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 | 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.
 Scammer - sugarbunniesonline.multiply.com
- I paid her 6,000 pesos via gcash last December 23, 2010 for a china netbook which she initially promised to deliver by the end of the year. Afterwards, she informed me there was a delay and that I would get it by Jan 3. Then there were further delays. Several customers, including myself, started following up with regard to our orders but she always came up with one excuse after another  as to why the delivery of the items were delayed. Until, finally, she could no longer be contacted by phone, she stopped responding to personal messages, and then she deleted all her contacts and content from her site.
I waited, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, I was more than patient. I didn't yell, scream or threaten her. I even told her, via pm and text message, that I would understand if the delays were due to forces beyond her control and I just wanted her to respond to my follow-ups. All I wanted was the netbook or my money back but now, I have accepted the fact that I was scammed. It's been almost two months now. She stopped responding since January 17. So basically I have accepted the fact that I was scammed.
It took me a long time to decide whether or not to post my experience with her online because I wanted to give her every chance, and I didn't want to defame her name without giving her ample opportunity to redeem herself but sadly, my worst fears were proven right and my intuition that she was a legitimate and honest seller was proven false.
I am posting this not out of the desire for revenge or for compensation but out of the hope that no one else will be victimized by this person.
While I have reported her to Multiply I doubt very much that anything can be done except perhaps banning her from ever operating an online store on Multiply again. I do wish Multiply would come up with a system like ebay - one of the few good things about ebay - where there is a feedback rating (the star system) which online buyers and sellers can incorporate on their sites so that people will have a better idea of what type of buyer and seller you are.
I'm not angry, I'm mostly feeling tired and disappointed. It was a rather expensive lesson but I learned it. Hopefully this will be the first and the last time this ever happens to me. This will also be the first and last time I will discuss this subject. I needed to get it out of my system and I needed to warn people so they wouldn't be taken in by this particular person ever again. I was bored one day and decided to google my full name and the username I almost always use and was incredibly surprised to find that I actually have a presence on the Web. Comments that I made on other sites, including Multiply, showed up, anything with the search words I used popped up. I found out that I had an account with a website which I completely forgot about (I just emailed them to have them cancel my account because I wasn't using their services). What surprised me the most was that comments that I made on sites actually showed up on the search - I always thought that comments were private to the site you've signed up on. I guess I was wrong.
Intrigued and a little alarmed, I checked out the names of my family members and a friend in the U.S. While I can breathe a sigh of relief that there was no "suspicious" search results from googling their names I was a bit alarmed for my friend in the U.S. because I actually came across a site which offers - for a fee of course - a complete background report on persons living in the U.S. including their birth dates! That for me is extremely scary, what with the proliferation of scammers and identity thieves out there, not to mention that feeling that your privacy has been completely invaded and your personal info is out there for anyone to download for a fee.
I know I shouldn't be surprised - as they say - "nothing gets erased on the Web"...but it still scares me. It just goes to show that you gotta be careful and think about what you write and post on any site and remember what sites you've signed up on to make sure that no one else is using your identity.
Try googling your name and the usernames you've used and see for yourself = )
I finally did it!!!! After months and months of procrastinating and having my dad call me every week to nag me, I finally went to the gas station to get the oil changed in the car and the radiator belt tightened (because recently whenever I shift gears the car will make this weird whiny sound). Bonus point, the service guy at the station pointed out that I had actually been running with a flat front tire so I had the tire vulcanized. No wonder the car seemed so difficult to drive! hehehe = ) My bad!
The reason why I'm so reluctant to go the service station to get the car fixed whenever it needs fixing is because I feel so out of my element. Same with having the car washed. The guys stare at you - the lone girl in the shop and you constantly wonder what is going through their minds. I'm always afraid to open my mouth to ask about certain things because I feel like the class dunce whenever I do - mostly its because the service crew always look at me like I'm stupid! Most probably because when it comes to cars I am!
I dread going to the car wash or to the service station because 99.9 percent of the time I really am the only girl there getting stuff done. I bring a book to read to pass the time and every so often I creep towards the mechanic and look at what he's doing, trying my best to look like I know what I'm looking at, while my mind is far far away in the land of make-believe.
I know feminists will probably kill me for saying this, heck, even I cringe at what I'm about to say but really these places are like an old boys club and I feel like I really don't belong in places like these. I'm doubly ashamed because my dad's always been a car nut - he's most happy when at a service shop having goodness knows what done to the car.
I do know the basics - have your oil changed every 5,000 kilometers (but I rarely do this), have the spark plugs changed every so often (when - I don't know), check the pressure of your tires (I get this done by the gas station boys when I get gas), etc.
Most of the time another customer (it's always a guy in my experience) will talk to me and ask me about what type of engine I have, or some other technical thing and I'm just like "Ummm, I don't know" I say this coupled with a rather sheepish grin. They look at me pityingly like "what the heck are you doing here anyway?" I know they do try to put me at ease with this type of conversation but really all I want is for the stuff to be done as quickly as possible and for me to get out of there as soon as I can!
