Yellow Cab: Into the Details

One of the things I admire about Yellow Cab, and what others are surprised to know, is that Yellow Cab is a homegrown  company. Considering how they've grown to compete head to head with the foreign imports, that's a point to be proud of. 

Having that in mind, I always enjoy going to Yellow Cab. Everything is at par with their brand, from the Vespas they use for deliveries, to the ingredients they use tastefully displayed in the cooking area. 

Since they cook everything only after you order, it usually takes them a while to serve you (around 15 minutes or more, depending on how much you ordered). That in itself is a reason to not go there if you're dead hungry. After you pay though, they readily give you the standard utensils and whatever drinks you ordered, to give you a sense of progress I guess. 

When the food is finally delivered to your table, it makes you feel like the wait was worth it: 

New York's Finest 

Buffalo Wings 

Twice Baked Potato Halves - my personal favorite, but spells death for anyone watching their weight. A whiff of this is probably 200 calories in itself, haha. 

Our order was more than what we could finish (there were just two of us!), and they wrapped everything up with no grumbling whatsoever. 

All in all, standard service is to be expected in Yellow Cab-you get what you pay for, and that's perfectly alright. 

Product bought: 5 stars 

People skills: 3 stars 

Overall service: 3 stars 

Banco De Oro: Cutting the Lines

I don't like being in banks. I feel clueless about the different processes, so I almost always end up finding comfort in going directly to a representive, sit down with them and tell them what I need to do. 

Like in most establishments, I end up asking the security guard present on what to do. While I'm sure some may know the process, it's not part of their job description to teach the customer what to do, where to line, and whatnot. 

I had to pay for a Deal Grocer coupon I purchased the day before, and didn't want to see it forfeited, so I opted to head over to the most convenient branch of BDO.

The line in that particular BDO branch inside the mall was horrifying. There must have been around 15 people in line. (And since it was a bank, I wasn't allowed to take a photo of it.) I was struggling with the choice between having to line up, or figuring out a way around it. 

After having the guards tell me what to do and what forms I should have filled rather than the one I already finished, I wearily asked if I could ask one of the four representatives seated around the bank. They didn't look so tied up, so I approached one of them. 

I told her about my Deal Grocer coupons and asked how to go about it. She looked at them, nodded and said she'll be able to accept the payment--meaning, I didn't need to line up anymore! I was finished with my transaction in less than 10 minutes. 

Their customer service is a classic example of the different ways of looking at a situation. They readily offered me assistance, but only when I asked and was desperate enough to look for a way out of the crazy line. What I'm thinking though, being in the service industry, it would be great if they offered assistance even before their clients have to ask for it. 

Product/service availed of: 3.5 stars 

People skills: 3.5 stars

Overall service: 3.5 stars 

Red Ribbon: Cakes on the Go

It was another late night in the office and I completely forgot to get a cake for the boyfriend's birthday. It was already quarter to 10, so the hope of finding a cake was slim. 

Either way I hoped the Red Ribbon branch I pass by everyday would still be open. And it was thankfully, and still fully functioning and pleasant, unlike other stores that repel customers 30 minutes before closing time by turning off the aircon, closing the doors, mopping the floors, and other tactics. 

The stocks in Red Ribbon were still a lot, even at that time. I quickly chose a junior chocolate dedication cake and wrote the dedication down for them. It took them less than five minutes to write it on the cake (to think the dedication was so long it covered the entire top of the cake, haha). They misspelled my name, but when I asked them to redo it, there was no grumbling involved-they scooped the letters out and gamely corrected it. 

My order was done in less than 15 minutes, and the guard cheerfully led my car out into the main road without nonchalantly hanging out near the driver's car window. 

I'm glad that Red Ribbon is still consistent not only with their yummy offerings, but with their friendly and dependable service. Here's to hoping they can keep it up, and with all branches at that! 

Product bought: 4 stars

People skills: 5 stars 

Overall service: 5 stars 

Globe Telecom: Billing problems and customer relations

I had a line when I was in high school, but due to my "abuse" of it and my dad not understanding why I was always overspending, we all switched to prepaid come second year college. 

