M-I-L 2 - Not all flight attendants are nice and honest…M

Photo copied from http://www.chezgigi.com/pan-am-and-the-flight-attendant-were-we-oppressed/

My husband and I were on our way back home to Manila from a relaxing vacation in Boracay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boracay) when I kept on reminding myself to keep my Amazon Kindle at hand on the plane for the one and a half hour flight. When the plane was about to land, I was asked by the stewardess to turn my Kindle off and to keep it in the seat pocket of the plane, and so I did. It took some time for the pilot to find a vacant gate. Minutes passed, and we were able to get off the plane. We decided to visit our favourite (The Mint) spa at the Mall of Asia (http://smmallofasia.com/moa/?p=1097) which is just a few minutes drive from the airport. I am used to reading my Kindle while getting a manicure and pedicure and at the instant I was to take it out from my bag, my heart sank. I lost my Kindle!!! And was so 100% sure that I left it in the seat pocket of the plane. L I immediately called the airline and reported the incident, feeling confident that I would get it back because they do routine checks before and after every flight and that the flight attendant sitting right in front of me would have seen the thing. Several days passed after this call, I contacted them every single day, until after seven days, they told me that they didn’t find it. I was so frustrated, I sent them this letter:…as I once had a bad encounter with them last August.

Just want to share with you feedback regarding my recent trip with you.

First of all, thank you for the wonderful customer experience at the initial stage of my travel, which was when you informed me that my original flight schedule has been cancelled. Though disappointed, I really like the fact that you were able to ease my anxiety by helping me push through with my flight. Your reservations officers did a very good job. I was happy then.

On my going-home flight from Caticlan to Manila: Unfortunately, a recent incident whereby I accidentally (or better yet, stupidly) left my Amazon Kindle at the seat pocket of the plane, totally changed my impression of your employees. I repeat, I was stupid to have left the gadget at the plane. However, I was riding on hopes that the airline crew conduct inspections or checks on the plane. Given this assumption – I would have expected that someone found the Kindle and handed it over to the Lost and Found department. There are two things here: 1) Honesty (if someone took it home) 2) Adherence to SOP (the gadget should have been found if the crew is diligent in doing checks) There is no other excuse for the gadget to have not been found. It is impossible that a passenger took it, because I was the last to get off of the plane.

I also don’t like the fact that it had to be me calling your hotline everyday, even if you guys have promised me that you will contact me for updates.

It is unfortunate that this happened, and I am partly to blame. However, I hope that this reaches the management and that HONESTY and ADHERENCE TO SOPs be strictly instilled and enforced as part of your core values.

It’s exactly two months from when I sent this letter to the airline, yet I have not received any reply, not even an auto-reply from their system.

As you can see form my letter, I whole heartedly admitted my stupidity but no one even empathized with me. Because of this experience, my impression on flight attendants has totally changed – they’re just like any service crew in any industry… you are lucky if you encounter honest people; damned if you don’t. Lastly, I don’t think I will ever leave anything in the seat pockets of plane. Ever.

M-I-L - "Mistakes in Life"

I have recently been invited to post stories on the website (http://mistakesinlife.net/) and so I am posting the same here on my site as well. Hope you learn from them! :-)

Photo from http://favim.com/image/87156/.

Bottomless-NOT drinks at Max's Restaurant in SM Makati

Max's has never failed me in terms of the dishes, but wow, the service, especially at SM Makati is completely tarnished. The culprit - bottomless drinks! It has always been a problem. When Ed and I went to Max's at SM Makati today, a customer complained of how the food servers ignore his request for a refill of his Pepsi bottomless drink more than twice. And yes - Ed and I are a witness to that. We experienced it too! I don't normally mock the servers in restaurants (because of Ed's stories about how the restaurant crew make "baboy" to your food if you make "sungit" to them) but today was annoying, probably influenced by the mood of our neighbour. I even told the supervisor: "Kung mag-ooffer kayo ng bottomless drinks - panindigan niyo..." (English: "If you offer bottomless drinks, make sure you stand up for it.") I pity this supervisor who seemed to have all of the workload while his staff was taking time doing all the tasks supposed to be done. There's this annoying lady though, who I asked for a refill. Her facial reaction didn't look pleasant at all but I ignored it. I didn't let her out of my sight, out of wanting to see if she really will accommodate my request. Well guess what, she didn't! She just kept on walking around the place! I literally stared at her, trying to catch her attention and when she did, I glared at her. She remembered our refill! But still... it took ages until we had to call the attention of the poor supervisor. He said sorry that he couldn't accommodate all requests at one time, but Ed did tell him that we weren't mad at him directly and that we just want to remind them to look after their customers. A lot of things happened after, but really... all I want to bitch about today is the service for bottomless drinks. 

House Staple #1 - Fluocaril Bi-Fluor toothpaste

By far the oldest and longest-staying brand at my house is Fluocaril toothpaste. (read more: http://www.dusson.com/fluocaril-toothpaste/bc242.html).


