Renovating an industrial premise [2]

I had a difficult time to find a contractor to renovate my industrial premise. Most of them quoted over $70,000 to renovate and furnish a premise of 1,600 s.f, of which only 1,300 sf need to be furnished.

I finally decided to scale down the work and managed to appoint a contractor at a more affordable cost. It still cost a lot of money, including the fee of $3,500 payable for "fire safety".  I sent my feedback to the Pro-Enterprise Panel, but they have still not acknowledged it after a few days.

Over the past few days, I have to signed many forms to different agencies. It seems to be quite complicated and time consuming to fill up these forms.

It is a hassle to apply to open an account for utilities. The form asked me to state the KVA of the power supply. I am not an engineer, so I do not know how to provide this information. My staff called the hotline of Power Supply and was told to get the KVA from the developer. The call to the developer's office was answered by someone who does not know the KVA. They will get someone to call back. I bet they will forget about calling back, which is quite typical of the standard of customer service in Singapore.

The form also asked for the date of incorporation of my company. I do not understand why this information is needed by Power Supply. So, I have to call my company secretary to find out this information.

Singapore has bred many people who are insensitive to the hassle and expenses cause to other people through their requirements. Some of these cost are imposed directly (through the fees that have to be paid), and some are borne indirectly (through the wasted time and work).

I shall write to the Pro-Enterprise Panel again. I do not expect them to acknowledge my feedback, but I will still write.

Tan Kin Lian