2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Alshaya have finally launched their loyalty card called “Privileges Club”. The card will have a number of benefits including automatically entering you into their monthly prize draws, giving you access to exclusive offers, and also offer you something they’re calling “VIP Experiences” where you will be allowed to pre-shop certain sales before the general public does, or get bigger discounts on certain collections.

I signed up to it yesterday while picking up tea from Teavana. It’s an easy process but you need to give them your name, phone number and birthday. I honestly didn’t want to give them my phone number since I didn’t want to get any ads on my phone but the employee told me she would put a note that I didn’t want to receive any messages. That was a complete fail since 15 minutes after leaving the store I got two messages, one welcoming me to the Privileges Club and the other telling me about a Sprinkles Cupcakes offer. I mean I don’t mind these Privileges Club messages every now and then I just hope they don’t give my number to their other Alshaya brands.

A Privileges Club app will be released soon which will allow you to control things such as what kind of SMS’s to get but right now if you want to unsubscribe from any of the Alshaya SMS mailing lists, all you need to do is call Alshaya support up on 1821212 and request to be removed. The process takes 48 hours and you can thank me later.

Update: Right after I published this post I got another message from Alshaya about a Katsuya offer. These messages should hopefully stop by tomorrow since 48 hours would have passed but if they don’t I’m going to end up canceling my card.

If you’re planning on ordering a 3D Printer off the internet you should know that customs have released a new decree stating that all 3D Printers must now be registered with the Criminal Investigations Division (CID). I am assuming this has to do with the fact that it’s becoming possible to print firearms with these printers because I can’t imagine why else the CID would be interested in knowing who owns a 3D printer.

via @forzaq8

In case you haven’t heard, Russell Peters, the popular comedian and actor will be coming to Kuwait next month for a one night comedy event. Tickets went on sale yesterday and they range from KD20 all the way up to KD750 for the VIP section.

There’s been a lot of negative feedback on social media regarding the ticket prices with a lot of people saying they’re too expensive. The thing is I don’t think they are. If you put aside the KD750 for the VIP area, the most expensive ticket is KD60. I’m not sure what people are comparing the prices to but based on my personal experience KD60 for the best tickets in the house is pretty cheap. For example last year I paid KD100 for a Bob Dylan ticket and it wasn’t anywhere close to the stage. I paid KD200 this summer for front row tickets at a Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson concert and I paid another KD200 for a UFC189 ticket that was so far away I spent most of the time watching the fights on the large overhead screens. KD60 for great seats is a pretty good deal for Russell Peters in Kuwait.

Regarding KD750 for the VIP tickets, I called the organizers to get more details about them. Firstly it isn’t KD750 per person, it’s per table and each table holds 5 people so it’s KD150 per person. But according to the organizers these tables are no longer available since they’ve decided to give them away to certain people instead of selling them. So most expensive ticket you can currently buy are the KD60 Platinum ones.

Anyway for those of you who’ve never heard of Russell Peters you can watch the two videos below. For details on the event you can click [Here]

Until Uber comes to Kuwait we’re kinda stuck with alternatives for now and the most recent one I found out about is the Q8 Taxi app. I haven’t ordered a cab with it yet since I haven’t had a need for one, but I have been playing with the app and noticed two interesting things about Q8 Taxi. The first is that there always seems to be a cab nearby. The second is that the taxis they use have working meters. The description under “Car Type” in the app is “Meter Taxi” but I thought that might just be a generic description so I called customer support to confirm their cabs actually use the meters and they confirmed to me that they do. If thats the case then this could be the best app to use until Uber becomes available.

If you’ve used the app before, let me know below of your experience. For those of you who are interested in downloading the app, it’s available for both iOS and Android. [Link]

As you can see from the picture above, the garbage situation in the sand pit behind my house still hasn’t been sorted (it’s been years of me complaining). I’m not sure why it’s so difficult to just add more bins.

But the reason I’m posting about this today is because I wanted to see if you guys could spot something. The picture below was taken this morning after the garbage trucks came. Notice anything?

Yeah the garbage trucks cleaned the garbage on the ground but didn’t empty the trash bins. Back in August I posted a timelapse of the garbage being cleaned up and the trucks were leaving one of the bins full while emptying the other three. Turned out that one of the bins belonged to the previous company that had the garbage contract and the new company, not to cause an issue with the previous company was leaving their garbage bins alone. Really stupid shit but now I have no idea whats going on because all four bins aren’t being emptied and the already terrible garbage situation has become worse.

