 | Welcome to the Inner Workings of My Mind | May 11, 2009 |
It's a difficult thing for me to share with the world my thoughts and views and happenings in my life because I am a rather private person. However I am learning to open up and be more social. This is the medium by which I hope to do so. Visitors are more than welcome, comments (both positive and negative) are welcome, but abuse and impoliteness are not.
First of all, I would like to say that my overall experience with online shopping has been positive. However, I have just had an encounter with an online seller which truly pissed me off and basically got me to reflect on customer service and communication etiquette online. Here's the gist of my story: I had recently signed up on ebay because I was interested in buying a product from a seller and naturally I had to have an account with ebay. Now, while the listing had the price of the product, it did not list the shipping cost so, naturally, I emailed the seller with some queries on the total amount (inclusive of shipping cost) I would be paying for the item. Here's our communication via email (with some details omitted for privacy purposes): Dear abigosi,
Nice to hear back from you so soon.
The TOTAL AMOUNT you need to pay me for this (item) & its FED-EX shipping fee to (your address) is P420.00 computed as P300.00 cost of (item) + P120.00 FED-EX shipping fee.
Please note that the only payment method I accept is thru bank deposit to my BANCO DE ORO savings account & BDO charges a P50.00 inter-branch deposit service fee that you have to pay them. This P50.00 service fee goes to the BANK and not to me so you still have to deposit the amount of P420.00 to my bank account, ok?
Hope that we can do business very soon. Thanks again for your inquiry.
- Seller My response to his email: Dear Seller,
Hi. Thanks for the info. I'm really interested in buying but I won't have time to go to the bank and deposit the total amount for 2 weeks as I'll be busy for a while - probably until the first week of Feb. In any event, I'll just ask for your bank account number the day before I will be free to go to BDO to pay for the (item). Hopefully you'll still have the item. = )Thanks and hope to do business with you really soon. = )
- abigosi His response to me: Dear abigosi,
Thanks again for your prompt reply.
Please note that I DO NOT DIVULGE MY PERSONAL INFORMATION to "POTENTIAL" customers only.
If you want to buy this (item) in my ebay auction then bid on it the week before you have time to pay me already.
Example, if you have time to pay me this coming February 1-5, 2010 then you must bid on this item on or before January 31st, ok?
I also cannot just "RESERVE" this item for you until you have time to pay me or else it won't be FAIR to my other potential customers who might like to buy this item from me also.
By the way, did you know that all BDO branches inside SM malls are open up to 7pm at night everyday and are even open on weekends so if you're busy during daytime from mondays to fridays then you may have time to deposit your payment at night before 7pm and on weekends, right?
Hope that we can really do business very soon. Thanks again for your inquiry.
- Seller --This was the email that ticked me off... First of all, I did not ask for the seller's bank account info. as I wasn't ready to bid or pay for the item - I believe my exact words were "In any event, I'll just ask for your bank account number the day before I will be free to go to BDO to pay for the (item)" Second, I was not asking that he reserve the item - what I wrote was "Hopefully you'll still have the item..." Third - how patronizing is that: "By the way, did you know that all BDO branches inside SM malls are open up to 7pm at night everyday and are even open on weekends so if you're busy during daytime from mondays to fridays then you may have time to deposit your payment at night before 7pm and on weekends, right?" --- how the heck would he know if I had weekends free? or that I'm only busy during the daytime or whatever... Fourth, his use of capital letters in an email to drive home his point is basically considered shouting in email etiquette and I really, really don't like being shouted at. If he wanted to lay out his terms and conditions I truly believe he could have done it in a better, more civilized way. Finally, If he had read my email carefully he would know that the way he responded was not necessary and he wouldn't have lost a "potential" customer for life. And I'll admit I reacted strongly to his email - here's my final response: Dear Seller,
Hi. I WASNT asking for your bank information yet also I WASNT asking you to reserve the item for me. I just said that since I won't have time to buy just yet I am HOPING that your product will be available when I am ready to bid and to pay for the item. I KNOW that BDO is open until seven - my hours are just erratic so I am not sure if I'll have the time to go until I finish my project.
If the item is no longer available that is just fine by me. Thanks anyway.
