Last night I realized I was running low on gas so I stopped at a Caltex station few kilometers from home. The attendants were standing outside happily waving and directing me to a pump. When I rolled down my window I noticed that these guys are wearing masks, their uniforms obviously dusty, and the gas pumps covered with ash but still everything seemed routine, they never hesitated to serve. No complaints whatsoever. The crew who filled my tank even asked how I was doing.
This is customer service. This is business continuity. These guys could’ve just decided not to report to work anymore due to obvious reasons–there is ashfall all over and they’d be standing outside their entire shift. Yes, outside, exposed. Yet they reported and continued to work.
Hope this story would put an end to unfair biases I read recently. We should not imply that because other companies continue to remain operating despite the circumstances the bosses are heartless. That because another business allowed their staff not to work, they are already the best employers. That is just not how it works. So please, spare me the drama.
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(Original FB post)
Didn’t expect that the original post (my personal Facebook page) will pick up and get shared. As of this writing it has reached 60 plus shares and 160 plus reactions. This beats my dance video. Hahaha.
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Mood: 2/10 Honks!!! (Almost 20 hours after I got home from an eventful return trip.)
I rarely rant in this blog because one rule I stick to when I write (and even in emails) is that I shouldn’t do it whenever I’m angry. I’ve read anger clouds the mind and so I try to avoid writing in such condition because this is when posts become badly composed, grammatical errors occur, the messages don’t make sense, and the readers or recipients get irritated as well. Today, I can’t help it.
This is actually an update to my recent post. I got my Pioneer EV51DVD component back and to my utter dismay it got worse. After whispering some expletives and trying be composed while in front of our wide-eyed boy—who was wondering what on earth I’m doing behind our entertainment rack, I sent an email to Pioneer Philippines technical service headquarters. And here’s what I wrote:
This is to report a problem I just had with your service center – 21st Century Electronics & Service Center – in Bacoor, Cavite. Last Monday, I brought my EV51DVD unit (w/o the speakers) to the said place due to a distorted/humming center speaker. By the afternoon, I came back as agreed so I can check what the status is. The personnel said then that the amplifier might have to be replaced and that they will try to check if the part is available. I was advised that I should call the next day to check again.
Yesterday, I called back and was informed that it is already ok and that I can claim it ASAP. I asked what they find wrong in it and explained that they discovered that it only needs a capacitor replacement which they have already done.
Today, I eagerly went back to get my unit expecting that it has been fixed. I brought along with me only the center speaker for testing since it was the only speaker in question. The technician of course connected it to the unit and showed me that it is playing music already – I was really thankful that time. I paid Php 900 ($19) for the labor and Php 100 ($2) for the capacitor and then left.
However, after I arrived home and excitedly reconnected the unit to the other speakers, I discovered that something wrong was done with it. When I tried the “Test Tone” feature of the unit, I was surprised that the center speaker doesn’t emit a sound when the system displays “C.” And I got more dismayed when it sounded together with the right surround speaker.
I tried to ignore it thinking that it may not be that significant. So I tried playing a DVD (original) to check if it plays just as good as before – when we bought it. That’s when I learned further that both the left and right speakers’ sound has degraded as well no matter what pre-equalizer setting I use. The vocals (dialogue) from the movie weren’t as good either — it sounded muffled. In short, the unit I got back was a total disappointment as it has gotten worse than before. My suspicion right now is that they could have tapped the output of the center speaker to the right surround speaker. I also suspect that what’s inside my unit right now aren’t its original amplifier ICs as well. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
I’m really frustrated and feel betrayed. Tomorrow or anytime this week, I’ll go back to that service center to have it fixed (they gave me two months warranty which I hope they will honor). But right now this email is sent to you for your corrective action. I’m asking you to do your investigation as well so that this won’t happen to any other customers like me who might go there in good faith just to get a service not expected from a good brand like Pioneer.
After looking at and reading the above email again, I somehow feel glad that at least it appears tactful enough. I don’t know though if I’ll feel embarrassed about it tomorrow and curse myself for letting out a rant online which I always despise.
How about you? Do you think I did my best to contain my rant? Let me know.
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When I said “from a good brand like Pioneer” I actually lied. I think this is my last Pioneer. I had two succeeding bad experiences with it and probably I’ll consider other brands. I’m considering the following based on stories from friends and peers: Philips, Samsung and Sony. I guess I’ll just have to pick those with slim speaker or I can “invest” in good home theaters instead. Tiabi, don’t we just love this thing called consumerism.
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My search leads to my own blog.
Funny. I’m trying to look for an image of the EV51DVD but my yahoo search led me to my own blog. Hahaha.
Marcus Can Blog 