I am mighty pissed today. I spent the whole afternoon in the Philippine Airlines office in Cubao waiting for my number to be called so I could redeem my miles and get a free roundtrip ticket to Puerto Princesa. Unfortunately, at least 200 other people were also there waiting to redeem their miles, which like mine, would be expiring the following day.
Thirty minutes before 5 pm and two announcements later of a breakdown of their computer system, there were still more than a hundred people waiting to be served ahead of me. So, I got up, joined a group of people who were hovering around the redemption counter, as pissed and restless as I am, and tried to see if there was any hope at all that I could get my free ticket soon. As it turned out, the PAL staff who were sitting in that counter and the manager actually did not know what to do with the throng of people breathing down their necks. They have no plans and no suggestions whatsoever as to how to address the problem. I suspect they were quietly praying that people would just get so tired of waiting that they would just finally decide to leave.
That did it. I thought, “Why the hell should I keep on wasting my time here? I don’t need to go to Palawan anyway. The only reason I am planning to spend my Christmas vacation there this year is because I can get a free ticket to Puerto Princesa. Otherwise, I would prefer to go there in summer of next year. Besides, if I really want to go there this year, I have earned more than enough miles in Cebu Pacific to get me a free ticket to Puerto Princesa (and I did have a positive experience redeeming miles there last year). Hell, I can even afford to buy myself a ticket. I don’t need a freebie from these people!”
So, I stormed out of the PAL office and went straight to McDonalds. I figured that a McChicken could make feel better so I ordered one and the girl at the counter goes, “Can you wait for five minutes?” I said, “What? That long? Get me a Fillet-O-Fish instead.” So she goes away for 30 seconds and comes back to tell me that it would also take five minutes. I ordered her to just cancel the whole thing because I can’t wait for five minutes. Greatly annoyed, I went to The Body Shop instead and got me a bottle each of their Honey Moisturising Shampoo and their Honey Moisturising Conditioner, and a new Big Nail Shiner. Cost: Php1,150. Effect: I buy therefore I am! Lesson: If emotional eating isn’t possible, try emotional shopping.
Oh, but I did not let the PAL issue go. When I got to the office to get my things, I went to the computer and sent Mabuhay Miles an angry email. So there – one whole afternoon wasted, Php160 spent on cab fare, Php1,150 spent on non-essentials, blood pressure raised … all courtesy of Philippine Airlines, Asia’s first airline.
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2 comments:
You know what. I know those days. When it rains idiots, delays, miscommunications, and other mishaps, it takes its time. You think it's over so you try to cheer yourself up and lo and behold, another bummer comes your way. Probably because of my age and the maladies that accompany stress-induced high blood pressure, I have learned the hard way to tap into my inner zen center (like a hard-to-find zen microdot) and let the whole thing wash over. Then you plot for the better days. I wanted to take advantage of the Cebu Pacific great seat sale but I was fussing over the misleading ads that promised hefty discounts (not true!)and then the Jan. 17 deadline passed. How about slipping away to HK or Bohol or somewhere un-crowded in the Visayas? Cebu has a lot of possibilities. Hmmm. Think about it. - Ferdi
Well, I finally got my free ticket. PAL extended the deadline. So, now I have a free ticket to Puerto Princesa the weekend prior to Holy Week vacation. I've never really gone out of Cebu City yet. Maybe I should try that. I did see a couple of interesting resorts in a travel book I bought a couple of years ago. Maybe I should try going around Cebu sometime.
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