Our family friend and dentist Dr. Romeo Pizarro introduced this when I was in kindergarten (yes, this is how vivid my memory is). It was a Sunday then (really, I'm sure of the day because it is the only time of the week when my mom is vacant and able to take us elsewhere. I also remember her buying me ice cream from Coney Island every after visit to the dentist.) and I went there to have a tooth (or teeth maybe - this I don't remember) extracted. Tito Romy (as I fondly call him) wrote us a prescription for Fluocaril Bi-Fluor, and told mommy that I have to use this to prevent tooth decay. At that time we were using Pepsodent (read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsodent), which I liked because it tasted good. I thought the prescribed toothpaste was just "medicinal" and that I could go back to Pepsodent. My first encounter with Fluocaril wasn't so great. To a six-year old, it was too "spicy" and stingy to the mouth. Mommy had to force me to keep on using it, also saying that I will have to go back to the dentist every now and then if I don't use it. Mommy started using it too, along with Daddy - in order to convince me to keep the brand. Eventually, even Mark started using it too. About a few weeks after, I had to go back to Tito Romy, and I asked if I could get my Pepsodent back. He said NO. He explained to mommy that the "sweet" and "tasty" toothpaste brands do not do much good to the teeth. This is because bacteria/tartar (or whatever he called it before) are attracted to sweets so if you brush your teeth using these brands (Pepsodent, Close-Up, Hapee) and you don't gargle/rinse well, then the "sweets" stay there (like candy) and bacteria start to "grow." I was so scared to have another tooth extraction (which at that time I thought was caused by "sweets) so I followed doctor's instructions. From then on, the brand has always been a household staple, at home where I grew up, and even when I got married.

There were also times when I shifted to a different brand. When I moved out of my hometown, I found Fluocaril too pricey for my budget so I shifted to Colgate Total: http://www.colgate.ph/app/Colgate/PH/ProductsPH/Toothpaste/ColgateTotal.cvsp. What I noticed is that, after a few hours, my breath didn't feel as fresh as when I used Fluocaril. I just kept up with this sensation until I realised, why am I sacrificing my health and comfort because of the price? I can afford it anyway. My husband, who was also just recently introduced to Fluocaril, started comparing. We decided to stay with dear Fluocaril. From a mere PhP 58 in 1986, it is now priced at PhP 195 but it still serves the family well. I bet that even for the years to come, until I have kids and grandkids, the legacy of Fluocaril will live on. :-)

BRAND LOYALTY

I consider myself a brand loyal customer. My grocery list and my cart almost always contain the same brands everytime I go shopping. I guess this also goes with how I am resistant to change, but somehow this consumer trait has served me well.

From Wikipedia, I got this article.

The American Marketing Association defines brand loyalty as:

The situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer-originated product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category (sales promotion definition).
The degree to which a consumer consistently purchases the same brand within a product class (consumer behavior definition).[1]
Otherwise stated, brand loyalty, in marketing, consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service, or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy.[2]

Brand loyalty is more than simple repurchasing, however. Customers may repurchase a brand due to situational constraints (such as vendor lock-in), a lack of viable alternatives, or out of convenience.[4] Such loyalty is referred to as "spurious loyalty". True brand loyalty exists when customers have a high relative attitude toward the brand which is then exhibited through repurchase behavior.[2] This type of loyalty can be a great asset to the firm: customers are willing to pay higher prices, they may cost less to serve, and can bring new customers to the firm.[5][6] For example, if Joe has brand loyalty to Company A he will purchase Company A's products even if Company B's are cheaper and/or of a higher quality.

- end of Wikipedia article -

Why I am writing this article is because I want to share the brands I have stayed loyal to. Each post for the coming days shall feature at least one product.

Still missing my Kindle

It's been exactly 56 days since I lost my Kindle to some dishonest Cebu Pacific crew. I'm 101% sure that one of them saw it in the seat pocket of the plane; thought that it was some iPad-ish device; tried to figure out how to play with the thing; attempted to "touch the screen"; looked for games in it; found the device of no use to his/her "intellect"; and probably, eventually sold my valuable Kindle to some shop in Greenhills. (Wow, that emotional release really felt good!)

Anyway... Ed knows how bitter I still am over this loss and so eventually, he gave me the go-signal to get myself another Kindle.

On the 21st of September, I got on to Amazon and ordered a white Kindle (my first one was black) with 3G + WiFi plus the same burgundy leather case with light that I used to have.

The original price for this model of the Kindle is $189 but surprisingly there was an offer that was at $139. The leather case's original price is $59.99 but this time it was given at $49.99. Now I have a total savings of $60! I took the liberty of also getting my mom the complete power pack for her Olympus u790sw, which consists of a replacement battery, a USB data cable, and the battery charger. All these three for approximately $16. Not bad for all these huh!

I've just received confirmation emails from all three suppliers that my orders are being sent to my Borderlinx address (I'll blog separately about that.) I'm so excited!

Who doesn't love L'Occitane?

My first actual encounter with L'Occitance products happened at Boracay, thanks to Shangri-la. :-) Though, of course, the name is a popular brand, I never really paid attention to it, first of all because I thought

http://online-home-jobs.com/ is a SCAM

In desperation of looking for extra income to sustain my financial needs, I went on searching in google for home-based jobs and chanced upon a link that was posted as an ad by google. Stupidly, I clicked on this link http://online-home-jobs.com/ and it brought me to this website which I found to be enticing, and so as I read on... I seemed to be "hypnotized" and I purchased the online data entry job for USD 112. It said that the job is USD 3 per entry; minimum # of submissions is 750 per month; maximum is 2500. It also said that you can only submit a maximum of 50 jobs per day - which was completely inconsistent with maximum 2500 jobs per month. (Why didn't I even doubt this the very first time???) I guess I was blinded by the 4-digit USD figure, I just kept on reading, and even convinced Ed he should register for the same. So all in all, we paid for three jobs: 75 USD for the offline data entry, 112 USD for the online job, and another 112 USD for the Copy-Paste job. (This is the stupid-EST job I have ever done in my entire life.) Both Ed and I were enthusiastic working on these stuff, we were running the "business" for several weeks. Until, for some reason, I searched for blogs and reviews on the site. ALL of the sites I looked into said that this website is a scam. I felt disheartened but the stupid self in me still said that maybe these negative stuff are just black propaganda against the site. So Ed and I still went on with the "business." This craziness somehow stopped when, Ed, after sending an email to them, letting them know about the completed job, did not get any response at all from the website. It was also confirmed when someone responded to me saying it is scam.

