:(

I didn't think my clamor would come to this.
I should probably send the website to the company huh?

Thanks to my dear friends.

Being 'judgmental' and 'generalizing' will get you nowhere.
People who do not know me have no right to judge me.

Read about it more here...
More on MY multiply

My POINT is...

If a doctor insulted/argued with a patient, or was even brash to the patient, won't we hear an endless incident report about it?

We will NEVER be EXCUSED for our behavior, EVER.

Why the double standard?

Starbucks DISAPPOINTED me...

Anyone who knows me KNOWS just how much I LOVE Starbucks. It's seen me through my life's mind-boggling stages. I've ALWAYS loved it because of the customer service, and the friendly atmosphere.

ONE experience disappointed me... TERRIBLY.
Okay, let's say that this 'barista' cannot really REPRESENT her company as she should. BUT the way the company handled my complaint was very DISAPPOINTING. I didn't expect this from a company that speaks of EXCELLENCE.

After all this, ALL I got was a SORRY email??? A week later? And a text message from the district manager? That's IT???
This was how they treated their LOYAL customers?

DISAPPOINTING.

I'm not posting this for ANYONE to boycott them or what-not (I still go there everyday - MAYBE I should stop?), I just want people to know that this is how this highly esteemed company handled my complaint.

*********************
June 22, 2007

Customer Service Department
Rustans Coffee Corporation
3/F Urban Building
405 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City

Dear Sir/Madam,

Greetings!

I am writing this letter as an avid customer of Starbucks ever since you opened your first branch at Ayala 6750. I grew up with Starbucks, as it saw me through my college days at the Katipunan branch, medical school at Rob Place Manila branch, medical boards at the Makati branches, overseas licensure exams at the Greenhills branches. I have tried ALL the other coffeeshops for different reasons, especially when the prices were getting more expensive, but after all that, I still kept coming back to my friendly neighborhood Starbucks. I get my caffeine fix almost everyday, and I have become personal friends with some of your baristas through time, especially the ones at the Greenhills West (iBank) branch which closed down last year.

I have been a faithful customer mainly because of the service your company stands for. Having known a lot of your 'partners' personally, I know that training entails them to be FRIENDLY and accommodating. It is part of your company's international standards and commandments, so this has been something I have always loved about going to a Starbucks branch.

Because of this, I was irked by an incident I experienced earlier today at your Galleria branch. These days, I usually frequent your branches at Silver City and at Chili's in Greenhills. I ordered a drink I have been ordering since time immemorial, SKIM LATTE with WHITE MOCHA syrup. Call it redundant, but I find its taste just right, in comparison to your WHITE CHOCOLATE MOCHA (which was too sweet at times). I know that the composition is quite similar, but it is not my problem as a customer to analyze that. The Latte makes me happy, and that is what I should get. I was there at your Galleria branch today, June 22, Friday at around 1653 (as it says on the receipt), and I was dealt with by this partner named ****. She was tall and thin, in a ponytail, Chinese looking. There were two other partners, a thin guy and this petite girl. In the first place, there was a problem with the line. There were three of them and they couldn't seem to figure out who should man the cashier. They were all running around, and the store wasn't even FULL to begin with. The guy partner told me, "Miss, dun po yung pila," and he did not even address me as a Ma'am. So I went my way and waited for them to finish with the customer. When it was my turn, this **** takes my order. I wanted a TALL LATTE with WHITE MOCHA syrup. She corrected me and figured that I wanted a White MOCHA. I repeatedly emphasized my order, and she said there was no such thing. I told her that I have been ordering that said drink ever since. She tries arguing with me, but I was already getting irritated at that point. It was 5 in the afternoon, and I wanted MY cup of coffee. She wanted to look for the MOD and apparently, this girl went out. I was already asking for my money back, and telling her that if she did not want to make my drink, it was fine with me. She even as much as 'quizzed' me as to how many pumps of syrup the partners usually placed, and I said two. After a few minutes (I was not smiling and I wanted to LEAVE at this point), I told her to just give me my money back if she would not allow my drink. She eventually said that it was fine. And then asking me which branches I ordered this drink from, to which I answered, "Greenhills." That was it. She never even apologized for the inconvenience she caused and she never made excuses for her actions. She didn't even sound apologetic. She made me sound like I was stupid and I didn't know what I was talking about.

