28th December 2010

Sales has been picking up since last week with customers doing their last min christmas shopping. If sales in far east continues this way for the rest of the mth, we'll be able to beat last year's dec sales. That's our china's staff own personal target. Her commission for alone is alr. over $150. She always aims to hit the team target even when she's working alone so that she can get BOTH the individual & team commission. If staffs managed to hit the team target single-handledly, I reckon they deserve both individual & team commission for the hard work put in. As for sales in Iluma, with the christmas crowd it has alr. more than doubled within just 1 week. Few more days to end of the mth. Gambatte!!!! Targetting the new year/chinese new year crowd now.

Told my staffs who have nv work during christmas/new year/cny period b4 that this is just the warm-up session for them. To get them ready for the more hectic crowd coming in in Jan....b4 cny when it gets really busy. Found another FT....a malaysian. She has started work in Far East as of today. My china staff is working with her there. That makes 2 of them on weekdays. On weekends, there's going to be 3 pple there....2 FT and 1 PT (my distant cousin OR a previous staff who is currently working in my dad's office). Whereas in Iluma, I'll be "parking" myself here everyday with 2 different PT on weekdays and on weekends. The weekday PT is fr LYL zone while the weekend PT used to work for us when I was still in SOT.

Like many other bosses in the retail and F&B sector, I find that foreign workers are more reliable. Alr. there's 2 foreigners working in far east outlet: 1 is fr China & the other is fr Malaysia. Even my distant cousin is not local. He's from Indonesia. Locals r unwilling to work full time for long. Unless the really committed ones. There are such people just that we have YET to find them. Our china staff intends to extend her work permit to work for us but on condition that she can resign halfway should her family wants her back home earlier afterall she's been away from home for almost 3 yrs already. She ensured she will give us advance notice should she need to leave earlier. We told her we can accept her resigning halfway IF she is willing to pay back for the unutilised mths of the work permit (after all extension cost money). It's only fair and she has agreed to it.

23rd December 2010

Another FT staff has left. She left once in the beginning of the yr. When we heard she is looking for a job sometime mid of the yr, we gave her another chance. However, ever since she came back to work our sales in Iluma has visibly dropped every month. Never once did she hit her target in Iluma to get commission. But since it is the peak season, we decided to bear with it until after chinese new year b4 considering letting her go when Iluma closes after CNY.

Suggested to her to switch her working hours back to 11.30am to 9.30pm instead of 11am to 10pm since she often nicely comes late & leaves earlier than 10pm. What's the point of paying her 1hr OT a day to work the extra hour when she comes late and leaves early. Just like that, she don't want to work already. What kind of work attitude is that?It was ONLY a suggestion! From what we notice, she hasn't been really serving the customer. I don't call standing there and looking at the customers serving them. We also know that she uses the internet in the shop too even when we tell them b4 that the internet in the shop is for the purpose of the cctv and not for not personal use. Think just by minimising the window we don't know.

My parents say might as well let her go since we been having the intention to sack her. She "worked" for 1/2 day on tuesday and then left when my distant cousin came to take over. He will be helping us there for the next few days until Christmas eve. I'll be taking over in Iluma from Christmas Day all the way till CNY as he'll be going back to Indo to visit his family & will only come back when his school term reopens on 3rd Jan. When he's back to school, he'll still be helping us but in far east and only on fri, sat & sun. In jan he'll be going back to Indo again for his grandparents' 50th wedding anni. For the past few days that my distant cousin worked in Iluma, he has been hitting his target everyday. Even the boss of neighbouring shop commented that he's very hardworking as they always see him cleaning/packing up the shop when he's free.

1 of previous staff will be coming back to help out on the weekends my distant cousin is away. There'll be another PT coming in to work on weekends. Currently he's in NS. He used to work for us for a couple of mths when I was still in SOT. He's going to be a driver in the army fr next yr onwards and is available to help us on the weekends. Initially had 2 PT from LYL zone. 1 will be starting work next week. The other reported for work last mon but left after 3 hrs of training saying that he won't be able to work for the rest of the mth as he is going overseas. It means that my schedule has gone hay-wire again. Like what my one & only FT staff who's left says those staff who just walk off like that are irresponsible & immature. But it's okay nothing is impossible we can do it on our own. Just have to push through the next 2 months. Totally agree with her. However, she is still considering whether to extend her contract or not as she feels that her family back in China most probably won't like it if she stay on in Singapore for another 2 years (She's been working for us for 2 years & 9 mths already. Another 2 more months to go b4 her contract ends). The thing now is that we don't even know govt will approve her work permit extension. We can only try applying. See how it goes first.

