A friend of mine was actively looking for job recently and just few days ago, he told me he finally got an offer. And he has signed the offer letter.

I was happy for him but few days later, he told me he got another job offer which is much better in terms of pay, benefits and prospects.

And he started to worry because he has signed the offer letter. Can he still join the new company? Fortunately for him, the notice period for his new job (under probation) is 24 hours. What if it’s 1 month? I’m sure some of you might have encountered such situation before.

I’ve talked to few of my recruiter friends and even my HR who is a good friend of mine. They said that the new employee can choose not to turn up at all even after signing the offer letter. They have experienced many incidents such as this. The company does have the rights to file a lawsuit against this new employee since he or she has already signed the offer letter.

However, most companies will not pursue this. They will not spend time and money to sue one person which don’t turn up for first day of work. Furthermore, involving in a little lawsuit with a new employee who failed to turn up, is just a petty issue. It might actually ruin the company’s reputation.

I must admit though that I cannot guarantee all companies will behave like this. Maybe there are some companies which will pursue this case though I yet to know any.

That’s why the best solution which I can think of is to call the company up and explains. If your the HR of the second company knows, maybe you can ask them for advice. If they don’t, just call the first company and explain. If things don’t go well, you can either let the second company knows (and hoping they will help you) or you will just have to let it go and turn up for work in the first company.

Unless you are willing to take the risk of not turning up without informing.

But either way, you will most probably get blacklisted by the first company for at least a few years (either you resign within 24 hours or not turn up at all). Companies don’t tend to blacklist a new employee forever for something such as this. They will not be bothered too much with it, not for that long anyway.

To summarize everything:

1. You signed offer letter from company A.
2. You get a better offer from company B and decided to join.
3. You should call company A to explain. If they are okay, good.
4. If they are not okay, call company B’s HR and inform them. See if they can help you. This is the last resort.
5. If company B refuses to advise or help and company A refuses to back off, you have to let go of company B.
6. All the above don’t apply if you are willing to risk it and don’t turn up for company A. Just be prepared to face the consequences of being in a lawsuit (though the probability is very very very low, it is still a risk).

That’s why I always tell people not to sign the offer letter until the very last minute. However, things don’t always go the way we want it to.

And at the end of the day, the question will be, are you willing to take the risk? Is the new offer good enough for you to take the risk?

Hope it helps.

Scenario 1

Alvin : How much is this?

Seller : RM 30

Alvin : Here’s RM 50.

Seller : You don’t have small change?

Alvin : Nope.

Seller showed an annoyed look

Scenario 2

Alvin : Can I have the bill please?

Waiter : Here it is sir.

Alvin took out his credit card.

Waiter : Sorry sir, we don’t accept credit card.

Alvin : You’re a franchise restaurant with a credit card sign outside, and you said you don’t accept?

Waiter : The card machine broke down.

Alvin : Then you should let us know before we ordered!

Waiter kept quiet.

Alvin : Sorry, we don’t have cash.

Waiter stunned and speechless.

Alvin’s friend went to the counter and paid cash.

And today, my sister called up a clinic to make an appointment with the doctor (for medical checkup). The nurse scolded my sis for calling so late.

What is happening to all those things about customer rights? It seems like the business owners in this country, be it service-oriented or not, are treating the customers here like fools. Some people are somehow okay with these treatments, but definitely not me.

Back in the UK, when bad service was given to me, I would not give any tips to the waiter. However back in Malaysia, service tax is already included inside the bill. And this is all we’re getting – lousy treatment. For the first scenario, if the seller did not show me the sour face, I’ll be fine.  For the second scenario, it was the restaurant manager’s mistake and all of my friends decided to boycott that restaurant since then.

Seriously, I think the people here should learn how to say NO to such bad customer service. There are other options for us to choose from and since we’re paying for the services, why do we need to suffer such bad attitude and management?

Dare to say NO to such businesses.

A colleague of mine (he’s a unique one) used to say this to me “Crying baby gets the biggest share”. And that is why he’s the type of person who will complain about nearly everything from the project, salary to the traffic. He said if he doesn’t voice out, he will gain nothing.

