Jollibee Colon

Jollibee Colon has always been the go-to place for a typical person living in Cebu whenever your happen to be the busiest place in Cebu, Colon.

One good thing about their amenities is the fact that they have a playing area for children.  They have the best location in Colon, just near the crossing section and just after one of the most popular department store and grocery, Gaisano Metro.  They have two stories to cater hungry customers and they have enough crew to serve.

The place was also special to me because during the early days of Jollibee in Cebu, this is where my mother took me during my highschool graduation and boy was I so happy back then.

There is however something dreadful about the place.  It is a haven of thieves and "Salisi Gang".  One should be very careful and be very watchful of their belongings.

My Experience:

My daughter and I went to Colon on January 2 to buy my baking needs. When hunger strikes, I decided to bring my daughter to Jollibee Colon since my daughter loves their Burger Steak and she likes to watch the older kids as they play in the play area.

The crew brought us upstairs on a table just near the airconditioning unit and the stairs.  While eating, a female crew went near us but she was called by another crew.  A few minutes later a male crew was cleaning the floor and he stroke the mop so hard that the water from the mop kept on hitting me. I got so distracted by it. To top ot off my daughter kept on moving and wanted to move away from where we are sittng and wants to go near the airconditioning unit which is just next to me.  I was stupid enough to place my bag on an empty chair which was also next to me while I go after my daughter.  Suddenly, I notice that my bag was no longer in the chair.  I tried to run after whoever it was that took my bag.  I went to the guard who was watching the entrance way.  I asked him if they can check the CCTV as I can recognize the bag if they let me see the CCTV footage. The guard refused because he said they only have two CCTVs in the store, on focusing on the cashier's area and another just near the stairs, they do not have any CCTVs upstairs and that I was not the first victim of the gang.  I had to make a seen for the guard to call the manager but even the manager will not let me see their CCTV.  I had to ask them to call the police and when the police arrived and asked for the CCTV footage they still will not cooperate.

Imagine, I was not the first victim and they have not installed any precautions? They knew that in Colon, a lot of theives and criminals dwell.  A lot of people especially those with children would prefer to come to Jollibee because of the play area and they have not made any efforts to ensure the safety of their customers? No wonder it was so easy for criminals to go in and out of the place, they know that if they steal something, they will never be caught.

Yes, there was a negligence on my part for putting my bag down so I can eat instead of clutching it with me all the time but the management of Jollibee should also have tried to make sure that their customers would feel safe inside their establishment.  I bet the theif or the thieves knew that there isn't much CCTVs in Jollibee because in McDonald's Colon which is located just across the street, one can definitely see several CCTVs watching over the customers despite how small their vicinity is.  I can put my bag in my table and eat properly at McDonald's but Jollibee Colon expects you to hold on tight to your belongings.

From that day forward, I would often think twice before going to Jollibee and I have never set foot in Jollibee Colon anymore.

Jollibee Ayala Center

Jollibee is one of my go to places specially that my children love their food, their mascot and they simply appeal not only to children but adults as well.

I admire the fact that they are very innovative when it comes to the food they offer.  This is not just about chicken or about burgers, they have a wide array of food that fits the Filipino taste.  

It is the wide selection of food that sets Jollibee apart from other burger joints. Their burger steak and palabok are favorites of my daughters.

Jollibee Ayala Center Cebu is one of the busiest branch they have specially that Ayala Center is one of the biggest Mall and most popular malls in Cebu.  Naturally you'll expect that this Jollibee branch are well equipped with enough manpower to handle a lot of customers and the managers did well in that field.

