Bisa? Bonar?

I just got back from Pondok Indah Mall. My mission was to search for a new water dispenser to replace the old one in the office.

Not that the old one has broken down but my boss insisted on getting a new one because he suspected the water storage in the old dispenser had been contaminated.

Typical me, instead of asking my staff to carry out this simple task of buying a new water dispenser, I wanted to do it myself.

So, this afternoon, there I was, standing in a shop similar to your neighbourhood Seng Hup store looking at several water dispensers which were on display.

After deciding on the type and brand to buy, I called the store assistant.

Me : "Mas, dispenser yang ini garansinya berapa tahun?"

Store assistant (SA) : "Merek ini garansinya satu tahun pak."

Me : "Terus, jika saya beli ongkos kirimannya berapa?"

SA : "Jika sekitar 5 kilo, gratis pak."

(kilo as in kilometres yea, bukan kilogram)

Me : "Ok deh, saya ambil yang ini aja. Dikirim ke kantor saya. Dekat aja kok. Di Wisma blablabla, Arteri Pondok Indah."

Me : "Tapi mas, sebelum itu, kamu ngecek dulu kapan bisa kirim. Saya maunya paling telat esok."(esok meaning Friday)

SA : "Ok pak. Saya cek dulu ya."

He rushed to the back of the store and came back a few moments later.

SA : "Maaf pak. Yang tipe ini lagi kosong" (tipe=type)

Me : "Kapan ada stock nya?"

SA : "Nggak pasti. Tapi kami pasti kirim ke kantor bapak hari Jum'at"

Me : "Barusan kamu bilang kamu nggak pasti stock baru kapan nyampeinya. Tapi kamu pasti akan kirim hari Jum'at?"

SA : "Benar pak."

Me : "Kapan stock barunya sampei?" (my 2nd time asking the same question sebab aku dah confused)

SA : "Itu nggak pasti pak."

Me : "Terus, kapan bisa dikirim ke kantor saya?"

SA : "Ya, kirimnya pasti hari Jum'at"

Me : "Ko nak kirim bulu hidung ko?" (dalam hati)

Me : "Nggak pa pa deh mas. Saya nggak percaya kamu bisa kirim besok."

And I walked off. Sometimes, the simplest of things could be so frustrating here in Jakarta. The guy was not sure when the new stock would arrive and yet he had the audacity to assure delivery on Friday.

When someone says "bisa" here, don't bet all your money on it. Most of the time, it's something they say just to please you or to seal a deal.

Indonesia Bisa!!