CEBU PACIFIC: THE WORST IN CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

Cebu Pacific, though it is a BUDGET airline, catering to the common Juan, promotes itself as the Budget Airline of Juan. But is it an excuse for them, particularly the GROUND STEWARDS AND staffES, to treat their customers shabbily and disrespectfully?

Last Nov. 3, 2011, my husband Eric was scheduled to take the Cebu Pacific flight (5J-625) from Manila to Dumageuete at 7:20am. He arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3 airport around 1 hour before his flight. But since he drove his car to the airport and that the parking was full, it took him a few minutes before he was able to get a parking space. And since he came up from the parking lot, he was allowed by the guard from the ground area to pass thru the exit door going up the departure area. But still he was able to reach the counter of 45 minutes before his scheduled flight. When he got to the counter, he queued on the ALL DOMESTIC FLIGHTS line. And since he knew that it was nearly closing time for his flight, he went up to the counter and asked the ground staff if he was already late for his flight and the said ground staff said "Yes sir! Abot pa kayo sa flight nyo. Bumalik na kayo sa pila." So with the assurance that he will make for the said 7:20am flight, he went back to his line. Some of the people in line even gave way for him to be able to reach the counter sooner. When it was already his turn, the ground staff then even asked him the usual questions on what was his seat preference and others. But then suddenly, she told Eric that the flight was already CLOSED! Naturally, my husband got angry and asked her how come the flight was closed already when he had inquired earlier about the flight. Maybe finding that there was no other reason she could give, she castigated my husband saying "Eh bakit kasi dito kayo pumila eh may pila naman ang Dumaguete flight sa kabila!" My husband reasoned that that particular line has an ALL DOMESTIC FLIGHTS on their screen and that she even acknowledged when he asked her about the said flight. And because the said ground staff had the I-don't-give-a-dang attitude, he demanded to talk to her supervisor or her manager.

When he was already talking to the supervisor, the said supervisor was also the same! She was very rude and very disrepectful! She never apologized for what had happened and she even had the gall to question why he did not go to the "correct" line and why he passed thru the exit where he should have passed thru the entrance! When Eric asked particularly where was their manager because he wanted to file a complaint, the said supervisor told him there was "no manager" at that time and that "the complaint should be filed to her". it was really appalling since she was the one he wanted to file the complaint against! My husband was so mad that he even told the supervisor that he wanted to strangle her and you know what she answered? "Sige po, sir!" And the gall of the supervisor to order Eric to rebook his flight and pay his rebooking fees! She even told him to line up! Again! Then Eric went to another counter and asked for the manager which the rude supervisor said was not available and lo! and behold! There was a manager standing just behind the counter! What was frustrating was there was not even an apology or a "pasensya na po kayo, sir!" given by ANY of them! They were even trying to prove the "stupidness" of my husband lining up on the wrong counter!

Eric complained and filed a formal complaint against all of the people involved and we will not stop until an action is taken against the said people. Here are the name of the said supervisor and the manager:

GROUND STAFF: CHARMAINE MERCADO

SUPERVISOR: CARLA JANE DE CASTRO

MANAGER: HAROLD GONZAGA

do take note: BUDGET AIRLINE OR NOT, ANY STAFF WHETHER GROUND OR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS OR MANAGERS OR SUPERVISORS, HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE RUDE AND BE DISRESPECTFUL TO ANY CUSTOMERS, RIGHT OR WRONG! WITHOUT THE RIDING PUBLIC, CEBU PACIFIC WILL NOT BE IN ITS CURRENT STATUS AS THE "NO. 1 AIRLINE IN THE PHILIPPINES." YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE COURTESY AND PATIENCE IN ANY SITUATION YOU ENCOUNTER BECAUSE AFTER ALL, YOU ARE IN THE SERVICE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS!!!!

WITH THIS, YOU ALREADY LOST CUSTOMERS!!!!

See you again, Megan

Oct 14, 2009: Fighting a very good battle against cancer, Megan finally rested peacefully...

It is quite hard for me to think about this, especially since we have known her since she was small and was about the same age as my daughters... I feel the parents' pain, of losing someone very dear to them, much more, losing their daughter... I feel lost for words... the only thing I can think of is: I hope and pray that Megan is happy and pain-free wherever she is...

Rest in peace, Megan and see you again...

My Dad after 10 years....

This may be a late Father's Day greeting to my Dad, but you see, I haven't seen my Dad for almost 10 years now and I miss him terribly.

When I was younger, and even up to now, people would always marvel how much I look like my Dad... My Dad was a very handsome man... He does not even look like Chinese... I can say that he had his fair share of women around him (even if he's already married to my Mom!) which I totally did not agree and resented, by the way :) But my Dad never failed as a father...

My Dad was an ideal Dad, at least for us, his children. He may not be the best husband to my Mom, but he was the best Dad for me. My Dad was my number 1 fan, my number 1 supporter, my number 1 adviser. He was always there to support his children in whatever endeavor we chose to do, whether he approves or not... This may sound cliche, but it's true... He loved his children very much, to the point of spoiling us rotten, but don't get me wrong, we're not brats.... I had my share of welts on my butt when I was young and I didn't go out with my friends for the usual "barkada nights" until I was in 4th year high school... But my Dad, as supportive as he was, would always be there whenever we would need a driver to bring us to our swimming meets, or he would drive whenever I need to go out of town for my school photo shoots and projects... He would drive me and my friends for trips and would just be plain happy because we were enjoying.

