Pakistan Post - My Story

Last week I visited "Pakistan Post" after a long time. I used to go there 8-10 years back but only to submit utility bills. In my recent visit I went there to post a package from Karachi to Lahore. I was there for just 10 minutes and in that short time I become excited and concerned at the same time. My package is safely delivered to the destination location and I am happy for that but at the same time I feels a bit uneasy about the whole process.

-  Still old:
When I entered the "Pakistan Post" branch near Disco Bakery Gulshan-e-Iqbal, the whole setup refreshes the old memories and it's the same what I saw 10 years back. Old styled broken chairs and tables, not clean, some chairs are not broken but have "pan peek" on them etc. Anyway the good thing was that I didn't had to wait there as I was the only customer at that time.

+  The old guy:
The person who welcomes me is an old guy and through out the process he remains so polite. No artificial dialogs, straight forward and too the point.

-+ Clothed Bag:
The old guy starts putting my package items in a clothed bag. This is where I start thinking of why he is doing this. I thought he just want to weight the package by putting all the items in a clothed bag. But he started to adjust the items properly in the bag as this is how they will send the package. So I ask him about this and he said yes your package will be delivered in this bag. Since it was a clothed bag I got a bit worried as if the items will remain safe or not. The good thing about the clothed bag is the flexibility. The items that I want to deliver are not fitting in the basic carton box used by TCS. Even in a bigger TCS box they have to force fit the items, that's why I did not go with the TCS.

- Sewing:
The most interesting part of the whole process. The guy had to sew the clothed bag mouth with the needle and thread with his hands. There is no doubt that the old guy is so perfect in sewing but my concern is why he was doing it. Even if they have no other option than to sew the bag they can have a sewing machine to do it for them.

- Postal address:
They ask me to write a destination address and contact details on that clothed bag using a marker. I am not sure if they entered this address in there system or not but it was so weird for me.

+ Cost:
For the same package what was costing around 2000 PKR through TCS the Pakistan Post charged only 300 PKR. That's a serious difference.

+ Technology:
After the whole process is done they give me a payment receipt with a sticker on it having some serial number written on the sticker. The old guy told me that I can track my package from that serial number using there online portal and also using there mobile app. I was not expecting that but yes they have it and it was also showing the correct package details on there portal.

+ Promise:
They promise to deliver my parcel in 2 days and they fulfilled it. The package reached the destination safely in 2 days.

I really appreciate the services provided by Pakistan Post and will be using there services in the future. My suggestion to Pakistan post is to improve there premises and the process of initial customer interaction. I bet people will only use Pakistan Post if they feel comfortable going to there premises. Best of luck to them.

rizzz86

Karachi, the upgraded one !

I last visited Karachi just a year ago and I feel dramatic positive change in Karachi in my current visit. Following are my observations:

• The scary mode in Karachi public is gone. They looks more energetic and motivated.

• Business is back and people are keen to invest in different sectors.

• Too many food places. People are investing in food centers most commons are Pizza outlets, BBQ's and Fast foods.

• Technology acceptance in small business which includes general stores, food chains, clinics etc.

• Chingchis are gone. Makes traffic a bit better

Hope things will become much better in coming time and the true potential of Karachi will rise.

rizzz86

A Step Forward - Working abroad now !

After working for more than six years in different software companies of Pakistan, now its time to move forward and accept the opportunity to work abroad. This is my first experience to work overseas and live without family. I hope I will settle in the new environment soon.

I moved to Bahrain in mid August 2013 and joined a software company 01 Systems WLL (ZOS).

"Since its establishment in 1986, 01 Systems has become a pioneer in implementing complex, customized software solutions coupled with comprehensive professional services like Consultancy and Systems Integration to successfully optimize core business processes."

The company is established in the same year when I was born. With over 25 years of services in software industry the company is well established and has solid software products in market. It is a good chance for me to work on these large scale products and add my experience to them as well.

I hope everything will go smoothly and this will become a worthy experience in my career.

rizzz86

Night stay @ Shangrila Farmhouse with RIKSOF

As always, this is another very memorable hang out with RIKSOF and this time it is at Shangrila Farmhouse. It is not too far from city and its only a 20 minute drive from 4K last bus stop (see map).

Click to see photos.

Facilities Includes:

• Bedrooms : 3 superior rooms with A/C .Each of the rooms has a luxury bathroom, TV with satellite and is individually designed to include everything you could wish for.
• Sitting area : (based on Shahi Takhat)
• Indoor Games : (Snooker, Hand football ,Dabuu, Enough space to play cricket matches as well)
• AAbshar : (Beautiful Natural look of AAbshar)
• Bar B Q And full Goat Roast area
• Children Arena : (different types of rides for children)
• Swimming Pool : (ideal pool size 25 x 50 with filter plant)
• Lush Green Garden : (Beautiful Garden with quantity of different flowers and decorative items)
• Standby generator, Security Guard, Mosquito free Environment

rizzz86

Visit to Kirthar National Park

Kirthar National Park was founded in 1974 and stretches over 3087 km², being the second largest National Park of Pakistan. Last week we got a chance to visit this park as an official tour. The trip was pleasant and leaves some good memories that are captured in images. Click on this link or image to find pics.

