Crocs for Idlan

We were about to leave Pavilion for the park when the heaven opened again. And it opened big time. Big enough that later that afternoon, SMART tunnel was closed. Luckily we passed through the tunnel half an hour before it was closed. Traffic was still smooth then, and there were no sign of flooding. Yet.

Anyhow, the change of plan as far as the park was concerned cost me money. Idlan had outgrown his last Croc, and wanted a new one. But we had a bit of an issue. The biggest children size was too small, and the smallest Junior size was too big.

We went for the bigger one and it looked like he would have to wear socks to fit in for the next few months. In terms of choice, the Croc shop at Pavilion proved disappointing. There was not much choice in terms of models, and they ran out on some of the sizes. For such a busy outlet, they should make provisions, or at least move to a bigger store. But well, who am I to tell them how to do their business. At least, they had enough staff to cope with the number of customers.

New Croc

The new Croc - same with Irfan'sMy trusty old red Disney Croc has served me well. I bought it almost three years now, and had been wearing them almost daily. The soles were all worn out as you can see from the picks, but the hinge on the cover was still perfect. Excellent pair of shoes, comfortable and tough. Among the best RM150 I ever spent. So it was time to part again from another RM150 for a new pair. Since I have some vouchers from buying my father’s pair from last week, I might as well buy them.

Look at the old one - sole completely worn out. Accident waiting to happen!Last weekend, I went to a branch of Croc retailers at IKANO and was really disappointed by the service - the staff kept ignoring myself and Puan Anita for a bunch of old fat expatriate with bimbo young Malaysian girlfriends. We finally given up when it turned out that they did not have the particular model that I wanted. Well, they might do but couldn’t be bothered to find them for me. The sad thing was, my Dad wanted a pair, and I bought it for him, and still the service did not improve. At least they were consistent. Treat Malaysian badly! Gave a piece of my mind at the check-out and the boy was startled that I expressed my feelings bluntly - plus a quick email to the branch manager the next day, who ‘promised to look into the matter and will always strive to provide the best service to all their our customers’. Bull!

The branch I visited this time was in Bangsar Village, and the service was miles better. Apparently it was run by a different franchise. The selection was a lot better despite smaller shop foot print. One query and the salesperson found the pair I wanted straight away. Sold! Better still, seeing how well they treated me, Puan Anita bought another pair for her and Irfan. Now, that’s how you do business! You be nice to your customers even if they are Malaysian, because they may have purchasing power as well!

So , I am now a proud owner of a new pair of Croc. So did Irfan and Puan Anita. We got a matching pairs for me and Irfan as well! He has been running around with them so far. As for my old pair ….. I think I should just keep in the cupboard. Yes, it can be slippery to wear at times, but it was still wearable. Maybe I’ll keep it for going to the beach at Port Dickson, and leave them at the apartment.

Just to prove that we really go way back;

In Cherating, December 2008

In Sungai Petani, May 2009

Shopping at Mid Valley

Doing what it does best, by the beach in Port Dickson

Marche!

It has been a while since we frequented Marche or even The Curve itself. We did it today and I took my parents along for lunch there. My sister and her children also went along and the children really had a good time, running around all day. Wondered when they would get tired. We initially settled in for lunch at Marche. Yes, the pizza was back! One of our cousin now works there and he prepared the Margarita for the boys. I had my steak, parents had their chicken cops, etc. Puan Anita did her shopping at the Sunday market there. We then walked over to the Croc shop at IKANO, but disappointingly, the sandal I wanted was out of stock. Bought a pair for my Dad as he wanted one, and then did some groceries. The children then had another session at the playground at IKANO.

Yums!My sister, JuliaPizza lovingly prepared by our cousin, ArifAlmost done!The market today was rather quiet compared to the ones before. Maybe it was the time of the year, it was Easter Sunday after all. The place was usually buzzing during festivities, as the management really made the effort to decorate the place. Nothing much going on today.

Idlan and Irfan, running around with their cousin, NanaMore runningAnd then the carWe finally left just after 4 pm, heading to Bukit Antarabangsa to join my parents.

Back at Bukit Abtarabangsa playing with YayaI was still sleepy when I got to my parents place. I stayed up to watch more football match even though the main one ended disappointingly with Manchester United getting beat by Chelski! I could vouch that it was all down to the linesman’s myopia. How could he missed the offside on Drogba’s goal? Scandalous! My Mum prepared the evening coffee while I settled down for Formula 1. Haha! Schumacher’s engine burst! Well done! Vettel finally won a race after deserving so in the last couple. We were lucky that the race was not spoilt by the evening rain again like last year.