The High Cost of Service! - December 14, 2007

Today (Friday) our “inherited mechanic,” Aman, came over to our place at GCB Court with the plan to quickly replace the main bulb in our left headlight. Upon close examination, he discovered:
1. that the new bulb he had brought with him was the wrong one, and
2. that the space under the hood where he needed to work was extremely tight, making the work frustrating, long, and laborious.

So, after a trip on his motorcycle to the parts store to get the right bulb and 1½ hours of labor, he presented me with the bill for RM100—slightly over $30 ($24 for replacement bulbs in both headlights, along with 2 small bulbs for the “dims” + $6 for labor). I figure that $4 an hour for a mechanic isn’t too bad—especially when that includes a house call!

By the way, our Rover sedan, presumably made in Australia and not to be confused with a Land Rover, is quite rare in Kuala Lumpur. In fact, we have yet to see another one! But for a $2500 initial investment for an ’97 model with the odometer showing slightly over 110,000 km, it looks like we can afford some repair costs to keep it on the road.

My other interesting experience on this Friday, the last day of school before Christmas break, was a walk to the Ampang Point shopping center to get a haircut. I went to the same place where I’d had my last haircut (RM18 or $5.42). After going upstairs in the nice air-conditioned beauty salon, I was asked if I’d also like a shampoo with the haircut. Hearing from others about this legendary experience, I said “yes” and was told that the cost for both would be RM30 (about $9.05). The shampoo started out in the barber chair with sudsy shampoo being artfully worked-into my hair and scalp. That experience probably lasted at least 5 minutes. Next was a very relaxing shoulder and neck massage, followed by a massage of my back. Then to another room where I reclined in something like a dentist chair for the warm-water rinse. Delightful. Following that, my hair was blow-dried prior to the haircut. Compared to my normal experience in Oregon where a haircut lasted 15 minutes or less, this wonderful sensory experience took at least 45 minutes and was definitely a new cultural experience for me.