I was happy with my prepaid number at the most part, except for a week wherein I had no signal whenever I'd get to work--which was ridiculous because I was right in front of the (then) main office of Globe! 

Since most of the people I know and contact use Globe, I succumbed and went back using a prepaid number, which I was happy about. But when I the new iPhone 5 came out, plus my weird urge to feel like a grown-up and have another bill under my name, I changed my mind. 

When news hit about the iPhone 5, I went online to apply for a line, did the necessary steps and hoped to hear from their team--and yet, for some reason, up to this date, I never heard from them. 

So I thought nothing can replace the face to face relations. So I moved my nine-month pregnant self to the Globe Hub in Greenbelt 3 with the hope of walking out of there with an iPhone 5. 

Silly me, I went there during a Sunday afternoon, thinking that perhaps my obviously pregnant self will get "preferred treatment"--didn't happen. No one--the customers and even the staff!--offered me a seat or made the effort to make me more comfortable (to think it was extremely hot during that day). 

And yet due to pure perseverance, I filled out the necessary forms, gave my proper documents, and was ready to pay in cash. After debating with the Globe staff as to what plan I wanted to get, I opted for the Plan 999, with a booster of 599 for unlimited calls and texts to globe and TM, plus a freebie that I don't recall anymore. I was upset when after all that effort, I was informed to either pay a 6-month advance of my bills, or wait two weeks for them to "clear me". At first thought, i took offense and wanted to whip out my PRESS ID or play the pregnant card. But knowing that was just ego (and possibly poor judgment at the part of the manager in charge), I opted to wait for the two weeks. 

The following week, I was ready to pop any day and decided I wanted to have my iPhone before the whole parenthood thing kicked in. I went back and was happily informed that my application for a line was approved and I get to get my iPhone. I was so happy and excited, and the support staff was helpful in showing me the basics of the iPhone and what to do with it.

True enough I popped my baby out a week later, and with the flurry of being a new parent and being in a new residence, I relied on my vigilant sister to check the mailbox of my old apartment. I didn't receive my Globe bill from March til July. Thankfully, I was never cut off or anything, but I was getting worried that it might happen any day, and I might be incurring a payment I couldn't afford. 

I tried registering online for paperless billing, but it was futile-some system malfunction or whatever. And anyone who's tried to call the Globe hotline knows that it's a good 30 minutes of your life wasted waiting to talk to someone while you listen to "Your call is important to us..." on repeat. But once again, I tried my luck and gave them several calls. 

The first one emailed me my bills, and to my horror, they were more than double of what I estimated to pay every month! After reading through them, I was annoyed to find that my billing address okay had my street name on it, and they didn't apply my booster of unli call and text! 

I called again asking if they could retrieve my original form to check, and as usual they said they'd "file a report" and investigate the manner. I decided to go back to the Globe Hub and hope that the original form was with them. 

In the grand tradition of the Globe Hub, it was a confusing circular flurry of Globe staff milling around but helping only those that catch their attention--and it's difficult. It took me 10 minutes and repeatedly asking for a number to the same person for him to notice me. Thankfully the person I spoke to was very helpful. She said they would retrieve my file from the head office and get back to me in two weeks, with the promise of not getting my line cut. 

A little before two weeks after, I called their Globe hotline again and basically threatened the if there was no action in the next 48 hours, I would call again and ask for the representative's manager. It had to resort to that, and I got a reply from them via text that my "request has been processed". 

What I appreciated the most, and I mean this with no sarcasm at all, was the call I got from the person I spoke to about getting my original form when I went to the Globe Hub. She told me that yes my form indeed had the booster, and they would adjust my bills. I was happy with the fact that finally, someone from Globe actually did what they said. 

Admittedly I don't have my current bill yet again for another reason. That might be for another blog entry. But all in all, Globe can greatly improve their customer service. I know too many people who are so unhappy with their service but can't leave because everyone they know uses Globe. It's unfortunate that the girl who was super helpful to me is the exception, not the rule. I'm hoping that in the near future, it will be the other way around. 

Product bought: 4 stars 

People skills: 3 stars (all for the girl who super helped me out!) 