- abigosi
Lessons in Customer Service and Etiquette (My beliefs anyway): When selling online you have to be patient, you have to be polite to those people who are asking questions whether or not they end up buying your product/s. It's the essence of customer service - whether in the real or virtual world of commerce. If you don't like to answer questions, or you are impatient with people you shouldn't be in the business of selling anyway. If you have certain terms and conditions, that's fine, stick to them. Make sure your customers, or browsers know them but convey your conditions in a way that does not offend, patronize, or make them feel like they're scammers because chances are they aren't. It's a risk we all have to take when transacting online. Know your etiquette. Texting or emailing someone using capital letters is considered shouting. And I don't know about the rest of the world but if I walked into a store and got shouted at by staff or management I would probably never go back to that store again. Same principle when shopping online. Isn't there a saying "Don't assume...for when you assume you make an ass out of yourself"? - We don't know each other personally, we communicate via the internet - there is no way of knowing a person's personal life, circumstances, or whatever unless they specifically tell you and are honest about it. Therefore, read your communications and consider your response carefully instead of reacting to something that isn't there. If you think things are unclear then make sure you clarify the issue before acting. Know that you're not the only one. You may be the only one in your lover's eyes but in the world of today's commerce there are about fifty different options to pick from. If you don't practice good customer relations then people will just go to a different seller or find another way to get what they want. The days of the virtual monoply are over and customer service is key in decisions people make when buying. Finally, remember the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." - As we are all customers and sellers at one point or another in our lives we should always remember to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves - with respect and dignity at the very least.
I logged on to Multiply just a few minutes ago and was greeted by a new feature and letter announcing it for all online sellers on multiply. It's the "Shop" icon located at the top right hand corner of your page where you can easily access the directory of online Multiply sellers. No more long, tedious searching! Naturally I checked out the book sellers! haha  I think its a great new feature for ease of use! = )
 
Just sharing...this picture made me laugh! I found it on http://glitter-graphics.net - excellent site to find all kinds of graphics (and no I am not getting paid to advertise their site or to make a favourable review)... I love cats and funny pictures of them - so sue me! 
 Hi everyone = ) I am looking for anyone who knows where I can get this turkish pendant - or if anyone can make one with the exact design as a pendant, necklace, bracelet and or ring.
Please pm me. Thanks so much = )
As you may have heard I am a self-confessed (is this that a word?) bookaholic. Over the years I have changed my tastes, gone through my many genre phases and have been able to train myself to only buy books that I know I will read. Right now I am in the midst of overhauling my personal book collection - it's basically gotten out of hand and my books are stacked every which way and in every nook and cranny of my room. To this end I am compiling, or rather, making an inventory of the books I currently have, books that I love but would like to replace with newer copies, books to get rid of (basically books that I have read only once and never again), and books that I don't have yet but want, want, want. I am basically trying to come up with a balanced and well rounded collection of books as part of my new year's resolution. This resolution has been sorely tested by my discovery of the various booksellers on multiply last year! Like a recovering alcoholic surrounded by open bars I find myself checking out more and more booksellers online and the problem is that I can do this practically 24/7 whereas in the past I would have to wait to go to a mall to get my book fix within a certain time frame. But patience and discipline is the key, I suppose, to accomplishing this seemingly impossible resolution - I browse, note the books that I would love to have but I have put myself in a sort of time out stage right now until I complete my inventory and until I fix my storage problem. Since I will also, soon, be joining the ranks of wonderful booksellers online I also need to create a separate space for the books that I will be selling so my resolution includes not reading the books that have been set aside for this purpose as I end up keeping the books that I do read, adding to my already overflowing book collection. Oh and by the way, to add to the challenges facing me with regard to this task - I was in Trinoma earlier today and PowerBooks, Fully Booked and National Bookstore are having a sale! - Fully Booked sale is up to 80 percent off until Jan 15! Arrggghhh....talk about testing my willpower!
