Cos of my travelling schedule, we've had to put Trooper back to his previous owner for a couple of days. About 10 days to be exact.
We drove to his previous home and he bounded into the house sniffing the place out, and looking smug and comfy as usual. I'm so happy that he felt comfortable.
I'd told him that he'd be away for a 'camp' for a couple of days, and packed his camping gear. His food bowl, water bowl, collar n leash, his supply of food, vitamins, toy, snacks, and my old towel, in case he missed me. ( haha fat hope! ) He'd be so busy running all over the place I bet!
When he settled in I turned to leave, and he rushed after me, and had to be restrained. That's when I felt the tinge of pain tugging at my heart. I miss Trooper. Wonder if he thinks I'm abandoning him? Oh NO!!
Bruno didn't sleep well last night either. He was looking for Trooper, his bedside buddy. Instead of sleeping in the room, he lingered at the main door, and whined for quite a long while. I wonder if he was waiting for Trooper to come home.
And I hope that these 2 at home don't think that I'll abandon them, ever. But I sure am gonna miss them while I'm away.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Cooks United
Went to Pasir Ris for the Tze Char again. Wasn't in the mood for crabs, so we ordered other stuff.The Mee Goreng (above, half eaten) was tasty though I thought it's be better with more egg.
Overall the food's good, and great value for money.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Its a Cherry tumour
Brought Trooper to the Vet last month to have his 'pimple' checked out. He'd developed a pimple-like boil on his right thigh and it seemed to have taken a life of its own with exponential growth by the day.
The moment I stepped into Vet's office, his cheery "How is the little one?" put me at ease. I pointed to the pimple. "Ah! Cherry tumour. Common in young dogs. How old is he?"
So Trooper's got a benign tumour. Its called a cherry tumour cos it looks like one. Don't know if it tastes anything like it cos the dogs keep licking at it all day.
"They are 99% benign and will go away on its own. 1% will be malignant and is fatal as they develop all over the body and organs." Vet said.
I had the option of cutting it out and sewing the skin back, or let nature run its course.
"It'll be messy with blood, pus and what nots. But it'll go away. If you want a quick fix, and not live with the mess, I can remove it too. So what do you want to do?"
I chose the holistic way to treat the problem as Vet assured me that it'll just run its course and go away though not without some (quite a bit really) mess. Daily cleaning is required of course. And it smells fishy, not unlike rotting flesh.
Its been just over a month and I'm so glad that the boil has gone down substantially.
Cherry tumours grow quickly, plateau for a while at their largest ( they look like HUGE RED boils without the liquid ) and then fizzle out like a deflated balloon.
Now the cherry's flat, though still oozing pus, blood and plasma.
So if you have a young dog under 2 years of age with a similar growth, please have it checked by the vet to confirm if it's indeed a benign tumour or otherwise. Never thought any of my dogs would have cancer, but hey, life's like that.
In the meantime Trooper's enjoying all the attention he's getting from Bruno and Murray though as they go after the cherry on his thigh. Lick lick lick!! Run run run. Lick Lick. Growl bite scramble fight and then truce. Peace. For ten minutes at least.
Get well soon Troop!
Where have all the V5s gone?
Had a panic attack a week ago when I could not find my favourite Pilot V5 pen at Popular Bookstores or Kinokuniya or Takashimaya's stationery section.
How to write without V5???!!
Fortunately found it at one of the old shops in Chinatown tonight. Phew.
It appears that they still can be found at selected Evergreen shops too. They are phasing out the old models it seems in favour of the refillable, retractable type. The design of the new V7 - er, cannot make it. Couldn't find the new models in V5 either.
No V5, no work.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I like what I see
Took the 3 of them for a walk this morning. It was awfully awfully warm. You know the kind of oppresive heat that hits you just before a storm.
Came home, and hit the gym. Somehow I am not getting past 3km, though I am running a lot faster than last week. Phew. Self consolation.
And I am energised!! Yay! It's amazing what exercise does to me, really! As I hit the speed button upwards on the treadmill, I could feel my adenaline pump faster and faster, and my ipod pounding in beat to my feet, and woa! Before I know it, I hit my magic mark 3km, and stop.
I must get past this mental barrier and go further. I hope I can sprint like that for 5km. Then there is hope yet for the end of the year.
