Jan 25, 2017
Suzhou to Bengaluru (January 2017)
Not enough content?
Embracing Technology - The Wrong Way!
I've got a nice car insurance policy that gives an OBDII device that can track the car along with reporting other normal parameters that you can get from OBD (I have another OBDII device but it connects to a local system via Bluetooth). Now, to activate this device I need to download an Android app, scan the barcode on the device and install in the car. Simple?
Download app -- oops, country restricted app. Somehow Google Play doesn't think I'm in India so it blocks the app download. Not sure what Google has in mind, but why would the insurance company put this restriction on a free app?
Workaround, set the Play Store to another account I have on my phone which is set to India, app downloads and installs.
Run app, asks for userid and password -- oops, the insurance company did not send one. Shouldn't be a problem, I can just register a new one.
New user -- oops, email is already in use. Phone number is already in use. You exist in the system but nobody bothered to tell you that. All right, they have an option to log in using your Google account. So I'm logged in now. Problem solved?
Policy does not exist in your account. No worries, you can add a policy by clicking here. But why wouldn't you automatically associate the policy if you already have my email and phone associated with the account?
Oh well, add new policy. Policy number is in multiple pieces, each piece goes into it's own little box. Enter premium amount. Why? Apparently it's a security feature. Only a legit customer would know both the policy number and the premium. Right. OK. The premium amount is on the policy document, which is a PDF attachment in my mailbox. Not a problem, entered it. And done. On to the OBDII port?
Nope.
What? Maybe I missed it, back to the list of policies. Nope, nothing there. OK, contact customer service, send email with screenshot. They should be able to fix it right.
Time passes...
3 emails from customer service. Wow. Er... all auto responses. "We are looking into it, will respond as soon as we can, etc. etc." But here's an interesting tidbit - "In case your matter requires immediate attention, you may chat with us instantly on below link, we are available round the clock (24/7)."
My problem is not an emergency, to be honest. So I wait. No further response till the next morning. I do have one more trick to try - they have a web based portal as well. It may have more functionality than the app. (One of my pet peeves, why would you not put everything in the app?)
On the browser, wade through their page looking for a login link. Finally find it (there should really be a standard location for login links, in this case there was a login link right at the top, but it was in the middle of the bar, not to the right like most sites do. I think I should just have asked the browser to search for "login" instead of scanning the text myself; might be a good idea for a plugin?). User id, password. OK, I don't actually have one since I logged in using the Google account the last time. No worries, "forgot password" (the web forces us to lie, I didn't forget the password, I didn't have it to begin with), send password to both email and phone. Wait.
Time passes...
Nothing. Try again... wait... nothing.
Oh well, login with Google again. My policies. Nothing there - click "here" to add new policies. But wait. Validate your phone number first. Click this button to send OTP.
Click. Nothing. Click. Click. Click. 4 OTPs on the phone. How much effort does it take to disable the button after I click on it, or even to show a message that an OTP is on the way?
Enter the last of the OTPs, congratulations, your phone is verified. Now you can add a policy. Same set of data to enter, policy number and either the premium amount or the date of birth of the policy holder. Hmm... not sure I gave DoB in a car insurance policy application, but who knows?
Enter the policy number, enter premium. "Policy Number Already Exist." Nice.
Let's try the chat. Here's the transcript, edited to remove some personal details:
Thanks for contacting Insurance Company. Currently all our representatives were assisting to other customer. Kindly be online, our next available representative will assist you shortly
CustRep
9:42:13 AM
• Good Morning...
You
9:42:20 AM
• Hi.I am unable to add my policy to my online account. The error shown is "Policy Number Already Exist.Please Check Again. "
CustRep
9:42:24 AM
• You are chatting with CustRep
CustRep
9:43:01 AM
• ok sir may i know it is what kind of insurence
You
9:43:15 AM
• Car insurance
You
9:43:20 AM
• Policy number NUMBER
CustRep
9:43:48 AM
• ok sir already have add any other policy in this portal
You
9:43:56 AM
• No
You
9:44:07 AM
• I've logged in today for the first time
CustRep
9:44:23 AM
• ok sir
CustRep
9:44:37 AM
• We regret for the inconvenience caused to you in this regard
CustRep
9:45:06 AM
• may i know your name?
