Above And Beyond Customer Service

When you dine out often it is but natural to notice the tiny details and compare.  Not so long ago my friend and I decided to grab our favorite cheese cake in town and because the weather was fine we sat outside.  It is Dubai, so dust is given but not to sit on in al fresco coffee shops, particularly the good and popular ones.
After finishing off the yummy cheese cake we went on our way and I forgot all about the dusty seats.  After days passed I found out that my friend wrote to the management and got this reply....




Dear Sir/Madam,                                                                     


Many thanks for your recent feedback about the tables and chairs in Caffe Nero DFC and let me please apologies for your experience there. We do pride ourselves in our standards, staff and products and for your experience to be affected by the furniture is not something we like to hear.
As a loyal customer can I thank you for your continued custom and, in return make you a couple of promises?

Firstly I would like to let you know that we have already done a full review of the tables, chairs and cleaning practices in the store and are paying more attention to the standards we keep outside, especially in the busier parts of the day. 
Secondly we are also now working on having all the tables and chairs refurbished which will help greatly in making sure your experience out on the terrace is as comfortable as possible.

Please understand that your feedback will ultimately help us better serve you and the many other people coming to Caffe Nero so the time you took to highlight your experience is very much appreciated. To return the favour, please could I offer you a lunch on us next time you are in any of our Caffe Neros? My details are below so please feel free to call/email me to let me know when you might be going down and I will ensure the staff take care of you.

Again, many thanks for your feedback and continued custom, if there is anything else at all I can help you with please feel free to call.

Kindest Regards,
Kobe (not his real name)


Now that is customer service at its best!   Until today we have not taken that lunch but we do come to get our cheese cake and chai.  =)

Mga Pinoy Talaga.....

It was a couple of months ago when I started seeing a new girl at our neighbor's house.  His girl used to be Caucasian like him, this time a Filipina. Petite, balingkinitan, morena at mahaba ang buhok (may highlights).

We live in an eight-door compound, all sharing the same pool from the backside.  Ala Melrose Place, so to speak. The change was obvious to all of us neighbors.  There would be a party at his house every Friday or Saturday night, loud and lasting until the wee hours of the morning.

One night I was awaken by shouting between the Filipina and the lady neighbor opposite theirs.  Because I was half awake the exchange was somehow difficult to discern.  Part of it was..

"You're too loud.... It's 3 am....My father can't sleep..."

"What's your problem?... Bitch....  You're fat!" She was drunk, the Filipina.

And yes, our lady neighbor is huge.

How it ended I forgot but I remember seeing the sexy Pinay the next day  around 12 noon wearing a skimpy polka dot two-piece by their door trying to scan the vicinity.  She did not swim though because in a minute the guy pulled her in for some reason and she stayed in the house, in her swimsuit for the rest of day.

If I remember it right, the temperature was 20 degrees, middle of November.

I am Pinay (chismosa ng konte) so I told the story to a friend whose comment was.. "Pinoy talaga ...kaya nadadamay iba...."  Then I told the same to another friend, and got a similar remark... "Pinoy nga naman....."  Third, I told my sister in the US who laughed and said.. "Typical Pinay....."

I thought about this....a lot.  Ano nga ba ang Pinoy? Ito ba ang basehan ng pagiging Pinay? Or is it because we are in another country and a lot of Pinays abroad exhibit a pattern therefore we generalize?

The other day I was in the mall with my colleague Abdulla.  He asks me from time to time to go with him when he buys stuff for his wife in India.  It was in the lingerie section when I over heard the Pinay sales lady telling another sales lady upon seeing us together...  "Mga Pinay talaga....."   I wanted to go back and ask her to finish the sentence but I changed my mind.  It would be a waste of time I thought because it is clear that we all have something to say about our "kabayans".  Sinong hindi guilty?

Angel

She was 16, 4 years ago. Young, smart and attractive. I believe she is from a normal family with parents who want only the best for their kids. Suffice it to say they are decent and well off. But then just like any normal family, they go through difficulties, like the father having another woman.

It was not a secret since her being a very vocal teenager, she would write about it on her blogs and would bully the other woman on cyberspace. I have always wondered if she was able to get through, I mean her blogs were read and posts noted by the concerned "kabit". I hope she did. But then again it is a shout out, and who knows?

As a teenager it was her avenue of expression, and who cares where it leads to. Maybe her mom read it and it made her stronger; chances are her father read it too and it made him change. I have always believed that things in life have their own way of falling into place, maybe it did her good screaming grudges online as her life's drama unfolds.

