Coach Potato's Consumer Watch

DHL as rapists of already murdered victims: Confirmed. Boycott DHL!

2010-07-26T00:58:00.000+08:00

You can read again about this whole ordeal we had to contend with here: http://carbonaramara.blogspot.com/2010/07/not-smiling-at-dhl-and-bureau-of.html.

Another thing here is, in addition to my three earlier posts, that DHL told us, before we agreed to paying those SCAM payments, that they have paid the customs 1,500+ pesos and that they will give us the receipt for the payment of such. Liars! The customs receipt was only around 900+ pesos!

I heard from other complaints that fees you pay to DHL for "customs charges" are larger than through other carriers. (Refer to links I posted in the earlier posts.)

I will lobby to Amazon against the use of DHL as courier for future shipments to the Philippines. They are abusive. They are liars. They are thieves. They are rapists of victims already murdered by the Customs! These people have no soul, no heart, no responsibility, selfish, no sympathy. Maybe because they are not a Filipino company? And they demand the same steal-from-(your-fellow-)Filipinos attitude from their Filipino employees?

Boycott DHL! Never, ever again. Their reputation to me is beyond reparation. I don't know about you.

Boycott DHL: Update

2010-07-22T18:25:00.001+08:00

I've talked about the Customs putting duty taxes on books contrary to an international agreement that the Philippines was a signatory to years ago to meet their revenue targets, and DHL automatically paying such duty taxes without consultation or chance for review by us recipients and therefore we are supposed to pay for any artificially inflated duties. Anyways, we've complained, diplomatically, to DHL about the inflated shipping charge on which the duty was based on, and guess what. The fun never ends.

So I mentioned yesterday that the shipping costs for our shipment was only 29 USD but on DHL's statement it says 55 USD and so duty taxes being levied on us were artificially inflated. We complained about this and essentially, a certain Ms. Rose from DHL essentially told us (not verbatim), "That's the standard shipping rate used in these computations, and it's the one for shipments from the US. You should be thankful to us because they did not use the standard shipping rate for shipments from Japan which would have been higher."

YES FOLKS, DHL CLAIMS WE SHOULD EVEN BE GRATEFUL TO THEM IN THIS SITUATION. Personally, I would be more grateful if DHL closes shop in the Philippines. Heck, wherever else they are a pain in the lower back of the people there.

So next, calmly we asked them for documentation as to where such "standard shipping rates" are listed. Ms. Rose confirmed that there is such a thing of course and that they can produce the document, but she asked us to look for it instead ourselves on the (Philippine) Bureau of Customs and the IATA websites.

This is what I call WASHING THE HANDS. It is also called BEING IRRESPONSIBLE. Sadly, on DHL's website you can see they would like to be RESPONSIBLE... to the environment and to little school kids (awwww). But apparently NOT TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. In our case, they probably don't consider us as customers. So what do they consider us (recipients of parcels)? Nuisance? That's how I feel in all this mess. They don't think that we could be potential customers in the future. I guess they don't want that to happen. And I can tell you with this incident, that will never happen. Unless, like the liars that they are, they change their name (from DHL) and no one knows about it.

Anyways, this is also what I consider "diversionary tactics." This is what LIARS and SCAMMERS do when they have lied to you and are scamming you. For example, a liar/scammer would approach a young, innocent child and ask him to "donate" 100 pesos to a certain charity, and he gets to receive a special gift right away (worth much less than 100 pesos), and that his name and other donors' names would be announced tonight "at 8:00pm on radio station XXX." So what happens is the scammer runs away with the poor child's money, and there really is no such announcements on any radio show.

This is exactly what DHL is doing by diverting us to go visit the Customs and IATA websites when IT SHOULD BE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVE TO US THAT THEY ARE NOT STEALING MONEY FROM US.

I mean come on, if you are really willing to help, you don't have to "divert" us. Just do it. Or you can just say "I'll get back to you." No need for diversions! BUT NO, WE WON'T EVER BE GRATEFUL FOR SERVICE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE US ANYWAY, BECAUSE IT HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID FOR. If you are unhappy with your job, or unhappy with certain customers, then change careers!

Anyway, this is very, very unprofessional of DHL, in my opinion! Yes, DHL Management. If you didn't know yet, your staff reflect what kind of people you are. If you think you need to remove some people from your staff... and I think you will think of doing just that... I think an overhaul is necessary if you ever want to gain trust from us every again. For now, no, never DHL again. There are just other better options out there.

Boycott DHL!

By the way, I am not affiliated with any other shipping/courier companies.

Anyways, for more interesting reading, visit these forums:
http://www.gamingnewslink.com/2008/07/30/bureau-of-customs-taxes-on-play-asia-orders-to-the-philippines/
http://bmpm.abs-cbnnews.com/blogs/ems-post-office.html
http://forums.ebay.ph/thread.jspa?threadID=600000275&start=0

As I mentioned, the Bureau of Customs' crime against the Filipino people, and their getting away with it has led to companies such as DHL apparently taking advantage of these situations, further adding insult to injury.

From the experiences of other people, another entity to avoid is this certain Post Office in Pasay, where usually most parcels sent by EMS are dropped off. Customs officials there are said to have this "You're wrong, I'm right, if you really want your parcel, pay me whatever I tell you to pay me" attitude. I am so over this attitude; I hear it a lot from cops in the Philippines. But hey, I'm not saying it's only in the Philippines. I experienced such an attitude from a cop in India as well. I think you could expect something similar also in developed nations like Japan. Even if the whole world was doing it, that doesn't make it right.

Boycott DHL!

2010-07-21T18:28:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I talked about the Bureau of Customs imposing taxes where there shouldn't be any, and more importantly these are on books.

