Fly Away Empty Bring Back Loaded

Just like a Mackers Burger or a Prada handbag can be charged with varying prices around the world, so can an Apple IPhone.

Would you factor in purchases as part of your next holiday agenda? Shopping in the USA is a significant activity for sports products, clothes and accessories. Local taxes, tips and currency exchange do figure well into such decisions of buying away from home. 

There may be no need to travel as cyberspace does offer a huge convenience and discount on prices and physical delivery. Where nations require you to be a local to be entitled to those attractive prices, there are also ways and means for foreigners to pose as such locals to qualify. The meaning of market bargaining has been expanded with various strong tactics on discounts during a tight time window, bulk empowerment and cutting out on retail front costs. 

Commercialism thrives on convincing a buyer of not to miss obtaining a product, whether through the need to have the latest version, to keep up with trends or with making passé workable but previous editions of the same product. This churns turnover, vital to pump up revenue and meet performance targets to meet shareholder approval and senior executive bonuses. The world is now the endless horizon for possibilities, requiring smart play offs in pricing and availability on markets that can increasingly have higher purchasing power. 

The Technology price Index of 2017 lists an attractive average price of around $414 for an Apple IPhone in Japan, compared to $575 in Australia. Figures for Malaysia are $532, India 505 and China $471. (All US Dollars quoted). Does that mean just visiting your chosen foreign country to buy at a lower price? It can be more complicated than just this. 

There are product specs that can make technology products not so easily usable in another market or nation. Unlike clothes, barriers do exist to allow a typical consumer access to the best possible price with the most features. They can be compatibility, market protection of margins and economic factors like inflation. 

Overall, it makes for a very interesting and varied field when trying to secure your top ten most exciting personal purchases. A rare book, a motivating sports shoe, a car model or a unique orchid. The best markets to secure products usually synchronise with environments with high governance standards, more open trading conditions and more stable political climates. Where trade and commerce is encouraged, you can usually bet on your best prices for your personal pet list of purchases. Countering this is the high cost of living, unusual constraints on personal freedoms, state of civil unrest and small size of markets in the nations where you want to buy.


The greater ease of mobility, either in physical reality or in virtual cyberspace, has contributed to the consumer culture, apart from its impact on job transfers, lifestyle locations and movement of skills and labour.   One may have to fly on an aircraft to buy things under so called duty free prices, but deliveries can be made  directly to your home or other physical address.     Consumers do want a holistic retail experience,  soak into a hall with an attractive lay out and get attention from human assistance  - but  can also be lured into cost effective and good value packages of price, ease of delivery and comfort of the purchasing process.   Several products need to be examined and hand handled before making a decision to buy or not, whilst others are reliable as standard designs in any place you buy from.     It is the latter that makes it more captivating to purchase, for the risk of returns is lowered.


So if one buys from an overseas location, the policy and treatment of purchase returns can factor in significantly.   Warranty and guarantee provisions may be helpful, but what actually occurs to your consumer rights when a problem arises is all important.     Can you return the product physically for exchange in your local country of residence?   So the fun and hype of purchasing from an overseas holiday can turn into a stressful process.   The talk and practice of loading shopping stuff into new luggage on your flight home can be countered by the realisation that some of the stuff are dudes, although one may not fully get that extreme experience.  The best approach I reckon is to be realistic about what happens if you find the purchase you made is not what you thought it was when overseas  - can you let it go, can you cop the cost or can you have options for reasonable remedial channels?

Bush Walking, with Rocks and All

The path ahead could be long, or surprisingly short.   The trail could have been carved out by past walkers,  or some parts of it submerged under grass or water.     Outdoor walking exerts on not just the legs, but also on the mind.   Depending on your expectations, one can feel refreshed, sweat it out or liberate the constraints one places upon one's self.   Human beings are meant to get the muscles and adrenaline going   - we are not naturally built to sit down for  long hours and not utilise all of our sensory capabilities and abilities.    We are best when interacting with Nature and what our home planet and her elements offer us.

The road is long but he ain't heavy, he's my brother (or she's my sister!)

Sign boards are well posted when we were visiting several National Parks around Western Australia, whether they were by the Indian Ocean coast or deep inland in remote territory.   These informed us how far the walks would take us, whether there were ladders to climb, notifications of having to wade in shallow or deeper streams and if visitors need to have a certain level of physical dexterity.    The last mentioned is interesting, for it implied potentially sprawling yourself with a good grip over rocky but tenable edges, causing a Spiderman effect in posture, or in over coming challenging gradients, over the course of the journey.    The use of numbered challenge levels, from 1 to 5, was helpful in gauging what requires of walkers on each major trail.  

