NU12#2 New business idea - Nelle Canta

New business idea: "CAR BACK HORN"

In driving a manual transmission vehicle, they say that you can be called a real driver once you mastered hanging, backing and parking. The most challenging part here for me was handling a "hanging situation", especially when the car at my back doesn't leave enough space for me to move, just in case my balance with the clutch and gas fails.

This happened to me when I had just learned how to drive. I was about to cross a road, and the road had a small slope. The traffic enforcer signalled me to stop, so I have to press on the brake pads.  When he signalled me to go, I tried mixing the gas and clutch so I could redeem that balance, move forward and not let the engine die. I was in panic mode since the car at my back didn't give me enough space to move. I wasn't able to balance it so my engine died, and my car moved backward. It hit the car at my back, which left some few, minor dents. If I only have a car horn at the back, I could have at least gave a warning signal to that car.

Car back horns would be very helpful in hanging situations. This cannot only be helpful and useful for new drivers but also serves as a safety device. Imagine parking in a busy street, and you need to leave that parking space. When backing, even if you use the car's horn, the people that pass by the back of your car, won't mind or won't notice that you are giving them a warning signal to keep out of your way. You can run over a cat, a dog, or worse, a little kid.

A back car horn should be created by car manufacturers for safety.  It would be even better if we can put lights that can be flashed to tailgaters and those who put their headlights at the brightest level which can totally hurt your eyes, and can also cause accidents.

Another idea is there is a message that you can flash at the back, in a LED light. Examples are the following:

1. Please move away, car is moving backwards.
2. Your headlights are too bright
3. Please keep your distance, "hanging mode".
4. I can't go faster, speed limit is at 100kph only.

In this way, we can clearly communicate with the cars at the back.

NU12#6 What pisses you off in the mall? - Nelle Canta

"WHAT PISSES YOU OFF IN THE MALL"

The 3-day sales in SM Malls are really tempting. I used to be super excited to run to the mall and be the first one to check on the sale items. However, the increasing population makes the shops look like there is a stampede going on. People just keep on entering the shops even if it's very packed already. I hate it more when people keeps on pushing you to move forward and not even say excuse me or say sorry when they have stepped on my foot.

Loud music during sales events is also irritating. They can catch the attention of the people but the music should not be almost on the highest level which can make your eardrums shake.

Another observation is the shop managers should establish a queuing system like a batch of 12 persons which will be given maximum of 20 minutes to look around and shop. Every shopper who will be finished earlier than the prescribed 20 minutes allotment can be replaced by a new shopper. With this system, the shoppers will have convenience in shopping and can avoid the massive crowd which causes hassle. Some shops are already doing this, but I have only noticed this in shops like Lacoste and Havaianas.

Another thing that pisses me off is the little availability of clean restrooms. SM malls have fewer restrooms compared to Ayala malls. They should have a restroom for every alley or every strip. I think the malls should set a standard on the proximity of restrooms. And there should be a standard in the sanitation of the restrooms. Some of the restrooms do not have the trash can inside the urinal cubicle. Malls should have a budget for these trashcans since it is not that costly.

In parking, malls should follow SM's parking system in MOA and Southmall. It is very hard to look for a parking space especially if the parking space is very vast. The light parking space indicator is very helpful as it shows you where the available spaces are, and the taken ones. Green light means available while red light means it's occupied. Whoever invented the green and red light parking space locator is a genius. 3

NU12#5 What pisses you off in the office - Nelle Canta

Ateneo Innovation and Entrepreneurship "New ideas create more and better new products and services; create more wealth."

“WHAT PISSES YOU OFF IN THE OFFICE”

Our company is a sales organization of Avida Land. Being in a sales organization, pessimists are not allowed since we have to spread positivity and eradicate negativity. Negative vibes can be so contagious. One person can actually pull you down, discourage you or brainwash you if you don’t have a firm belief and strong mindset.

In sales we always have to be motivated, so that our sellers will be motivated as well. We have to be resilient, and thrive on challenges. I hate it when people think of negative thoughts first, before they do an action.  Negativity has a domino effect. Once you think of bad thoughts, you will attract negative waves. This will suck out your energy and make you demotivated.

Another thing that pisses me off is people who have long “yosi breaks”, and just slacking around. People who smokes for 30 minutes or more, eats up the time that they are suppose to use to be productive in their work. The company is paying them on an hourly rate and yet these people are wasting their time. Most of these are managers, who are supposed to set a good example to their staffs. These people should be a good role model so that people will emulate them.

Spreading rumours in the office is another pet peeve for me. Most of the employees spend their lunch breaks and merienda breaks talking about people’s personal lives and office “chismis” which consumes a lot of their time. This habit seems to be very viral. People get distracted when one employee started to share a rumour, and everyone will be curious to listen. Sometimes it’s just ok to listen, but others spread the rumours and make it even worse by adding and lessening details on the rumours. Rumours don’t do anything good to the employees.

Bureaucracy is also one of the worst things in an organization. Long processes that make a workflow too long are really irritating. One example is making unnecessary steps before proceeding to what needs to be done. This makes the sales process longer. Clients and sellers are the ones greatly affected on this bureaucracy. The management who is in charge of this process should make a thorough analysis on how to shorten the work flow so the system would be efficient. <what do you suggest? No grade>