Rich Snail

Ok - I am about to vent out my frustration at DHL. Here goes.

I just spent my first Christmas in Malaysia away from my family in France. Christmas is very meaningful to us and though I was not able to be there with my parents and three sisters physically, I still wanted to share it with them. I sent gifts from Malaysia hoping they would arrive safely and just in time for Christmas as a nice surprise. For those reasons, I went to DHL.

This is the first paragraph of a letter I sent to DHL on the 29th of December. The rest of the email and story is hereafter:

Dear Sir or Madam;

Unfortunately, despite the DHL promise, it is now 5 days after Christmas and my gifts have still not arrived at their destination and your customer service has not at all been helpful or empathetic to my case. I am writing you this letter because you are a brand that promises “fast and reliable services that exceed customers’ expectations” and I hope that you will promise to do so for me.

I went to the DHL office in Bangsar on the morning of December 22nd to mail the following gifts:

- One Royal Selangor wine stopper and one Japanese bobble-head figurine (called “Nohohon”) for my parents
- Three Thomas Sabo charms for my three sisters
- Five homemade Christmas cards.

Your customer service representative went through the contents of my shipment in detail, agreed to send it in a 1kg shipment to France and said it would arrive at its destination within two days, on the 24th. He did not contest my shipment or highlight any issues. He charged me a sum of MYR 443, including insurance for security, and I was given receipt number 3301773661. I went home thinking all was well and that my family would receive their gifts on time.

I tracked the shipment’s progress, first successfully through Singapore and then through parts of Europe, but on the afternoon of the 24th discovered to my dismay there was a clearing delay in Lyon. This remained the case from the 25th through the 28th. I tried calling the Lyon offices twice but no one responded.

It was only this evening, December 29th that I received a call. But, it was not from DHL Lyon, it was from my parents. They were contacted by Ms. P. (let’s be nice and not go personal…) from DHL Lyon saying they were still trying to clear the shipment and that they needed to know the shipment content in order for my gifts to clear customs. I was a) surprised they did not know the content despite my registering it in Bangsar b) took five days to react to this delay and c) contacted my parents before me, the sender.

Still, I emailed Ms. P. the content details; but and again to my dismay, was informed DHL could not process customs because the three Thomas Sabo charms were considered “Jewellery” which in France is subject to customs. What is upsetting is that no one up to this point – one week after my first transaction with DHL in Bangsar – alerted me until it was too late. To make matters even worse, Ms. P. said I had to arrange for customs on my own and at my own charge to sort the matter out. She also advised me to contact DHL Malaysia to report this incident.

My gifts are now five days late, still “delayed” in Lyon and it is now my family who has to arrange for customs themselves – not the nicest Christmas surprise.

Please sort out this problem ASAP.

After a few email back and forth with DHL Malaysia, they informed me they were not able to help further, hoping I would understand “this situation”, and advised me and my family to arrange for custom in France ASAP. With no other option, my parents did arrange to get everything sorted by the 31st - fortunately they managed to get someone helpful on the line instead of Ms. P.. They received it in the evening, after paying Euro 50 for the customs + some DHL charges apparently (not sure on the last part).

At least they finally had their Xmas gifts in hand !

On the second of January I received a call from DHL Malaysia informing me they were still trying to sort the situation out. Apparently DHL France had not scanned the shipment properly, so they did not know it was delivered… I informed them.

This afternoon, I received another call from DHL informing me the shipment was delivered (thanks!) and should I wish to pursue with my complaint I was to send them another email. I will not. If they don’t get the message by now, I won’t lose my time with them. I have to recognize though, they do follow up. Unfortunately it is not the kind of follow up / service I was signing for…

One thing’s for sure. They won’t see much business from me in the future !

Wishing you all a wonderful new year!
Filled with abundance, joy and treasured moments!

A tradition of new year is to reflect on the past year and set new resolutions for the year to come. My main resolution for 2009 is to be more optimistic. Instead of procrastinating, and being passive, I will focus on the half full glass, and get going !

May 2009 be the best year yet !

The end of the year usually is a good time for me to catch up on my reading, and to reflect on this year’s events. I have been doing both over the past few days, usually sipping eggnog around the pool

I wanted to share a few of articles I found very interesting with you.