I came to know of her existence during graduation, my son was on his way to being high school and she's going to college. She spoke that day on stage, addressing the batch and wishing them the best in their future. I must have praised her that time for being articulate and confident as I always see the good in people. To me she was the making of a fine young lady. Not until two weeks after graduation.

Let's call her Angel, isa sa mga lovers ng asawa ko.

Visa Status

Just a thought..

 

Relationships can be a lot like visas.

Approved or denied.

There is renewal and extension.

Of course not to forget, cancellation.

The Painting

Propped up against the wall

A piece of art waiting to get flaunted.

It’s been there for a while. Not weeks..

But months or maybe even a year.

Turned dusty but still pretty.

An image that was picked out of the so many

To fill a space on that big blank cold wall.

What a shame,  for it to be picked

Without serving its reason,

Without filling that space.

The colors are as bright

But remaining still and dusty

Against the wall.

Long Distance Affair

Naghihimutok yung kaibigan ko today… about her so called "friends"…like her, expats din. But di tulad nya these Pinays are married to either Britons, Canadian, Swiss, etc. etc…. And hers, the reason for being in a foreign land it's because her husband (100% Ilonggo) happens to get a project and got relocated. I think this is their 5th foreign home. 


They are the epitome of a simple and happy family. Nothing grand but as an outsider you will feel the love for each other and if you are not satisfied with your life at kaibigan mo sila, maiisip mong ma-inggit sa kanila.

Hinga-han nya ako in the same way na sya rin ang unang naiisip ko kausapin kapag tinotopak ako or kapag nabubwisit ako sa mga officemates ko. Yes alam nya rin lahat ng himutok at inis ko day in day out. Ibang story ito of course, and I will most likely write about it any day soon.

We were chatting kanina, first asking how things are..family and all. Tapos bigla syang nawala. After like 20 minutes nag-buzz sya saying phone call daw kase. Maya maya ayan na naman, “sorry phone call ulit.”

Miss Friendship kase sya. Yan ang nick name ko sa kanya. Lahat kinakaibigan, walang pinipili. Kahit pa obvious na ginagamit lang sya, she just can’t say no. So ayun, sya ang tawagan ng mga Misis in distress. At ako, naman ang binabalingan nya pag di na sya makahinga. Joke ko tuloy sa kanya;

“Merong help line ba dyan sa bahay mo? Dial a friend? SOS?”

Sagot nya,”Baliw ka, natuturete na nga ako, kung alam lang nila kung anu-ano pinagsasabi nila sa isat’-isa. At alam ko lahat yun. Ang pa-plastic nila!”

Sabi ko naman.. “Hello, I am sure ikaw din topic nila pag wala ka…ahahahaha”

“I know! "

Nag-suggest ako, “Bat hindi ka mag-lagay ng answering machine.. “Sorry I am busy right now, will get back to you as soon as I find time. Or mag caller ID ka, wag mo sagutin mga tao na hindi mo type.”

This is just a very small part of our so very many conversations. And each waking day in a foreign land becomes easier and bearable when you know you have someone online 24/7. Yes I work abroad too and I think I must write about this “expat” thing one day. The bigotry in the concept and how people in today’s society label themselves to create a big gap, distinction and what-have-you only to show that one is superior over the other.

I live alone and don’t exert any effort in having new friends. I am happy with the handful that I already got, wherever they are. But I must admit maraming masaya at nakakalokang kwento ang aking mga “kabayan”. I am proud to be Filipino at ngayon ko lang nare-realize na kakaiba talaga ang Pinoy lalo na sa abroad. We have this way na tanging atin lang, tatak Pinoy ba.

Like my friend simpleng tao rin lang ako, walang matayog na pangarap. All I want is to be able to give my kids a comfortable life and send them to a good school. Work in the Philippines was fine but as always there are reasons for leaving, and this is another story to write about =).

I am ending this introduction to my world and if one will ask me about the agenda, there’s nothing much, it’s just my mind is overflowing with thoughts and sometimes it is nice to just share.

Poker Game

This place I used to visit, I tried it just for fun..

Checking it out from time to time..for what? who knows?

It is one cold place full of empty souls trying to reach out,

you have to keep on clicking, hoping for the right match.

Was hit one time...and got hit big time,

So i left the place and tried to fill the space.

I started smiling and seeing some light,

I stopped playing.. yes I stopped gaming... for whom?  who knows?

It's be awhile...

And now I'm  back clicking and trying...

Once again...

Don't ask me why... who knows????