Let me start with the simple things first. I renewed my passport and was very impressed with the efficiency of the entire process although there was one thing that irked me. I received the notification that my passport was going to expire in February 2015 in the month of May 2014. "Why so kiasu?" some of you might ask. There is a very valid reason for that. Most countries require travellers to have a passport with a validity of at least 6 months before they allow entry across their border. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) warned me about that in their letter. ICA is also very aware of procrastinators like me! I didn't take action until late July. Why did I not take action? I have nothing but a lame excuse that I was travelling a lot for work during May. I had to follow up on the travels when I returned. I have already said it was a lame excuse.
By the time I decided that I couldn't delay the process, I faced the challenge of a photo. Although I knew that you cannot submit a selfie for a passport photo, I didn't realize it had to be taken against a white background with your eyebrows and ears clearly visible. You couldn't have any shadows either. So I don't know the power of Photoshop or other similar software. I went to one of those self service machines and found out it was $7 for a set of photos. I decided it was not worth the money because you only have one shot at the photo. After attempting to ask the hubby to take a photo for me, I decided that keeping my marriage happy for $7 was a very cheap price to pay.
I went to a shop at Toa Payoh to have my photo taken for $8 (soft copy only). I could choose the one which didn't make me look like a troll (see the value add with the extra $1?) and pick up the drive in 15 minutes. I went home and submitted my online application to renew my passport on the same day. Since it was already August, I was obviously a little anxious. After 3 days, I made an online enquiry and saw instructions for me to submit a hard copy of my photo! I was unhappy. Over the weekend, another 3 days later, I took the drive and went to a shop at Yishun to print 4 copies for $8. I should have had more faith in our government service. When I went home to print the instruction page for submitting the photo, I saw that my passport was ready for collection in 2 days. If I had the sense to check before I printed the photos, I could have saved $8. It was a lesson well learnt.
I made an appointment to collect my passport online and was prepared for a long wait even though ICA encouraged me to arrive within 15 minutes of my appointed time to avoid a long wait. I drove to the ICA building and was horrified that the car park was full. But I managed to secure a lot out of sheer luck when someone pulled out of his lot a couple of minutes after I put on my hazard lights. I walked to the building, followed the instructions and went to collect my queue number on level 2. I walked into the waiting hall, queue number in hand, and groaned inwardly because there were a lot of people seated in the hall. What happened end was unbelievable. The moment I stepped into the hall, my number was called! I walked up to the counter and collected my passport in about 5 minutes. All I had to do was inform the officer that I didn't have any other citizenship (why would I when I'm Singaporean?), had both thumb prints taken and sign an acknowledgement form. I was informed that the remaining period on my old passport was added to the 5 year validity of my renewal. I was in and out of the place in under 15 minutes.
I was very impressed with the entire process which was very efficient. Barely 2 weeks later, I was given another opportunity to observe the efficiencies of the system. I had to bring Keane to the polyclinic to obtain a referral letter (more of that in another post). The nearest polyclinic was in Yishun (see how ulu Sembawang is?). I took leave to bring him to the polyclinic, remembering how long queues used to be, on a Friday that was a school holiday. The polyclinic opens at 8am. I tried to make an appointment online at 7.30am but found that he is not registered with the polyclinic and my own ID was linked to my old mobile number. I called the customer service line at 8am and managed to get through after less than 5 futile attempts. It was evident I'm not the only one trying to be an early bird. The customer service officer who helped me register Keane and obtain an appointment was very helpful and efficient. I not only updated my mobile number but managed to obtain an appointment for 9.40am. The officer requested that I arrive at 9.30am for the registration process. Upon arrival, Keane was registered, including having his weight taken, within 5 minutes.
I was a bit lost in the polyclinic since we usually go to the GP on my company panel. But I managed to go to the right hall and we were in front of the doctor in less than 5 minutes. The doctor asked me questions, I gave her Keane's background and she spoke to him all within 10 minutes. The doctor decided to give us a referral letter to the Child Development Unit for autism and speech therapy, instead of only speech therapy that we came for. The education psychologist at the school was going to observe Keane before making a recommendation for autism. I'm digressing and divulging too much from my next post!
We went to the main hall to make payment and collect the referral letter. Everything was completed in about 10 minutes. I was extremely impressed that we didn't have to spend more time than necessary in the polyclinic. Call me paranoid but isn't that where a lot of germs can be found?
My point by sharing the 2 incidents above is to give kudos to the government service in being efficient where customer service is concerned. Being from a service industry myself, the importance of satisfactory customer service is ingrained in me. I was actually very proud when I went through the system on 2 occasions and found that I had a very pleasant experience. Why proud? Because I am Singsporean lah!
Happy 49th Birthday Singapore!
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