It is BACK to 7 days work week for me from Christmas day. Won't be able to attend svc & cg for this season until CNY is over. Parent don't allow. :( :( :( :( :( :(. So going to miss church svc and W525. Watching online svc is soooooooooooooooooooo different as compared to being there. But still...better than nothing.

10th December 2010 (Updated)

The so-called new FT, who is actually a previous FT staff, didn't turn up for work. MIA! Couldn't contact her. Nv returned my missed calls or replied my SMSes. :( She is never like this b4. Wonder what happen. At least say sthg ma. This attitude is so irresponsible lo. Have to replan the whole Dec-CNY staff work schedule as it has gone topsy turpy with just 1 person who MIA. :'( Spoke to my china staff who knows and understands that this is the peak period of the year and she say she will do her best to OT as much as possible.

Training a new staff takes an average of 2-3 weeks for them to familiarize with the daily operations of the shop e.g. cashiering, location of the stocks, product knowledge, etc. 1-2weeks if they're fast learners. However, christmas is only 2 weeks away and new year is 3 weeks away, if the new staff are still unfamiliar with the operations in the shop when the mass of crowd comes then they may be left on their own. It'll seem as if the extra help is of no use as they'll end up just standing there and staring into the air. When the crowd enters we can get so busy that we don't even have time to go to the toilet or eat. That always happens without fail. We are just waiting for such a crowd to come. Big headache!!! Short of 1 person. Weekdays still manageable but it's the weekends. Man!!! Looks like it's back to 7 days week for me...... Can't go for CG and gonna rush off after svc every sunday.

6th December 2010

2010 is coming to end in 25 days time. How fast is that? 2010 went by with 6 months being in SOT. Have been busy lately esp w the planning of end of year sales and planning of the staff scheduling for dec-cny peak period.

Got in contact with 5 of my previous FT/PT staff to check they can help either PT/FT during the upcoming peak period (a few of them contacted me themselves. :D). Out of these 5, chose 2 of them - 1 to work FT & the other who has an office admin job to work PT on christmas & new year weekends. Didn't get the others to come back as their schedule doesn't match our schedule. Have hired another 2 fr LYL zone to work PT on weekdays until CNY eve. Having to plan the schedule while taking into consideration the cutting down on costs & the time needed to train new staff is really tedious brain work. But thank God it's all settled! With the additional PT/FT staffs, + me (so as to cut down cost and training time), that makes 8 of us.

1 of my current FT is going on a 5 days leave for a holiday starting this sun. As our weekend PTs are having their exams next week they're not able to help out this weekend as such I'll have to help out in the shop this weekend. But I cannot split myself and be in both outlets at the same time. Thus arranged for our previous staff who's back to work FT to start work on this wed. When the other FT is back from her leave, the 2 of them will work tgt until CNY eve. After which, other arrangements will be made. Have also arranged for 1 of the weekday PT fr LYL zone to start work nxt week & the other to start 2 weeks later. As for me, I'll be in either 1 of the outlets on the staff's off days (mondays, tuesdays & wednesdays) and on fridays, saturdays & sundays fr christmas eve onwards. That will mean that fr christmas eve I won't be able to fellowship with CG or serve in Attributes until after CNY. :(

This year's christmas has yet to "heat up" for the retail sector. Usually when it's nearing end of Nov we'll need 2 people to work in each shop and then will need 3 in FEP and 2 in Iluma nearing the end of Dec. But up until now with christmas just 19 days away, 1 in each outlet is enough (2 in only FEP on fri & weekends). Where's the crowd? Sian-ed! >_<

A couple of weeks after CNY marks the end of the contract for our FT staff from China. She has been working for 2 years & 8 mths ++ (extended her permit/contract once but govt gave her an extension of only 11 mths). After she leaves, we'll be down to 2 FT & 1 PT. Will be leaving Iluma once the contract there ends in Feb nxt year or maybe earlier (i.e. after CNY). This means after that we'll be down to only 1 outlet - FEP. Not considering opening new outlets in other locations as yet. Shall let FEP settle down 1st. Thinking of going into trading (i.e. wholesaling be it either OEM or not) instead of focusing on just retail. Others have taken over the shop beside & opp. our FEP shop. The aunty who used to be in the shop opp. us has been in FEP for over 20 years already. She decided to close it down as retail is getting really difficult to do. So sad & demoralising to see her close down her business after so many years. :(