A tale of Two Cities...
Shopping is a past time that is really something I do from necessity rather than pleasure...particularly in Manila...although Manila is full of many shops and many, many malls with which to tempt the average shopper...the sheer frustration of buying anything makes it too bloody irritating...
Take today for example, I wanted to buy a juicer...so I go to the SM appliance shop at MegaMall and choose my juicer (that takes about a minute)...and then starts the pain in the arse procedures that go with buying anything here...
the shop assistant collects the new item from the store room
the shop assistant then fills out a form in quadruplicate showing the sale of the item (note in quadruplicate with only one piece of carbon paper..so takes twice as long)
I then have to fill out the warranty form by hand
we then go to the desk in front of the cashier where the first form is checked against the box by one person and another checks the warranty against the box
I am then allowed to proceed to the cashier...
One cashier processes the item through the till, filling out yet another form
Another cashier process the payment for me
The first cashier then checks the receipt from the till against the payment receipt
The supervisor then checks all the bits of paper against the box
The supervisor then calls the security assistant who checks the receipts against the box and signs the back of one receipt
The cashier then stamps the back of another receipt, signs it, checks all the other receipts again
Then finally, one cashier affixes the sold sticker to the box and hands me all the receipts and I am free to leave...
40 minutes in all to buy one item...
Now, to buy the same item in Hong Kong (which I did last year)...
I went to Fortress
Chose the item
Went to the cashier (all by myself)
Paid, had the receipt affixed to a one-for-all warranty form
And left...
total time..under 5 minutes...
Shopping here is so time consuming and I have lost count of the number of times I have left my shopping at the till because the two people in front of me are taking so, so long to be 'processed'.
And I can assure you...it is every shop here that makes the shopper jump through hoops to buy something...it is so frustrating..Marks and Spencers is one of the worst offenders here...I will now not shop there after a circus in December where I purchased 11 items and it took over an hour to be 'processed'...no special wrapping, no special coupons... just buying some stockings, shower gel, etc...will not be going back.
I really need some new shoes for work...but cannot be arsed to wait whilst buying a pair of shoes....so will hold on until I get to HKG, where I know I can get it done quickly with the minimum of hassle and minimum loss of time...
Take today for example, I wanted to buy a juicer...so I go to the SM appliance shop at MegaMall and choose my juicer (that takes about a minute)...and then starts the pain in the arse procedures that go with buying anything here...
the shop assistant collects the new item from the store room
the shop assistant then fills out a form in quadruplicate showing the sale of the item (note in quadruplicate with only one piece of carbon paper..so takes twice as long)
I then have to fill out the warranty form by hand
we then go to the desk in front of the cashier where the first form is checked against the box by one person and another checks the warranty against the box
I am then allowed to proceed to the cashier...
One cashier processes the item through the till, filling out yet another form
Another cashier process the payment for me
The first cashier then checks the receipt from the till against the payment receipt
The supervisor then checks all the bits of paper against the box
The supervisor then calls the security assistant who checks the receipts against the box and signs the back of one receipt
The cashier then stamps the back of another receipt, signs it, checks all the other receipts again
Then finally, one cashier affixes the sold sticker to the box and hands me all the receipts and I am free to leave...
40 minutes in all to buy one item...
Now, to buy the same item in Hong Kong (which I did last year)...
I went to Fortress
Chose the item
Went to the cashier (all by myself)
Paid, had the receipt affixed to a one-for-all warranty form
And left...
total time..under 5 minutes...
Shopping here is so time consuming and I have lost count of the number of times I have left my shopping at the till because the two people in front of me are taking so, so long to be 'processed'.
And I can assure you...it is every shop here that makes the shopper jump through hoops to buy something...it is so frustrating..Marks and Spencers is one of the worst offenders here...I will now not shop there after a circus in December where I purchased 11 items and it took over an hour to be 'processed'...no special wrapping, no special coupons... just buying some stockings, shower gel, etc...will not be going back.
I really need some new shoes for work...but cannot be arsed to wait whilst buying a pair of shoes....so will hold on until I get to HKG, where I know I can get it done quickly with the minimum of hassle and minimum loss of time...
posted by Madame Chiang at 9:25 pm
4 Comments:
And with so many people working for just one piece of item, they still have unemployment in the Philippines?
Or maybe, that's the reason why they have so many people doing all that paperwork for one piece of item.
Sorry. I am not trying to be sarcastic, but I used to live there twenty-plus years ago, and believe me, at that time the place was much saner.
Anyway, kudos to your patience. I would have uttered profane words, punched some guys, and left the store without the purchase. I think you felt like doing the same in Marks and Spencer.
Ciao!
NK...punching them would not have been lady like...however I did swear...but not loudly!! Patience is not my strong point at the best of times and shopping here tries it enormously.
Peri...yes I didn't add in the dialogue as didn't want to wear out the 'm's and 'a's on my keyboard....plugging it in...that doesn't bother me too much - am used to that after shopping in Jordan and Indonesia!!
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry at your observations. From dining to shopping to commuting, you seem to have a lot of, if not bad luck, then 'issues' to say the least
Miguk...it's not bad luck....just (as my Father would say)...'All part of life's rich tapestry'!!!
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