My Globe is back.

So eventhough I'm totally pissed at Globe Telecom for breaking their promise of a 24-hour turnaround time of reconnecting my line, I still have a kind heart to say THANK YOU for FINALLY putting me back online, after 50 hours or so. I just don't understand why I paid on the 4th of August but they processed the reconnection only on the 6th. Anyway - I don't think anybody will ever "listen" to me and answer my question so I close this case for now. Here's hoping to no more inconveniences from Globe!

39.5 Hours and Counting, still no phone and internet with Globe!

This is getting so annoying - what a bad way to start your day. I have called, emailed, and tweeted Globe more than five (5) times now but I still don't have my landline and internet services back. While I do appreciate the positive interaction between the customer service specialists and myself, the actual service delivered to me is a different story. Does 24 hours seem close to 39.5 hours?

Customer Service from Globe and Sun

I am not sure if I have already mentioned how I have managed to "gather" all the bad luck in the world that I unfortunately have to deal with these customer service "specialists" (as they call themselves) from both Globe and Sun. My Globelines landline and internet have been disconnected due to non-payment (now that's another story) while my Sun mobile has been suspended because I have apparently "exceeded" my meager credit limit of PhP 1,500.

For my case with Globe (Innove), I am partly to blame because I did not even double- or triple- check with HSBC Online Bills Payment whether my e-payment pushed through or not. I was over-confident and trusting with HSBC's efficient service in that I didn't even worry that something might go wrong with their online processes that would eventually lead to cancellation of that online transaction. So anyway... I found out that I had to pay PhP 4,200+ in order to get my services back. I went to Globe @ Greenbelt 4 to pay my dues, and also because I trust that whatever commitment they give me in terms of turn-around time will be granted. (I have never had a bad experience with Globe@GB4 thus the assumption.) The lady cashier, upon processing my payment, told me that my line will be reconnected WITHIN 24 HOURS. I double- triple- confirmed this, in fact, sounding annoying, and in all instances she said - "YES MA'AM, because I am processing your service reconnection now." I gave a sigh of relief that our house will be back to WI-FI mode today. I consistently monitored today by calling my landline number. I knew that should that phone ring, then internet would be back. After so many attempts today though, I have had no success at all. So I called Globe Customer Service. Their IVR options are indeed much better now, and the wait time to get a customer service rep was OK. The only problem I really have with this is them breaking their promise of a 24-hour turnaround time for reconnection.

As for Sun - my gosh - this is really really annoying. It took me around five times to call them, but never did I get any concrete answer as to why my account was suspended even if my running balance is still within the credit limit of PhP 1,500. In around 4 out of 5 times, my call was "apparently" being transferred to a different queue, but while waiting patiently, the call just gets disconnected. The worst part about this is that there is no hold music. So in that dead air, you are left clueless as to whether you are still expecting to be connected to a human person or not. In 1 out of 5 - your call reaches a point where, as you are travelling, you reach a dead spot and your phone says NO NETWORK COVERAGE. Anyway... with regards to that credit limit thing, the lady I last spoke to said that I have to pay PhP 600+ to get my service back. I asked her why, when I'm still within credit limit, and she said that:

• my running balance is around 1,100+
• I have an extension account of 150
• VAT of 12% added to all the above amounts equate to 1,445. 

1,445 >> this is the reason why I have to pay. In a very irritated voice, I asked her >> Isn't 1,445 still within my credit limit? And she said that yes still within, but she has to transfer me to the support group so that my case can be investigated further. WTF WTF. So there goes that 1/5 opportunity, where, in my stupidity, I trusted her and let her transfer the call. 

With all these misfortunes I am getting, I am sometimes think that this is nature's revenge because my own Help Desk team, the one that I manage, cannot also deliver quality customer service. I'm just wondering though... does that fall under karma?

My Amazon Kindle is now officially gone... :-(

The saga of my missing Amazon Kindle is finally over. IT.IS.GONE. I called Cebu Pacific hotline yesterday and they told me that the item is considered LOST as no one has found it. I am so disappointed in myself and CebuPac. I wrote them this letter, which I hope they will respond to:


From:

Sent: Thursday, 4 August 2011 6:42 PM
To: 'customerservice@cebupacificair.com'
Subject: Conf # FF27YE

Hi,

Just want to share with you feedback regarding my recent trip with you.

First of all, thank you for the wonderful customer experience at the initial stage of my travel, which was when you informed me that my original flight schedule has been cancelled. Though disappointed, I really like the fact that you were able to ease my anxiety by helping me push through with my flight. Your reservations officers did a very good job. I was happy then.