However:

I have had good service experience with Jollibee Ayala for sometime, I often go to the branch on weekends and order take outs because I love the Happyplus idea, I get to eat and earn rewards at the same time. During my day off however, when I brought my youngest daughter to jollibee for some snacks/lunch. We ordered their ultimate burger steak and a regular burger steak for my daughter. The cashier gave us a priority number for the ultimate burger steak since they are out and would need to make some first.  One of their crew assisted us in bringing our tray and when we are aettled in Jollibee mascots came out to the delight of my daughter.  They had the mascots out because during that day was Mc Donald's opening so in order to lure customers they had their mascots entertain the people eating and another one standing in front of the door enticing customers to come in. I noticed that my ultimate burger steak took a long time to be delivered so I waited for a crew to come in the party area were we are seated, there were lots of them just outside because they enjoyed seeing jollibee as well.  I waved my priority number toward them to avoid having to call their attention and make some more noise but no one seemed to notice.  It took a long time before a crew noticed me waving my priority number and come to our table and it turned out, my ultimate burger steak was forgotten, it was never prepared and if I had not called the service crew's attention, we would have finished without my ultimate burger steak.

The next day I ordered a take away of jolly hotdog value meal and chocolate sundae because I still need to go back to my work.  I specifically checked with the crew assisting the cashier in preparing the orders if their is already a spoon for the sundae and she said yes.  When I arrived at my office, the spoon I checked with the crew is no where to be found good thing the office caterer left some spoon in our pantry else I would have to go back to the branch and ask and by the time I would arrive back at the office the sundae would have melted and I would waste more than my alotted lunch time.

I get that people working at Jollibee are busy, of course but that's why there are a lot of them working there. Rather than be wary with their own mascot and pile up in one place, service crews should have been alert and assisted those that have not had their orders yet, that was part of their task. And what is checking if everything is already inside the take away bag, the food, the utensils, catsup and what have you? Especially if the customer had asked if it is already inside the bag rather than just nod.

It was really disappointing because I ahve been a returning customer and I have my happyplus points to prove that. 

Greenwich Ayala

Greenwich Ayala is one of the memorable places for me. I have had some good memories with the place, memories I shared with friends and love ones.

With their affordable thin crust pizzas, not so ordinary lasagna and more, any college student under a budget would sure place this establishment as one of the go-to fast food especially that unlike other fast food chains ever so loved by children this place is catered for teens and yuppies.

My Horror Story:

I was with my mother one time and I convinced her that we have our usual snack time at Greenwich as I was craving for pizza.  I ordered a club soda to go with it.  When the food attendant handed me my drinks, I was so shocked to see a cockroach floating on top of the soda.  I complained to the attendant, but rather than try to apologize, she just took the glass from me with a blank expression on her face.  She gave me a new one from the same stack of plastic glasses where she took the last one out and hand it out to me with a smug in her face. After that, I never set foot inside Greenwich again.

Etihad Airways

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etihad_Airways

Etihad Airways is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Established by Royal decree in July 2003 and based in Abu Dhabi, Etihad commenced operations in November 2003.

My Customer Service Experience: 

I had a hard time booking my flight since my flight fare is more than my credit card limit so I had to fly to Manila to book my flight personally in their office since they don't have any ticketing office in Cebu and if there was, it isn't stated in their website.

Their office was really nice and luxurious and the ground attendant served me well, with pleasing personality and all, she even helped me find a cheaper flight despite the fact that I booked my flight like just a week before my actual departure.

I opted on choosing a flight from Singapore to Abu Dhabi then from Abu Dhabi to Ireland and I believed it was a good decision on my part because when I boarded the plane, my experience was really nice.  Both planes from Singapore and from Abu Dhabi were well maintained, stewardesses would really attend to your needs properly.

However, I felt that there is a bit of a discrimination on the part of Etihad because, while my flight from Ireland to Abu Dhabi was as nice as my previous flights with the airline, my flight from Abu Dhabi bound for Manila is not.

Not only does the airplane look old and shabby, the Chinese flight attendant was rather nasty and rude toward the customers.  The way the flight attendant acted makes one think that she is belittling the Filipinos.  The way she answered customer queries was with no courtesy at all. To think I paid more for this flight than my previous ones.  And I booked this a month before my actual boarding

The thing is if Etihad airways is able to provide a par excellence service with their other flights, why can't they do the same with their Philippines flight?