After the run, I came back, mopped the floor did the laundry and still I am bouncing like duracell bunny.
Isn't it amazing what a run can do for me?
Secretly secretly I adore the aches and pains as I feel my muscles ache. And when I do my stretches I hear my shoulder blades creak out of the joints, pain pain pain and ree.ee...lieee.eeeve. Then I like what I see in the huge mirror :)
Maybe that's why I so adore the Hot Room at Bikram. When when when can I go back there again??
Came home, and hit the gym. Somehow I am not getting past 3km, though I am running a lot faster than last week. Phew. Self consolation.
And I am energised!! Yay! It's amazing what exercise does to me, really! As I hit the speed button upwards on the treadmill, I could feel my adenaline pump faster and faster, and my ipod pounding in beat to my feet, and woa! Before I know it, I hit my magic mark 3km, and stop.
I must get past this mental barrier and go further. I hope I can sprint like that for 5km. Then there is hope yet for the end of the year.
After the run, I came back, mopped the floor did the laundry and still I am bouncing like duracell bunny.
Isn't it amazing what a run can do for me?
Secretly secretly I adore the aches and pains as I feel my muscles ache. And when I do my stretches I hear my shoulder blades creak out of the joints, pain pain pain and ree.ee...lieee.eeeve. Then I like what I see in the huge mirror :)
Maybe that's why I so adore the Hot Room at Bikram. When when when can I go back there again??
Cleaning Dog Poo
Cheyanne Mummy recounted a conversation she heard while in a cubicle.
A : You can't do that here. You cannot allow her to do it here.
M : Why not? She needs to go, she needs to go.
A : No no do it inside, not here.
M : I'll carry her, what's wrong??
A : Do it inside, not here!
M : But she doesn't want to sit on the toilet!!
A : You cannot let her do it here!
*Image flash*
Mother carries kid to wee wee into the sink. Janitor is upset and tells the mother off.
*Reality flash*
Mother carries kid who is peeing onto the floor of the toilet. Janitor is mopping up the urine to prevent it from flowing all over, at the same time telling the indignant mother off.
*Special Effects*
A : You can't do that here. You cannot allow her to do it here.
M : Why not? She needs to go, she needs to go.
A : No no do it inside, not here.
M : I'll carry her, what's wrong??
A : Do it inside, not here!
M : But she doesn't want to sit on the toilet!!
A : You cannot let her do it here!
*Image flash*
Mother carries kid to wee wee into the sink. Janitor is upset and tells the mother off.
*Reality flash*
Mother carries kid who is peeing onto the floor of the toilet. Janitor is mopping up the urine to prevent it from flowing all over, at the same time telling the indignant mother off.
*Special Effects*
The wee wee was yellow, probably from the lack of water in the girl's diet.
- She's 3 yrs old, not 3 months old. If my kid cannot sit on a toilet bowl to pee, I'd leave her at home. Until she gets it right, she stays home. Its morally wrong to expect anyone to clean up my kid's pee and poo if I cannot manage to get her to use a toilet properly.
- Just because my kid doesn't want to pee into the toilet, does not give me the right to let her do her business anywhere she fancies. Unless of course I clean up after my kid personally, and there is no damage or negative impact on the surrounds and its users.
- To look at some cleaner mop up my kid's urine as it flows and remain indignant about it, makes this mother socially impaired. I hope her kid does not grow up to be anything like her.
- And yes I am making a moral judgement on the mother. If I clean up after my dog's poo, so should you, after your kids urine, aunty!
For all we know, that pile of poo on the public toilet floor could have been from kids with parents like her.
And if I ever find out that mothers like that complain to the world about pet owners not cleaning up after their dogs, and whine about how detrimental dog poo is to kid's health, I'll shove some into her face.
My Very Own!
I was given my personalised cash card today - such a wonderful surprise! Yay! XMS thoughtfully selected one of my fav photos in my fav city in the world during one of our memorable trips for the cash card. Thanks!! ( sidenote : thank you for not choosing the Raffles photo. Phew! )
Didn't know that Singapore Mint had sich a service. Me is happeee! Yay! My very own!
Les Bouchons
Went to Les Bouchons at Ann Siang Rd for a birthday dinner.
Its a tiny french steak place which seats approx 20 or so pax, so reservations are recommended.