On my going-home flight from Caticlan to Manila: Unfortunately, a recent incident whereby I accidentally (or better yet, stupidly) left my Amazon Kindle at the seat pocket of the plane, totally changed my impression of your employees. I repeat, I was stupid to have left the gadget at the plane. However, I was riding on hopes that the airline crew conduct inspections or checks on the plane. Given this assumption – I would have expected that someone found the Kindle and handed it over to the Lost and Found department. There are two things here:

• -        Honesty (if someone took it home)
• -        Adherence to SOP (the gadget should have been found if the crew is diligent in doing checks)

There is no other excuse for the gadget to have not been found. It is impossible that a passenger took it, because I was the last to get off of the plane.

I also don’t like the fact that it had to be me calling your hotline everyday, even if you guys have promised me that you will contact me for updates.

It is unfortunate that this happened, and I am partly to blame. However, I hope that this reaches the management and that HONESTY and ADHERENCE TO SOPs be strictly instilled and enforced as part of your core values.

Alternate Route from Cavite to North

For the past two weeks or so, we have been suffering the horrid traffic at Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite. Aside from the flood, Maynilad works are everywhere and there are not-so-smart traffic enforcers in the area. Because of my frustration, thanks to FB status updates, people learned about the ordeal I was going through. My cousin, Kuya Dennis sent me instructions and a map on how to get to Coastal Road, without passing through Aguinaldo Highway, and avoiding the one and a half hour journey through traffic. This route will make use of the newly built Cavite Expressway.

We tried this route today. With the help of the MAP on the iPhone, and Ed's knowledge on the "road-culture" in Cavite... we ventured the unknown route! Left the house at 7:55 AM and arrived at Coastal Toll Gate at around 8:25 AM. This is truly one record-breaker!!! You gotta try this path. Better prepare 80 pesos though! (58 for passing through Cavitex and 22 for Coastal Road)

The red line on the map is the exact path we followed.  Note that we started from Buhay na Tubig Road.

McDelivery in Imus is so disappointing

So here goes again the never-ending saga about McDelivery in Imus. I find it really annoying that their service isn't good. Their flyer shows: mcdelivery.com.ph * 24 hours / 7 days * Cavite * 878 6236. So what does this mean? If I am smart enough, I would say that you could either call them at their phone hotline, or log in to their website to order your food, anytime (because they are running 24x7), and at the Imus Cavite branch. (In the first place, they were the ones who deposited the flyers in our mailbox.) So being the internet savvy person that I am, I logged in to the website, placed my order, and confirmed all the delivery details, including my contact number. 30 minutes have passed, (I guess Ed is really hungry now) not a single call or follow up came through from McDonalds. Ed was actually asking me if our order is confirmed. Funny that I suddenly felt hungry after he asked this. As expected, my BP is now probably 10 notches higher. I called their 878 6236 hotline and the girl at the other line told me that the store is already closed. WTF?! I b1tched about how their flyer is misleading and though she apologized, I wasn't happy at all. To be worse than a b1tch, I called the McDo Cavite number 471 4444 and b1tched about the same thing. (Really sorry for the language, I'm just so annoyed at this time. People close to me know how I transform when hungry). I was passed on from one person to the other, each of them yelling (intentionally I think) something like "Hoy, bakit daw kayo namimigay ng flyers na 24/7 delivery tapos hindi naman pala!!!." I eventually was able to talk to the manager who (again) apologised in behalf of McDonald's and who somehow shared my sentiment on the inefficiency of their hotline. While I think she wasn't that sincere, I thank her for keeping up with my ill-mannered attitude. Apologies accepted, but there are not enough though. They have to improve or revamp their delivery service in Cavite. Even us province-dwellers deserve quality service that we get from NCR.

(Literally) Missing my Amazon Kindle

I had a fun fun fun looooong weekend at Boracay and it ended on Sunday, the 31st of July when Ed and I boarded flight 5J 902 of Cebu Pacific. I was all hyped until, while having my nail spa at Mint, Mall of Asia - I discovered that I accidentally left my Amazon Kindle at the seat pocket of the plane! What an idiot! I just hope that whoever did the last checks on the plane has a good heart and conscience to declare the item as a lost gadget. I'm not really even after the gadget, it is more on the fact that this is a gift from my Uncle Jun and it took them (he and my cousin Nicole) much effort to get this for me. I also am a person who treasures gifts dearly so I really feel bad about the possibility of losing this forever. I hope the Cebu Pacific crew are honest and that they will give me back my Kindle. After all, it is a very personal(-ised) gadget and I am pretty sure not many people use it. Please please please Cebu Pacific. Please be KIND enough to return my KINDle.

Jollibee Chicken Nuggets

(Photo courtesy of www.jollibeedelivery.com)

While on my way up to the 22nd floor of PBCom Tower, I saw an ad on the TV about this new Jollibee Chicken Nuggets. I got so excited right away, thinking there's a new item to be added to my Jollibee breakfast menu.

I had Leo buy it for me right away as soon  as I reached the office. So the meal consisted of: chicken nuggets, rice, and large Sprite. I wasn't really sure if this was a combo meal but all in all it cost me PhP 126. The meal was good, very Filipino. It isn't as good as McDonald's but it more tasty and more appealing to the Filipino taste buds. The barbecue sauce was good too, though much sweeter than McDonald's. 

You definitely have to taste this. Sa Jollibee... bida ang sarap!

Kudos to Cebu Pacific...

...for their quality customer service despite the fact that our original flight schedule was cancelled.

