As a jaded blogger and expert shopper (I like to think), it’s very hard to make me envious over gadgets and other worldly objects. But the night I saw Pia Magalona’s shiny new BlackBerry Dakota 9900, I almost drooled on her new phone.
My BlackBerry 9780 (L) versus Pia’s BlackBerry 9900
I love that the newest BlackBerry has a touchscreen (just like an iPhone)—and a wider keyboard.
I love my 9780, except for the tiny keyboard, so I really wanted this new one.
But I rarely buy phones because they’re usually given to me either by my dad or other benefactor.
On the other hand, I didn’t want to wait for someone to give me the BlackBerry Dakota. I want it now!!
When Pia told me she got hers at Ambassador Appliances at Shangri-La Plaza, I was very afraid as I have had many unpleasant encounters with the corpulent gorgon who runs that store.
I wanted to ask Pia to buy for me and I pay her back. But Pia left for Singapore during the long weekend so I was left to my own devices, so to speak.
Yesterday I went to Shang only to discover Ambassador Appliances is finally under renovation. They have temporarily moved to this glass cabinet on the same floor, where I saw the BlackBerry 9900 on display. I took a deep breath, gathered my guts, and asked the gorgon how much. She ignored me. I made my voice louder and asked her again, “How much?”
“Php 33,000,” she said without looking at me. (same price Pia paid with a cheque)
“How much if I pay with credit card?” I inquired and was scared of the answer.
“Add Php 5,000,” the gorgon replied.
Say what? She took out her calculator and told me how much I would have to pay for the next 6 months, plus Php 5,000 on top of it. She assumed I wanted to pay a 6-month installment, which I didn’t. I only wanted to use my credit card because sayang ang AsiaMiles.
She was so unfriendly, I decided to walk away. I didn’t have the heart to fork over hard-earned money to this ogre.
So no thank you, I would rather wait for a better deal/person.
I went to Cibo to cool off and eat some diet food (read: chicken sandwich).
I started to rant on Twitter, like I do when I have no one to vent with.
Chef Edward suggested I buy from Audee Villaraza of Gadget Grocery who incidentally is my BlackBerry contact, though we have never met.
After communicating with Audee (and hearing lots of positive recommendations) I decided to go ahead and buy from him.
Less than 24 hours later, I had the BlackBerry 9900 at my doorstep, delivered by a guy with a credit card swipe machine and receipt!
The entire transaction was done in less than five minutes, in my house clothes, with no need to drive to a mall and deal with a menopausal ogress!
I really believe the days of gorgons running hideous appliance stores without the benefit of charm school are over.
I believe that charging extra for using one’s credit card is démodé as Karl Lagerfeld would say—and ILLEGAL.
I hope to raise this concern to the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry).
I also want to introduce you to the wonders of Gadget Grocery, where prices are lower than Amazon, goods delivered to your home, and credit card swipes are allowed at no additional cost.
Originally published at Chuvaness.com. You can comment here or there.