But actually, there is another culprit, I don't know if they have some relationship with the Customs Bureau, but it feels like there is. I'm talking about DHL, the courier service.

When I bought two books and sent them to the Philippines, I understood that the cost of shipping is higher than the cost of the books, and that there might be some customs duty taxes that maybe imposed on the shipment. I've ordered books online before and I've never been charged any high customs taxes even for books that were worth more than US$ 50. I received those books through the Philippine Postal Service.

However, it is unfortunate that DHL was used for the shipping service this time around.

As I have mentioned on my blog post yesterday, there is some issue on the levying of customs duty taxes on imported books in the Philippines. Supposedly because the Philippines is a signatory to the Florence Agreement, there should be no duty taxes. But the Bureau of Customs in the Philippines, contrary to this international agreement, imposes duty taxes on books but no more than 5%, plus 12% value-added-tax.

We cannot do anything about this, so initially we could accept a 5% + 12% = 17% tax on our books, which is around 266 JPY (around 142 PHP) only of the 1567 JPY value of the books.

But now DHL is charging for so much more.

They said that the 17% should be charged on the cost of the books AND the shipping. So because the shipping cost (based on my invoice and as deducted from my credit card) is 2500 JPY, 17% of 4067 JPY (1567+2500) is 691 JPY (369 PHP). This is frustrating, but because we cannot fight against DHL or the Customs (we are but only citizens) and we cannot do anything about all this, okay fine, we can still accept paying such costs.

But now, they say that shipping charges are equivalent to around 4788 JPY, and not 2500 JPY! I don't know where they got that number, or how they invented a shipping cost of 4788 JPY when clearly from my invoice the shipping is only 2500 JPY! I mean if they know of any documentation, they should just provide us, right? But no, they just simply asked us to pay for taxes on a 4788 JPY shipping rate and not 2500 JPY. Don't they even check such very simple matter? They actually have a copy of our invoice with the actual shipping rate!

There is some word that if the cost of the shipments are less than 50 USD, there are no customs duties to be paid. I am not sure how true is this. But my orders' cost is approximately 18 USD, and the shipment cost (2500 JPY) is approximately 29 USD so the total is only around 47 USD. This is probably the reason why they artificially inflated the cost of shipment from 2500 JPY (29 USD) to 4788 JPY (55 USD), to increase the total "dutiable" costs from around 47 USD to 73 USD (now greater than 50 USD)! Apparently, 55 USD is already the cheapest rate. So if there is such a 50 USD exemption, and shipping charges are also levied a duty, and meanwhile they are using shipping charges over 50 USD, then practically all imports will be levied duty taxes?????? Again, I am not very sure about this 50 USD exemption. Maybe it's an old rule. Still, why inflate???

But anyway, clearly, someone is trying to steal money from us, and taking advantage of our situation (i.e. that we cannot fight them because they are a big company and we are only "customers").

DHL would claim that it is the Bureau of Customs that charges these things. But I heard that other shipping companies (like FedEx) charge much less than what DHL charges in terms of customs duties. Maybe because these other companies exert the extra little effort to report actual shipping costs to Customs. How difficult is it to look at a piece of paper?

And maybe those other companies are unlike DHL who charges a slew of other things: an import processing fee, a handling fee, and an "informal entry declaration." and we're also supposed to pay for value-added-taxes on a certain brokerage fee, "documentary stamps," and again the import processing fee. Okay, so maybe those are Customs-mandated fees. To tell you the truth, I see DHL and the Customs as one and the same thing. Or, that they are like "kumpadres." Birds of the same feather flock together.

This was sent by a certain Ms. Rose from DHL. Usually you would hear people just say "I'm only following orders from my superiors." Or I need to meet deadlines. Or targets. Whatever! Sounds like the Customs to me.

Anyone know e-mail addresses of big wigs at DHL we can flood with comments? Unfortunately for this Ms. Rose or whoever are on the first rung of the corporate ladder, they might also need to find a new job, because typical of many big companies in the Philippines, they just fire off these frontliners who make a bad name for them, to "wash their hands" on this matter. The thing is, this is DHL. DHL should take responsibility. Otherwise, obviously DHL is not a service we can trust.

So now they are charging us a total value of equivalently 2953 JPY, which is almost TWO TIMES the value of the books we ordered, and nearly THREE TIMES more than what we believe should be the total of customs taxes (customs duties and value-added-tax) that we should only be paying for.

We are willing to pay for the customs taxes and those alone, because those are the only ones I expected to pay. We are not willing to pay the additional charges that DHL or Customs (are they twins?) has put upon us, including the artificial adjustment of the shipping costs which affected the amount of taxes.

But also apparently, DHL already paid (or so they say) the duty taxes before consulting with us, and hence there cannot be any negotiations anymore with the Customs. So we cannot anymore argue about the inflated shipping charges on which they based their duty taxes on. Something smells fishy. Does DHL people have informal agreements with Customs people??? Why is it that customs charges are larger when DHL is the shipping company, compared to when other companies are used???

We cannot do anything about this now. Except definitely, all online establishments should not choose DHL anymore, and definitely no, we consumers, who pay for services such as this, should not choose them anymore as welll. Or at least that there should always be an option to choose which shipping company to use, so that we can choose companies other than DHL.

DHL should likewise pay for all their sins against the Filipino people. Or at least show some concern! They are being accomplices of and just as evil (or maybe more) than the Customs. If the Customs are Cultural Killers, DHL is like a rapist of the already murdered victims. Apparently, blood is thicker than water. Their Kumpareng Customs' trust is more important than ours.

Boycott DHL!

P.S. Refer to this link again: http://rubylovesadventure.blogspot.com/2010/03/boycott-on-dhl-express-philippines-for.html

The Philippines' Bureau of Customs: Corruption Den & Cultural Killers?