Will you love me if I'm thin, if I'm rich, if I'm beautiful? I will love you if you're thin, if you're rich, if you're beautiful. Will you love me if I take care of you, adore and worship you? I will love you if you take care of me, adore and worship me. Will you love me if I put your needs ahead of mine, if I make you the center of my life? I will love you if you put my needs ahead of yours, if you make me the center of your life. Will you love me if I laugh at all your jokes, admire your looks, complement your form? I will love you if you laugh at all my jokes, admire my looks and complement my form. Will you love me? Will you love me? Yes, yes, I will love you, I will love you...in spite of all your faults. By Abi A. copyright 2009
2009 is drawing to a close and yes, I am guilty of already thinking of my new year's resolution even though common advice holds that we never keep our new year resolutions and should not bother making them. But I get a panicky, overwhelmed feeling whenever I look at the pile of paperwork I have on my desk and think of all the tasks I have yet to finish and I feel somehow that I have to get everything done before this year becomes yesteryear because I need to start the new year with a clean slate. I don't know if others feel the same way I do. Most probably, some people out there do because somehow the end of the year is time when we, especially me, reflect on everything that has happened - both good and bad. As I reflect on what has happened during this year it occurs to me that my last new year's resolution was discarded almost immediately after new year's day and maybe next year will be no different. I can't help but make resolutions though, perhaps because it's my symbol of hope, hope that the next year will be different, be better and brighter, or that I will be different, will accomplish more and be better and brighter. Perhaps this is an irrational hope, but really, when has hope ever been rational? I understand that we should do our best to live life fully day by day and not concern ourselves too much about what tomorrow may bring but there's just something about this time of year that makes me quite..well...irrational - wishing that I had more time this year to finish all my self-imposed tasks while impatiently waiting for the new year to begin so that I can start fresh and filled with hope, armed with my list of resolutions, determined to accomplish at least one of them. = )
Being known as an avid reader does have some drawbacks for me. When people find out that I love to read they usually ask me for a recommendation on what book they should read or recommend a book that they insist I would love (which I usually don't). The problem with recommendations is that it is subjective, based entirely on a person's personal tastes. Recommending something also involves the issue of trust in a person's judgement and if the person you recommend a book to dislikes what you gave them to read then your judgement is called into question. Personally, I really don't like recommending books. I know the books that I like and my taste varies according to my mood and what "reading phase" I'm currently in. I went through my classical and non-fiction phase when I was young, skipped reading young adult novels like Sweet Valley High entirely through my teenage years, went through a long romance and fantasy fiction phase and even ventured into the self-help and spiritual genre a couple of years back. When I am really pressed for a recommendation I usually try to find out the person's personal taste first before suggesting a book that they might like. I do my best not to impose my own likes because, well, everybody's different and it irks me whenever I'm told to read something that will "broaden" my mind. I remember once I was introduced to someone and we got to talking about reading. He asked me what type of books I read and I replied that I enjoyed fiction more than non-fiction, he gave me this look and said that I should try reading about stuff that was real! It pissed me off that my personal taste in books was being judged when I wasn't even asking for his opinion and some choice expletives went through my mind though I never did say them out loud and I simply, politely, changed the subject. While I don't like recommending books, I am perfectly willing to talk about and write reviews on books that I personally enjoyed. Whether or not someone is intrigued or interested enough to read the book after my review is entirely their choice. Sometimes I am also asked what makes a good book to read (like I'm an expert or something) but this question stumped me the first time I was asked it because I never really thought about what made one book a better read than another. When I did think about it I realized that I usually knew if I would like the book by the first page. This, again, is a subjective judgement. When I'm browsing and looking for a new book to purchase I either look for a book by an author I know and enjoyed the work of, or if I'm looking at entirely new material (at least to me) I read the first page. If I'm interested in the first few paragraphs then I usually end up buying the book. Recommending books to friends and strangers is always a tricky thing when you take into account the completely subjective nature of the issue and I do my best to avoid it. Some people may or may not agree and that is perfectly fine. It reinforces my belief that we are all entitled to our own opinions and have respect for others.
This is more of a cathartic rant. Once I get it out all I'll be okay = ) Yesterday afternoon, while I was at the mall, I lost my wallet, or most probably, it was stolen. I found out when I was about to go to the cashier at the department store to pay for a lightbulb I needed to buy. Panicked and in denial, I took out all the contents of my bag looking for my wallet but alas, it was gone! I retraced my steps, informed the management of every establishment I had passed by, and spent about thirty minutes wandering the mall with my head down, vainly hoping that I had just dropped it somewhere. I still remember the look on the faces of the security personnel and management people I had talked to in the hope that someone, an honest angel, had found it and turned it in. It was a look that practically screamed, "Sorry but you'll never see that sucker again and you're crazy to actually think someone would turn it in." Aside from the contents of the wallet which were very important, cash (about 2,000 pesos) and cards...I felt the loss of the actual thing. I had that wallet for more than two years. I bought it at this charming little tourist shop in Abu Dhabi when I was visiting my parents and the guy who sold it to me was Pakistani but was pretty fluent in Tagalog. He gave me a small discount too. It wasn't an expensive wallet, more a small purse like thing with a simple geometrical, arabic design. It was in fact, pretty cheap at 10 dirhams which, converted, is about a hundred pesos but I loved this wallet and I was used to it just being with me. I never thought I was sentimental but surprise, surprise, I actually am! Usually I'm very careful with my valuables. I have this thing which I picked up from my semi-obsessive-compulsive best friend where I check (discretely) if my wallet and cell are in my bag every once in a while when I'm out of the house. After eating in a restaurant or fast food joint I check my bag, after I leave a store I check my bag...you basically get the idea. I truly think someone stole it and I remember walking past a crowd of people on my way to the department store and being distracted by the sight of a guy going after a five peso coin on the ground. I remember passing a lot of people and I think that that was when my wallet mysteriously disappeared. In any case, there are things I am grateful for. At least my driver's license wasn't in my wallet and I was able to cancel the cards right away. I didn't have a huge amount of cash in my wallet although losing 2,000 bucks definitely hurt. I am grateful that I learned some lessons from the last time I lost my wallet which was way back when I was in college. That was pretty bad. I lost everything - cash, cards, my student id and my driver's license. Since then, I keep my driver's license separate all the time and always have emergency money in my pocket so I wouldn't ever be without resources in case my wallet ever got lost again. I also usually don't keep my cards in my wallet. But due to some unfortunate cosmological alignment I had them in my wallet this one time. Oh well, it's gone and I have an excuse to go out and get a new wallet although finding one I really love is going to be a long process. Rant over. = )
If you'd like to donate some relief goods to the Ondoy's victims and don't know where to go, you can give your donations to any McDonald's outlet and they'll send it to the ABS CBN foundation to be distributed. Apparently Shopwise is also accepting donations for the flood victims. Just a suggestion - I think it would be best to donate food that can easily be consumed (ready to eat goods), for example, crackers, energy bars, and food in tetra packs. Donating canned goods might be a problem as people in evacuation centres may not have access to can openers or to stoves in order to heat or cook food.