Specialties are steak frites or steak with fries on its one page menu. Some seafood also included in the menu for good measure.
The food didn't disappoint. We had escargot and smoked salmon for starters (which we devoured before I remembered about my camera ).
Its a tiny french steak place which seats approx 20 or so pax, so reservations are recommended.
Specialties are steak frites or steak with fries on its one page menu. Some seafood also included in the menu for good measure.
The food didn't disappoint. We had escargot and smoked salmon for starters (which we devoured before I remembered about my camera ).
The ribeye was great! Each main order came with a free flow order of wonderful thick cut fries and a fresh serving of salad. Great value for approx $30. Given the portions served, there was little chance of stuffing myself with another serving of fries though.
The salmon was great too, though the lamb skewer cum lamb sausage wasn't too great. Thought the sausage tasted a little on the salty and tough side, similar to chinese 'lup cheong' heh heh.
The accompanying condiments of mustard and horseradish added flavour to the steak though it wasn't necessary given how tasty the steak was.
Definitely will come back for great steaks.
Les Bouchons
Ann Siang Rd
+65 64230737
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Education and Liberalisation
Spoke to a friend about the merits of a liberal education tonight. Cannot recall how we got into the discussion as I remember we spoke at length about the Malaysian judicial system and the sudden shock some 1o yrs ago.
Anyway, I lamented on how the Spore education system had been too rigid in my time. I could not pursue a combination of Arts and Pure Science subjects. Why? I was forced to take all 3 sciences despite my absolute non interest in physics. Just because I wanted to take Biology. And was disallowed to take Geography because it belonged to the Arts faculty.
Fast forward 15 years, the ministry is encouraging the young to expand their horizons and take subjects that are not necessarily from their own faculty of specialisation.
Were we too advanced for the system that had cogs too heavy and huge to move with the times?
Too late, I found the liberalisation out of Singapore, and am thankful that I am well adjusted. I managed to pursue subjects like Philosophy and Biology as electives to my degree. It was interesting and no one batted any eyelid to the electives. In fact it was common to study electives that are completely out of faculty. As long as you fulfil the min core subjects, jump right in to take any subject you fancy, subject to timetable schedules.
So why am I discussing this here and now? I dont know, but just thought I'd like to chronicle that conversation and link it to that period of my life. Yummy.
Anyway, I lamented on how the Spore education system had been too rigid in my time. I could not pursue a combination of Arts and Pure Science subjects. Why? I was forced to take all 3 sciences despite my absolute non interest in physics. Just because I wanted to take Biology. And was disallowed to take Geography because it belonged to the Arts faculty.
Fast forward 15 years, the ministry is encouraging the young to expand their horizons and take subjects that are not necessarily from their own faculty of specialisation.
Were we too advanced for the system that had cogs too heavy and huge to move with the times?
Too late, I found the liberalisation out of Singapore, and am thankful that I am well adjusted. I managed to pursue subjects like Philosophy and Biology as electives to my degree. It was interesting and no one batted any eyelid to the electives. In fact it was common to study electives that are completely out of faculty. As long as you fulfil the min core subjects, jump right in to take any subject you fancy, subject to timetable schedules.
So why am I discussing this here and now? I dont know, but just thought I'd like to chronicle that conversation and link it to that period of my life. Yummy.
Aloo Gobi
One of my favourite vegetarian dishes is Aloo Gobi - an indian dish of spiced potatoes and cauliflower.
Easy to cook, and completely meatless - yay!
There are a couple of recipes to making aloo gobi, and the great thing about using indian spices in your cooking is that you get to vary the amounts of each spice until you get your fav version of it.
Here's mine :
Aloo Gobi - serves 3-4
2 potatoes - cut into 2 cm cubes
Garden peas - 1 cup
Cauliflower - 1 medium sized head, cut into flowrets
Carrot - 1 large carrot cut into 2 cm cubes
tomato paste - 1.5 tablespoons
1 large onion, thinly sliced into strips
Spices :
Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons
Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Ground coriander - 1.5 teaspoon
mustard seeds - 1.5 teaspoon
turmeric powder - 2 teaspoons
cayenne powder - 1 teaspoon
Cooking :
1. Heat all spices on very low heat in a dry pan. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in pan.
3. Fry onions until soft and translucent.
4. Add potatoes, peas and cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of water. Cover to cook for 3 min.
5. Add spices to potatoes and cauliflower, mix well.
6. Add tomato paste to pot. Stir well.
7. Cover pot to cook and soften potatoes and cauliflower.
8. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar , stir well. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
Aloo Gobi is ready when the potatoes are soft.