My Dad was a diabetic and he would often joke then that he was a druggie everytime he would inject himself with insulin. Because of diabetes, he got himself into sports, playing tennis regularly at the country club. He would also drink hard liquor because as he said, "this would help me with my heart". He was not alcoholic, mind you, but I guess, it never occurred to him that drinking liquor of any kind would affect his health.

It was in 1994 when my Dad's liver failed for the first time, a few months after I graduated. He vomitted blood and I was quite afraid of losing him then. He was too young to leave us.... He was in the ICU for almost 5 days and I was very thankful when he woke up, recognizing each and every one of his children... We almost lost him then. We were told that because my Dad was diabetic and he drank liquor, it was only time that this would affect his liver. He was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis... only 30% of his liver was functioning and the doctor gave him only 3 years to live, if he was going to survive this crisis..

My Dad lived for almost 5 years after his attack. He was the last remaining cirrhosis survivor among other patients in his batch.

During the last year of my Dad's life, he was constantly in and out of the hospital. I was very thankful that my Dad lived through my wedding day, and got to see and meet my firstborn. My daughter was only 6 months old when my Dad left this world. Once a robust and strong man, it was very hard for me to see him wilting day by day.

And to tell you frankly, though it was hard for me to accept my father's death, I was thankful in a way because my Dad would be free of the needles and tests the medical staff would be doing to him... that he would be free of the hardships and difficulties of being diabetic patient with liver cirrhosis... that he would be free of the suffering these diseases were causing him...

I miss my Dad very much.... I know that if he were alive today, he would be a doting grandfather to my three kids... that he and my husband would have been very good friends and would have to places who knows where... I know that, as always, he would have supported us, his children... and I know that he would, as always, take care of my mother who's unwavering love and support, helped him cope with life...

Happy Father's Day, Papa...... How I wish you were here with us today....

Get Well soon, Megan

On April 20, our dear friends' daughter, Megan, will undergo a very delicate surgery...   This is a very sad and trying time for the parents.... I pray to God that the surgery will be very successful and that Megan will fully recover from it... 

A prayer for Megan:

Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the sick, we turn to you in this time of illness. O dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden. Dear God, we place our worries in your hands. We place our sick under your care and humbly ask that you restore your servant to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge your will and know that whatever you do, you do for the love of us. Amen. 

The Miracle that is Margie Espino

It was, I think, the last Sunday of March 2009, when we went to see Margie for the first time after the incident in India...  Eric and I both wanted to visit her earlier, but were so busy at work, we had to postpone, considering the Asian Hospital is way over in Alabang, and we live in Malabon :) but now that we had found the time, I was not sure what to expect before we saw her...

I kept remembering the Margie I know...  vivacious, lively, happy....  and based on what I heard from Eric's friends from AIM and the blogs and emails that circulated, I couldn't believe that such an incident could happen to a very dear friend...  

I also remembered that Margie did a very good article on us and about our company last November... We even had plans of having dinner in December as some sort of reunion with my husband's friends and classmates at AIM... you see, Marge and Eric were classmates at AIM, taking up Masters in Entrepreneurship and my husband has every kind words to describe Margie...  when I learned that Margie was one of his groupmates, I was quite elated... because Margie used to be my "mentor" when I was still working with GMA Network, covering the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas... and she taught me then, a lot!  When we finally met (again), I asked her if she could remember, and she said, not quite, really :)  because it was about 12 years ago... but when I mentioned my boss' name then, that's when she remembered....

When I saw her at the hospital, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh...  Chet asked her if she knew us, and she immediately called our names!  It was a moment I will never forget...  It was a good thing that we came at a time that Margie was already fully awake and very alert...  though she still had some lapses, still, it was a very big improvement...  and I really hope and pray her health improves more everyday....

Margie serves as an inspiration to us... she is a fighter and she has fought to overcome a tragedy and make it a miracle...  To Margie and Chet, may the Lord bless you more and guide you everyday....  The miracle that Margie showed us proved that the in every step of the way and with God's full grace, we can overcome our greatest tragedies....

The Serenity Prayer

 I'd like to post here a prayer shared to me by my very good friend, Aileen:

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity 

to accept the things I cannot change; 

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference. 

Living one day at a time; 

Enjoying one moment at a time; 

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it; 

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life 

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen. 

--Reinhold Niebuhr 

Life is precious

My first blog.... and this will turn out to be a sad one.... I learned recently that a daughter of a dear friend has a very rare disease called neuroblastoma.. as I understand it, it is a form of cancer that affects mostly children and that it is congenital (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroblastoma)... it is not too clear to me what it really is, but as what was described to me, it affects the abdomen wherein the tumor can grow as big as the abdomen itself...  The patient has to undergo chemotherapy in order to minimize the tumor and hopefully, recover from it... But as the doctors say, if this has happened when the girl was only 2 years old, she has a greater chance to recover, but now that she is already 9 years old, she's considered high risk and might not be able to recover....

Our friend learned about their daughter's sickness as recent as about two months ago... try as they may, it is quite hard to accept the fact that their daughter has only 6 months to a year to live.

 Now, she has to go to the hospital for her chemo treatments and experience loosing her hair because of it....  As a parent, I feel for them... and after hearing about the sweet girl's sickness, I couldn't sleep very well...  it was very hard for me to even think about it, let alone imagine my life without my children... I love my children very much and if I were in their shoes, it would be very difficult for me also to accept it... I wouldn't even wish this on my worst enemy.... Imagine,  a very innocent child who is just starting to enjoy her life, her friends and all of the things around her....  

I pray that God gives her a second chance to live...  and I pray that God gives her parents the strength they need to survive their ordeal...