NAIA - Terminal 1

Ninoy Aquino International Airport which was once known as Manila International Airport is the largest airport in the Philippines was named after Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. who was assasinated in the said airport during martial law.

I have been in this airport thrice, I believe. Twice for back and forth domestic flights, and once for international flight arrivals. 

My customer service experience:

I probably had one of the worst customer service experience in this airport.  I had a "not so good" experience abroad so I decided to go home with my then 4 month old daughter.  All alone with loads of luggages while carrying my daughter, I was happy somebody offered to bring my luggage outside so I can go to terminal 3 for my domestic flight going to Cebu and to meet my cousin.  When I arrived outside, not only did the guy asked me more than Php100 for the services, he also asked me for some dollar bills and when I declined him, he left me without knowing where exactly I needed to go.  I asked the security guard and he told me that I was actually at the wrong place as the van for terminal 3 is just one level above where I am.  I have to drag my luggage up again, baby and all. The security guard told me that the van is for free as it is a service offered by the airport itself so I was relieved but when I arrived at the terminal the person who helped me out with my luggage told me that I should give the driver and his assistant some money because they were the once who carried my luggage inside the van. My cousin did not arrive until later so I asked the person who brought my luggage that I will just wait inside the check-in hall, I was already crying and everything but that person still managed to ask for more than a hundred pesos with no empathy whatsoever for, again, "services".  The things, weren't these people being paid by the airport themselves to do what they are supposed to do?  Why are they victimizing their customers especially fellow Filipinos? And why does the airport management allow this kind of hussling within airport premises? This does not happen in other provincial airports, so no amount of reasoning can justify what the airport employees are doing to the customers.  It is a disgrace, just because people came from other countries does not mean they lay golden eggs.  In as much as I want to support local business establishment, I will never recommend to anyone who comes from abroad and had to make a stopover before reaching their province to do a stopover in this airport.

CHOWKING

I have always found the food in Chowking to be worth going back for.  They are quiet different compared to other "normal" fast food chains.  Like any other successful fast food restaurants, you can find a Chowking chain almost everywhere in Metro Cebu. The first time I tasted Chowking's food was when my mother brought me to the place because whenever she goes out with my Aunt, who is a senior citizen, my Aunt will always bring her to Chowking because she gets big discounts using her senior citizen ID.

My most favorite is the Fish Tausi from their Chef Bowls collection.  I love the mixture of fish and tufo with stir fry sauce and tausi.  Whenever, I go to Chowking, I order this from them. Not really being health conscious or anything, I just love the taste and the fact that it is easy to use chopsticks, if this is what I order.  See, I have always been proud that I know how to use chopsticks hehehe...

My customer service experience:

In Chowking Fuente Osmeña, their staff and crew are very prompt and respectful.  This is also true with Chowking Sto. Niño and Chowking Colon. 

However, I have had several bad customer service experience in Chowking Ayala.  Mostly minor things like take out foods that take a long time before they get to you, to them forgeting your orders that you have to call their attention to follow-up for your food or when you ask for plastic condiments or chopsticks and they don't have that on stock. One noted experience was when my daughters and I had so many left overs, I asked one of the staff to have them packed so we can take them home, afterall, a food paid should not go to waste, I am a single mother of two afterall, expenditures should be thought through properly.  I wondered why the staff did not take our extra food with him. I thought maybe he will just come back for them but to my disappointment, the staff brought several plastic bags and told me to pack the extra food myself.  Now, Ayala Center Cebu is noted to be one of the finer malls here in Cebu, so it is expected that any store inside the mall should raise their customer service expectations.  Chowking Ayala, failed and it is something that the manager or managers of this outlet need to focus their improvement on. For now, I still go to Chowking Ayala because of the food but my patience with regard to how their staff treats the customers is running thin. Customer's do not only go to a restaurant for the food you know...