The unbearable lightness of being a Creative fan

It's really tough being a Creative fan. Some people think you are crazy, most don't understand your obsession but you still do what you do although it's a thankless job really. You faithfully buy their (almost) every product, you try to promote the products through word of mouth or if you're absolutely crazy, you set up a blog dedicated to everything Creative.

However, an encounter at the Creative Store at the International Business Park today left me disheartened. I know in many parts of the world, Creative do not have a physical store selling only Creative products. In these areas, Creative rely mainly on its online store or authorised retail partners to sell its products. Therefore, many Creative fans around the world, who do not have the opportunity to come to Singapore to have a look at an actual Creative store will be able to – from a few pictures posted on this blog.

There were no signages or notices noticeable in the store that says “photography is prohibited”. I kept in mind what Creative's CEO Mr Sim Wong Hoo once said about NUTS (No U-Turn Syndrome) where "when you want to do something and you seek approval of a higher authority. When there is no rule saying that you can do such a thing, then the standard answer is NO … When there is no rule, we cannot do anything. We become paralyzed.". Since there were no signs saying that I cannot take pictures, it simply means that I can do so until I'm told not to. No?

After taking a few shots of the products display, one Creative staff (who was walking round and round observing me) finally drummed up the courage to approach me to tell me that photography wasn't allowed in the store before asking me my intentions. I politely told him that the photos were for my blog, a Creative fan site. He smiled and nodded his head and left. He went back to the counter and were whispering something to his colleague while looking at our direction. I didn't really care much about it and went back to look for the webcam that I wanted to buy.

To tell you the truth, I could spend the whole day at the store, trying out every one of the products or simply just ogle at the packaging. But I really can't do it when the sales people are keeping such a close watch on us as if we are planning to shoplift their ... erm I can't think of any products that people would want to steal. Just as we were at the webcam booth trying out the various cam's resolution, the same person approached us again, trying to peek into what we had in our hands (2 webcams btw) and asked us if we needed help. I proceed to ask him why one of the webcam's video quality was so mediocre and he fiddled with it for a moment (which did nothing to improve the quality) and then went on to tell me that it's because that laptop is using Vista, so the quality is abit laggy and something about the video isn't supposed to be stretched till this big therefore causing the pixelation. From that short conversation, I now know that Creative's webcams are not competible with Windows Vista (which is not true btw) and lousy (which is subjective). Well done!

In the end, I decided to get the Live! Cam Notebook Pro so I proceed to the counter to pay for my purchase. Just as the guy was processing my payment, that guy who served us suddenly reappeared behind the chashier and whispered something to him and promptly floated away. I REALLY CANNOT STAND THE WHISPERING/BITCHING. Anything just say lah. The next moment, the chashier handed me a piece of paper and pen and ask me to write down my blog so that "he can answer to his PR people". (Actually, I didn't know cashiers liaise with the PR department you know? Now that you do, maybe you do have alot to answer for.)

Upon seeing the "nothingbutcreative.blogspot.com", he went: "Oh, you're the one with the unboxing of the ZEN X-Fi right?" I nodded and smiled, thinking someone actually knew my blog! Until he say: "Your blog quite popular but brought us alot of trouble. People think that the (ZEN) X-Fi is a gimmick and we had a very hard time explaining." [-_-] I presume he was referring to the "Is there really an X-Fi chip in the ZEN X-Fi?" part of my ZEN X-Fi review. Dude, consumers deserve to make an informed decision when buying a product. If the ZEN X-Fi really does contain an X-Fi chip then why don't you just say it. If yes, I will be more than happy to update that information on this blog, if not, I will stand by what I say.

I know this might not be a very big issue but good customer service is paramount to Creative, a company that pride itself to provide the best technical support. I feel that some sales staff of Creative just do not have pride for their job. They should really read what Mr Sim Wong Hoo has written in the article No U-Turn Syndrome (NUTS) from his book Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium. Especially the NUTS #6 - More Creative NUTS section. It's a pity that I have to experience such bad service, if it was others, I'm sure they will not patronize that particular Creative Store again. However, I do have very good experience shopping at the other two Creative Stores especially the Marina Square brunch. The staff there are so much more friendly and knowledgeable. Is it due to the fact that these two brunches are not operated by Creative. Com'on Creative, as the flagship store at the headquarters, the level of service should have been nothing but world class.

Photos taken today:

UPDATE:

I messaged Creative about the ZEN X-Fi chip in the ZEN X-Fi and this is what they say:

Dear Kingone,

With regards to your enquiry, you might wish to know that the Zen Xfi contains the Xfi Technology within the player and not a physical Xfi chip.

Best Regards,

Trixy

Customer Support Services

Creative Labs Asia