The World of Second Chances

Shakey’s Supercard is NOT for Us

May 28, 2016

Career, Finance & Product
We just had dinner at home but decided to park at Shakey’s and order something for the kids while waiting for my daughter who’s on the way . Since all of us were still full, we just decided to take out 1 order of pizza. My husband and the server were the ones discussing. One order of pizza would cost us PhP430.00. Then the confusing part came when the server asked us if we were interested to avail of the buy one-take one + free 1.5 liters of Coke promo at a price of PhP 469.00. Of course, it sounded like a great deal so we said, it was okay. Then the server came back with an application form and hurriedly left. I asked my husband what was that form for and he said that I just had to fill it up.

When the bill came, we were charged with PhP1,089. I asked him the breakdown of the PhP1.089 because from what I remember, the pizza was only PhP469.00. He said that the supercard costed around PhP400+ so I answered that if that was the case, then we should be charged with less than PhP1,000. I probably missed something when we were taking our order earlier but had it was clear what a supercard was, I wouldn’t think twice of not accepting his offer for the following reasons:
1. Since October 2015, I decided to remove pizza on my diet. The last time I tasted a pizza was during an officemate’s birthday last March.
2. Our kids would pick Jollibee, McDo and KFC over pizza so getting a supercard would not be advantageous.
3. I am not a fan of cards except the Mercury Drug card and SM Advantage Card.
The server left and talked with his manager. I followed him and demanded an explanation why the whole thing was never explained to my husband and I thoroughly. PhP1,089 maybe a small amount but what angered me was the way this whole promo thing was not properly explained to us. I demanded to cancel that card and just revert to our original order (1 pizza for take out) then I went back to the waiting area.

The manager probably thought that we were after the free pizza and Coke so he approached me to remind me that what we ordered was the 1 pizza+ free pizza + free Coke to which I clarified that “No! Just refer to our original order!”

To cut the long and stressful situation short, they cancelled the supercard and we got our original order. In all fairness, the manager was cool and professional. He apologized and I did the same thing.

Lesson Learned:
1. To the customers like my husband and I, if you are not familiar with the promo, ASK MORE questions. Don’t assume that you have understood everything because getting a card might not be advantageous to you if you are like us who are not frequent pizza eaters. ASK if the card is free. (Example: SM offers a free advantage card for a minimum worth of initial purchase.)
2. To the management team of any business establishments, GIVE your customers time to ASK questions. Clarify if the customer understands what he’s getting into. ALWAYS give the breakdown of charges during the sales talking so that the customer can be made aware of what he needs to pay.
For Us, Industrial Engineers

May 20, 2016

Career, Finance & Product

Industrial Engineers are trained to be non-resistant to change. We expect change. We welcome change. At some point, we are the reason for the change. As an IE, we need to have a healthy balance between being a management person and operations person. We should act as the arbiter between the management and its people so we need to be fair and just.

The common characteristics of an IE are the following:

1. We are hardworking. Yes, there are times when we feel like being lazy the whole day but those days are rare as compared to the number of times that we need to render long working hours just to get the job done. Since the organization relies to our data or our study for their decision-making, we tend to walk an extra mile just to submit a comprehensive report.

2. We promote a healthy culture at work. Since we are the catalyst for change in an organization, we are aware that a harmonious work environment is more receptive to change than one that is chaotic. We are the ones who promote change but do not appear to be intimidating. We are the ones who justify the change but do not act as a know-it-all because we prefer to be low-key.

3. We don’t stop asking questions until we find the acceptable answer. We are trained to ask, to investigate, to be thorough so some people might find us annoying but they end up appreciating our insistence because they know that we have the best intentions for them.

4. We are competitive without really trying hard. Competitiveness is in our culture from the moment we step into junior college. But our kind of competitiveness is a friendly one because we want continual improvement on the existing systems or processes. Seldom does an IE compete with another group in an organization because it contradicts with our culture of being the internal consultant of the organization.

5. We are well-groomed, or at least, the majority of us. We know that personality matters if we want people to listen to us. While working, an IE may look messy because we are too busy but when presenting, an IE makes herself presentable.

6. We value teamwork very much. Even the loner types of IE are forced to embrace the concept of teamwork simply because the nature of our job requires us to mingle with people from the other departments or section.
The Unfriend Button

May 19, 2016

Life & Love
There are three reasons why I clicked the unfriend button last night:
1. Unfamiliar names/usernames- Okay, I was lenient in accepting some friend request. In fact, there’s a 60% chance that if somebody sends me a friend request, I will accept that even if we’re not acquainted in real life. I give the person the benefit of the doubt and the chance to be friends. I have this assumption that if somebody frequently changes his username, then he must be trying to conceal his identity for malicious reasons.
2. If my FB friend and I have not been in touch either online or offline for a minimum of six months. I would assume that his account is already inactive so I will give my page the favor of cleaning up some “unwanted” spaces. If we are no longer in touch offline for six months or more, I would assume that he has other interests in life and for me, that’s no big deal; I would let him go.
3. If my friend has a second account that I accepted but failed to inform me about it, then I would unfriend because that could be a bogus account or an impostor. Trust me, there are a lot of bogus accounts on the net.
2016 is Liberation Year

May 18, 2016

Life & Love

I therefore declare that 2016 is my liberation year from people or events that made me unhappy in the past.

🙂
The Performance Bonus

May 13, 2016

Career, Finance & Product

Boss went to my cubicle just a while ago to ask if I’m aware of the performance bonus that’s scheduled to be given (through payroll) today.

Boss: Are you aware that today is the release of the bonus?

Me: Of course, Sir—look at what I’m doing.

I gave him a glimpse of my online banking then minimized the screen.

Boss: How was it? It’s not as big as last year because the pie also decreased.

He sounded curious and sympathetic and in my most cheerful mood, I replied.

Me: Sir, I’ve never complained about my bonus ever since. Big or small, I’m always grateful. What I want to achieve for 2016 is to be more productive and useful and the reward will just follow.

Sounds fake but I really mean it.

Money is not everything, dear!

I am happy if I am productive and useful.

Thank you, Lord for the gift of gratitude!
Bataan Winners:2016 Election

May 11, 2016

Life & Love

BATAAN CAPITOL-Reelected governor Abet S Garcia ran unopposed, together with his father Enrique Tet Garcia also ran unopposed for vice governor, while Geraldine Roman won in a landslide victory against her opponent Danny Malana in the battle for congressional 1st district in Bataan while Joet Garcia, won in Second district being the lone candidate. In […]

via Bataan winners — Bataan Peninsula Times
Princess

May 3, 2016

Life & Love

She was my BFF from 2007 to 2009. She was like my younger sister. She was sweet but

could be bothersome at times. We became close after our boyfriends dumped us. Misery

loves company–well, that’s true on our case.

We would dine out every night except during weekends.

We would go to the mall; me for a much-needed facial while she, window-shopping.

We would talk about boys, both admirers and those that we did not like.

She would push me to be in a relationship with a guy that she felt was right for me then

I would scold her for being too comfortable with a common friend who was committed to

another girl.

We would cry over our heartaches; well, she had a harder time moving on so she

shed more tears than I. But just the same, feeling her pain was enough to reduce me

to tears.

We had a company outing at the beach and both of us rocked in our own way.

I miss you, Princess and all the crazy things that we did.