I don't really check my Yahoo! emails unless there are some valid stuff I am waiting on. (When I say valid - that is anything that is not related to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social networking stuff). For some reason (and surprisingly at 5 AM), I opened Yahoo! mail on my iPhone and saw the words - Cebu. Pacific. Cancelled. - and then I found my heart beat racing and my senses fully awake. The other keywords were SORRY. INCONVENIENCE. AIRCRAFT SITUATION. CALL US. Whew. Okay, so there is a phone number and I dialed it. I was so nega at this time I was actually thinking about how long I will have to stay in the queue. Surprisingly, in less than a minute I got hold of an agent, who was very polite and sounded very knowledgeable. He explained that I could cancel the entire booking without any fees... blah blah blah... I felt really bad and was ready to drop the phone. HOWEVERRRRR, towards the end of the call, he said, "You also have the option to choose from the other schedules TODAY." I had to ask him again if I heard the right thing. I gave a sigh of relief. He rebooked our flight from the original departure time of 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. And. With the same seats! :-)

Overall the experience was really wonderful for me. I love the fact that they sent notifications early (via email and SMS) and that they are also able to make adjustments easily on the phone. I feel though that Cebu Pacific should actually refund the price difference between the original flight and the new schedule. Reason is, this could be perceived as a sales strategy where they sell the premium schedules at a more expensive rate and then cancel it at a later time and eventually force the passenger to get a less desirable flight schedule, at the premium price. Anyway, the Cebu Pacific reservations officer acknowledged my concern and actually told me that they value my feedback and consider these types of comments as room for improvement.

Kudos to Cebu Pacific. My perception of you as underdog to PAL has reversed 180 degrees. Keep it up!

HSBC just disapproved my application for home loan...

... what the heck? With all the hassle I went through preparing all those required documents, I get an SMS today saying that my loan app was rejected. Disappointing. Disheartening. Frustrating. I guess I gotta deal with this objectively when I come back from vacay. Rain is still here but hoping for a brighter tomorrow (literally and figuratively speaking).

rain rain go away

rain rain go away
come again another day
because ed and rhoda want to vacay!

It is our 5th anniversary on the 29th of July and this year's is the only time that we are actually celebrating it together. The past four years, I have always been either out of the country or out to work on some urgent stuff. I want to make it up with Ed this time as we live only once. Life is too short to have regrets, life is too short to not enjoy life.

So please rainmaker... please... go away. Let the weather be kind to us.

today's trivial stuff

Followed by mishaps from yesterday, today has been chaotic as well. I'm starting to believe now that bad luck always comes in three's and that waves come in three's as well. And then they say that two is enough and three is too much. Oh well.

• @ Work - the day started with a conference call with one of our customers. It wasn't too bad actually. It is just the feeling of being caught in between "two lovers." Customer is really disappointed that the multi-million project isn't working as expected. On the other hand, we, as their service providers, are also clueless what to do because the issue is escalated to the vendor. In as much as we really want to settle the cases, we just don't have that skill. Kaput! I was bombarded with calls too, from internal and external. I wasn't able to finish a single target item today. Now how's that for starters. The main course is that the big boss is gonna chase me again endlessly and will surely tell me how disappointed he is with my progress.
• @ Real Life - why am I being considered the arbiter of two "entities" both in the same place while I am so far away here in Cavite??? Aren't people too old for this kind of shit?
• @ Money Matters - Ed's cash loan has been denied. I don't have a status of my loan too. Shitty, right? I wonder where I could get instant money?

A day of mishaps

Yesterday was a series of mishaps for me - at work, at home, on the phone, etc. It is true we all have our bad weather days.

• Sun Cellular - Have to take back that statement that I am totally happy with them and that I am thinking about getting rid of my Globe numbers. I.Take.This.Back. What happened is they have suspended/blocked my outgoing calls and SMS just because I exceeded the credit limit of PhP 1,500 which, by the way, has not been billed to me yet. 
• So why pay when it isn't billed yet? My account is even on auto-debit so that is even more reassuring for them that whatever amount they bill me, huge or small, they will get paid for it. 
• I have been using my Sun phone when working from home, thus the need to make international calls to our client bases in Australia or New Zealand. If they resort to suspending accounts that go over the meager 1500 peso credit limit, how are they going to get the class A people to use their service?
• Last month or around May, they sent me SMS, saying that they are proud to inform me that they have increased my limit to PhP 2,500. I referenced this SMS when I called them the day they suspended my account. They told me that at the time I received that SMS, I was supposed to call them to confirm the increase in credit limit. Duh? So companies have to ask customers if they want an increase in credit limit? Who doesn't want one?
• I have a "prepaid" number attached to my account, it is under Plan 150 and it is supposed to be able to do unlimited calls and SMS to Sun customers. And so I opted to use this while my default number is available. After sending around 10 SMS and making around 2-3 calls, the line got suspended too! 
• Jollibee Delivery and Citi Mobile
• I called Jollibee at around 10pm last night to order (as usual) our dinner. Upon verifying my home address, the agent told me right away that the branch that is supposed to deliver in our area is already closed. I told her that we've been a frequent customer, having food delivered outside of the store hours and that when we do, it is the Imus branch who caters to us. And so the necessary escalations were done by the agent until I was finally given an affirmation that yes - we could have Jollibee for that night.
• The lady(boy) asked me for my Citi Mobile number and all the necessary details. After a minute or so, I received the text from Citi asking for my PIN and confirmation for the order. Right after the message was sent, I received a text saying that my order has been cancelled because they have not received an SMS confirmation from me for more than three minutes. I'm like... "What the...?" And so I called 878-7000 again and they fixed it for me. There was, apparently, a technical issue at the Citi Mobile facility.
• @ Work
• I received several pretty shitty emails from customers, complaining about the quality of service, missed commitments, and everything else they think they want to blame my team for. The.Hell.With.You.Guys. This is just a job. At the end of the day, I have a life to look forward too. We are not perfect. We commit mistakes too. We break promises. We mess up. But. You are, most of the time... Stupid. Arrogant. Unreasonable. So we're quits.
• With Money Maters
• Damn I'm in a really bad state. Credit card bills arrived. Family asking for money. Loan applications not updated. Car repair. Duh.