Here's my recent attempt which turned out pretty decent.
Here's a close up - you can see the cumin and mustard seeds. I love the combination of mustard seeds and cumin!
Easy to cook, and completely meatless - yay!
There are a couple of recipes to making aloo gobi, and the great thing about using indian spices in your cooking is that you get to vary the amounts of each spice until you get your fav version of it.
Here's mine :
Aloo Gobi - serves 3-4
2 potatoes - cut into 2 cm cubes
Garden peas - 1 cup
Cauliflower - 1 medium sized head, cut into flowrets
Carrot - 1 large carrot cut into 2 cm cubes
tomato paste - 1.5 tablespoons
1 large onion, thinly sliced into strips
Spices :
Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons
Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Ground coriander - 1.5 teaspoon
mustard seeds - 1.5 teaspoon
turmeric powder - 2 teaspoons
cayenne powder - 1 teaspoon
Cooking :
1. Heat all spices on very low heat in a dry pan. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in pan.
3. Fry onions until soft and translucent.
4. Add potatoes, peas and cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of water. Cover to cook for 3 min.
5. Add spices to potatoes and cauliflower, mix well.
6. Add tomato paste to pot. Stir well.
7. Cover pot to cook and soften potatoes and cauliflower.
8. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar , stir well. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
Aloo Gobi is ready when the potatoes are soft.
Here's my recent attempt which turned out pretty decent.
Here's a close up - you can see the cumin and mustard seeds. I love the combination of mustard seeds and cumin!
Try this at home if you're in the mood for no meats. :)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Resuming Routine
Been out of my running routine for a long while now. Esp after Trooper's arrival. Have been taking them for separate walks daily.
Trooper needs to be walked alone cos he gets all high and mighty with Bruno and Murray in tow. Gets arrogant and barks at people he doesn't like. So naughty!
When he's alone on walks, he gets all scared and worried, perpetually looking out for invisible attacks. Loud noises scare him, bikes scare him and the list goes on. He's so funny when he's edgy haha!
Have to say that he's improved a whole lot now from the first month I had him. No longer need a pinch collar to walk him. Phew.
My daily routine's to walk Trooper, come home, walk Bruno and Murray (cos they like each other's company) and they look so good together haha!
In all it takes a good 2-3hrs to walk them each day covering abt 4-5 km easily depending on my route.
By the time I'm done, I'm so poofed to do any running on my own.
Lately I've been out of my yoga routine too. So I can feel the lethargy creeping back. Toxins accumulating on my shoulders and joints, and hello to aches and pains.
How I miss my Bikram Hot Room!
Then I was inspired by Blur Ting's entry on how she resumed her running routine.
So today, after my 3 hour walk with the doggies, I went for my first run in probably 6 months. Yea! Did a 3km sprint and never felt better. Woohoo!!
After the run I sat in front of the gym mirror, and did my stretches. And could not resist some yoga poses too. Heard my shoulder blades creak, and felt my hamstrings tighten. Never felt better.
Hope I'll keep the momentum from today on. So tonight's the night to flush my ipod with running tunes! Yea!
Trooper needs to be walked alone cos he gets all high and mighty with Bruno and Murray in tow. Gets arrogant and barks at people he doesn't like. So naughty!
When he's alone on walks, he gets all scared and worried, perpetually looking out for invisible attacks. Loud noises scare him, bikes scare him and the list goes on. He's so funny when he's edgy haha!
Have to say that he's improved a whole lot now from the first month I had him. No longer need a pinch collar to walk him. Phew.
My daily routine's to walk Trooper, come home, walk Bruno and Murray (cos they like each other's company) and they look so good together haha!
In all it takes a good 2-3hrs to walk them each day covering abt 4-5 km easily depending on my route.
By the time I'm done, I'm so poofed to do any running on my own.
Lately I've been out of my yoga routine too. So I can feel the lethargy creeping back. Toxins accumulating on my shoulders and joints, and hello to aches and pains.
How I miss my Bikram Hot Room!