2010-07-20T19:29:00.001+08:00

There is an international treaty called the Florence Agreement to which the Philippines is a signatory. It basically calls for books to be duty-free; that is if they are imported, no duty taxes are to be levied by the Bureau of Customs (or equivalent) of each respective signatory country.

For around 50 years, this was in effect here in the Philippines. But only until 2005 came when the Bureau of Customs (BOC) were under fire for not meeting revenue targets. When one importer brought in a bunch of books of the international bestseller, Twilight, one customs inspector named Rene Agulan thought of opening the imports and then imposing duty tax. Soon after, the BOC issued a department order that said only "educational, scientific, and cultural" books are duty-exempt. This was echoed as well by a BOC Undersecretary. And so you could say importing almost any kind of book in to the Philippines would mean you have to pay duties. Even if it was "educational, scientific, or cultural," you would still be required to secure a certification from the Department of Education (DepEd). No, it's not easy to do that. Not with all the RED TAPE in the government. So who would import books? Or, now imported books sold at local stores are even more expensive (and hence less accessible)!

This, to me and many other book lovers and booksellers, is obviously a crime against the Filipino people. You are practically limiting access to all this wealth of books available from outside. I don't know how anyone could grow by staying at home and without learning from what is outside the home.

To tell you the truth, I am very, very angry about all this.

They even levy a tax on the shipping charges! So I had books sent, amounting to around 840 pesos, with shipping and handling costs around 1645 pesos. We are being charged more than 1500 pesos in duty taxes for all this! What?

We are only members of the "madla;" we cannot fight these people who have ropes around our necks in this situation. So fine, we will pay. But I read that the maximum duties to be levied are supposedly only at 5%, plus VAT (12%). Okay, fine, because we cannot fight these cowards (i.e. they pick on somebody less powerful than them - us), we will pay. But 5% + 12% = 17% of 840 pesos is not anywhere near 1500 pesos. But no, their stupid rules say supposedly the 17% tax total is on the 840+1645=2485 pesos! But still that is nowhere near 1500 pesos!

This is one thing I hate about MANY FILIPINOS. Many I know commit wrong things and they justify it. They come to you with a straight face and say "I am not wrong, you are." Or, "pasensya na po, trabaho lang po." This is exactly what they are doing. Selfish!

Anyways, I am really so angry about this. For more, visit these two very informative links:

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/manila/1dispatch6.html
http://blogs.inquirer.net/current/2009/05/10/the-great-book-blockade-of-2009-timeline-and-readings/

It is difficult to contest government, even in this so-called-democratic Philippines. No, there is no freedom here. Media should be careful of what they report, the husband of former President Arroyo said, after tens of media reporters were ambushed in Mindanao.

I mean now, here we are up against a government entity, the BOC. Who can we go to? The Police? Another government entity? Why would I trust them?

Well we can't do anything for now. Not us. We need to be one big voice. The People Power Revolt of 1986 should have erased all remnants of corrupt people in government, but no it has now showed how much power people in government actually have. I hate to say it, but I think now because People Power is needed to topple corrupt governments, people in government now use this to take advantage of people. Who needs another People Power revolt? And who wants to do it again?

Calling on P-Noy. I think only he can do something about all this.

canned fish and similar products

2009-03-27T13:56:00.002+08:00

some canned fish (tuna, sardines, milkfish/bangus) that i just recently bought now has "Nutrition Facts" on their labels.

GREAT.

if you read closely, their Nutrition Facts say that one serving of their product contains sodium that is 25% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). one would think that going above 100% is not good for health, so if you're only consuming 25%, you are still 3 cans away from unhealthy.

WRONG.

that small, PhP11.00 can of sardines - their nutrition facts say it contains around 3 servings. so you're actually consuming an amount of sodium that is around 75% of the RDA! if you're a big person like myself, one can is just half a serving! so for a full meal i would be consuming sodium that is around 50% more than the RDA!

moral of the story:

avoid eating canned or packed food products. they usually use sodium (as part of MSG, sodium nitrate, or salt (sodium chloride)) to preserve the food product. this includes canned tuna, canned vegetables, corned beef, vienna sausages, etc.

don't buy canned or packed food products!

buy fresh, eat fresh! you're also helping the environment (and you don't even know it).

know the facts! ingredients, nutrition facts, etc.

read the product labels!

don't buy food without the appropriate product labels!

know your limits! (some people should definitely have much less sodium intake per day)

Bigby's

2009-02-15T10:20:00.000+08:00

We first tried Bigby's when we visited Cagayan de Oro ("CDO") down south. It was such a treat. While at Bigby's, we felt the "this is CDO" feeling, just as we did when we hung on the zip line, and paddled while on the white water rafts, and ate all-you-can-eat chicken at Sunburst, and all the other CDO-only restaurants.

Now, CDO is right here in Metro Manila - in Megamall!

First impression - it's too small a place. It was packed! Otherwise, it felt like the Bigby's of CDO except - Bigby's didn't feel like it belonged to a mall. Like in CDO, it should be outside, preferably with a building of its own, or when you exit from the place, you're already at the parking lot at the very least.

Second impression - oh no, one less reason to go to CDO! :( Good thing we still have good friends in CDO. ;-D

Third impression - the food was still great! And maybe the pricing is typical. It was my Valentine's date with Mara, my girlfriend, and it was P400 per person - but we over-ordered. We forced ourselves to finish the delicious food, and we still weren't able to finish.

Oh, but we had dessert. We were supposed to order something but it wasn't available then so we settled for Coco Maja - which was a surprising treat. Corn flakes, corn, coconuts, maja blanca, cheese, and tapioka in fresh milk. Nice... idea. We can do that at home.

I also really liked their Wild Wild West rice bowl or something. It is sliced steak with a really loveable smokey and garlic-ey taste. Of course if I would like to avoid cancer, smokey is not good.

