After ‘biggest’, ‘highest’, and ‘tallest’ claims, DXB has one more addition to its every growing “est” list – Richest!
Now, over to Qatar/Doha 
Dubaiiiii
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Monthly Archives: April 2007
More over quads, Sand-X is here
Sand-X is the new high performance sand-vehicle to hit Middle East markets very soon. Sand-X is touted as the fastest and safest sand vehicle on the planet. The vehicle is set to accelerate from 0 to 60mph in less than three seconds, and has a top speed of over 120mph. The machine is fitted with a special cooling system to suit Middle East conditions. Manufactures claim that due to very low point of gravity, a roll-over like it happens very often in quads, is highly impossible.
Some snapshots of Sand-X:
Musical chair
Argentinian Gabriel Calderon (R) shakes hands with Oman’s Football Association President Saif bin Hashil al-Maskeri after signing a contract to manage the Omani national football team.
New Bahrain National Football coach Czech Milan Macala (R) poses with president of Bahraini football federation Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa. (Pics courtesy: AFP)
One bad match in Gulf Cup cost Milan Macala his job as coach of the Oman football team. After two months, he’s bagged a new job as coach of Bahrain. Ditto with Gabriel Calderon, the present Oman coach. He was with Saudi Arabia, and was unceremoniously dropped in December 2005. Tomorrow it could be Macala in Qatar and Calderon in UAE. I don’t understand why soccer associations in the AGCC pick coaches who have already done duty for their rivals in the region. Macala would know weaknesses and strengths of Omani players, and likewise Calderon of Saudi players. If they are in the business for 6-8 years in the region, I wonder what freshness or strategy they can provide after a point.
Welcome aboard
The ad that appeared in English dailies today.
Bank Sohar, Sultanate’s new commercial bank, commenced operations today. I am sure their marketing blitz would have cost them a fortune –– daily ads in local newspapers for the last one week and also small hoardings across streets on the D-Day. It will be interesting to watch their strategies in a market dominated by old players like Bank Muscat and National Bank of Oman. All the best, Bank Sohar!
Sub-Standard Chartered
Juicy leaflets. Out-of-the world promises. Another bank. Another credit card story. I had applied for a Standard Chartered credit card sometime back, and then the rep had promised me a credit limit of two times or at least one-and-a-half times my gross salary. Happily I agreed. One fine day, the card arrives, and when I check the credit limit, it is just as my salary!
Shocked, I called the rep who did all the sweet talking in the beginning. Her reply: please call Mr.xxx and clarify your doubt. I tried his number, but he is not reachable. Instead, I dialled the customer service number only to be told that after six months the limit ‘can’ be extended depending on the usage. I had heard “great stories” on Standard Chartered, but now I have seen it unfold firsthand!
Interview@Editors Weblog
The Editors Weblog has done a story on the website I am involved with. The reporter had sent me a questionnaire in the last week of February after he got to know that we had won the Gold Award in the Oman Web Awards in mid-February. After nearly a dozen mails to and fro, the story took shape, and was finally published on April 3. I must confess the European scribes are non-compromising when it comes to quality.
Editors Weblog is published by the World Editors Forum (WEF), the prestigious forum for journos world over. Infact, WEF is the organisation for Editors within the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
Here is the link for the story:
Customer (s)care
I dialled 1318, Omantel’s directory enquiry services, a couple of days back to find out the telephone number of a popular restaurant in Al Khuwair. The conversation with the call center agent (CCA) went on like this:
CCA: Salam alaikum, may I help you, sir?
Me: Hello. Can you please provide me the contact number of the restaurant xyz.
CCA: Can you spell out the restaurant name, please?
Me: Yeah sure. X for …, Y for…, Z for…
CCA: Which area?
Me: Al Khuwair
After one minute…
CCA: Here is your number. Thank you for calling Omantel….the number you have requested is…. Itnan, arbah…..
Unfortunately, the CCA has pressed the Arabic version of the automated response.
Me: Grinning, dial 1318 again…
Well, all the more reasons to learn basic Arabic!
Hats off to ROP
Today, I stepped into the ROP office in Qurum to renew my vehicle registration card (mulkiya), and was amazed at the pace wherein I could manage to renew it in just five minutes. Compared to last year, a new token system has been introduced this time around, and the unit gels well with efficient staffers.
The ‘cool’ experience made me forget the agonizing 40 minutes I spent at the insurance company for renewal early in the morning. All is well that ends well!
Think it over
“A dream is not what you see in sleep. A dream is what does not let you sleep.”
– A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India
(Source: Churumuri)