Service: 3 stars 

Kimstore: Gadgets on the Cheap

It's not my first time to order from Kimstore. I bought a Panasonic Lumix from them last December 2011, and the process was practically seamless. Besides the fact that it seemed a bit odd to meet up inside McDonald's Glorietta then to purchase the camera, everything went efficiently. I love my camera til now, the shots are amazing (well for me and my lack of photography expertise!) every time: 

During the craze of the iPhone 5 last December 2012, I was hoping they could keep up with the demand. I wanted a white 32gb iPhone, and I texted all three mobile numbers. Two numbers said no, one said yes and backed out on the deal on the same day. I thought okay, that's fine, the demand was crazy then so perhaps it was so frantic for them during the holidays. 

Fast forward to this week. The boyfriend's birthday is coming up and since he smashed his Samsung S3 last month, I knew that he would really love to get the new Samsung S4 LTE as a gift. 

The new Kimstore website (kim.com.ph) is easy to navigate-I love the icons and the sections, and it's very user-friendly. I like also how transparent it is with their payment process, with matching icons at that: 

 Placing an order was really easy: 

And I was excited to pick it up by Wednesday. When the day rolled in, I was in a hurry to leave the office by 530pm to make it to the pick up point by 6pm. By quarter to 6, I called the meet up manager, asked about the status, and she informed me that the phone was missing-either it was left in the main office or dropped while in transit. "Pasensya na po" was the phrase she said, and while she meant well, that phrase has always annoyed me. 

Anyway, I let it slide and said that I would pick it up the next day. It was great to receive a text as early as an hour before the pickup time that the point person was already there: 

I took a cab to the pickup point near Greenbelt, and was pleasantly surprised that Kimstore had their own little office instead of squatting in an establishment. The point person Jhun was accommodating enough, opened the sealed up Samsung S4 box, and checked all the parts. But when we turned the unit on, the screen was broken-there was a big yellow spot on it! Once again, I was asked to get the item the next day, same time. But I couldn't help but think that the cab fare was wasted for that day. But oh well, what can you do. 

Today is Friday. Before lunchtime, I received confusing texts. I received this one first at around 10am: 

I failed to think right away that this was for the 6pm pickup, since they said they'd text the point person to look for 30 minutes before the pickup time. And then another text by a little after an hour: 

Perhaps it's a lack of coordination, and I'll let it slide for now since I've been there--and as long as my order will finally, FINALLY be there later, complete and functioning!

I'm glad to have received a text from one of their point persons as early as a little past five, informing me that he's already there and the product is ready for pickup: 

I love proactive people so this is a definite plus. 

Embarrassed to say that due to the payday weekend and my ride coming all the way from Antipolo, I was late. I called the point person and he was very pleasant and said he'll wait for me. 

I got to their mini office by around 630pm. Their office space is a bare office which seems to be purely just for meet ups. 

There were two other customers there checking out their gadgets. I was entertained right away, and they had a list of their customers (I'm presuming for the day?) on a pad of 1/2 lengthwise ruled paper. Victor was less hands on with the checking of the gadget than Jheric, in the sense that he only helped me with opening the box and SIM card placement only when I asked him to. That was fine by me, since I figured that he wouldn't want to be liable for any mishandling if ever. we opened the box and checked for all the parts. 

One awesome thing about them is they come prepared with SIM cards so you can fully test your purchased gadget. After inserting the SIM card, I was so happy to see that it worked and had no defects (from what I can see on the screen). 

Another awesome thing is it comes with a warranty, so if anything goes wrong with your purchase, you can send it back to them. They come prepared with a warranty slip, and a 3-day replacement service. 

By Saturday morning I was pleasantly surprised to receive two texts from Kimstore. The first one was from their accounting department, double-checking the amount that I have to their point person: 

Then one from Kim of Kimstore herself! 

I super appreciated both texts since it showed their quality control, and made sure that each customer felt special and taken care of. 

All in all, I will still buy from Kimstore in the future. The hiccups along the way were alright, and weren't much of a hassle for me to pull the plug on my order. They do have the lowest prices for gadgets that I know of, and that alone is worth it :) 

Product bought: 5 stars 

People skills: 4.5 stars 

Service: 4.5 stars