Their carbonara is not great but it has an identify of its own.

Their fries - we should've just bought from McDonald's.

We also got their soup (corn chowder) and deck combo (half serving of their cold-cuts triple decker sandwich). Nice.

One thing we didn't get to try again this time around at Megamall was their... chocolate midnight dream cake. Or something like that. They were aggressively selling heart-shaped versions of it for Valentine's.

One thing we should have tried are their ribs!

One last impression - we noticed no one (else) was ordering desserts. In fact, it appeared that no one knew they had desserts and the waiters didn't give the dessert menu until someone (like we did) asked for them. I noticed two couples going to the adjacent Amici after their meals at Bigby's!

We remembered at CDO, that's the very first thing you will notice when you enter their store - you can see their cakes and other desserts on display. No such display when we visited Bigby's at Megamall last Valentine. We were thinking, maybe there were just too many people so they had to move it away for the time being.

I hope Bigby's gets known also for their desserts and they find a better place outside of Megamall. Otherwise, I do not know now when I will go back to CDO.

Talking Tongues, San Agustin St., Salcedo Village, Makati

2009-02-14T10:16:00.000+08:00

Chinese-Indonesian food. Yummy. I like their satay better than Malaysian or Singaporean satay. It's just less peanuty. And less sweet. I don't like ultra-sweet barbecue anyway. If I wanted ultra-sweet pork, I would look for 'tocino' instead.

Anyway - we ate their special seafood rice, noodles with chicken and mushrooms, and beef ball soup. All highly recommended. Go support this startup. They offered 20% discounts on their first week of business (until 14 Feb 2009). Otherwise, it's around P200 per person here. Not for your everyday Makati lunch. The interiors look nice but I don't know if it's fit for a business meeting.

Sinbad's, San Agustin St., Salcedo Village, Makati

2009-02-07T10:12:00.000+08:00

Sinbad's - not bad. For two people, it turned out to be P400 per person. But you would feel like you've been taken to another place. Great mediterranean and middle eastern fare - for once in a while. :-)

Cafe Coeli (Timog Ave.) v.s. Brewing Point (Tierra Pura), both in Quezon City

2008-10-06T00:10:00.000+08:00

We tried this new start-up place, Cafe Coeli, and well, here's the good and the bad.

1. I like that it's a startup.
2. I like that there's free WiFi.
3. The food they have tastes good but is not great. This maybe a sign of things to come for their franchise. However, as Mara said, people don't come there to eat. But I thought, the food occupies 1/2 of their menu! We didn't yet try their shakes, or coffees, etc. Who seems to be the owner-manager of the place did ask us to taste-test their new concoction, iced coffee jelly. See #6.
4. There is something wrong about the interiors. I noticed that there it uses one color too many. Blue and yellow - sure, that's their color. Black and all other neutrals are fine. But pink? How did that get in there?
5. Related to #4, although they have couches, their chairs, made of steel aren't comfortable to sit in through a meal and dessert. (Maybe that was intentional so that people do not stay in there for so long?) The steel chairs and tables sort of blend with the overall theme of the place though. There is something wrong about the interiors.
6. The iced coffee jelly was a little too sweet, but I think the ice just melted. I guess that's just right for iced coffee. It was just a small serving; the owner-manager said they'll even serve it with whip cream and cherry. We ordered I think tiramisu for dessert. It was nice. But again, it wasn't great.

I find that Brewing Point is a better place in most aspects; it's just more out of the way for most people. (In certain situations, that might be more advantageous.) Nonetheless, we'll come back to taste their shakes at Cafe Coeli. Hopefully those shakes will change my impression of this place. I still like that they have free Wifi! Brewing Point also has Free Wifi.

Hotels in India

2008-09-15T00:10:00.000+08:00

I have stayed so far in five hotels in India, three of which are what I would call "Indian-style" hotels - the interiors are Indian. The rest are what I would call "Western-style" hotel. All five have complimentary breakfast.

The first three hotels I stayed in are Indian-style hotels and have rates of $40, $70, and $100 per night. A $100 per night hotel, to me and to all Filipinos here in the Philippines, would be a four-star hotel already. In India, that $100 hotel is (by my Westernized standards) just a 2-star hotel.

I stayed in what I think is a 3-star Western-style hotel in an industrial town some 200 kilometers away from Delhi. The rate is also $100 per night. Quite expensive but it was within budget. It is a relief for westernized me because it feels comfortable to me. I would think there is nothing wrong with the first three hotels I stayed in except that I think it just doesn't suit my personal taste.

The second hotel is actually a business hotel in Delhi, and if you like a little taste of India in terms of accomodations and so on, try that hotel. I forgot the name. I got it at ~$70 per night, and it is to me a 2-star hotel. They only gave you Sunsilk sachets for your shampoo though. I guess you should just be thankful you get free shampoo. I don't think they gave you toothbrush and toothpaste; I don't recall exactly. I think it's quite expensive.

The last hotel I stayed in, this time in Mumbai, was quite new and it felt to me like a 4-star hotel from the inside, but from the outside, it is really a 3-star hotel. It's ~$160 per night. Very expensive for a 3-star hotel! There's this other hotel which I would think is a 4-star hotel, and it's ~$300 per night. Five star hotels in Mumbai could be as much as $500 to $700 per night!

So there's my major complaint of these hotels in India:
1. They're expensive. In general, I think anything which tourists/foreigners would use or visit are expensive. I guess it's something you have to be prepared for when visiting India. A bottle of water is just Rs.10 in the streets, but it's at least Rs.80 in the hotels, and as much as Rs.100.