I cannot excuse this behavior. I do not really care about the differences between a latte with white mocha syrup, and the white chocolate mocha. That isn't my problem. I do not even care if it's the same thing. That's not for me to know. **** does not know the meaning of customer service. She does not even have the qualities of a partner to begin with. I have encountered a whole of lot baristas in my life since I am there almost 5 times a week. I have never experienced dealing with someone like her in ANY Starbucks branch, even abroad. And this incident saddened me.

I have always been a strong advocate of your store. In fact, I will still be a loyal customer. I have written this complaint because I want you to take action regarding this matter. People like this do not deserve to carry your store's name. She gives all the other partners a bad name.

I am looking forward to a response and an action as soon as possible. I trust that your company upholds its international and local standards of excellence, with no excuses.

You can reach me at 0**********, or email me at this address. I have attached a copy of the OR # 00620098, Her ID was ****.

Thank you very much.



Sincerely,

(signed)
Philline Peppermint David Tanchi, MD

*******

THIS WAS ALL THEY HAD TO SAY??


Greetings!


Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are very sorry to hear about your experience at Starbucks Galleria.

Providing prompt and professional customer service is our priority, so your comments are of great concern to us. To address this incident, I have already relayed your feedback to the District Manager in charge of Starbucks Galleria so that she may take appropriate action and ensure that this does not happen again.

We sincerely appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention and giving us the opportunity to address your concerns. We hope you continue to let us know how we are doing as it helps us improve on the quality of our products and customer service. Please feel free to send me another e-mail at this address or at kpuno@rustancoffee.com should you have any more comments or inquiries regarding our stores.


Very truly yours,



*********

Operations Services Specialist
Rustan Coffee Corporation

I'm a NERD. Haha.

Your Score: Pure Nerd

78 % Nerd, 13% Geek, 34% Dork

For The Record:



A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.



You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.



The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.



Congratulations!





Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

He says, "I'm his IPO."

I asked him, "Gusto mo ba akong sumama sa Naga?"

He said, "Gusto nga kitang pakasalan. Tinatanong mo pa 'yan?!"

My heart SMILED.

Happy 47 months my baby.

Happy birthday to my dearest (and only) brother in the whole world!
You're binata na!!

Sigh. He's 13 years younger than me.
Now I feel OLD.

Love you, bro!! :)

Starbucks, i love...

For the first time since it opened its doors at 6750, I had a really bad experience with one of the baristas at their Galleria branch last Friday. It was bad enough to prompt me to write them a letter of complaint.

I'll give the details as I await their reply. Let's see if they live up to their trademark 'customer service.'

All-out?

Stel and I have been together for almost four years.

And ONE of the things we love to do together, is obviously, to EAT. OUT.

When we were starting to date back then, we would go on dates to high-end restaurants, ordering the menu for the day or the specials, or the featured drink. We would have full course meals, go to hotels and fancy restaurants. And I would have flowers galore too. Everything would cost A LOT.

We started out as friends... and I remember him telling me that he'd rather not put out everything during the courting stage. He'd rather NOT fully impress the girl, shower her with gifts and spoil her, nor take her to 'fancy' places just to impress. He was 'kuripot' to the core, in some ways, if you knew him as a friend. Or he'd have his VERY generous days, but he'd rather save for that next big gadget purchase.

It's so funny that we ended up together. I knew 'almost' everything about him. So it was fun seeing him do his 'thing' even though I kinda knew what to expect. But boy, was I surprised...