The list will go on and on if I don't stop right now. Gotta. Go. To. Work.

Thank God I have a wonderful team, a loving family, and the best of all - a great, loving, and caring husband.

Abe @ Mall of Asia

I did mention in one of my blogs that Abe at the Mall of Asia has always been one of our favourite Filipino restaurants, in fact it was once our "staple" dinner food. The only thing I noticed about their food is that the taste and the quality are not consistent. Though the food tastes great, there is still something always different with the dish for every single time that we go there. For instance:

• Crispy Pampanga Sisig - the first time we ordered this, it was sort of crispy and really tasty. The serving size wasn't so big, but it was enough for two persons. The second time, it wasn't crispy, it was spicy, and the serving size was literally just 5 spoonfuls.
• Calamares en su tinta or adobong squid/pusit - The first ones were always tasty and serving size sufficient for two. The one we had recently was just black, and bland in taste.
• Guyabano Juice - how could two guyabano juices ordered the same day taste different? The other one was pulpy, the second was literally just like juice without pulp,

There are some others but this is the ones I've taken notice of. Customer service is really good though, it is indeed a place where good friends meet. 

An Odd Day with McDelivery Imus

McDonald's (and Jollibee) has always been life-saving for Ed and myself, especially when neither of us have the drive to prepare breakfast. Today is one of those days, as we are looking forward to a load of laundry and cleaning the house. And so I called the 878-MCDO hotline that was highlighted in the flyers they gave us yesterday. I was quite excited that I'd be able to use their online facility, and more so, Citi Mobile! How else can you enjoy cashless delivery, right?

The agent got all my details, first and foremost my telephone number then all else. At the end of the probing, he eventually told me that McDelivery at the Imus branch is not yet available. What the??? I've always had my McDo food delivered from there, and besides, what the hell are these flyers for??? Frustrated, I just ended the call and started thinking about Jollibee breakfast meals, and another free Jollibee Cube Pad!!! (lol)

When I was about to dial the Jollibee hotline 878-7000, the phone rang and at the other line was a lady from McDonald's. Confused, I ask her where she was calling from and she said she would like to take my order. (Is this a gag???) So I gave her all the details. She said sorry for the inconvenience but never really explained the mix-up. So next thing I asked is if I could pay using Citimobile. She said yes. I gave her my number. I received the SMS alert from Citibank. I replied to it. I received the TRN or transaction number. And will all this, I gave a sigh of relief. I'll finally have McDelivery. Cashless.

Surprisingly, my phone rang again and found myself talking to the same lady I was speaking to, less than five minutes ago. She told me that the Imus branch does not use CitiMobile. Darn! Not really disappointed about the money, but with the merry-go-round experience I had to go through! Anyway, I just said that I'll pay in cash. No more complaining, I'll just wait.

What's with the Imus branch? Are they that primitive that they don't want to use Citi Mobile yet? How come it works perfectly with Jollibee? There's always a first time though, I hope this encounter with them gets on to their records and they'll find a solution to it.

Sentro is the new centre of my palate's attraction

Ed and I have always liked Abe because of their Filipino lutong-bahay food. This was once our "staple" food, thus the frequent visits to Mall of Asia. Lately though, we have been frequenting Greenbelt because of the need to accommodate our foreign visitors who just stay at New World, across Greenbelt. Since we started "Greenbelting," we have made an agreement to try out all the different restaurants in the area. Heaven was so kind to have led us to Sentro.

On our first visit, we ordered:

• Crispy Drunken Shrimps
• The fun in this was it was crispy and you can eat the entire shrimp even with its shells. It isn't so fun though when the sharp postions hurt the insides of your mouth! 
• Sinigang na Corned Beef 
• Delicious indeed! The food servers will let each of you have a taste of the sabaw in order for you to let them know if you are okay with the asim or not. The "corned beef" isn't actually ground, but huge chunks of it. (Imagine the chunky corned beef in can).
• Home-Style Chicken Adobo
• This was my favourite of the day. It tastes so home-cooked and it caught the perfect taste of adobo. The way the food was presented was so unique, with the shredded green mango and all.
• Drinks: Sago't Gulaman (refillable)
• Nothing but sweetness to me, but this is the only place where I have tasted this mix. It tastes so Filipino, I don't really know how to describe it. Muscovado probably?

On the second visit which was last night, we had:

• Bangus na torta
• Tastes like some torta I've had before, but since I was craving for it, I'd say it was delicious. The unique twist to this is they used shredded bangus meat.
• Kare Kare
• Nothing special as well, but good. I couldn't even remember the last time I ate kare kare. What troubled me though was the price. For a solo plate of this dish, PhP 520 wasn't so worth it. The serving for sharing is PhP 820.
• Pandan Lemon juice (pitcher)
• This is the highlight of my day. Again, tasted so Filipino. You would very much distinguish the pandan and the lemon flavour from the drink. The combination was perfect.