Then I was inspired by Blur Ting's entry on how she resumed her running routine.
So today, after my 3 hour walk with the doggies, I went for my first run in probably 6 months. Yea! Did a 3km sprint and never felt better. Woohoo!!
After the run I sat in front of the gym mirror, and did my stretches. And could not resist some yoga poses too. Heard my shoulder blades creak, and felt my hamstrings tighten. Never felt better.
Hope I'll keep the momentum from today on. So tonight's the night to flush my ipod with running tunes! Yea!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Whatever happened to reliable cheeseburgers?
Went to McDo's to get a quick dinner last night.
McDo's have been revamping their operational flows since sometime last year or possibly earlier. The roll out started in the city locations and have arrived at the heartlands.
1 : Develop McCafe - higher margin products. Up the hip and cool quotient to attract people to sip high end coffees at McDo's. Diversification from core business to compete in a different pie together with players like Starbucks and Coffee Bean.
2 : Streamline operational processes to that of a coffee joint. Take orders at counter, then move aside while another staff assembles the order. Counter staff are solely in charge of taking orders.
3: Production staff are cut further back from front counters to make space for McCafe concept - coffee bars, lounge chairs. Communication is aided by technology similar to that of Burger King's. Counter Crew and Kitchen Crew communicate through orders keyed into central system, and transmitted via a screen in the kitchen.
4. Kiosks are set up in the shop floor for customers to help themselves to condiments, straws and serviettes. To free counter staff to take orders faster. Clear the queues more quickly so that more revenue can be captured
So McDo's is my comfort food place, I admit. I dig their cheeseburgers and Large Ice Teas which have been my default orders whenever I have a need for comfort food. And I dig a nice warm cheeseburger with slightly melted cheese... oooh oooh yum yum!
But back to this neighbourhood McDos. My idea of a quick dinner at a FAST Food Restuarant faded quickly as I observed how they have changed the layout of the place.
Food production kitchen moved upstairs, detached from the crowds at the counter. There was a cctv camera at the counter for the staff to see one another. Communication was done via telephones and the computerised order system where all orders showed up on screen simultaneously in the kitchen and at the counter.
A fast moving belt like a huge clock kept revolving to move hot food orders from the kitchen upstairs to deposit at the counters downstairs.
I made my order with a counter staff who repeated my orders mechanically. No I am not complaining. This is Fast Food. Just give me what I want, the way I want it, FAST. Heck, I even prepare my change ahead of time to speed up your transactions.
But now, the counter staff waits for me to prepare payment as she does nothing. Another staff assembles the order for her. 1 counter, 2 staff.
I was told to move aside to wait for my cheeseburger as it was being prepared and sent on the revolving conveyor belt linking the system between 2 physical floors. But hey, there were 3 others also asked to "wait at the side" for their orders.
So there was another queue forming next to the counter queue. The staff continue to be busy staring into the order screen and scrutinising the receipts which they place on each customer's tray (or plastic bags for takeaways)
So the queue builds up. 2 queues for each counter. Could tell customers were getting confused. Which is the actual correct queue to buy the freaking burger?!
This process works well in places like Starbucks where the counters are designed specially to accomodate waiting in front of the bar. At McDos, no one factored in the waiting. Cos no one thought anyone needed to wait with this expensive high-end technology they invested gazillion$$ in. No, no space to wait, but wait we must.
And the total number of counters have been reduced from 8 counters to 3 in this new restaurant. Possibly because the new system is suppose to hasten operational processes, thus reducing the need for physical counters.
2 of 3 counters were operational last night. 4 queues snaked from the counter to the door, threatening to spill out to the walkways.
I got my tray of stuff, and turned left to reach the condiment kiosks cos apparently you serve yourself these days. I waddled through the crowds, fearful for the safety of my large ice tea. Could barely walk cos all you see are feet and more feet, no ground.
Reached the condiment counter which was filthy by any standard. Disappointing to see this at McDos. Thought this possibly could exist in other fast food chains, but not Mcdos. Ketchup and chilli sauces - spilled by careless users from the dispenser pump. Yea, no more indv packs, pump into small shallow plastic dishes. Squirt squirt splash splash. There were serviettes all over, and chilli sauce on the floor and upturned dishes of sauces all over the counter. I side stepped my way to get my stuff.
