Dirty Little Secret.

For one, I think customer care in this country still has a long waaay to go. Really.


I don't know if I should pity the uninformed, albeit harassed, customer service representatives for not knowing how to handle well customer concerns or be insanely furious at the backwards system this country has. Whichever way I go, the customer still ends up not getting any solution hence diminishing that customer satisfaction every company out there wants.


So I was talking to a CSR one morning. I'm actually reporting an item which is probably lost in the mail, based on previous feedback, it's been to different addresses, and after daysss of updating me when I should expect it, it still didn't land on my lap. Ergo the conversation. Honestly, I wouldn't know about the house-hopping thing if I didn't call them. (What is wrong with these people? Why didn't they just call me in the first place to confirm the address?)


Anyway, I was almost in tears (I think one actually dropped) when I heard the CSR tell me "Ma'am I apologize for your inconvenience but according to the courier, wala daw po silang nareceive na instruction na i-redirect sa ibang address yung item. Binalik na daw po sa back office yung item." OMG. It's been with them for almost two weeks and nobody told me not to expect it anytime soon? I was really furious. What happened to system? Did people forget about communication? For real, I am one dissatisfied customer. And hearing "Is there anything else I could help you with?" doesn't make it any better because if you have been paying attention, the only thing you could do to help me is give me that item right now. As in literally now.


*Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.*


I've moved on to tonight.


You see, Globe Telecom has slipped into this habit of sending my bill a couple of days before the due date. (How sweet noh?) But checking your bill online can, well, let you view your bill even if it hasn't arrived at your place. So I checked and mine was already over the credit limit and it's due on the 23rd. (Not getting anything in the mail seems to be a fad for me these days.) I printed out the online version and went to Globe tonight. They told me to call them next Friday to see if the reversal happened. And then this was our conversation:


Me - Paano yan, due date tomorrow. If i don't pay this, you'll cut my line.
Globe Agent - Most likely ma'am. Pero next month naman po magrereflect ung reversal and ibabawas ung sobrang payment sa bill nyo e.
Me - I have no choice. Sige bayaran ko na lang lahat.


I think I just got bullied into paying more than I consumed (again). Haaay Pilipinas.


Anyway, that cash out was a bit hurting on my wallet. To make myself feel better, I passed by my soon-to-be new favorite store at Festival Mall. And oh yes did it make me feel sooooo much better tonight.


If the other night they had only half of the steel doors opened, tonight it's way way open. Open enough for everyone to see all the shelves of the store, which by the way, they're stocking with oh-so-pretty merchandise shoes. Definitely made me smile.


Just to confirm the news I read a few days ago, I approached the (now-eating) crew when they'll open. This nice guy confirmed the date. I asked if the price will be higher or lower than the published dollar tags. His answer gave me a huge smile (which he said like we're sharing a secret), and I think I hyperventilated a little upon hearing the news. Music to my ears! 


"Yes. Even better! And the styles, it's just the same as those in the US." =D


Now the Beda jacket has a competitor in my wallet.

One Point Alabang!

I am so excited right now, I'm not sure if I can even finish this post without babbling too much nonsense.

A few months back, this empty stall in Festival Mall Alabang was closed for renovation of some sort or some construction work in preparation for a new store. By the looks of the name, I thought it was another Factory-2-U cheap-ass copycat.

Fast forward to July, I began to be aloof about the construction. (Really. It was next to Shopwise.) And much more when Forever21 opened in Megamall early this month. How cruel it is to be living down south of the metro when all the *pretty good* shops are up north. As much as fashionistas would want to keep up with the northern dwellers, it's just too much for people down here!

Moving on to tonight... For the nth time, I passed by the store. And I was taken aback as they finally removed the wooden panels. Revealing the oh-so-shiny glass display windows. And oh, the logo. The logo was up on the wall and it was so freaking shiny!

I was excited. It actually all died down awhile ago but then I got bored and since I was online and Google-ing stuff, I Googled it. There's really not much to read online since most articles are dated back from December of last year, with just a snippet that Collective Brands Inc., is opening a franchise in the Philippines through Store Specialist, Inc.

I Googled some more and I found this article on Inquirer.net that Payless ShoeSource will be opening its very first branch in the Philippines at Festival Mall Alabang! Whoopdeedoodeedoo! That's one point for the south! =)

The store is said to open next week. I think half of my next paycheck will go straight to that store. But nonetheless, I'm just happy Payless has finally made a land here. At least I wouldn't have to worry that future paychecks will be spent on pricey shoes alone. With Payless practically being a neighbor to me, I can finally have cool and oohs-and-aah inducing shoes without killing my wallet.

For the rest of the article and the exact opening date, check it out here.

For the Love of Weddings.

Can I just say how much I'm loving my job right now? First of all, my job keeps my bank account from closing. Second, It's really, really fun that I honestly shouldn't call it work. And third, it doesn't confine me in four walls. =p

For the past few months, we've been doing weddings in between office tasks. Tiring, but fun. You meet a lot of people, know their stories, learn from their experiences, and get wild ideas from them with how they want their wedding to turn out.

The last wedding we had was of Janice and Mike, both nurses from Canada. The bride was fond of purple (from what I heard from her guests, "Kaya mahirap ka hanapan ng regalo"), so she incorporated peacock feathers in her wedding. From the invites, to her flowers, even to her entourage's hairclips and buttonaires!

Not that I'm not hyped about the purple motif, but knowing she wanted a candy buffet for her guests made me all excited. :)) And come her wedding day, I found out she had Jolly Ranchers too. (I couldn't find a blue raspberry!) I think she had all sorts of candies that could make anyone with a sweet tooth's mouth water: lollipops, jellybeans, pastillas sculpted into roses, mints, chocolates, hard candies, there's even mini wedding cakes to be given out!

Since my PaintShop Pro is failing me right now, these are the only photos I can upload. =( But on the bright side, the wedding was really fun and memorable for everyone. I don't think my forty plus shots can give justice to what the couple actually had that day.

Btw, here's my best shot for that day:

 

But of course, my shots are nothing compared to what RF has.

Michael+Janice Onsite AVP from Raymond Fortun on Vimeo.