More on Save More

My sister and our 2-year-old nephew (the one who ate the good chocolate bar) went to Save More yesterday to return the wormy one. We thought it best not to take the poor, hapless victim.

No one was manning the Customer Service Counter when we got there. It was close to 11 AM. It being a Sunday, they opened at 9 AM. Then a female with the INFORMATION sash came.

I told her about my complaint. I was only halfway through my speech when she cut me short and asked me to wait. She wasn't smiling. She wasn't accommodating. Oh, I forgot, she was only Ms. Information. I wanted to strangle her neck for being so rude! You just don't do that to someone who comes to you to complain. You don't do that to a customer. Period!

Then a more pleasant employee came.

She asked me to write on a complaint form: details of it and some suggestions, recommendations for Save More and my complete contact details.

She then gave me a tape "MR Deduction" worth P17.50 I could use to buy something else.

Then, I forgot about the insolent Ms. Information. I am that cheap and easy to please.

Because, I don't hold grudges (I just blog), I did another round of grocerying and ended up buying close to a thousand peso worth of goods so I could use the P17.50 tape. My sister who was with me got a kick out of it.

I bought a Sanyang TV holder which I intend to use as a bedside table worth P679. The sales clerk who assisted me was polite and there was nothing to complain about. The clerk told us to pay the goods at the counter and that he would deliver the item to the customer service counter where I could claim it upon payment.

When I did, Ms. Information was at the customer service counter. She better behave, I silently prayed. Ms. Information was still not smiling. Did she have a really bad night?

The item I bought hadn't been deposited to the counter to be claimed so she used the announcement mic to call the attention of the Sanyang clerk. A minute later and the guy with my TV holder came.

Then a one-sided cold war took place. Ms. Information dressed down the clerk about some procedures. In front of me and my sister. The reprimand was not about the item, as far as I could see. It was about Ms. Information not in that shift, etc. etc. The clerk said, "Mam, wala po kase yung in-charge sa Sanyang kaya ako yung nag-assist." Hello! Do we have to see this, this "culture of excellence"? We were stunned. But Ms. Information rattled on, unmindful of us serving as their audience. The clerk endured it all, even looking apologetic at us. I was close to defending the guy, but since I had no business with their business, I shut up.

Ms. Information is young, in her mid-20s perhaps, presentable. But her rough behavior puts witches to shame. Tsk!

Two days in a row. SM has shown me that indeed SM has got it all for me. Lousy service, damaged goods, uncaring employees - even to their own.

We arrived home and Mother gave me the doctor's bill from the clinic across the street - Php 250 including doctor's fee, CBC and stool tests. The doctor asked us to buy some meds, too. Overall, we spent less than P500. My nephew is OK now. Do I go back to Save More Alabang to reimburse and be subjected to another poor customer service? Tell you what, I'm not really a huge fan of masochism.

To this date and hour, September 13, 2010; 12:30 PM, I have yet to hear from them. No phone calls, no nothing. Just the P17.50 deduction they issued last Sunday.

Some years ago, I bought a Dunkin Donut with a staple wire in it. I called their customer service to complain. I bought the donut in Makati where I used to work. When I got home to Laguna from the office that evening, my mother told me two employees from Dunkin came and delivered a box of donuts and a letter. My brothers ate all the donuts, but I got to read the letter of apology from Dunkin's Vice President.

Now, SM with all its malls and mini-malls and banks and we've-got-it-all-for-you businesses, is just a kariton-pushing business entity compared to Dunkin. What a shame!