Review: In 1996 the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of the Philippines started an ongoing promotion called "Premyo sa Resibo," translated roughly as "Prize for Receipts" in order to monitor the proper remittance of taxes by business owners. It has proved incredibly popular to date as the prizes range from Php5,000 to Php1,000,000. The current mechanics of the promo are as follows: when you purchase goods or services and get the official receipt you can text PSR ** to 9777 (for single entries) or 9778 (for multiple entries). Each entry costs P2.50. (http://www.premyosaresibo.com.ph/press.asp)
Now as luck would have it I was reading the reviews under the category "Scam" on reviewstream.com when I got a phone call from some guy telling me about a new promotion the BIR had in connection with "Premyo sa Resibo." He asked me if I knew about the promo and I told him that yes I was familiar with it. Then he told me that instead of paying P2.50 for each text (which he described as being expensive) I could avail myself of a card that costs P100.00, which would be delivered to my house from which I could use to enter the contest.
Now I have an aunt who works for the BIR so I knew I could verify if this was a legitimate offer so I asked him for his name and number and told him I would think about it and get back to him (of course I was going to report it to my aunt). He paused and then told me that he worked for a call center (rattling off the name very fast so I didn't catch it) and it wasn't possible to call him back but if I would give him my personal information he would have a "BIR representative" contact me. He was probably hoping I would be so reassured that they had a "BIR rep" that I would jump to give him my personal info. Unfortunately for him, I am not stupid. I would never give my personal information to just anyone, especially over the phone.
I thanked him (nicely) for the offer but said I wasn't interested and then hung up. Afterwards I immediately called my aunt and she reassured me that there was NO such thing being offered by the BIR, and to make doubly sure that I had just escaped being scammed I checked the official website of "Premyo sa Resibo" (http://www.premyosaresibo.com.ph) and NO such card was being offered.
I was a bit disappointed in myself for not insisting on getting his name and his so-called call center's name again so I could warn people about this scam. But in lieu of these specifics please note that if you receive a phone call just like this - it is not true - it is a scam and it can be incredibly dangerous to give anyone you don't know personal information over the phone.