On the trail to Joffre Gorge and Falls.

Several walks taken offered a wonderful return in scenery appreciation, diversity of colours and variety of geographical vistas.    When you get further from Perth, northwards, your eyes feast on quiet panoramas of the land meeting ocean, of the Earth showing significant upheaval geologically from a time not easily fathomable and of a clear sky without cloud in the daytime and full of stars after twilight.    Where you encounter cliffs, there can be man made ladders and stairs, usually made of metal, to ease the experience.  Otherwise, one has to figure out naturally formed steps,  usually used by predecessor bush walkers, to reach from one level to the next.   

Ecological friendly base for showers, toilets and wash ups.

Where ocean meets the land, where whales swim past and where the glowing sun sets below the horizon  - Kalbarri National Park.  National parks can be vast in Western Australia, although the biggest on this continental island is the Kimberleys.    Kalbarri , which is also the name of a woody pear tree, can be smaller in land area, but has the best seats for variety of panoramic views.   The Indigenous name for the Kalbarri area is Wurdimarlu.    At the time of my group's visit, there were road works being carried out and private vehicles were not allowed to drive in the more pretty corners like Nature's Window.  Only vehicles operated by commercial tour operators were allowed in that period.   We still could get to pockets along the coast, glimpses of the potential of Kalbarri.

Entrance to the Karijini National Park.

The personal rewards can be many and delightfully surprising.    It is smooth going when the short walk of under a kilometre leads to several look out points, usually fenced or maybe not.    There is this tendency to look forward to sitting down on a ledge and soak in the view below and above.   Many gorge trails in Karijini (or "A Hilly Place") offered us a dimension bigger than our individual selves.   Often, I was taken aback positively when catching a glimpse of textured rocks carved by the wind or water, not just on massive wall faces towering above us but also on the dry parts of river beds.    The rocks are less brown than with iron mineral rich redness, as if painted evenly by master strokes from an experienced artist.   And Nature is the most skilled of all, inspiring human hearts and skills to emulate her.   Often, shrubs would cling on to these rocky surfaces, with a tenacity and purpose that illustrates the sustenance of life  even under difficult circumstances.    The flora would have very minimalist foliage, but life still blooms.    We also pondered what happens to the trails we were on when it is the wet season.  More likely the rocks we were stepping on or use for grip would be under flowing or gushing waters.

Dolomite and more.

They say it is mainly a question of mind over matter, in various things in the journey of life.   So it can be.   I was taught not to take labels too seriously, and how liberating this can be!    Level 5 of difficulty in reality can be less daunting than what my mind imagines.  With good footwear and an open attitude, it becomes more easy.   Sprinkled with common sense and blessed with good company, physical roadblocks are over come with a smoother outcome.   Every fellow hiker has a unique personality - one constantly kept in touch with family overseas, another was so focused on wild birds and yet a third showed boldness and a spirit of adventure.

Sunset along the Indian Ocean.

In the dry season, the nights can be coolish in Karijini.   We could feel the nippiness  surfacing from below the floors of our cabins in the middle of the night - and next morning I realised the floor boards had gaps between them.    Once walking on the trail under the sun, there was no opportunity to reflect on three degree Celsius nights, for with proper shoes and tops, the body warmed up, the eyes focused and the heart embraced the spirit of the outdoors.   A hearty breakfast also helped, for the daylight hours were filled with as much opportunity to explore and wander.  In June, the sun  is up in the sky for only limited hours, and when we were in the wilderness, we realised we were heading towards the shortest day in the year - the Winter Solstice for the Southern Hemisphere. 

Kalbarri National Park,

Picnics by the park tables are what I also fondly recall.   We met other tourists, however briefly   - but could exchange ideas on trails, enjoy the comfort of conversation and share our food.    This was an alternative hiatus to the main silence of bush walking, for one is just engaged with one's self  - mind, body and all - in conquering trails.    There were the necessary moments of collective appreciation, standing there looking at beauty, and also small talk, but primarily it was the opportunity to reflect one's inner self and engage with the outer Natural world.    So when lunch time came, it was also a relief, to chat and pour over experiences, moments and challenges.

The surreal view along the Mandu Mandu Trail.