I just want them to add more bins, clearly the bins in the area aren’t enough since I’ve been talking about this issue for years now. I don’t know, am I asking for too much here?

And for those of you who are going to argue back by bringing Lebanon into this, yes yes Lebanon is a big garbage dump, I know that. But, I think of Kuwait more highly and would rather compare it to the likes of Calagary, Canada’s oil capital instead of Lebanon.

In a recent business event in Kuwait, I asked the audience: “What would you do if one of your employees rushed over to you saying, “There’s a long queue at the counter in the new store”?” Most of them replied, “Open another counter.” The long queue issue disappears and everything is back to normal, right? Wrong. While opening another counter might be a quick fix to minimise the customers’ negative experience, a long queue is a result of an issue, not the issue itself. And without knowing what the actual problem is how can you tell if you have the right solution?There are many reasons why such an incident occurred: the employee may not have been well-trained; he or she is just slow; your process is too long; an IT meltdown; the store is poorly designed; or some customers are queuing for the wrong reasons, just to name a few. To start go to the store with your team and observe. Take pictures and videos if possible. Discussing a long queue is one thing, being there or at least seeing photos of it helps framing the challenge. Next, map the customer journey (and the employees’ too). Breaking down the current customer experience step by step allows you to spot pain points that may have led to the long queue or to even bigger issues. One particular advantage is that it allows you to see the business from the customer’s perspective – a critical tool for innovation and development that many managers and business owners don’t practice enough.

What follows is analysing your value chain, a formal way of referring to your suppliers, vendors, or strategic partners’ interactions with the business. What areas is the business weak in because of the quality of the services you receive from your value chain and what areas are strong because of it? This analysis helps to realistically evaluate solutions. Last step is mind mapping. Basically, layout all the data you gathered and look for insights and repeated patterns that can give you clues for possible solutions.

You might think by now that the steps above are theoretical and needless because you understand your business, your industry and your customers well enough to jump straight into the solution. That’s exactly where you’ll miss great opportunities for development. Innovation is a process that depends on design thinking principles and tools. Not knowing such tools makes managers rely only on their own experiences and intuition, which are great but not enough for sustainable growth. This week’s tip: Only when the right problem is identified can you explore possible solutions.

Post by Loaay Ahmed, a strategic business therapist since 1995. He currently lives and works in London, UK, while earning his master’s in Service Design Innovation, and managing knightscapital in Kuwait. For Loaay’s advice on business or work matters, send a short email to [email protected]. Regrettably, only the questions chosen for publishing will be answered.

A friend messaged me early this morning telling me their pet had passed away during the night. He messaged me because he wasn’t sure what to do with the body. He had considered burying it somewhere but he had read that it was illegal to do so and was hoping I would have an answer for him. Luckily, I had just recently read on Desert Girl’s blog about how the International Veterinary Hospital (IVH) had recently started offering cremation services.

IVH offers two different types of cremation services for your pets. The first option is a standard cremation in which your pet gets cremated with other pets. The cost of this option is KD10. The alternative option is to get an exclusive cremation in which your pet is cremated alone and you are given the ashes to keep. This option is more expensive costing KD23. According to Desert Girl, IVH has urns/boxes you can select from to put the ashes in or you could bring your own box.

Our long time family pet passed away (pictured above) years ago but I still remember how traumatic the experience was. Hopefully the information above will relieve some people of the stress involved with the arrangements involved with their pet. For IVH contact details and a map to their location, here is a link to their [Website]

Shakshooka Market is back again this Saturday (pictured above) and I’m going to be there helping a friend out who’s making delicious Salt Beef Bagel Sandwiches. So make sure you come by, say hi and order a Salt Beef Bagel, our stand will be called “The Untitled Deli”. Check out the full list of events taking place this weekend below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Behind the Crisis
8th Fitness Convention
Pantomime: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Burpees for Humanity
Workshop: Japanese Shibori Tie-Dye
Rooftop Movie: Le Papillon

Friday
Pantomime: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Bungee Jump at Al Kout
Food Truck Festival
AlSalmi Star Gazing Trip
Chill-Out Fridays

Saturday
Pantomime: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Bungee Jump at Al Kout
Food Truck Festival
Yoga at the Park
Shakshooka Market
Workshop: Fabric Printing
Art Night Out
Protein Sheikhas: Bootcamp
Lulwa Piano Concert
Rooftop Movie: Manhattan

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Note: Sometimes events get canceled, postponed or have details changed. I try to make sure all the information is accurate but always double check with the organizers to be sure.