So you go green by saving resources used for indv packs of sauces. BUt hey, what about the useless plastic dishes that barely hold anything? McDos - look and learn from MOS please.
Oh well. Maybe they're getting used to the new system and layout. But still...
Anyway, got my ketchup straws and stuff, and had to waddle through the crowds AGAIN. Cos my table's at the other end of the restaurant. By then an impossible number of people have crammed into the area in front of the counters.
Made my way safely to the table seating area. Why they got such HUGE chairs for such a small space is beyond me. In a 8m x 6m area, there were 3 different types of chairs. All knocking into one another.
My cheese burger was cold. Like my Ice Tea. Another order of Big Mac was also cold. The cheese was not even melted to begin with. Looked like one of those slices from the fridge you slap onto your morning breakfast loaf. So it wasnt a case of hot food gone cold. It was not even hot to begin with.
Perhaps it was the kitchen equipment, or environment or whatever. But hey cold cheeseburgers are a HUGE turnoff! If a company cannot get the quality of its basic bread and butter products right, something is fundamentally, intrinsically wrong. If I cannot get a decent cheeseburger at McDos, where do I go? Tze Char stall in Geylang??!
I reflected on the layout of the new concept. Taking some 50% of floor space was a huge coffee bar for McCafe concept. Coffee machines and a big cake display. Giant lounge chairs to encourage lounging and free wifi.
Seriously, I wonder how many % of profits and revenue comes from this McCafe? Why the sacrifice of precious floor space for huge bulky lounge chairs?
I am not fm McDos and have never been. But this smells like a classic mgmt case study Drucker would have liked to use.
1. Diversification is good. Only if the fundamentals are sound.
Looks like McDos is trying to brew high class expensive coffee at the expense of making burgers, their bread and butter business. Are they confused? Is a cup of hot expensive latte excuse enough for cold sub-standard cheeseburgers?
2. Look , Listen, look and listen again.
Nothing beats seeing the real thing in action. Figures and Plans are only figures and plans.
The whiz kid managing McDos should seriously test out their business process and see how ridiculous the business plan looks in reality.
3. Adapt what is fundamentally sound for the business
Countries like Australia benefit from McCafe concepts because there is no lack of space, and there are McDo's a hop skip and jump away in densely populated areas. No competition for space in a land sparsely populated.
McCafe is designed to DRAW people to the store, linger and give life to the place. In Oz, burgers are no longer enough to sustain the business ( no people = no business ), and McCafe injects what's needed. There is enough room to accomodate coffee drinkers who linger over a single drink, and those who are in need of a quick good ol' hot McDos meal.
In land scarce Singapore, allocating some 40-50% of counter space to MaCafe and lounge seats eats into the core business of burgers and hot meals. Compound that with space-consuming seats which look good but serve little purpose.
I wonder what the revenue and profits are like for McCafe in the suburban areas. Is it in proportion to the allocated space?
I quote successful concepts in GWC where the cafe is distince from its basic operations. But look at the suburban malls in Yishun, Bt Batok to name a few. Just go see for yourself.
4. Communicate communicate communicate. Facilite communication and remove barriers.
To remove physical proxmity of its kitchen to front counter is a joke. The kitchen crew cannot communicate except via TV screens and telephones cos they are now located one floor above.
Who in the right mind has time to pick up the phone when he/she has 2 hands full of patties and sesame seed buns?
Floor managers cannot monitor food quality as easily, and staff cannot get a feel of the demand and rush for orders as they could before.
Counter crew are more focused scrutinising the order receipts than on the customers. Everyone now communicates via receipts and computer screens when in the past, a shout to the kitchen would be answered by the person directly responsible for burger production.
Whatever happened to removing barriers to communication? In this day and age where companies are showing more acceptance of instant messaging tools to facilitate collaboration and communication, McDos just physically removed all possible channels of communication between its sales and production people. Clap clap clap.
And all I wanted last night was a quick hot cheeseburger meal so I could watch Prison Break. Needless to say, I was 50 min late.
Oh and by the way, anyone wondered why they could not have moved the McCafe to the floor above, physically distinct and keep the kitchen close to the front counters?
And interestingly McDos is running adverts for recruitment. Cos now it takes 2 persons to man one counter. Just so they can scrutinise printed receipts, multi million dollar computer screens and telephones in a fast food outlet.