2. Let's say they give you toothbrush and toothpaste for your first night, they won't give you new ones for your second night's stay, and maybe for the rest of your stay. They would give you two complimentary packets each of coffee, tea, sugar, and creamer on your first day, but they might just give you one each on the next day, and so on. They would give you two bars of soap on your first night, but not on your second night, and so on. You would have one towel the first night, but not on the second night. So eco-awareness aside, if you want a complete set of those "freebies" - soap, coffee, tea, sugar, creamer, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving kit, shampoo, lotion, etc. - on your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th night at these hotels, check out then check back in at a different room. For the first night, you'll get everything but not if you stay one night longer (though the rate is the same). But who would do that? Who would check out every morning and just check in again in the evening? Then what they are doing, to me is taking advantage of people, and poor service. And that happened to me at these 3-star hotels. That doesn't happen to me in the Philippines (for 3-star hotels). Maybe it won't happen to me when I check in at a 4-star or better hotel - but check out my comment number 1 above.

Three of the hotels I was talking about are: The Airport Hotel, Delhi; Peninsula Grand, Mumbai; and Mountview Hotel, Chandigarh.

Kenny Roger's Roasted: The Sequel

2008-09-08T00:09:00.000+08:00

I can't believe I just ate at Kenny Roger's again. I never learned. But I had no choice really. I wanted a place where they have healthy vegetables and/or fruits (Jollibee, McDo, and Shakey's, etc. around Katipunan don't usually have such - their salads are not salads in my vocabulary). It was past 8pm already and I was so hungry na. I went there because parking was a problem at other places where they might have vegetables. I got a Super Solo chicken meal which had 1/4 chicken, a "cup" of rice, one side dish (I got fresh fruit salad),

Anyhow, here are three "complaints" which I would not expect at an American establishment:
1. My brother ordered soup, but the cashier did not punch it in and did not give us any until after we asked them why they didn't give us what we supposedly ordered for. (They didn't serve our meal right away, so we expected it will arrive. Was it our fault we didn't check the receipt?)

2. The chicken was burnt! And it was probably just microwaved. The chicken meat was... Well, just imagine that: burnt outside (skin), and microwaved an X number of times. Can you imagine how "makunat" the meat was? Thank God for my young teeth, I was still able to chew them.

3. The fruit salad turned out to be a pineapple salad, with one small peach cube. Fruit salad? Just because there are two fruits in there - 6 small slices of pineapple and 1 small peach cube - you call that a fruit salad already? So it's 8pm. Maybe the pineapples and oranges and cherries have run out. Who cares? Then don't tell me you have fruit salad! Then I shouldn't have gotten fruit salad! This doesn't happen in other countries.

Alas, demand (for fast food) is higher than the supply. Kenny Roger's gets away with all these things. Just as Jollibee gets away (most of the time) with bland Coke and just one small piece of very thin paper napkin (tissue). Are paper napkins so expensive you have to deny us how many we really need? These are the leaders (in the food industry) here in the Philippines, and the other smaller players, I can only see them following in their footsteps. But then, it's the consumer's fault also. We accept and tolerate these practices. We continue to patronize these places. So they continue to do these things.

Ah, this is one of those things that you just let be or else, you'd be like punishing yourself if you just keep on thinking about it. Well, Kenny Roger, unfortunately this type of quality is being associated with your name. I hope you (or your kin) do something about it.

People's Palace, Greenbelt, Makati, Philippines

2008-09-08T00:07:00.000+08:00

When I first heard the name, the first thing that came to mind was “Chinese Food!”

But it’s not Chinese food. It’s Thai food actually, but like most West-Southeast Asian food (i.e. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam), there are some Indian, Malay, and Chinese influences in there.

And it’s great food. And shakes. I did not pay though when I went here, so I don’t know if it’s good value for money. From what I recall though, it’s not bad, if you can afford it.

So, looking for some place new? Go try this place.

But have you been a gastro-bug like myself? I have been around and have tried many different places; while this is good food, and perhaps it’s a cut above the rest, it’s not that exceptionally great. Not that the rest is bad. It’s just that the taste isn’t all so new to me. Catfish salad. Chicken pandan. Different Curry dishes. Green mango salad.

But what I liked here was their shakes. Did I already mention they have shakes? I mean, you might think it’s just a matter of mixing some fruits and stuff, and voila, you have a shake concoction. But that was the highlight of the night for me.

Oh, and I liked the dessert I got too. Mango with ice cream or something. But, that’s something you can have at home. Maybe I liked it because I got it (and the whole meal) for free.

So, yup, nothing’s changed. Food, better but not great. Shakes, they get a “wow! I haven’t tried that but I’m glad I did” rating. Dessert – well it might have been great because it was a good choice to match the main course I ate.

[RAW] IKEA in the Philippines!

2008-09-01T00:07:00.000+08:00

IKEA is not here yet but some enterprising entrepreneurs are selling IKEA products here.

One has a shop somewhere in Kamuning, Quezon City. Visit http://ikeaph.multiply.com/

A second one has shops in New Manila and in Makati near Bautista St. Visit http://rooms101.multiply.com/, and http://newmanila23.multiply.com/

Very limited selection though. I noticed that the prices though are as much as 50% to 100% more expensive than IKEA Singapore prices. Oh well. Beats going to Singapore, I guess.

Kenny Rogers' Roasted

2008-02-02T20:29:00.000+08:00

Hmmm, I am here to say "I never learned" again. The last three times I ate at Kenny Rogers 'here in the Philippines, I saw some disappointing things.

The first time, I ate at the Kenny Rogers' at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall in Paranaque near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. That branch seems to not have that much customers, and because maybe of their poor sales, comes the poor quality of food. I mean, I don't think that's where they can find their target market. I wonder then, how cheap maybe their rent is there. I ordered one of their "latest" products, what they call "gourmet" sandwiches. I think it was a chicken sandwich. For ~P80, it was nothing that I couldn't prepare myself at home for P20 or less. It wasn't worth it. Nothing fantastic. I would pay P20 for it somewhere else. P80 was too much. This was in early 2007.