Seven year old Harvey joined us with his younger sister Elsie at our long picnic table when their Dad, Alastair,  went over to collect the gas stove from their vehicle.   They are kids who did not ask for much, using their over turned caps as make shift plates when my group offered some Tim Tams and fresh pear slices.   Harvey is like the neighbour's child whom you want to look after your house when you are away.  Soon, Mum Karen came to join us with an impressive three year old, Byron, who had no qualms mentioning to us about the milk getting frozen in the Esky and who was so polite waiting for his Mum's permission to try a Tim Tam.  Alastair heated a classic Italian coffee jug, the sun shone and we enjoyed being together.

There was one remarkable place where the walk over a couple of kilometres were carpeted with just white stones, as if it was laid by a fairy tale Giant for his drive way.  Mandu Mandu Gorge, located on the Coral Coast, at the Cape Range National Park near Exmouth, is modest at three kilometres but offers rewarding scenery, both along the edge of the gorge and below on the river bed.   The stark contrast between deep blue sky and the surrounding landscape gives aesthetic and inspiring vibes.   The trail is mostly gentle, the collective view uplifts and the detail remarkable.   The soles of our feet are especially massaged.  Mandu in Indigenious Australian language refers to the sun.

Joffre Gorge and Falls in Karijini National Park is perhaps the most spectacular to me, offering vertical climbs over narrow edges and a sizeable deep coloured pool as the reward.  More interesting is that one need not do all the physicals to be able to watch the beauty of the falls, for you can hike on an easy path to a look out point to view the best of all these.  Many of the gorges are best experienced at dawn and dusk.    What over comes one's understanding when being at such remote and unique sites is the timelessness and spirituality of the place.

Sitting on a spot in the early afternoon one day half way along the Kalamina Gorge trail, I could fully take in the journey of a creek to river to gorge.    I noticed miniature waterfalls, banks beside deeper water and the carving on rock of steep walls.   I enjoyed comparing the different shades of bold colours on the rocks.    Nature had cleverly eroded the various surfaces into ergonomic seat like surfaces, several almost like man made, with the right measurements to fit the human body.   I did not witness much wild life, although they were there.   So the landscape was my focus for me in the so called middle of no where.  Apart from so passers by, it looked like I had the whole place to myself.   I began to soak in the first unassuming vibes.  It may have been quiet but that does not mean the Earth is  not alive.   Ironically, the serenity and ambiance of this space inevitably made look inside myself, ease me into a meditative mood and then gradually feel the energy spark in me slowly fuse with that from the origin of it all - the Universe.

Check out:

https://kindlyyours.blogspot.com.au/2017/06/karijini-national-park-joffre-falls-and.html

The Art of Managing Expanding Business

Good standards in health, standards of living and mobility have contributed to increasing human populations.     In the eyes of business at all levels, that means potential in enhancing revenue.   However, the question that remains unresolved is how to harness a bigger market without reducing the quality of inter action with customers.   


As technology gets more savvy, businesses may miss the all important point of customers still wanting a decent standard of interaction with the business, especially after locking in with the latter in contracts and service.


Revenue can be further increased with lowering costs of all types.  It does not take a genius to figure out that widening the gap between revenue and costs leads to possible exponential rise in profits, driven and pressured by shareholders, individual owners and hired executive management.    Whether you are running an outfit in start ups, a multi-national or corporatised ex-government department, the preoccupations of CEOs emphasise these days on the bottom line - the share price or investor return, the net profits and the performance rewards (SNP) at a certain period or point in time.    Competition can be tough.



Sadly these drivers have left a wreck of a trail in the level of customer service.   In other respects, it is the supporting infrastructure that is compromised.   Every trick in the process is utilised to ensure the minimisation of spending and that implies reduced commitment to on going running costs like employee expenses.   Where can we cut costs to widen the all important margin?  We cannot avoid legislative requirements like taxes, although legal teams are hired to avoid them without breaching the law ( so this is not tax avoidance).  Where can we fly under the compliance radar and still not be committing breaches?



So the spotlight on reduced costs weigh heavily on the using of humans, or rather, less of them, or less of those costly humans employed.     Manufacturing has always applied the principle of using minimal labour costs and obtaining maximum prices in markets which can pay for them.   Even restaurants in higher cost nations are sourcing ingredients from cheaper countries and importing them into the cities with paying customers.   Call centres, so called back room support and what is savagely seen as non core functions have been relegated as far away from the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statements.



