Part One
Yesterday, after Mich, Jude and I visited Gilda at her Quezon City home, I told the driver to drop off Jude and Mich before taking me to Megamall where I planned to exchange a PSP game I had purchased three days ago at Toy Kingdom.
Traffic was horrendous. Tired, I took a nap in the van. I don't know how long it took before I reached SM Megamall.
I already dreaded having to exchange the game which cost me PHP 2,299.75 because of SM's very strange and unfriendly customer service practices.
True enough, when I got there, the person behind the customer service counter told me they will not accept the exchange, even though it was unopened, purchased three days ago, and with receipt.
Tired, I drew out my first card and said, "Really? I will report you to the DTI."
The person then drew out a folder which had a the DTI policy stated that you cannot exchange goods just because you changed your mind or bought a duplicate.
There's nothing I hate more than stupid rules, so I drew my second card, which is my Press ID and said, "Really? Then I shall write about it."
She said, go ahead and write about it (hence, this blog entry).
So my third card was to curse in words starting with P and F and reason out like an angry customer why their policy is screwed.
With that, she proceeded to her "supervisor" who OKed the exchange—something she could've done before I blew my top.
As an SM Prestige Card holder, you must spend at least PHP 180,000/year at SM stores and its co-brands such as Ace Hardware, Toy Kingdom, Watson's etc.
It's sad and embarrassing that I had to hurl threats and expletives before I could assert my rights as a (former) good customer of SM.
Part Two
I realized I left my cell phone in the car. It was already 8 PM and my stomach was grumbling.
I still had a grocery list but one mustn't shop on an empty stomach. I decided to have a quick solo dinner at Mann Hann downstairs.
Thank God for Globe Super Duo. I used Mann Hann's landline to call my husband to ask him to tell the driver to have dinner while I finished my errands.
After dinner I went to Our Home (another SM store) next door to buy a huge Christmas present which was about four feet tall.
I carried that and my bag of toys upstairs to the newly opened SM Supermarket on the former site of Powerbooks.
I heard this supermarket was supposed to be high end (read: City Super?) and to cater to the ADB crowd.
However the supermarket looked temporary with concrete floors, cheap interiors, and crappy selection.
I parked my packages at the customer service counter where I saw a phone and made a mental note to use it to call my husband when I'm done shopping.
After shopping for simple groceries worth about PHP5,000, I went back to customer service to ask if I could borrow the landline to contact my driver.
Nope.
I asked kindly and explained the situation.
Nope.
I reasoned out like a desperate human being.
No dice.
She was very firm about it. I asked her where I could make a call.
Unfeeling, she directed me to the phone booth far, far away—take note I had two grocery carts full of stuff, including the Christmas presents.
At this point the grocery staff started to do a lame dance to attract customers into the store. They had the stage presence of Auschwitz prisoners.
I shook my head. I told the grocery boys to hold my cart while I made a quick dash to Mann Hann to call for my driver.
Mann Hann is &hearts.
Part Three
This happened at Ace Hardware where I was purchasing LED lights worth PHP 9,000.
I thought it was a good time to use the PHP 900 I had accumulated on the Prestige card I had religiously surrendered each time I shopped at SM stores.
The cashier told me for some reason, my card had to be validated at Customer Service in order for points to be used.
I said, sure let's do it. Then she told me I would have to do it at Customer Service at SM Department store which was outside and two floors up.
I just lost it and told them to shove the Prestige Card up their ass.
Serves me right for shopping at SM. I'm banning myself from SM. Except Johnny Air.