While I haven't really given rave reviews about the food, I'd say Sentro is a must-try for people who want to witness a twist to Filipino cuisine. 

Pay your Globe postpaid bill with Citimobile

Since my last post about using Citi Mobile for Jollibee Delivery... I've had several nice encounters with the feature. Today I received an SMS alert that I can pay my Globe bill via Citi Mobile and I could get a 10% discount. And so I did, and it was very hassle free.

All you do on your Globe mobile phone is:
1. Type CITIPAY space GLOBE space [amount] space PIN
2. You will receive a transaction number if the payment is approved.

So I just paid 500 today and I'll get a 50-peso rebate on my next bill.

I'm sure there are some more perks wit Citi Mobile. I'm glad my 9-year old Globe number is back in action.

Go Citi Mobile with Jollibee Delivery

I love my cellphones, all three of them, but I have never been a fan of mobile phone transactions, especially those that involve money, until one Sunday afternoon when both Ed and I ran out of money, yet we both wanted so badly to have some Jollibee meals. The craving led me to search for the mechanics of using Citi Mobile. Walah! Never did I know that I have already registered to this service years ago, but never even used it.

It is very easy to use:
1. Enroll your mobile phone as per instructions on the Citi Mobile website. The highlight of the step is your 6-digit MPIN that you will need everytime you use Citi Mobile.
2. Once all steps are complete, you are ready to use your Citi Mobile.

For Jollibee delivery:
1. Call the hotline 878-7000, place your order.
2. Upon confirmation of all your orders and the total bill, let the Jollibee CSR know that you will be using Citi Mobile.
3. He/She will either confirm your Citi Mobile number, or ask you to provide him/her your Citi Mobile number.
4. After the call, wait for an SMS from Citi Mobile on the cellphone you have enrolled. (May take around a maximum of 5 minutes to receive this)
5. The SMS will ask you for your M-PIN - this is the 6-digit code you have initially enrolled for Citi Mobile.
6. Citi Mobile will send you a confirmation, that your M-PIN has been accepted, along with the Transaction Number
7. The Jollibee store may call you to confirm your delivery request... otherwise, just wait for the Jollibee delivery man to arrive!

I find this service really convenient, and reward-earning too as your purchase also earns points on your credit card. So what are you waiting for... Go Citi Mobile!

Jollibee Cubes

I love my ChickenJoy, YES! I've had so many people (mostly foreigners) argue with me on how Jollibee is so loved by Filipinos.

Ed and I are loyal patrons of Jollibee Delivery especially during the rainy season when we are not in the mood for cooking, and also during weekends when we prefer to sleep longer and get food the easier way.

They have an ongoing promo where a delivery purchase of 300+ pesos in a single receipt entitles you to one point (out of three) on the free cube pad promo card. Once you complete three points, you get the memo pad for free. (Ang mahal na memo pad noh? 300+ !!!) I just love the fact that this time, their giveaway is something that is actually usable, and something to argue about again in terms of likeability. Oh well. I now have three pads, and one more delivery I will get another set. :-)

Jollibee Cubes

I love my ChickenJoy, YES! I've had so many people (mostly foreigners) argue with me on how Jollibee is so loved by Filipinos.

Ed and I are loyal patrons of Jollibee Delivery especially during the rainy season when we are not in the mood for cooking, and also during weekends when we prefer to sleep longer and get food the easier way.

They have an ongoing promo where a delivery purchase of 300+ pesos in a single receipt entitles you to one point (out of three) on the free cube pad promo card. Once you complete three points, you get the memo pad for free. (Ang mahal na memo pad noh? 300+ !!!) I just love the fact that this time, their giveaway is something that is actually usable, and something to argue about again in terms of likeability. Oh well. I now have three pads, and one more delivery I will get another set. :-)

Sun Cellular's Loyalty Plans indeed make their Subscribers Loyal

I've been a Globe Telecom subscriber since my college years (12 years ago) and I have always been happy with the service, until recently when their network has been problematic, and when the customer service officers simply lost the "customer-oriented touch."

When Ed and I moved to Cavite, we noticed that we hardly get any signal from Globe, so we purchased Sun Cellular phone kits. At first we planned for these to be our secondary phones but they ended up being our main contacts. Why not? For PhP 350 a month, you get unlimited calls and text to Sun cellular subscribers, plus 200 free SMS to other networks. Very very very good deal indeed. You can never get that with either Globe or Smart. What's more? Ed actually got himself a wireless Manila-based landline using his current Sun simcard and it seems to be working really fine for him. It is also so easy to get additional lines. And the best deal - FREE PHONES. :-) Every time your holding contract expires, they proactively offer you a free handset in exchange for renewing your contract. Why not, right? I have never experienced this treatment with Globe.

Now I'm thinking what phone unit to avail. What's yours?

Sun Cellular's Loyalty Plans indeed make their Subscribers Loyal

I've been a Globe Telecom subscriber since my college years (12 years ago) and I have always been happy with the service, until recently when their network has been problematic, and when the customer service officers simply lost the "customer-oriented touch."