Second time, I ate at the Kenny Rogers' at the SM Mall of Asia, just last month (January 2008). I was trying to save on money, so I got the
What has happened to you, Kenny Rogers?

And I noticed this just at that Kenny Rogers' at the SM-MOA, but they have abandoned the one-line fall-in-line-in-front-of-the-food procedure and have used instead a multiple line (one per cash register) format. It takes up a lot of space! And what happens, as the case for such formats in other restaurants, is that those people coming in late sometimes get ahead of those people who have already been in line for minutes! What the hell???

And, yep, I never learned. I ate again at another Kenny Rogers in January 2008, this time at Glorietta in Makati. I made that choice, partly because well I like the ORIGINAL Kenny Rogers roasted chicken and the ORIGINAL Kenny Rogers format - you know, you pick your side dishes with the "Solo A" meal that comes with 1/4 Chicken and a muffin. Plus I ate there because I had SodexHo Gift Certificates that Kenny Rogers' accepts. Our total meal was P280, so with my P200 GC, I practically paid only P80. For what happened at that store, I thought it P80 wasn't bad. IT WAS JUST RIGHT. Now hear this.

First, it's that "new" Kenny Rogers' meal ordering format again. I think at least one person who came in after us got ahead of us. Oh well. Then there are these on-line order takers. You know, you really order at the cashier but because of the long lines (emphasis on LONG lineS), somebody takes your order even before you reach the cashier and then gives you a piece of paper which contains your paper. Fault Number One: the order taker didn't properly get what we ordered. So the cashier had to redo his thing, probably to the chagrin of his manager. Fault Number Two: the cashier didn't take our order properly after the first fault was addressed. When our ordered arrived, my friend got the "new" "Fiesta" type of chicken, which we didn't go to Kenny Rogers' for. Fault Three: The cashier didn't give us the right change! Fortunately, they still gave us the change, except that the cashier himself just delivered it to our table. It was a frustrating evening. And then my order was gone in a flash. That was something I accepted, because I eat like an American, and well, I typically order two times the regular quantity of food orders here in the Philippines.

What's going on Kenny Rogers?

I told my friend, you see as a sign of desperation when a restaurant starts serving stuff they are not known for. Kenny Rogers with SAUSAGES? And BURGER STEAK? Come on!!! I go to Kenny Rogers for the wonderful roasted chicken and the side dishes! I go to Jollibee for Chickenjoy, what Kenny Rogers calls their "Fiesta" chicken. I go to McDonald's and/or Jollibee also for their "burger steaks." Why is Kenny Rogers offering such things?

They're losing. They haven't lost yet, but it's coming to that. And while it is generally a good business decision to "diversify," to give the customers what they want, great companies focus on their core businesses. For Kenny Rogers, I don't see SAUSAGES and BURGER STEAKS and "GOURMET" SANDWICHES which are nothing but STUFFED PANDESAL as part of their core business. And while it is obviously a good business strategy to grow, I think their supply (of outlets/branches) has far outgrown the demand. That is what I think is going wrong.

What's going on with Kenny Rogers?

I want the old Kenny Rogers back!!!

Stars Travel - still charging a 5% credit card surcharge

2008-02-01T19:42:00.000+08:00

I will still use their service in the future, but I'm just stating here a fact. Last November, I booked a trip to Shanghai with them, and because it is a "free" trip that I need to pay first in advance and reimburse after a month's time, I used my credit card again (this is my second time to do so with them). That is November 2007. Just a few months before, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) I think has already (re-)issued a circular/law disallowing any surcharges on credit card transactions. And here they are still, a-charging. I personally really didn't mind, because again, I was going to reimburse whatever they're charging to this foreign group with lots of dough. So anyway, I'm just here stating a fact. And again, I will still use their services in the future for trips around Asia, and most especially for trips to/from Japan.

Kudos to Wendy's SM Centerpoint - but I take it back, thanks to that stupid cashier. And what's up with the additional Quezon City tax on food?

2006-06-30T01:26:00.000+08:00

I haven't posted it before, but I went to Wendy's at SM Centerpoint, had I think P125 in my wallet, ordered the P125 meal, and then it turned out that the bill was more than P125, thanks to the additional tax that Quezon City imposes on these establishments (and that these establishments do not add to their listed price). So my order was there already, as well as my payment, although lacking by a few pesos. I think I told them to cancel my order na lang because it turned out I didn't have enough money pala.

The manager, a nice (young) lady, then decided to just let me go with the few bucks. Thank you, Ms. (or is it Mrs.) Manager, I'm sorry I didn't get your name.

That was a long time ago (a few months).

What's up with the Quezon City tax? Technically I'm fine with that. The extended value added tax (EVAT) after all helped strengthened the Philippine Peso. But how come these establishments (not just Wendy's, but most of the fastfood establishments including #1 Jollibee, and #2? McDonald's) do not yet include the QC tax with their listed price. For uniformity among their branches I guess. It would be weird that Value Meal #3 is PhP125 in Makati and everywhere else in the Philippines, and PhP128 or whatever in Quezon City locations. But, what's wrong with that? It's the price you have to pay for doing business in Quezon City.

