Systems and processes are created for a reason. That there may be an order to the way things are done. And if everyone follows this order in the right manner, life would be so much better; increased efficiency, zero confusion, added value, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

When I was dropping Sam off at Puduraya the other day, I was so cheesed off with what I observed and experienced first hand from some of the bus operators and drivers from K*nsorti*m. Mind you, K*nsorti*m is one of the major provider in this field!

The Puduraya bus terminal has undergone a massive facelift and it seems to be quite a good progress or improvement from the past. Bus schedules of all the different bus operators and the different destinations bound are listed on screen, implemented to the likes of LCCT and KLIA. The huge, clean, comfortable, air-conditioned waiting area and automated sliding doors to the boarding area was pretty impressive honestly!

So 15 minutes before Sam's bus was due to depart, we both went down to the boarding area to look for the designated bus as projected on the screen earlier. It says P19 (Platform 19) , PFT 6688. When we got down, the specified bus was not at sight. A different one was. So naturally, passengers began asking the Konsortium staff if this is the bus. That fella confidently said "No, this is not the bus. Go to the double decker bus outside of the Puduraya Terminal. That's the bus to your location." Since he said it with such confidence, and considering that he is a Konsortium staff, of course people would take his word for it. So everyone went out of the platform area to the double decker buses waiting just outside of Puduraya. Upon getting there, the bus clearly stated "To Kamunting". Ok, i'm starting to get a weird feeling about this. And so i told Sam something isn't right. Cause it just doesn't feel right. His bus was suppose to depart at 5.00pm. But we've been standing around the area till 5.20pm and the bus driver was making no attempts to even start the engine! So we walked a little further and say 2 Konsortium guys in uniform and decided to ask them. (Again, because they wore the uniform, they would be considered a reliable source for information). We told him the entire situation, saying that we're suppose to board PFT 6688 bound for Penang according to the screen but we were directed here. Is this the bus? How come it's different? That dude said "Oh, memang macam itu. Tak boleh ikut skrin punya. Sistem itu untuk tunjuk saja." So i asked him back. "Kalau tak boleh ikut skrin, kenapa ada sistem canggih macam ini tapi tak ikut?" He replied "Biasalah".

His explanation still left me feeling very unsettled, and very worried, considering what happened int he recent Cameron Highlands bus crash and also because I didn't want Sam missing his bus back due to boarding the wrong bus. Anyway, because parking in Puduraya was so expensive, I had to rush to quickly exit the parking, before they charge me an additional RM2.80 for exceeding the hour by 5 mins. Despite the paranoia and skepticism, I had to leave with faith that he will be alright, and so will the bus be. After I left, thankfully Sam decided to clarify with another guy sitting around nearby who seemed like the bus driver and guess what? The driver said "No, this bus does not go to Penang." Sam quickly ran into the platform in Puduraya, where the bus was designated to be initially, and guess what again! PFT 6688 was there this time. The system works! The buses do follow this system!

Now, why do we deserve to be angry? Here's why. Despite procedures and processes being established for the improvement of current operations, some people and companies are just plain lazy to follow, for plain dumb reasons - the typical too-complacent-to-change syndrome. And it was thanks to these kind of people, that got us (and probably many many more) misled to think that the new system is a flop, as expected of many government projects. They do not realize that a possible consequence to their foolish action and mindset is the real hindrance of EFFECTIVE operational progress and improvement.

It is also thanks to people like these that the country can't develop as progressively as it should. And this applies to work as well! In every corporation/SME, there will be people like these. And as long as they are not made (be it forced or gently) to change, they will continue to be like this, continue to affect others to being like them too, and therefore, keep this undesirable attitude in existence, which slowly mutates into a culture, carried on from one generation to another.

The core change that needs to be done is not so much of the operating system - it is the MINDSET of the "operators".