When we officially became a couple, Stel spoiled me TO BITS. As in. I was the eldest in the family, so I was usually doing the 'taking care of' and the 'spoiling.' I never experienced being 'spoiled,' but Stel allowed me to be just that. He even supported my crazy Havaianas phase (oo nga, tsinelas lang yun) back when I was living on an allowance. He'd put up a fight, of course, but he'd still get them for little old me. He 'supported' me when we were having a bit of a difficult time at home (I'll never EVER forget that B!). And among other things, he'd always be willing to GO the mile for me.

As months passed, and we became 'officially unemployed,' we both grew to be practical too. About where we eat, and how we spend our money. I remember how I always used to comment about how you'd know that a couple on a date was just recently going out. The girl would usually order a fresh fruit shake, the cost would cover for an appetizer, or even a dish. We've discovered that WATER was heavenly. And more importantly, it was free. That would depend on the establishment though. If it was quite doubtful (especially after my bout with Hepa), we would rather order a p40-50 soda in can, rather than take the risk.

We would have our cheapo nights, fastfood nights, or even the average-priced restos night. There's something we agree on though, we hardly eat in foodcourts. NOT for anything else, just because it makes us uncomfortable.

But I noticed that when we both started earning a bit again, we would have these ALL-OUT days, and dates. Stel knows I'm used to eating with a variety of dishes all the time (Blame it on my dad. Plus mabilis ako magsawa...), so he couldn't help but order an appetizer or two whenever we would go out to eat.

He's a spoiler. I know I'm lucky. There are days when we crave for fast food, and there are days for pampering and all-out dates. There are days when we hardly have money in our wallets. And a p45 lechon liempo meal at Yoohoo makes us both happy. (BUT for a drink at Starbucks? That's another story..)

*******
Don't worry Stel.
I'd always have fun with our Yoo-hoo and Soms dinners, as much as our Spiral and Sugi dates. It doesn't matter where. As long as we're together. (Cheesy yun ha!!) :)

a mess.
utterly chaotic.
my room. i don't even know how to fix it all up.

haay naku.

ps. why are my blogger settings in Tagalog? One time it was in Spanish.
what's up with that?

I was waiting for my dad in the car when i saw this guy, maybe about early 20s, all disheaveled, BEGGING.

And of course, NO ONE was minding him.

He was a grown man for God's sake. He could've found a job, one way or another. He looked like he was stoned though.

I know I'm being self-righteous here, but people like that CAN work. He was able-bodied. He had all four extremities intact, he didn't seem to be blind or deaf anyway...

There are MORE people out there who deserve our help, the orphans, the widows, the physically challenged...

NOT people like him.

I won't apologize for this post. Just makes me weirdly irritated, and sad.

Congratulations!

Stel had his interview at the US embassy this morning...

And his wish was granted :)

Yahoo. Congratulations my baby.

Weather-weather lang.

There's this thinking I have always TRIED to live by...
Life is a matter of perspective.

I was at my favorite coffeeshop this afternoon, trying to read Pediatrics, and actually just escaping from the heat at home (and mooch off free A/C). The people seated beside me seemed like they were already Oncology fellows (because of what they were talking about). There were two fellows, and they were both reading thick Oncology books, probably for a subspecialty board exam or something. The other one was quiet, paying attention, and focused. While the other person kept on talking, NONSTOP. And she just couldn't stop complaining. And I mean, complain. About how she was meant to study her whole life, about how she couldn't remember what she was studying, about how much she still had to study... The list goes on. I was seated right beside them on wall couches, so I could hear every little thing they were saying (I miss my iPOD!!). I pity her friend. She was focused, and all this girl could do was talk and talk and complain. If only she spent MORE time reading, and less time complaining...

Just stop complaining and START living. Life is a matter of attitude.

Envision, claim it, and OWN it.

Oh c'mon.

Now listen, you who say,
Today or tomorrow, we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

What is your life?
You are a MIST that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say,
If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.