Anyway, just last Tuesday, I had a snack at the same Wendy's store. Different manager now, or at least on that time and day. I paid more than enough which meant I had change. The cashier asked, "Sir, okay lang po ba na kulang ako ng 20 cents?" My mom would have reacted "Centavos, hija! Cents, mahal yon." Anyway, I reacted by saying "No." It turned out, my change should have been 21 centavos. If they just gave me 25 centavos, their change would have been over by 4 centavos only. Imagine, they were asking me to give up 21 centavos, and they can't give up 4 centavos. Wendy's earns thousands more a month than I do, and they can't afford to give me 5 times what they're demanding me to give them. Well, it's not Wendy's maybe. It's that stupid cashier. And she's not the only one. Almost everyone is like that. I pity them for they do not know what they are doing is STEALING. Well, on the good side, at least she asked me. But she asked me to give up 20 centavos but I was actually giving up 21 centavos.

Do you get my point? It is so pathetic. It's happening all over the Philippines. Is this post detrimental to Philippine Tourism? No, I don't think so. What that cashier did and that many other cashiers do, that's detrimental. We can argue all day, everyone in the Philippines always seem to justify their mistakes, even "educated" and "rich" people. A typical excuse is "everyone else does it." What you are does not define who you are, it's what you do.

JetStar Asia - Negative 5 Stars

2006-06-30T01:19:00.000+08:00

I am glad that an "Asian" airline, JetStar Asia, got some award for Best Budget Airline of the Year - this year, 2006, I think. I remember taking a "budget" airline, Southwest Airlines, back in the late 90's (or was it in 2000/2001?) to get from Oakland to San Diego, a 1-hour intra-state trip. I booked my aunt's and my own ticket over the internet. It was cool.

I did the same for my trip from Manila to Singapore. The JetStar website warned me that I will have to pay PHP550 for the terminal fee at the Manila airport. I know that already, no complaints. For any other airline I take for international trips from Manila, I will have to pay the same.

They did not however warn me that I will have to pay PhP1620 for travel tax, before I could check-in.

I got my ticket at a ~50% off promo. It's US$79 one way, that's US$158 for a return trip, then plus some tax (maybe Singapore travel taxes and airport terminal fees), it's US$217 total. That's just about PhP11,300. Add the travel tax, it's about PhP12920. If I took a regular priced ticket, it would have been around PhP24,000.

Compare that to Philippine Airlines' regular price: around PhP16,000 (~US$300), that includes the travel taxes, and a meal and inflight entertainment already.

So JetStar Asia - a budget airline? I don't think so. So, if it wasn't a budget airline, with the 50% off promo, JetStar Asia is 5 stars. Because it's a "budget airline" - they don't have meals or in-flight entertainment (and not all the flight attendants were friendly) - make that a NEGATIVE 5 stars.

When taking a JetStar Asia promo to go to Singapore from the Philippines, first check the promo - they sometimes say "as low as $33" - it's not always that low. Next, compare your fare with Philippine Airlines' or other "regular" airlines. Also, consider the inconvenience: you'll need to pay an additional ~PhP400 for a meal and drink, and about PhP460 for inflight entertainment, and your trip back home is at 7:30am (as opposed to 1:30pm for Philippine Airlines). Lastly, can you speak English fluently? I had co-passengers who didn't have that luxury of speaking English very fluently; they had a hard time with the staff, whose accent when speaking English is not so familiar to Filipinos.

No, I am not an employee nor am I endorsing Philippine Airlines. I'm saying JetStar Asia is not a budget airline, strictly speaking. It's an airline that's on budget, at the cost of its passengers, ultimately. Maybe that's why it's a budget airline, because on a low budget (on their end), they earn more than the regular airlines.

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PC Options (Gilmore) - I never learned.

2006-01-16T03:36:00.000+08:00

My mom's computer had some motherboard problems, so I told her to buy an external hard disk enclosure so that we could recover her files. I was ready to park at PC Express (Gilmore), but my mom said we should go to PC Options instead. Two things at the back of my mind: the same guy or family probably owns the two stores so who cares, and not PC Options again!

My problem with PC Options was, you need something, they take some time before they get it for you. And that still IS the case. I never learned. Took us maybe 15 minutes to wait. We asked a sales person to follow-up on our order. She went "inside", came out, and told us, "it's there." My thoughts: where is it, why can't I see it if it's there?

Oh well, finally, it is really there. Unfortunately, they were not gonna give me a receipt unless I asked for it. That was a P1,300 thing. Attention, DTI, BIR!

Well I figured, everyone does it here, can the DTI or BIR or whatever handle it? Damn. But I still won't get my feet on the bandwagon.

Jollibee Philcoa - their fault, my fault, their fault, their payback - we're quits! no thumbs up for them

2006-01-15T03:42:00.000+08:00

I hate Jollibee. Because they have (some) good food that my Filipino taste really crave for at least once a month maybe, like many Filipinos. And because of that, they as well as many other similar business establishments could get away with not providing customer service. I've hated ordering Coke at Jollibee, some branches just do not mix it right (too much soda water I think, or something). It just tastes bad! Then I also hate the fact that they just give you one, and just one piece of very fine (very thin!) paper napkin (or more commonly known as "tissue" in the Philippines).

So here I was at Jollibee Philcoa. No choice, because they have better parking than McDonald's. I was meeting someone. I was early. I ordered their fries with the beef and melted cheese. They didn't give me any fork. I thought I wouldn't need it (my first time to try the thing), so I didn't ask for one. So I was using my fingers to eat the thing. Suddenly, it's hard to eat the thing without making a big mess. Now I realized I needed a fork. So what will I do, should I bring my fries to the counter and have my seat possibly taken by other customers? I thought, well my fries aren't even halfway consumed yet, so if I leave it here, I could keep an eye on it anyway, there'll be no problem.

So I left the fries, ran to the counter, asked for a fork, I saw someone trying to take my seat so I ran back to my table, ran back to the counter and got my fork, ran back to my table, and voila! No more fries! "Did you see my fries?," I asked my neighbor. They pointed to a Jollibee maintenance guy. And then it was like I ate one whole chili pepper.

