Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Me Speak No French

Tan Ah Beng receives an invitation for a party on the 20 December 2005, and it is clearly stated on the invitation card that he needs to RSVP by 10 December. This will give the host ample time to make the necessary banquetting arrangements. But come 10 December, Ah Beng never made that call, nor a short email or an SMS confirming his attendance.

The host will then have to go around making the calls to those who did not bother to RSVP.

Host: Ah Beng, did you receive my invitation for the party on the 20th? You didn't RSVP, so I'm calling to confirm your attendance.

Ah Beng: What? RSVP? No need lah, I tell you 2 days before lah.. now cannot confirm le!

Host: Cannot lah, I need time to make the necessary arrangements for food..

Ah Beng: Er.. OK lah, OK lah, what day again ah?

Host: 20 December at 7pm, at my new condo in Mont Kiara.

Ah Beng: Wah! You move to Mont Kiara already ah? Strike lottery ah you? Aiya... 7pm very early leh. 8 o'clock can or not?

Host: Well, cocktail starts at 7pm...

Ah Beng: OK lah, RSVP lah. Me and my wife.

Host: Excellent! I'll see you both then!

With the year end festivities around the corner, if you are in the mood to throw a party and plan to invite friends and family over for an evening of merriment with great food, bottles of chardonnay and merlot, and gregarious company - please remember one thing - sadly, Malaysians do not understand the term RSVP.

RSVP is a French abbreviation, which stands for repondez s'il vous plait, or in plain laymen English, to please respond or reply.

To those attending parties and dinners this festive season, or if you've received an invitation and that card sits somewhere on your messy work station, dig it out now!

When an RSVP is indicated on the invitation card, the host(s) expects you to notify him/her of your attendance. When you receive an invitation to attend a party or a function of any sort, you should be honoured that the host thought of you and want you to be a part of his/her celebrations. Can't you then quickly look through your organizer or PDA, and thus quickly return a call to tell the host whether or not you will be joining in the celebration?

If the invitation states "Tan Ah Beng & partner", then you are most welcomed to bring along your partner or a friend. If however the invitation only reads your name, don't go asking if you can bring your cat, grandmother and third-uncle along. That's not very nice.

Come 20 December, Tan Ah Beng and wife never showed up.

Sigh. When will we ever learn?

Posted by Doreen at 1:40 pm