The world this year, from the Economist, reflects on 2008. Despite all the dramas of the past year (Financial crisis, Georgia, Zimbabwe), 2008 will be remembered as a special year thanks to Obama. And to prove we can have a laugh even during difficult times, I invite you to play the Credit Crunch Board Game.

Deciphering the Mystery of Equity Market Bubbles, from the Credit Suisse research team, analyses the investors’ psychology factor and how it Markets. Apparently, in bubble cycles, skeptics largely exit the markets, leaving optimists to push asset values to excessive levels. The study observations are very interesting.

- Common psychological factors give bubbles similar patterns near the top and during the steep slide that follows.
- Bubbles have occurred more frequently in recent decades.
- Bubbles tend to have similar durations, with the time between the top and bottom lasting roughly 2.5 years.
- While the wind down patterns has been roughly similar, the duration has steadily become shorter, likely due in part to increased government intervention capabilities and willingness to use them.

I’ll finish with my two favourite bloggers latest gems. Two ways to deal with “no” by Seth Godin, which is a very simple, impactful and evident reminder on how to react to a rejection. And Bits Of Destruction by Fred Wilson, which reflects on the influence of the internet and new technologies in the current downturn and how it impacts the mainstream economies.

Good read !

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas !

It is my first in Malaysia, and I have to say, Xmas under the tropic has a different feel to it. It has its good points, no jet lag, spending time at the pool…. But it simply does not replace a good, snowy, family Christmas back home.

To compensate, we are having some friends at home and cooked some french delicacies. We going to have a blast ! Hope you too

Selamat Hari Natal,
Merry Christamas,
Joyeux Noel

I encountered a problem with my last wordpress update. Trying to solve a minor issue, I ended up deleting the folder with all my posting and information. I don’t need to tell you I was pissed !

It took me a long time to do a proper wordpress install, recover my posting (thanks Google!), copy and paste the old cache and get back to where we were end of November.

Not a fun job, but hopefully one which will bring more clarity to this blog as I also updated its design. I am far from finished and hope to change a few more things over the next few weeks…

For now, I am happy my blog is back online

Very interesting analysis from the Credit Agricole on the US real estate situation. You can read it by following this link: Eco News Crise immobilière aux Etats-Unis. Unfortunately it is French speaking only. An extract hereafter:

Traditionnellement, le retournement du cycle de crédit et son corollaire, la correction immobilière, s’engagent dans le sillage de la remontée des taux d’intérêt voulue par les banques centrales pour calmer la surchauffe économique. La faiblesse conjoncturelle et surtout la remontée du taux de chômage qui s’en suivent sont les éléments déclencheurs de la remontée des taux de défauts dans les bilans bancaires. L’ensemble alimente en retour l’inflexion cyclique cotés crédit et immobilier.

L’ajustement immobilier américain en cours depuis la fin 2005 a en partie défié cette séquence logique puisque le sens de la causalité s’est surtout déployé cette fois-ci du marché immobilier, avec la vague de défauts sur les crédits subprime, vers le reste de l’économie.

L’effondrement du segment très risqué du subprime confère ainsi une certaine singularité au retournement du marché immobilier américain.

Néanmoins, des booms ou des bulles immobilières se sont développées un peu partout dans le monde et leur arrivée à maturation est synonyme de correction, y compris en Europe. Ces ajustements seront de facture plus traditionnelle, en ligne avec le retournement conjoncturel, même si le degré de sévérité sera à la mesure des excès commis durant la phase ascendante.

William Russell is running an interesting promotion this month. Should you apply for one of their Global Health Elite plans in November, you’ll get a travel insurance for free. The conditions are pretty straight forward and you can discover more on their website. The link is here.

Feel free to contact me should you wish to know more !

Clare’s college, one of Cambridge University’s oldest seats of learning, recently made a very interesting move. They borrowed £15m for 40 years to invest in stocks. They are planning to invest in equities, betting markets are the best investments in the long term.

Is it a good move?