Several revenue sectors which would be obviously providing services to humans have left a bitter taste on the literal mouth of customers.   This taste commenced way before the much heralded Millennium year, but now it has got more intense and with less guilt.   If you take a moment to reflect, do you find that it is easier to get to the sales option first than anything else - like technical support and complaints channel - when you are left with a phone number for help?    Even more intriguing is the rising trend of minimalist contact points or numbers on a business web page or smart phone app.   This reinforces the rising impression that businesses prefer not to talk to you after they have got your business.   



In a country like Australia, where distances to transverse are far or where transport can be expensive, relying on the phone is no longer as reassuring as say in 1999.    The auto software cycle that you are put on when you dial for help, already sends strong messages that you as a customer are not that important -you are subject to a cycle of recorded voice of press button options that can seem to be void of what you are after.   Only when you remain persistent and remain on the phone are you reluctantly allowed to speak to a live person.   There in lies a most significant point -  despite the promotion of robots, artificial intelligence and impersonal recordings  (all in the name of lowering costs, my dear),  customer satisfaction is highly scored when you allow customers to speak to a live human being, and not only when the business is trying to make a sale.   (Critics on this point may argue that Millennials these days prefer not to deal with any human beings in the course of their daily lives, but again, my dear, Millennials do eventually grow old and may change their stand on this.)



At times there is a compromise.....a robot icon may appear on your web page screen to try to induce you to join an apparent but not fully revealed  party to a conversation.  You may not be sure if there is a live person on the other end, or if there is a hacker with evil intent on destroying your day or your records.   Sometimes, you have to reveal to this cyberspace stranger the validity of your identity and self, whilst you cannot do likewise ask for the credentials of  this other party.   We teach our kids to be street smart and extra wary of engaging with Internet persona - they can be not what they purport to be, but businesses hold the upper hand in this respect.    This dictating of such conditions to customers in a one way direction has not found sufficient  issue with our so called regulatory, consumer support and watch dog groups that are supposed to monitor businesses. 



We try to understand these developments -  the bottom line is that hiring human beings have gone over the board in terms of practical costs in developed economies.   Even dealing with human beings from the business side can make us experience a spectrum from the high of pleasant conversations with well trained staff to the lows of being patient with  stressed out and impolite staff members.   



I have found myself in situations where the business side I am dealing with wash their hands of any responsibility when it comes to helping customers resolve service delivery issues - the party that requires a customer to implement something (A) behaves like rude bureaucrats, the party that A directs us to deal with simply state it is not their problem and it is the responsibility of the contractor (C) they have outsourced to -   and C cries for help in front if us by saying that they are only, well, a contractor.   So the customer is not offered a solution, things can get worse and the bitterness in our mouths gets stronger like a well chillied Bali curry.



The predominance of directing customers to seek help through smart phone apps or web pages does leave an interesting question - what happens if the Internet is down for the whole city and there is a Wi-Fi black out.   It need not be an South Aus styled episode circa late 2016 with the electricity black out.  When customer help relies mainly on a primary delivery platform like a vulnerable cyberspace,  this is real silly like putting all your eggs on the proverbial single nest.



Customer service has been reduced to a take it or leave it attitude on the part of many businesses.     One can argue at the same time that there has been a opening of choices for customers, but this also means a regular review of whom you want to deal with  - and the comfort of being loyal means nothing any more, just like in many other aspects of human life in our contemporary society.    Some industries thrive on getting transactional revenue when you change providers, like financial services, service agents and those who thrive on such income, whose revenue can be huge with a growing market base.



I have become seriously cynical of advertisements.   To me, they signal a serious lack of progress by the business towards achieving their targets, which most likely does not include improving customer services.     They cannot fool me anymore, all those actors, bright graphics and loud promises coming out from such ads.   The proof to me is in the pudding, when I interact with such chosen businesses, and if they do not meet my expectations, well it is time to choose another, subject to the transitionary fees imposed.   It can be character building for the customer, making us learn how to better self manage and negotiate - and play off one business against another, as they do us with us, on most occasions.



Imagine a country that encourages too many immigrants in too short a period.   The existing infrastructure in public transport,  housing, educational facilities and facility provision would crack under the onslaught of families and others arriving requiring services immediately.    So likewise for a business wanting to increase revenue immediately and in the short term without adequately providing better staff training, more reliable support mechanisms and delivering product service as promised.   Go figure.    We have observed cities that cut corners, have break downs in safety and civility or where bottlenecks occur.  It is not just countries and cities that we are concerned with here.