If you’ve already booked a ticket to the Kuwait Champions Challenge then you already know that you don’t get to choose where to sit instead you’re just told if you’re upper level (single men) or lower level (families). You also would have noticed that as a single guy you can only book 1 ticket.

If you’re concerned you won’t be seated with your friends don’t worry about it. According to the organizers, if you arrive to the stadium with your friends then they will seat you all together depending on availability. So try to get there early if you all want to sit together.

If you haven’t booked a ticket yet you will be able to do so today between 4PM to 8PM from [Here]

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ comes out next Thursday (the 17th) here in Kuwait, a day before the US launch. Me and my friends booked tickets yesterday since Grand Cinemas have already started selling them. When we booked last night the theater was fairly empty but I just checked now and it’s filling up pretty quickly (at least the 7:30PM showing). So if you want to catch the premier of Star Wars in Kuwait you should head over to the Grand Cinemas website and book your tickets [Link]

The Kuwait Mooseheads Ice Hockey Team are looking for new members. If you can ice skate and play hockey then this is for you:

Looking for something fun, active and social? Miss those days at the rink? Well you’re in luck, the Kuwait Mooseheads hockey club is looking for new members to join us for our weekly scrimmages. We play twice a week at the ice rink next to Discovery Mall. The club also takes part in international tournaments throughout the year. Full equipment is required, and some experience is necessary. Check us out on Facebook or contact Graham via email at [email protected]

A fight took place earlier this evening during a football game between Al-Jahra and Khaitan. During the match, the manager of the Al-Jahra team attacked the referee due to a disagreement over one of the calls resulting in the chaos you see in the video. Kuwait is already suspended by FIFA so this altercation is definitely not helping. [YouTube]

Thanks Sala6a

Tickets for the 2015 Kuwait Champions Challenge are now available online. The tickets are free but you don’t get to choose where you will sit other than if you’re going to be in the singles section or family section. Once you finish the booking process you’ll be able to print out or email your tickets.

The final list of players on the international team was released and it includes:

Mohamed Aboutrika
Jamie Carragher
Andrea Pirlo
Jens Lehmann
Paul Scholes
Ronaldinho
Robert Pirès
Carles Puyol
Míchel Salgado
Alessandro Del Piero
Gianluca Zambrotta
Luís Figo
Alessandro Nesta
Andriy Shevchenko
Deco
David James
Steven Gerrard

If you’re interested in attending the game you should book your ticket ASAP before they run out from the official website [Here]

Singarea, the Asian supermarket which was located in Dajeej has now moved to a newer and larger location in Shuwaikh. I ran into the owner by chance while I was there yesterday and he gave me a little tour of the place. They were still moving in with workers putting up a sign outside and shop staff busy stacking the shelves inside.

According to the owner they moved to Shuwaikh because the traffic and parking situation in Dajeej was unbearable. They were originally supposed to move to this location last year but due to licensing issues they weren’t able to until now. Their new location is larger and they will soon be setting up a fresh fish section (with fish imported from Japan) as well as their own in house bakery.

For those of you who’ve never been to Singarea before, they sell a lot of Asian products that aren’t available anywhere else. A lot of sushi and Asian restaurants buy their supplies from them. There also used to be a very cute Korean restaurant over the old supermarket but that closed down a few years ago. According to the owner there are sadly no plans to reopen the restaurant at the moment.

If you’re interested in passing by the new Singarea location, search for “Singarea Asian Supermarket” on Google Maps or just use this [Link]. Their phone number is 24912564.

I haven’t been to the animal market next to the Friday market since 2013 but it doesn’t look like anything has changed. Someone recently found the area where the shops were disposing of sick or unwanted pets and it looks horrible. According to the person who posted all the pictures on Facebook, they found 16 cats alive and some kittens sitting on top of their dead mothers corps. It’s depressing how this issue with the animal market is never going to be fixed. Check out the post with more photos [Here]