A manager saw something wrong and asked me if there was something wrong? I said, "Yes, that guy took my fries, I was not yet done." The maintenance guy returns and said "Ah, hindi pa ba kayo tapos?" Sa loob loob ko, "Pokenangenamoh!" Aangal ba ako kung ubos na yan? Good thing, the only thing that came out of my mouth was, "Ang dami pa niyan, panong hindi pa ako tapos." Manager lady then said, we'll just get you a new one. I said "Ok, thanks!" but I closely watched the maintenance guy because he might just give me the very same thing that he already took... Which could have been dirty already!

Anyway, manager lady comes back with the newly fried fries with cheese and beef - maybe just about the same amount that I left. The lady also was giving me fork. I said, "No thank you, I got one already." In my head, I added, "if your staff gave me one in the first place, this mess wouldn't have happened."

So, Jollibee, I still don't like you. Your employees, because you're sad, pathetic little Filipinos who hate to be told what you're doing wrong, I still don't like you. But I guess I should give some sort of commendation to that manager lady. Well done. Ordinary Filipinos would have thought "naku, baka ibawas sa suweldo ko ito." Mga patetiko talaga kayo. Maka-sarili! Mag-hirap kayo! TIN!

PC Express (Katipunan): Strike Two?

2005-04-13T22:53:00.000+08:00

Two posts ago, I listed PC Express (Katipunan) to be one of some stores that add a surcharge to credit card purchases. I don't remember very well if indeed they do, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, if so, here's their Strike Number Two.

They did not issue me a receipt for a purchase I made for a P110 item. Now I do not remember if the first time I purchased from them (when I used my credit card), if they issued an official receipt voluntarily or I had to ask them (I usually ask when the purchase is significant. I think my first purchase was... and that they added a surcharge because my bill amounted to an inexact amount... like P2067, which is 6% over P1950 - ah! I now remember buying a couple of things worth P1150 and P800.)

So I did not DEMAND a receipt. The thing is, THEY DID NOT PLAN TO ISSUE A RECEIPT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Paging the Department of Trade and Industry!

But still, PC Express offers lower prices than that other company, Villman, which also adds a surcharge for credit card purchases. BUT STILL! Whether you're just a liar, or you're a murderer, you're still going to hell, baby!

Booming photo studio does not issue sales receipt

2005-04-13T15:50:00.000+08:00

Many Filipinos apply for a Japanese VISA everyday. One of the requirements for a VISA application are two photos.

When I went to the Japanese Embassy on April 8, 2005, I asked the security guard what were the requirements. He told me that two photos are necessary. I asked, "that's all?" He said yes and he pointed me to this lady who will bring me to a photo studio nearby.

So the lady accompanied me... to inside the just-adjacent Hyatt Hotel building. There's a photo studio there and I think the name is "Jen-san's Photography"... Damn, I forgot!

Anyway, THEY DO NOT ISSUE A SALES RECEIPT. Not for me, and not for at least two other customers who were there (the one before me, and the one after me). They charged me P150 for four photos. Did I need four photos? Anyway, I guess that's standard.

I hope the Embassy security guard does not have a "slice" of my 150 peso-pie.

Companies that add a surcharge to credit card purchases

2005-04-13T15:38:00.000+08:00

I heard from somewhere that the DTI does not allow companies to add a surcharge for credit card purchases... If that is true, these companies are in violation. These companies might claim: "Everybody's doing it!" Duh! When is that ever a justifiable justification?

Villman Computer Systems, Inc. (specifically, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City branch; 5 or 6% surcharge yata)
SOS (Save on Surplus) SM Centerpoint Branch (5 or 6% surcharge yata)
PC Express (specifically, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City branch; 5 or 6% surcharge yata)
Monakiki SM Centerpoint Branch (5% surcharge)
PhilScan Travel (a travel agency; they're offer one of the cheapest rates and if only for that, I'm still okay with them but... still, they are in violation! 3% surcharge lang naman)

If I'm mistaken, please correct me!

TopWin Telecom, SM Centerpoint

2005-04-13T15:16:00.000+08:00

I brought my cellphone to this store for repair. So they repaired it. (This was in the 3rd quarter of 2004, maybe late August)

I paid and asked for a receipt. The repair guy gave me something like a "Service Order" slip.

I said, "This is not a receipt." The repair guy gave some lame excuses and asked me to talk to the store owner.

QUESTION ON MY MIND: ARE THERE VALID REASONS FOR NOT ISSUING A RECEIPT?

And then the store owner gave some more lame excuses! And she's even mad at me!

Attention, Department of Trade and Industry!

BY THE WAY: A few months after this incident, the same problem with my cellphone! Even worse!

ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS:

IF COST IS NOT AN ISSUE and your cellphone warranty period is over, bring your cellphone to your cellular provider (e.g. Globe Telecom, where my mom got the phone unit)

IF COST IS AN ISSUE, bring your cellphone to FIX-IT, they repair cellphones and other electronics. In my one experience with these guys, they issued an official receipt, and my cellphone was repaired to the best they could, and I've had no problem with that cellphone until I re-sold it.

New BLOG!

2005-04-12T02:37:00.000+08:00

Coach Potato goes about his life, and just like most human beings encounter NASTY businesses... Those who do not give complete change, those who do not know what customer service is, those who do not issue receipts (and do not pay proper taxes), and those whose employees feel uncomfortable serving you. Yes, some of them sleep on the job, in front of the Coach... who is like you, The Consumer, the ONE WHO PAYS for service. In many of these cases, money is not the only thing that the Coach pays... You have to pay respect, pay with your soul and dignity, pay homage, pay patience, and many more to these stupid businesses. Watch out for Coach Potato's Consumer Watch articles on these restaurants, retail stores, and service providers.