For the first time (simply because my dad's been nagging me to) I got the car's engine washed and I called him and told him I was having it done. He said to make sure that the distributor is covered and that they blow air on the engine and I was like...."uhhhh, they look like they know what they're doing..." Silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds...and my dad finally said "make sure you tell them" and I lied and said "sure!"
But I got it done! Yay for me! And the car is probably breathing a sigh of relief! = )
I just got back home from Market! Market! where I had to do a little grocery shopping and pick up a book I had ordered from Fully Booked...and everywhere I looked there were sales ongoing. Now I usually have a built-radar for sales, even when most of the shops aren't on sale I can usually sniff out a good deal a mile away. But today was different, today I was just like - okkkaaayyyy sale overload! The one thing that made me happy was the fact that I got 20% off the regular price of the book I had reserved. By the way, for those interested, Fully Booked is only on sale until tomorrow so if you've been putting off going - you might wanna go today or tomorrow = )
I think I've reached a point of "shopping fatigue" if there is such a term. There's just so much stuff out there and I've been wondering "how much do we really need?" I know that some people go gaga over sales and can't wait to go out and spend all their hard-earned cash and that's fine but right now, I'm definitely not one of them.
I'm probably in a new phase of my life right now - I know I do need a few good, quality pieces - probably a couple new bags, a couple new shoes, etc. but I want to shop consciously - not because there's a good deal on something that I'll probably put away in my closet or cupboard and forget about. Also, I want to shop with a clear goal in mind - a particular look I want to sport or a particular book I've been dying to get my hands on, or buying a pair of shoes to replace a pair that are on the verge of falling apart - you get the drift...
Today, I was just like...uggghhh...too many people, too much noise, too many sale signs! Perhaps it's time I restricted my shopping to online...= )
There are two, apparently stray, dogs who are regulars on the street near our house. We always pass by them on the way to my sister's work - in the middle of the night. Like a pair of, pardon the rather inapt metaphor, male lions they lounge in the middle of the road oblivious to the dangers that they face from passing cars. And, while it is tempting - just because it can be rather irritating to constantly swerve to avoid them - to run them over, it is becoming a familiar, endearing constant in my everyday ritual of driving my sister to work.
I wonder who they belong to? Are they truly strays or do they have an owner who doesn't care about them? Or is their invisible owner the type of person who follows the "let the dogs roam free" philosophy?
What is endearing about them is the fact that they are always together - a bonded pair. One wonders about their sex. I have it in my mind that they are both males. Why? Perhaps it is because I recognize their "togetherness" as being similar to my own dogs' way of interacting with each other. There is none of that dance that usually goes on between males and females. They are comfortable with each other in a way that is not possible between sexes.
In that fleeting moment of passing them by I entertain the hope that they will remain a pair and not meet any accidents. I hope that they do have an owner who feeds them in spite of the fact that they are allowed to wander the streets at night unsupervised. And when I get home to be greeted by my own pair of dogs I look at them and think - "you lucky sons of..."
| Category: | Movies | | Genre: | Other |
May I just say...wowww!!! the movie "Inception" is one of the best movies I've seen in quite some time. I won't go into detail because I might spoil the experience for those who have yet to watch it but...it was an amazing experience. The trailer didn't give much away which was perfect because I had no preconceived notions of what the movie was about and it it just about blew my mind!
My sister persuaded me to watch it with her the other day and she impressed me with the seriousness of her recommendation by the mere fact that she had already watched it earlier in the day with friends and was willing to watch it for the second time on the same day with me.
I was still skeptical at first - thinking that "well her taste is not always my taste" and was really rather prepared to be underwhelmed but can I say it again?....wowwww!!! Hayyy! This has certainly been a difficult week. First a storm which caught basically everyone, from the president of our nation on down to the common man, by surprise...then 2 days of blackout in our area...and now we have no water coming from Maynilad.
I'm going to rant for a bit, whine a little, and then once I get that out of my system...get on with my life as best as I know how and figure out a way to survive maybe 3 more days without water!
Okay, so I know that Pagasa has been requesting for more money from our government for their weather equipment to be upgraded and for crying out loud...GIVE IT TO THEM! Forget about debate, forget about pointing fingers at each other and playing the blame game! The point is our weather disturbances have been getting progressively worse every year! We are ALL affected by the weather and without a better, more accurate prediction system we'll all be underwater soon without being any wiser...the only thing we'll probably be saying as we're drowing is "huh??? what the hell's happnnnn....?!"
I know Meralco did its best with the whole blackout thing and hats off to them for restoring power relatively quickly in spite of major problems facing them. But wouldn't be great if we had an alternative system for generating electricity..solar panels...wind turbines? I mean with the major wind we experienced with Basyang we could have generated a whole lot of electricity! And shouldn't the government subsidize the cost of solar panels so that households could install them more easily and cheaply and not lie helpless, and at the mercy of the whims of mother nature and big corporations?
And what's up with Maynilad? I mean I know that Angat dam is at a critical level but we received no advisory from them informing us that our water supply would be suddenly cut of for...let's see...4 days now! We're used to having a schedule for getting water...and trust me, for more years that I can count we've had to be very prudent with our use of the vital stuff. We always have an emergency supply of water but not enough to last us for more than a week.