When Ed and I moved to Cavite, we noticed that we hardly get any signal from Globe, so we purchased Sun Cellular phone kits. At first we planned for these to be our secondary phones but they ended up being our main contacts. Why not? For PhP 350 a month, you get unlimited calls and text to Sun cellular subscribers, plus 200 free SMS to other networks. Very very very good deal indeed. You can never get that with either Globe or Smart. What's more? Ed actually got himself a wireless Manila-based landline using his current Sun simcard and it seems to be working really fine for him. It is also so easy to get additional lines. And the best deal - FREE PHONES. :-) Every time your holding contract expires, they proactively offer you a free handset in exchange for renewing your contract. Why not, right? I have never experienced this treatment with Globe.

Now I'm thinking what phone unit to avail. What's yours?

Maxicare and some good phlegm-stopping stuff

Mr. Cough has been bothering me for exactly seven days now. I had to be absent from work because of him, and eventually had to go see a doctor to keep him from killing me.

Thanks to the accessible location of St. Luke's and its proximity to HSBC and Secret Recipes - we literally had a one-stop-shop on Wednesday afternoon. These three establishments are just a few steps away from each other.

Anyway, I also like the fact that Maxicare is very well established within St. Luke's, unlike other hospitals where they try, as much as possible to avoid Maxicare card holders. Maxicare has its own room at St. Luke's, specifically Room 325. (Manong guard was kind enough to tell us what to do.) I'm not sure whether the ease of going through a medical checkup here is just because it is a weekday afternoon, or their facility here is seldom used. All I had to do was hand my card to the lady at the reception, then fill out a form, and then wait till the resident physician called me.

After a few routine checks and all, she finally diagnosed me with having acute bronchitis. As per Wikipedia: Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi (medium-size airways) in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks.^[1] Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum (phlegm) production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways. Diagnosis is by clinical examination and sometimes microbiological examination of the phlegm. Treatment for acute bronchitis is typically symptomatic. As viruses cause most cases of acute bronchitis, antibiotics should not be used unless microscopic examination of gram-stained sputum reveals large numbers of bacteria.

Of course I was scared! Bronchitis is not a term we all hear everyday. She told me it isn't that dangerous if I take my medication religiously, and most importantly, if I take complete rest. She gave me two sets of medication: antibiotics (Azithromycin Zithromax) and Ectrin Erdosteine. The latter I have to take once a day, while the other, as treament for the cough, twice a day. Both have to be taken after meals.

I have been feeling quite okay, in fact I felt a huge improvement. It isn't normal for me to react this way to medicines. They are usually ineffective for me, and so this latest discovery is a surprise.

Anyway, things learned from this: DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE, DO NOT IGNORE COUGH, DO NOT DRINK ICE COLD WATER AFTER AN ALL-NIGHT-LONG SESSION OF RHB (Red Horse Beer) and VIDEOKE. :-)

One Sunday @ Gerry's Grill Tagaytay

We had Australian and Singaporean visitors over the last few weeks and the highlight of their visit to PH was dinner at Antonio's (yes the posh Antonio's place). We, however, decided to have some drinks and merienda first and so we drove along the highway until one of them screamed "Gerry's Grill!" So off we went to this popular Pinoy food place.

While waiting for food to come, we came to a point where we discussed our favourites. The list below is almost all that we ordered, except for the pinakbet.

- One of them said that the Pinakbet is the best native veggie dish he has ever had in PH, with special mention of the bitter gourd (amapalaya)

- Another highlighted the Beef Casserole (Nilagang Baka), which was his first dish of its kind

- Squid Heads was the unanimous choice among all the free pica-pica food (pulutan). You get one free pulutan dish for every bucket of Red Horse and/or probably some other brands of beer.

- Pork Sisig was something everyone looked forward to

- Garlic Adobo Flakes is something one of them will kill for (lol)

- Chicken Lollipop which is a first for everyone

- Baked Scallops was an attempt to "neutralize" all the unhealthy food

- Chichabits which was not available at that time

- Deadly and sinful was the Chicken Skin

- Hot Calamansi was really great, made me feel better (I was sporting a cough and cold that time)

- RHB Red Horse Beer of course. (did I need to mention that? :-)

Despite of all of the delicious food we had and the enchanting view of the Taal Volcano, we got totally turned off with the terrible quality of service we received from the crew.

- At the entrance, a lady greeted us but no one even asked how many seats we required. We just ended up choosing a table at the upper loft which smelled less of the bird poo. (they have a mini aviary)

- I diligently pointed and stated our orders to the lady who was in charge of our table. She repeated everything correctly and we were excited about the food.

- Around 20 minutes later, the drinks came, and all the orders except the chicken lollipop and the baked scallops. Of course the food was gone in a matter of minutes.

- Another half an hour later came another round of RHBs, and still no chickeln lollipop and baked scallops. I had to call one of the food servers who told me that the baked scallops they initially prepared was overcooked, and that we did not order the chicken lollipops. Screw them. Anyway, I still kept my cool and waited. We had to ask for the chicken lollipops twice. And the wait wasn't worth it. Not a good pulutan piece it was.

I felt embarrassed that our visitors had to go through that nasty customer service. I was somehow relieved though when one of them actually said that he really never expects restaurants in Tagaytay to pick his wish list up correctly the first time. Looks like he always had to say what he wanted more than twice before his wish got finally- and correctly- granted.

The funny thing is the space they have is really huge, and they have a lot of servers walking around the place. I wonder how the place goes during their peak family days and hours?

It was also a challenge to get the food server's attention by the way. I am not sure if they really weren't seeing us, or if they were simply ignoring us. (Nobody smiled too!)

This is bad rep for Michael V who is their endorser, as he seems to be very friendly and accommodating. What a waste on their really catchy slogan which says "A Pinoy Original."