnecessary argument.
Luckily, the card error was just for that moment. I took the card off the machine and put it back for scanning did the trick. Yet, it still doesn’t solve the problem if there were a total system failure, or just a simple problem of the hubby drove in with his card and forgot to give his card to the wife to leave, or simply forgetting exactly which Credit card was used.
The management now has 3 guards at the entry and exit gate instead of what used to be just 1; and 1 personnel at each and every machine areas to show customers how to use the machines, which is the same as the number of shoroff’s officers they used to have.
I wonder if it is even legal for not accepting cash at all for any kind of payments.
WhaUSay?!