The water tank is empty and we might not be able to get water from Maynilad until next week! The water delivery companies in our area are either all booked until next week or don't have water themselves!
Ayyy! crap on a stick! this majorly sucks! To give a micro view of how bad things are in our area - our neighbors are now having to use mineral water for their baths! We, in our household will most probably be doing the same thing by tomorrow...and I haven't taken a bath since yesterday scared out of my freakin mind that our precious reserves will be used up! I'm going to pretend to enjoy the natural odors of my body until I get a headache from my own stench! hahaha! I'm also actually contemplating (not very seriously though) asking my sister to cut her hair so she won't use up so much water when shampooing and conditioning her hair - although my life would be in danger if I actually was serious! = )
Hayyy! I feel like laughing and crying at the same time!...
The end! = )
P.S. I just got a call from my aunt who knows someone who delivers and we'll have water tomorrow! weeheee! no mineral baths for me! hehehe = ) Thank God and thank family connections! = ) Things are looking up!
The Story...
Yesterday I went out to do a little shopping with my best friend and her daughter (my god-daughter). We had been wandering around for the better part of the afternoon and were all tired when we decided to have an early dinner at a restaurant (I won't mention the name) in Market Market. Since it was a Friday night the place was packed but we managed to get a table.
I immediately noticed that it was difficult to get the attention of the wait staff, they were always busy rushing around and they weren't paying much attention to us and then when we were finally able to get a waitress's attention her attitude was a bit surly and when she would speak...how can I say this..."walang lambing yung salita niya." The way our waitress addressed me was in a hard tone and a very abrupt manner. I excused this, thinking that maybe that's just the natural way she spoke although, I must admit, I was a little irritated at the way she spoke to me.
When it came time to settle our bill it took a looonnnggg time to get someone's attention. What was funny, in an irritating kinda way, was that the waiters didn't seem to want to make eye contact with the customers. When I finally got a waiter's attention, he nodded and then went about his business. I kept looking for the waiter to come to our table with our bill but I guess he forgot about us. So, I managed to snag the attention of another waiter. He came over and seemed a bit irritated and apparently had a hearing problem because I had to repeat our request for our bill about three times..the final time he was like "Ano?!" in a really loud, irritated kinda way, so I raised my voice as well, and shot right back "Bill!"...As you can imagine, I was thoroughly annoyed by this time and thinking to myself that I would definitely not be leaving a tip.
When we looked at the bill, we realized that there was no service charge so I left a thirty peso tip even though my friend was urging me not to because of their terrible service. I was sorely tempted not to leave a single centavo but I didn't want to be petty about it and simply resolved that that would be one of the last places I would go to again...if ever...
My Musings on the Experience...
This was not the first time we had been to that restaurant. In fact, the first time I went there the staff attitude was courteous and definitely more attentive. I can't help wondering if the fact that they don't charge for service contributed to the overall sucky customer service we experienced that night.
On the other hand, because the staff would be dependent on the tips left by customers, wouldn't it be fair to assume that they would be more courteous instead of less? Since a lot of people, myself included, don't leave a standard tip but base it on the level of customer service. The better the service, the better the tip, whether or not the place has a service charge.
My one major complaint about many restaurants here is that their level of customer service changes every single time you go to them. They'll start out great and then when you become a regular customer, their customer service deteriorates. Why is that? Is it because they think that since that you're a regular customer already you won't mind bad customer service anymore?
There are three major things I look for when dining out - whether it be a fancy restaurant, a simple carienderia, or even a popular fast food joint ('cause believe me, not all branches are alike)...
1. Good food on a consistent basis ('cause sometimes, even if you order a favorite dish over and over again the taste changes)
2. Reasonable prices (reasonable doesn't mean cheap in my book - it depends on the type of place it is, the food they serve, etc.)
3. Good, if not great, customer service (again on a consistent basis)
Oh and...the establishment has to be clean! It doesn't matter to me whether all of the above criteria have been met, if the establishment isn't clean I won't eat there. = )
My sister says that I'm can be too fussy or critical when we dine out but my point is that I am not unreasonable in my demands. I always leave a tip, I don't yell at the staff (unless thoroughly provoked, which is extremely rare), and I'm not very fussy when it comes to my food - like I don't send food back or insist it be cooked in a particular way or call a manager if I don't like something. I would like to think that if I'm willing to pay to eat in an establishment, these requirements, which are standard and very basic in my book, shouldn't be so difficult to meet.
I am a true blue bargain hunter when it comes to books...the satisfaction I get when I find a book I've been hunting for years at a great price is beyond compare...and so I thought I'd share one of my favorite finds for the year 2010...  I found this copy of the "Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery in the bargain books section of Chapters and Pages at Market! Market! a while back and I couldn't believe it! While the pages were yellowed due to age it was still in excellent condition with no writings on the pages and no crease in its spine...and you'll never guess how much it cost... come on guess...hehehe = ) 9...yup... 9 pesos!
When I snatched it up and paid for it I felt like I was practically stealing the book away! = )....Definitely one of my favorite finds...
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.
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