After College (Sensitive Spots) If I've got an obsession with books, my sister has an obsession with her hair. She's spent, goodness knows, how many thousands of pesos having her hair done. We, as a family, have all been exasperated at one time or another with this obsession and there have been many funny but emotional scenes in our house wherein the main object of contention was my sister's hair. One day I threatened (teasingly) that I would cut off all her hair while she was asleep. At first she got really emotional (even had tears in her eyes) at the thought. I could tell that I was really pushing her buttons and continued joking about what other stuff I would do to her hair while she was asleep. Then she hit on the perfect revenge. She told me that if I ever did anything to her hair she would burn all of my books! I was horrified...tears were forming as my mind conjured up the horrifying image of all of my books on fire and my (hairless) sister, a lit match in her hand, with an evil smile on her face... and we ended up promising that we would never threaten each other like this ever again! Looking back, I think if anyone (sane) had overheard our conversation we would have been locked up in a mental ward a long time ago... After College (Last Will and Testament) Once, I had a near death experience. I was riding a jeepney, on my way to work, when suddenly the driver lost control because the brakes had failed and we crashed into the barrier on the South Superhighway. Miraculously, nobody was seriously hurt and I was physically fine but emotionally traumatised by the experience. Because of this event I started thinking the usual thoughts one has when one almost gets killed - "what will happen when I die? what if I had died?", etcetera, etcetera. Being emotionally distraught and seriously melodramatic I decided to write out a will... As I sat at my desk thinking about what I would leave to my loved ones I realized that the only thing of value I had to leave them was my beloved but rather tattered and battered book collection... Somehow, I don't think they would have appreciated it in lieu of the fortune I hadn't been accumulating to that date = )
College (No Space Left) By the time I was in college my collection of books had grown exponentially. I never threw any of my books out (it was completely unthinkable!). Like an obsessive-compulsive hoarder my stacks of books had outgrown the few shelves I had in my room. My books were in piles against the walls and under the bed. My parents pleaded with me to get rid of some of my books - donate them or send them to our relatives in the province. I flatly refused. No one could take my babies away from me! They argued that I had no more space in my room for more books. I thought about it...agreeing, in my own mind, that I had little space left to move in my room, and came up with a brilliant suggestion.... I would get rid of my bed and just sleep on the floor or a mat or some sort of futon! I shared this brilliant idea with the parents and my dad gave me this look which I had never received from him before...it was a look that conveyed "good lord! I'm saddled with an idiot for a daughter!" or to put it more succinctly "that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard!" He didn't say it out loud though (probably because he knew it would hurt my feelings) and just set about building me a huge shelf that took up an entire wall of my room and rearranged my room so that I would have both the space for both my books and my bed. The bookaholic in me was satisfied...at least, for the moment...
High School (A Dysfunctional Family's Vacation) Towards the end of one summer my parents decided we would spend our vacation in their home province of Leyte. So we took the car and my dad drove all the way there. When we got to my dad's hometown we stayed with my aunt and uncle who, at that time, lived in a nipa house. Unfortunately there was no electricity at the time so we couldn't watch TV or listen to the radio or do any of the things we were used to doing in Manila. It would have driven me stir crazy but for the fact that they had books - something that saved me from committing homicide or, at the very least, bursting into tears and demanding that we go home. Since we were moving towards the end of summer the skies had started to darken during the day, signalling the beginning of the rainy season, and (little did we know it) heralding the approach of a major typhoon. One day I was ensconced in my own world reading, my sister was in the bathroom and my parents were somewhere about. Impinging on the edge of my consciousness was my aunt who was scurrying to and fro for some reason. Suddenly there was light.... My first thought was "thank goodness! there's electricity!" and I looked up and lo and behold...the roof had been blown off! The typhoon had arrived with a vengeance... My mother (a nervous eater) suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it seemed, and started screaming at us to sit down and eat, my father (a car freak) was trying to find a good parking spot so that the car wouldn't be hit by any flying debris and had forgotten about us, and my sister (a practical but loony character) came out of the bathroom and started gathering all our belongings and then put on an extra two shirts and an extra pair of shorts (for what reason I really can't figure out to this day). I (a self-confirmed bookaholic) was trying to get as much reading done in the best light we had had in days before it was crucial to evacuate to a relative's home which still had a roof...
I was commenting on bookcity's site (http://bookcity.multiply.com) in response to a blog post "You know you're a bookaholic when..." and all my memories on my "bookaholic" tendencies and experiences came rushing back to me. So I decided as my first blog on this site to write about (for my own purposes and for the enjoyment of anyone who decides to read my blog) some of these fond memories.... Grade School (The Origin of A Bookaholic) My school's bookstore had a Booksale bin where you could buy books for as little as two pesos (yes I know...I'm dating myself!), so I bought my first Harlequin romance novel at the tender age of nine. I was instantly hooked. Not for me the gradual ascent into adult reading but a straight rocket into the steamy world of adult romance and authors such as Catherine Coulter and Julie Garwood and the authors of Harlequin and Mills and Boons. My mother found out and was (probably justifiably) horrified. We got into a huge fight wherein she told me never to buy such books again and where I (for the first time) defiantly disobeyed her. I kept on buying and reading.... High School (Learning a painful lesson) By now I practically always had a book in my hand. I even had the pocket in my school skirt made larger to accomodate a paperback. I was going down the stairs with my sister and a friend, completely engrossed in my novel, when suddenly I missed a step... And landed on the ground on my knees with my book still held upright in front of my face and my eyes still firmly fixed on the last sentence I had read before I had fallen. My sister and her friend were doubled over with laughter...I, with supreme dignity, stood up and walked away. It took three more similar incidents in order to learn a painful lesson - don't read while walking down the stairs!
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