And don't tell me they welcome older workers cos I see none. Technology has handicapped the older workers who worked for yonks with them, and they are being phased out of the spanking new multi million dollar concepts.
Just because Kopi just isn't the same as a Latte or Hazelnut Low fat Cappucino
McDo's have been revamping their operational flows since sometime last year or possibly earlier. The roll out started in the city locations and have arrived at the heartlands.
1 : Develop McCafe - higher margin products. Up the hip and cool quotient to attract people to sip high end coffees at McDo's. Diversification from core business to compete in a different pie together with players like Starbucks and Coffee Bean.
2 : Streamline operational processes to that of a coffee joint. Take orders at counter, then move aside while another staff assembles the order. Counter staff are solely in charge of taking orders.
3: Production staff are cut further back from front counters to make space for McCafe concept - coffee bars, lounge chairs. Communication is aided by technology similar to that of Burger King's. Counter Crew and Kitchen Crew communicate through orders keyed into central system, and transmitted via a screen in the kitchen.
4. Kiosks are set up in the shop floor for customers to help themselves to condiments, straws and serviettes. To free counter staff to take orders faster. Clear the queues more quickly so that more revenue can be captured
So McDo's is my comfort food place, I admit. I dig their cheeseburgers and Large Ice Teas which have been my default orders whenever I have a need for comfort food. And I dig a nice warm cheeseburger with slightly melted cheese... oooh oooh yum yum!
But back to this neighbourhood McDos. My idea of a quick dinner at a FAST Food Restuarant faded quickly as I observed how they have changed the layout of the place.
Food production kitchen moved upstairs, detached from the crowds at the counter. There was a cctv camera at the counter for the staff to see one another. Communication was done via telephones and the computerised order system where all orders showed up on screen simultaneously in the kitchen and at the counter.
A fast moving belt like a huge clock kept revolving to move hot food orders from the kitchen upstairs to deposit at the counters downstairs.
I made my order with a counter staff who repeated my orders mechanically. No I am not complaining. This is Fast Food. Just give me what I want, the way I want it, FAST. Heck, I even prepare my change ahead of time to speed up your transactions.
But now, the counter staff waits for me to prepare payment as she does nothing. Another staff assembles the order for her. 1 counter, 2 staff.
I was told to move aside to wait for my cheeseburger as it was being prepared and sent on the revolving conveyor belt linking the system between 2 physical floors. But hey, there were 3 others also asked to "wait at the side" for their orders.
So there was another queue forming next to the counter queue. The staff continue to be busy staring into the order screen and scrutinising the receipts which they place on each customer's tray (or plastic bags for takeaways)
So the queue builds up. 2 queues for each counter. Could tell customers were getting confused. Which is the actual correct queue to buy the freaking burger?!
This process works well in places like Starbucks where the counters are designed specially to accomodate waiting in front of the bar. At McDos, no one factored in the waiting. Cos no one thought anyone needed to wait with this expensive high-end technology they invested gazillion$$ in. No, no space to wait, but wait we must.
And the total number of counters have been reduced from 8 counters to 3 in this new restaurant. Possibly because the new system is suppose to hasten operational processes, thus reducing the need for physical counters.
2 of 3 counters were operational last night. 4 queues snaked from the counter to the door, threatening to spill out to the walkways.
I got my tray of stuff, and turned left to reach the condiment kiosks cos apparently you serve yourself these days. I waddled through the crowds, fearful for the safety of my large ice tea. Could barely walk cos all you see are feet and more feet, no ground.
Reached the condiment counter which was filthy by any standard. Disappointing to see this at McDos. Thought this possibly could exist in other fast food chains, but not Mcdos. Ketchup and chilli sauces - spilled by careless users from the dispenser pump. Yea, no more indv packs, pump into small shallow plastic dishes. Squirt squirt splash splash. There were serviettes all over, and chilli sauce on the floor and upturned dishes of sauces all over the counter. I side stepped my way to get my stuff.
So you go green by saving resources used for indv packs of sauces. BUt hey, what about the useless plastic dishes that barely hold anything? McDos - look and learn from MOS please.
Oh well. Maybe they're getting used to the new system and layout. But still...