Karachi Cattle Market 2012

Click on the above image to view the VIP part of cattle market (Cow Mandi) in Karachi.

rizzz86

Dinner at Savor Restaurant

The 'Food n Cruze' idea of Savor is a unique one and last week we have planned to Enjoy the Buffet in Savor with Cruise Ride. Click here to see the slideshow.

rizzz86

Amir, Asif & Salman - From Hero to Zero

Pakistani cricketers are again under a controversy and this time it is a serious one - the FIXING case :|

The trio who are Hero of last week are now Zero. In my last blog I am really excited of Pakistan's fighting win over England and now I am not much interested to even watch a cricket match.

Is it a non-professionalism or a trap or anything else - the trio-players has taken part in this show of money. The future of these players is still not clear and are at stake. But as a Pakistani I am still hoping these players will not have a life ban and will play cricket after completing their punishments.

rizzz86

Pakistan beat England after 9 Years

A victory dedicated to the flood victims of Pakistan.

Pakistan beat England in England after 9 years in a Test Match is another huge achievement by a rookie team within a month. Previously they beat Australia after 15  years in a Test Match.

A good team work by Pakistani bowlers as well as batsmen has done the work for Pakistan. Taking a first inning lead and excellent comeback by Paki bowlers in the 2nd innings has provided them a victory. There are lots of moments and achievements in a match that really boost the team moral. Some of them includes 1) Wahab Riaz's superb debut 5 wicket hall, 2) M. Yousuf solid comeback in a International side, 3) M. Amir becomes the youngest bowler to take 5 wicket hall in England in a Test Match and become a Man of the Match, 4) Saeed Ajmal's Spin magic, 5) Azhar Ali's unbeaten rock knock of 92* in the first innings and 6) Kamran Akmal's shocking 8 catches to reach his 200 dismissals in a Test Match.

Also a big relief for a new captain Salman Butt to still remain in the series. We all are hoping to win the Lord's Test to level the series.

Yousuf is a class act.

rizzz86

Flood Relief Update Link

Following link contains the activities performed by a group of people ( from IT/Software Industry of Karachi) for flood victims:

http://floodreliefupdates.blogspot.com/


rizzz86

Cricket - Rookie Paki Beat Aussies in Tests "Unbelievable"

At last Pakistan has proved that they are now better than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe after beating Australia once in last 15 years. The hard fought three wicket win over Aussies boost the team's confidence and allow the rookie captain "Salman Butt" to retain his captaincy role.

When you look at the Pakistani team, currently they are the most weakest team in the history of Pakistan cricket. There are no bowling option for Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain, Mushtaq etc - even than they can able to bowl Aus out on 88. Also the worst ever batting line-up missing Saeed, Inzamam, Yousuf, Younus etc - even than they can able to chase the target (credit goes to the bowlers).

Early Captaincy Role:
Salman Butt is very early for Test match captaincy but he has to take this responsibility. The practice for assigning captaincy role to some one who is early in his career stages is not bad for some teams - for example we have Smith for SouthAfrica, Strauss for England and Dhoni for India. But these three players have proved themselves as a right captain with their performances. We are also expecting same from Butt.

I have gathered some numbers/stats of the match that are as follows:

The Age Factor:

Australia:
Shane Watson (29), Simon Katich (34), Ricky Ponting (35), Michael Clark (29), Michael Hussey (35), Marcus North (31), Tim Paine (25), Steven Smith (21), Mitchell Johnson (28), Ben Hilfenhaus (27), Dough Bollinger (29)
Total Sum = 323
Average Age = 29.3

Pakistan:
Imran Farhat (28), Slaman Butt (25), Azhar Ali (25), Umar Amin (20), Umar Akmal (20), Shoaib Malik (28), Kamran Akmal (28), Mohammad Amir (18), Umar Gul (26), Danish Kaneria (29), Mohammad Asif (28)
Total Sum = 275 (Not even a single player exceeds Australia's average age)
Average Age = 25

Test Matches Played:

Australia:

Shane Watson (20), Simon Katich (52), Ricky Ponting (146), Michael Clark (62), Michael Hussey (52), Marcus North (17), Tim Paine (2), Steven Smith (2), Mitchell Johnson (36), Ben Hilfenhaus (11), Dough Bollinger (10)
Total Sum =  410
Average Matches = 37

Pakistan:
Imran Farhat (35), Slaman Butt (29), Azhar Ali (2), Umar Amin (2), Umar Akmal (8), Shoaib Malik (30), Kamran Akmal (50), Mohammad Amir (10), Umar Gul (28), Danish Kaneria (60), Mohammad Asif (19)
Total Sum = 273
Average Matches =24.8


This is what talent and spirit is all about. Pakistan has beaten Australia that are much better as the stats suggests.

rizzz86

Night Stay @ Hawksbay

rizzz86

PHET in Karachi

Hingol National Park - Beautiful Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shahaliani/sets/72157594378329743/show/with/337218867/



rizzz86