James 4 : 13-15

*************
As I enter a new year in my life (I'm 28!!), this is the verse I'd like to live by.

Teach me Lord to NEVER ever lose sight of THIS.

Thanks to everyone who made my day special. :)

Thanks for all the text messages and greetings.

My birthday wish? Secret. :)

:)

Divine appointments

I have always, always believed that GOD has a plan for all of us. If you want to make Him laugh, make plans yourself.

Sometimes we can never really say what He has in store. Sometimes all our plans seem to be all laid out, but things just don't seem to go our way. Because it just isn't our destiny.

I believe in FATE, and I believe in DESTINY. There are DIVINE COINCIDENCES.

I met with one of my best doctor friends today... and seeing how her life turned out just made me see God's hand in everything. She was offered a residency position, with only ONE interview, in a hospital right near her Uncle's place. If that wasn't God's providence, I wouldn't know what you would call it. It's amazing how she was placed in the right place at the right time. With how her life has been lately, I think that this truly is the BEST for her. And I do wish her WELL.

If you are a doctor who participated in the US matching, you'd know just how FORTUNATE my friend was. THAT ONE interview was THE interview. I know of people who've been called for a number of hospitals, and they were never offered a contract.

THIS was for her.

And with that, I believe that there's something out there for me too. :)

I cannot believe I'm this excited about studying again.

My next exam isn't until October, but I'm getting myself used to the ACT of studying. It's quite difficult to get back once you've been off school for 2 years na... (THAT long?)

I should take driving lessons ASAP. And EXERCISE.

Self improvement is the key.

Pray for my applications to Oz. Lord willing, I'll be there by December. Sigh.

I dreamt that I took an exam, and was SUPER unprepared, I didn't even have the pencils for it.

Scary. It was indeed a nightmare.

Was it telling me something?

Bureaucracy at its finest

Stel's driving license expires this month... And since he had a 'free' day the other week, he decided to try and renew his license at the Cainta LTO. Misdirected, he waited in line for 3 hours... just to be told that he had to leave his papers, and he will be contacted if he was then eligible to have his license renewed there.

Stupid reason. They claimed that he didn't have a record there, and their computers were offline... Hence, they couldn't grant him his renewal. THIS after having him wait for three hours, then being contacted a week later. The thing is, they actually KEPT his papers - and it was difficult to retrieve them later.

He took the day off today to go to the Manila LTO to renew his license. He came in VERY early... only to be told that the computers were OFFLINE. Unfortunate huh?

We thought it was a sign that he shouldn't be driving. Harhar.

Later this afternoon, our driver accompanied him to the Pasig Kapitolyo LTO. And because we've been going there for years, he knew 'someone' on the inside. Without any bruhaha, no questions asked, he came out an hour later with a NEW photocard license in his hands. Without much hassle. How hard could it be to renew a driver's license? :)

It was indeed bureaucracy at its finest. We try and try to curb this 'kakilala' mentality... But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, the system WILL NOT work, unless we know someone on the inside.

Kainis no?

Happiness is this...

Wishlist, wishlist...

These are cheap lang ha.. :)

It's Stel's day...

But he's been busy with residency. He couldn't even 'skip' a day of work. So we had to make do with FAST dinners...

Dampa with BJ and Lee-an

RASTRO at Rockwell. LOVED the Spanish food!!

Sakae Sushi. To satisfy our raw fish cravings..

Why did we go back???

This was my gift, mounted on a 20x20 board. Pretty :)

I wish I could claim all the glory for it though. Hehe..

Thanks to Obey, Eyeedge. You have great talent dude :)

Happy happy Birthday Stelly!!!

He holds the BEST chocolates in the world.

It's the day when you're finally a year older than me...
which only lasts a good 9 days.

Happy birthday to my BEST friend, my teddy bear, my STELLY :)

This was where we came from....

I'm glad I'm finally well!! :)