You
9:45:18 AM
• MYNAME
You
9:45:33 AM
• The policy is in the name of NAME
CustRep
9:46:56 AM
• ok sir
CustRep
9:47:50 AM
• plz send the screen shot your error customercare@InsuranceCompany.co.in
CustRep
9:48:13 AM
• our team will be check your details and let you know
You
9:48:34 AM
• OK. I've already done that.
You
9:49:15 AM
• The auto response said I could use chat if I wanted quicker help.
CustRep
9:49:24 AM
• within 3 working you will get the revert back
You
9:50:02 AM
• Thanks. Looks like the chat channel can't do much to help.
Back to square one. Very tempted to change insurance providers once the term is up next year. If I've paid good money for a tracking device I expect it to work. If an auto response says I can use chat, I expect them to be able to help.
I'm thinking there should be a public licensing org that should audit such companies' websites, processes and workflows before they are allowed to launch. I also think users should have to be licensed before they can be let loose on the Web.
Jan 19, 2017
Hyper-V RDP settings
Jan 18, 2017
Cost of Living
Bottled water for the dispenser - CNY 18 per bottle, CNY 50 deposit for the bottle or prepay for 15 bottles and the deposit is waived
Piped gas (cooking and water heater) - CNY 496 for 200 cubic meters
Jan 11, 2017
Bengaluru Traffic Woes
"The state government was left red faced during a session on Innovate, Invent and Invest in Karnataka held at the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas here on Monday as the delegates attending the session complained about the traffic snarls ailing the city and the lack of proper infrastructure for the flourishing industrial ecosystem of Bengaluru."
http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/traffic-thats-the-reason-most-nris-are-cagey-about-investing-in-bengaluru/articleshow/56430815.cms
I think citizens of Bengaluru have been complaining about this for years.
Use your PC as a mobile hotspot
- Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Mobile hotspot.
- For Share my Internet connection from, choose the Internet connection you want to share.
- Select Edit > enter a new network name and password > Save.
- Turn on Share my Internet connection with other devices.
- To connect on the other device, go to the Wi-Fi settings on that device, find your network name, select it, enter the password, and then connect.
Jan 7, 2017
Got on the wrong bus!
I guess it happens when you move to a new city, but I thought it would be difficult to do with modern technology in hand.
I'd gone to see some apartments and one of them was a bit further off than I have been before. It was raining and I finished the apartment viewing at about 9:10pm. It gets dark here at about 5:30pm so after 9 is practically nighttime. There weren't too many people on the streets. I used the maps app to figure out the bus to take me back home and walked down to the nearby bus stop. I saw a couple of buses of the correct number pass me on the way and I realized I may need to wait for some time before the next one turns up. The buses usually have a decent enough frequency but it looks like some buses catch up with the one in front and travel almost together. In any case, I reached the bus stop, closed the umbrella and prepared to wait. As usual, there was another bus stop across the road and I saw another couple of buses of the correct number stopping at that stop but none turned up at mine. A few other buses came, stopped and went off.
It was getting darker and I was getting a bit worried because the buses stop operating at some point at night and I wasn't too sure when. A couple of taxis had passed by which was an option for me, but even those didn't appear later. Finally the correct bus appeared and I got on, swiped my card and found a seat. Which wasn't difficult because there was only one other person on board. The trip back to the hotel would take me more than half an hour so there was plenty of time. As is my habit, I took out the phone to track myself on the map app, and realized I was going in the wrong direction. I wondered if the route had changed (having seen that before when the bus took a slightly different route due to some construction) but it was quickly apparent that it was going in the opposite direction to where I wanted to go.