Do you believe in this theory?

For me, yes and no. Yes because without raising your concerns, nobody will know. That’s why we have feedback form, contact form, survey form and all kind of things for us to raise our concerns. Keeping quiet will not solve anything. Just make sure you don’t make this a habit. Complaining or raising concerns too much will make you a nuisance to people.

More so if you are complaining or raising concerns WITHOUT suggesting any solutions. Not many people dare to voice out, and among those who dare, most of us don’t provide solutions to those problems. If you throw me a problem and expect me to solve it all the time without even giving any opinions, I doubt that is going to help anyone. I can try my best to give you a solution, but I can’t do it all the time.

That’s why I personally feel that people should learn how to raise concerns, AND at the same time provide solutions. That way, it will actually help everyone.

p/s…. maybe that’s why babies tend to cause a headaches when they start to cry. Older babies are better since they might point to something (solution) and start to cry. At least you know what to get for them (or vice versa)

First impression is very important in all aspects of our life. When we go to an interview, we judge the interviewer and the condition of the company even though it’s our first meeting – first impression. When we meet a new colleague, we will pay attention to the handshake and the eye contact, that’s also considered as first impression. When you approach a new customer, whatever you say or do will become the first impression the client has on you.

And if this is the first time you come to this blog, the inconsistency of the words “customer” and “client” in the last sentence will create your first impression on me. And you probably will not trust me that much due to my inconsistency.

That’s why first impression is always important. But what is even more important is the 2nd and 3rd impressions. Imagine if you managed to build a good first impression, only to ruin it with some idiotic behavior during your second encounter. Maybe your first impression gives you a +10 score, but that idiotic behavior of yours ended up giving you -20 score. You end up with -10.

And all these things, in the end, will decide whether people can trust or rely on you. If you have a positive score in my book, I can trust you easier than those who have negative score. Try giving me a good first and second impressions, and I might trust you and tell you more things. Try screwing up in our first 3 meetings, and I can guarantee that you will not hear much from me ever again.

So if you want to make people trust you, make sure you are on the right side of the border – the positive side. Also, remember that if you get too deep into the negative side of the border, you will need a lot of efforts to rebuild the trust level.

For example, I have a friend who likes to say things which will offend people. He can go around laughing at people’s mistakes, teasing people and just talking nonsense – everyday. He even manages to piss someone off in the office by replying to EVERY Facebook statuses that person put up. He’s way too deep into the negative realm. Even if he treats us very nice now, it’s nearly impossible for him to regain our trust or for him to crawl back into the positive realm.

So if you want people to trust you, you should go out and earn that trust. Be in people’s good book. First good impression will help, but it’s not enough. Always do things which will push you further towards the positive realm.

Good luck!

When teaching a kid, you scold him for doing bad things so that he doesn’t repeat it. But you praise him if he does something good. The next thing you know, he will try to avoid doing the bad things (if he’s a good boy and not the stubborn kind), and will work harder to do the good things. This theory applies to adults too.

If I do something, I don’t expect to be praised because it’s not a normal thing to do in our Asian culture. But it would be nice if people appreciate or compliment a little for the hard work I’ve done. That will tell me I’m actually doing it right, and I will work harder to improve it. And most importantly, I know there are people who appreciate my work.

On the other hand, if all I get is complaint, complaint and complaint (or destructive comment), I might give up on it. It’s the same thing when you scold a child without telling him or her what is wrong, and what he/she should not do.

It’s okay to complaint or to scold, but you must provide a valid reason. Without a valid reason, the person might end up living in fear, and not brave enough to take up new challenges. Thus, limiting the person’s creativity and overall performance.

But compliment or praise should not be used too freely as well. If you do that, it’ll not have the same strong impact anymore.

So choose the appropriate time, compliment the person and show that you appreciate the work done. That will encourage the person to work harder and to achieve greater heights.

Or if there’s something you don’t like, give constructive comments and teach the “child” what should not be done based on your opinions.