It is a very common idea that equities and markets are very good if you don’t try to time them. Many studies have shown their effectiveness creating value over long term cycles. Buttonwood tries to answer the question and shares his insight in the following article: A Cambridge college’s Investment Gambit.

Good read !

Friends Provident International (FPI) announced recntly the launch of a further 5 new mirror funds which means investors can now choose from over 200 funds. The new funds centre on higher-risk emerging market and thematic funds. These additional funds invest in themes of the future such as renewable energy, infrastructure, natural resources, agriculture and commodities.

The 5 mirror funds are as follows:

DWS Invest Africa this is FPI’s first venture on to this continent where markets are being driven by strong macro factors, which are likely to persist. The trend to political and economic stability, improved business confidence and a willingness to invest makes this an exciting investment proposition for those who want to buy into the nascent pan-African development cycle.

Sarasin EmergingSar - New Frontiers, FPI has bolstered its emerging market offering with the addition of this fund, which invests predominantly in countries that are at an early stage of development even by the standards of emerging markets.

DWS Invest Global Infrastructure concentrates on companies that stand to benefit from infrastructure spending, the fund invests in 4 key themes: Transport: including roads, airports, seaports, rail; energy: particularly through companies which specialise in gas and electricity transmission, distribution and generation; water: irrigation, portable water, waste treatment; and communications.

Castlestone Aliquot Agriculture offers investors an actively managed and diversified exposure to agriculture, water, alternative energy and livestock futures contracts and is a theme that is set to demonstrate continued interest given global demographic trends.

Castlestone Aliquot Commodity offers a diversified exposure to commodities futures contracts including energy, precious metals, livestock, industrial metals, alternative energy, water and agriculture. This fund can act as a hedge in a multi-asset portfolio as well as providing defence against a wide range of economic and political uncertainties.

Commenting on the launch, Jim Henning, funds marketing and research manager at Friends Provident International said:

These new fund additions offer relatively low correlation to conventional equity investment whilst offering attractive long term potential for the future. Combined with the recent launch of our on-line portfolio planning tool, Dynamic Portfolio Planner International, we remain committed to offering advisers sufficient fund choices and support to weather the unprecedented market turbulence.

Most people assume that medical and health covers are the same. I actually think they are different for  many reasons. One is stated in the here-above post title. You may have noticed I used two different terms to define each type of cover. The first is Insurance, the other is Assurance.

Can a simple “A” make such a difference? Let’s go back to their definition.

Insurance: an equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium

Assurance: The state of being assured; firm persuasion; full confidence or trust; freedom from doubt; certainty.

I think the difference is notable. Insurance is to get protection for specifics, while assurance is a lot more comprehensive. Medical insurance is typically what one can get in most countries, especially in Asia or America, while healthcare assurance is the preferred system for many European nations. The difference in perception can nurture surprises for European who are not used to be covered for specifics only. They usually expect to get the same level of cover as back home, even when picking the basic insurances.

Let’s review both to get a better grasp of their differences.

Medical Insurance
Typically local and international programmes and providers, who offer covers can be for emergency only or basic. They offer a choice of deductibles, exclusions, options and other customization to meet individual needs and expectations. Cover options can include hospitalisation, inpatient and outpatient costs, doctor and surgical fees, emergency evacuation (home country or nearest suitable hospital), physiotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, dialysis, local ambulance charges, organ transplants and others (though the list is already pretty good!)

Healthcare Assurance
Only international providers can assure you to such a level. It is much more comprehensive and protects your lifestyle instead of just offering specific insurances. As you can expect, its comprehensiveness means it is more costly. A lot of European forget how much their healthcare system is subsidised through taxes and are shocked to hear the cost of a decent health cover. The explanation is pretty simple. On top of all the medical cover, you get cover for dental, optical, maternity, chiropractors, osteopaths, acupuncturists, rehabilitation & home care and many others. It also is a rule of thumb that such provide offer better service and are more understanding.

If budget were not an issue, we would all chose healthcare assurance, isn’t it? Unfortunately we sometimes have to compromise. But we should do so knowingly. To help you in your research you should target an insurance budget of between 3% to 5% of your income. This should get you a good cover. You can also contact me should you wish to discuss this further!