Anyway, got my ketchup straws and stuff, and had to waddle through the crowds AGAIN. Cos my table's at the other end of the restaurant. By then an impossible number of people have crammed into the area in front of the counters.
Made my way safely to the table seating area. Why they got such HUGE chairs for such a small space is beyond me. In a 8m x 6m area, there were 3 different types of chairs. All knocking into one another.
My cheese burger was cold. Like my Ice Tea. Another order of Big Mac was also cold. The cheese was not even melted to begin with. Looked like one of those slices from the fridge you slap onto your morning breakfast loaf. So it wasnt a case of hot food gone cold. It was not even hot to begin with.
Perhaps it was the kitchen equipment, or environment or whatever. But hey cold cheeseburgers are a HUGE turnoff! If a company cannot get the quality of its basic bread and butter products right, something is fundamentally, intrinsically wrong. If I cannot get a decent cheeseburger at McDos, where do I go? Tze Char stall in Geylang??!
I reflected on the layout of the new concept. Taking some 50% of floor space was a huge coffee bar for McCafe concept. Coffee machines and a big cake display. Giant lounge chairs to encourage lounging and free wifi.
Seriously, I wonder how many % of profits and revenue comes from this McCafe? Why the sacrifice of precious floor space for huge bulky lounge chairs?
I am not fm McDos and have never been. But this smells like a classic mgmt case study Drucker would have liked to use.
1. Diversification is good. Only if the fundamentals are sound.
Looks like McDos is trying to brew high class expensive coffee at the expense of making burgers, their bread and butter business. Are they confused? Is a cup of hot expensive latte excuse enough for cold sub-standard cheeseburgers?
2. Look , Listen, look and listen again.
Nothing beats seeing the real thing in action. Figures and Plans are only figures and plans.
The whiz kid managing McDos should seriously test out their business process and see how ridiculous the business plan looks in reality.
3. Adapt what is fundamentally sound for the business
Countries like Australia benefit from McCafe concepts because there is no lack of space, and there are McDo's a hop skip and jump away in densely populated areas. No competition for space in a land sparsely populated.
McCafe is designed to DRAW people to the store, linger and give life to the place. In Oz, burgers are no longer enough to sustain the business ( no people = no business ), and McCafe injects what's needed. There is enough room to accomodate coffee drinkers who linger over a single drink, and those who are in need of a quick good ol' hot McDos meal.
In land scarce Singapore, allocating some 40-50% of counter space to MaCafe and lounge seats eats into the core business of burgers and hot meals. Compound that with space-consuming seats which look good but serve little purpose.
I wonder what the revenue and profits are like for McCafe in the suburban areas. Is it in proportion to the allocated space?
I quote successful concepts in GWC where the cafe is distince from its basic operations. But look at the suburban malls in Yishun, Bt Batok to name a few. Just go see for yourself.
4. Communicate communicate communicate. Facilite communication and remove barriers.
To remove physical proxmity of its kitchen to front counter is a joke. The kitchen crew cannot communicate except via TV screens and telephones cos they are now located one floor above.
Who in the right mind has time to pick up the phone when he/she has 2 hands full of patties and sesame seed buns?
Floor managers cannot monitor food quality as easily, and staff cannot get a feel of the demand and rush for orders as they could before.
Counter crew are more focused scrutinising the order receipts than on the customers. Everyone now communicates via receipts and computer screens when in the past, a shout to the kitchen would be answered by the person directly responsible for burger production.
Whatever happened to removing barriers to communication? In this day and age where companies are showing more acceptance of instant messaging tools to facilitate collaboration and communication, McDos just physically removed all possible channels of communication between its sales and production people. Clap clap clap.
And all I wanted last night was a quick hot cheeseburger meal so I could watch Prison Break. Needless to say, I was 50 min late.
Oh and by the way, anyone wondered why they could not have moved the McCafe to the floor above, physically distinct and keep the kitchen close to the front counters?
And interestingly McDos is running adverts for recruitment. Cos now it takes 2 persons to man one counter. Just so they can scrutinise printed receipts, multi million dollar computer screens and telephones in a fast food outlet.
And don't tell me they welcome older workers cos I see none. Technology has handicapped the older workers who worked for yonks with them, and they are being phased out of the spanking new multi million dollar concepts.
Just because Kopi just isn't the same as a Latte or Hazelnut Low fat Cappucino
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