The consumers' champion doesn't hesitate to take companies to task when saddled with a defective product or overcharged, as she did recently with a complaint to a telecommunications company over its billing.

'But it's done in my personal capacity and doesn't mention the council,' Chan says. 'I think I can handle [it] myself.'

When she mulls over the subject of smart shoppers, however, two long-time friends spring to mind: Ombudsman Alice Tai Yuen-ying and former executive councillor Rosanna Wong Yick-ming.

Chan, who steps down tomorrow after nearly 22 years in the job, says she bows to the pair's superior bargaining skills. During a trip to India for a meeting 20 years ago, it was Tai who helped her secure a refund for an overpriced figurine. An official with the Home Affairs Bureau at the time, Tai returned to the shop with Chan and negotiated a satisfactory price from the owner.

The Ombudsman recalls other haggling lessons.

'During the trip, Wong Shui also followed me into a jewellery shop to see how I bargained. I ended up paying just 10 per cent of the original price on a bracelet,' Tai says. 'I didn't say a word, but my expression showed the owner I was waiting for a better deal.'

Not many can become such feisty shoppers, but Chan is quietly satisfied to see that consumers in Hong Kong are increasingly standing up for themselves.

People are now more sophisticated and outspoken, and have no qualms about reporting unscrupulous business practices and product defects, she says.

'Twenty years ago, many shoppers felt embarrassed to bring their products back to the shops for exchange or refund, even if there were defects. They simply accepted it as a misfortune and avoided the shop in future.

'But this attitude also undermines business as shops may never learn about the problems. They wouldn't just lose a few dissatisfied customers. The business may be affected once its reputation is tarnished,' Chan says.

The council's advocacy work and public education seem to be bearing fruit. Consumer complaints lodged with the council have increased fourfold during the past two decades, to 37,689 last year from 8,950 in 1986.

But being an astute consumer is more than just finding an effective channel to file complaints. Getting value for money is another tenet, Chan says.

'Instead of just looking for low prices, as people did in the old days, consumers now also want quality goods and services. This requires informed choice.' That's why the number of inquiries to the council has nearly tripled to 173,174 from 65,458 during the past 20 years.

The job has brought Chan many memorable moments.

Property is a key concern in Hong Kong, and she was quick to see that. Just a few months into the job, she initiated a meeting with different professional groups, including lawyers and surveyors, to press for a standard way of calculating the floor area of a property - and therefore its price.

The issue rose to the top of Chan's agenda after complaints from homebuyers who said that they weren't given the information to make informed choices. Many were furious at developers for including common areas such as lift lobbies in their calculation.

'Buying property is a major investment for most Hong Kong families, yet various professions, government departments and developers were using different standards to measure property sizes,' Chan says.

'Developers were taken by surprise when we appealed for a uniform way to measurement.'

The dispute over the calculation of flat sizes remains unresolved. Since then, conflicts over dubious sales ploys, ranging from misleading brochures to hyped-up 'internal' sales, also fuelled campaigns.

Generally not one for confrontational tactics, Chan nonetheless led the watchdog body on the offensive in a landmark legal action two years ago. In September 2005, the council helped seven disgruntled homebuyers sue the developer of a luxury estate in Kowloon Tong over the delayed completion of the project.

Chan's successor, Connie Lau Yin-hing, appreciates her leadership. 'Mrs Chan is very open to colleagues who may have different opinions, and she's very patient in discussing ideas with us,' she says.

Trained in social work, Chan previously served as the general secretary for the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association. And when the former council chief, Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, approached her to take over the reins of the consumer watchdog, she worried that her poor head for maths and lack of scientific knowledge would be an obstacle to doing an effective job.

'Calculation is essential in price comparison and science is helpful in understanding technical issues, such as why certain machines have failed, or some goods are harmful to health,' she says. '[That's why] I hesitated when Selina invited me to take up the post. But she said it was a good chance for me to serve the entire community, instead of just helping children and teenagers.'

Those shortcomings enabled Chan to tap into the mentality of the lay consumer more easily.

'When I receive product-testing results, I use my common sense to set out a list of questions that most consumers may have. My colleagues need to be able to explain them in a way that I can understand before we announce the results to the public,' she says.

Having known Chan for 25 years, Tai is impressed by her friend's enthusiasm in the job.

'Personally, she's a friendly and outgoing person,' she says. 'But at appropriate moment, she practises the traditional virtue of Chinese women of being subtle - a quality that we share.'

What will Chan do now that she has more time on her hands? For one, she'll be picking up her brushes to resume a favourite pursuit, Chinese painting, which she's had to set aside for years.

But most of all, she looks forward to spending more time with her family, who have been grumbling about her hectic schedule all

these years.

Advocacy works

In 20 years, Hong Kong shoppers' complaints to the Consumer Council have risen fourfold

The number of complaints lodged with the Consumer Council in 2006 37,689