I thought about getting off at the next stop, which turned out to be the railway station. I got off, made my way to a sheltered spot (remember, it was still raining) and fired up the map again. What had happened was that I had got on the right bus but it was going in the wrong direction. I should have been waiting at the bus stop across the road and should have taken one of the buses that I calmly watched stopping at that stop. I walked around to the location where the map showed the bus back would stop (same bus number) and waited for some time. No buses showed up.
Then I saw a taxi with a green light (meaning it was available) in the distance. It was on a different road, however, and soon vanished. Now, the railway station was deserted and there was no visible taxi stand and the map didn't show any subway station either. Then I decided to walk down to the road where I saw the taxi and see if I could catch one. Remember, it was still raining and it was dark. I walked down and waited at a strategic spot, but no other taxis showed up. Then a bus passed by. It was not the right number, but I saw where it stopped in the distance and saw on the map that it was a bus stop. I walked down till there and decided it was as good a spot at any to wait for a bus or for a taxi. There was sporadic traffic, but no taxis or buses. Finally I saw a bus approaching, and it was the correct number. I checked my bus card and was ready to hop on. Except it didn't stop.
I checked the app again, and to my horror I figured out I was now at the wrong stop. The only stop for that number was back at the railway station and the next one was about a couple of kilometers away. Of course, it also means that had I waited a bit longer at the railway station I would have been on that bus. With no other choice, I walked back to the railway station and waited at the correct spot, hoping that it wasn't too late and the buses were still functional. Finally a bus turned up, I got on and spent the next 40 odd minutes on it, on the way back to the hotel.
Jan 2, 2017
Oh well...
Language
English for the ones in office and hotel. Housekeeping staff doesn't understand much but I don't need more than gestures and basic English to communicate with them.
Jan 1, 2017
Public transport
Buses:
- Bus routes are in an LED display in the front of the bus.
- A lot of bus stops also have upcoming bus numbers displayed on an LED screen on the bus stop too. Very convenient to figure out how long you need to wait.
- Bus stops are typically within a few hundred meters of each other, so in most cases you don't need to walk too far to get to one. There isn't one too close to where I am right now, but it's still walkable.
- Google maps does have mostly reliable data on the routes, but may not have the current data on schedules.
- Bus rates are mostly fixed - 1 yuan for non-A/C buses and 2 for when A/C is on. A/C is on in winters and summers.
- There is nobody other than the driver in the bus, i.e. no conductor or ticket checker. You enter the bus from the front door, make the payment at a console/box next to the driver and go to your seat. Exit from the other door.
- Payment can be in coins, which need to be dropped into the slot of the metal box in front of you as soon as you enter the bus.
- Payment can also be made by the Suzhou Citizens' Card, by touching it to the payment surface near the coin slot. There is a 40% discount for paying by such a card.
- You need to be aware of where to get off, or keep checking your maps app. The bus will stop at each and every stop on the route, regardless of whether someone wants to get on or off (in fact, the driver doesn't really know where you want to get off except if he looks in the mirror to see you waiting).
Subway:
- There aren't as many subway stations as bus stops (obviously), but it's certainly faster via subway to some points in the city since it skips road congestion and travels faster.
- You can always take a bus to the nearest subway station.
- Subway stations have multiple entrances/exits, typically one on each street near the station. You can check your map to figure out which exit is closer to where you need to go.
- Getting a citizens' card makes it very easy to pay for the subway ride - no need to go to the kiosk or counters to buy tickets.
- Enter the station and find the entry/exit points - typically will have a security guard and an x-ray machine for passengers' luggage.
- Touch your card at one of the card readers at the entry point - that will open the gate and record your point of embarkation.
- Figure out which direction you need to go, and wait for the train on that side of the platform.
- The train has indicators inside it to show which station it is at and which are still to come. There are also announcements and LED displays that show the upcoming station.
- Once you get off the train, find your way to the exit and again touch the card to the reader - this opens the gate for you to leave and records where you got off, and presumably deducts the appropriate charge from your card. Apparently there is a 5% discount for using the card.