Francine's Fire Soul: Another Poor Customer Service Encounter

I've encountered a lot of dissatisfaction and made numerous complaints about customer service already. Name it, I have it... buses, banks, boutiques, supermarkets, department stores and fast food chains... I have something to share dissatisfaction is the topic. I know that they have their own processes but they need to keep in mind that they are being paid not only to address the main concern but to exceed expectations so that a customer would stay loyal to the company. And here's another not so good experience I can share.

I went to SM Bacoor last Friday, April 14, 2011 to canvass for new phones and netbooks. Because of the long walk I decided to drop by Greenwich to order one of their value meals. I ordered they Crispy Chicken Meal for Php99.00 which consists of one piece chicken, onion rings, java rice and a regular drink. I told the cashier my demands (the chicken part should either thigh or breast, and my drink should have no ice). She advised me that there are no big parts for the chicken, just legs and wings and if they are going to grant my request, it would take them 17 minutes to complete my order. I agreed to what she said and after I paid the amount due, I set the timer. When the 17th minute arrived, I showed it to the cashier, but she ignored me and went ahead and assist the other customers who are in the line ordering. I just let the timer run. Finally, my order was delivered but it took 21 minutes and 16 seconds! My gosh! That is so unacceptable! They made me wait for 17 minutes (although I agree on that part only) and the order arrived after 21 minutes! To think that the particular part that I requested is being cooked for 10 minutes only. I know that because I, myself was once a service crew and I know the cooking time for each part of the chicken being served in fast food chains. I could accept the delay in the delivery of my order if I don't know anything about the industry.

At that time, I thought of finishing the food first before complaining. When I'm done eating, what I did is to ask for their supervisor, ask for the name of the service crew and the name of the managers, get all the company information such as contact numbers and the website. They can't belittle me just because my order is just Php99.00! I still deserve excellent customer service just like what everybody wants!

When I got home, I immediately access their website and shoot a complaint of what happened.

This is really unacceptable! Grrrr!!!

Music Zone: Boy Bands Of the 90's

In the 90's, we've witnessed the rise of different boy bands. They are groups of 3 or more male singers that sing songs about girls, love and heartache. I must admit they made the entire world go "la vida loco" with the singles they released. So, for today's Music Zone, I would like to present... the most well-known Boy Bands of the 90's:

Backstreet Boys - is an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. Their best single for me is "I Want It That Way".

98 Degrees - was an American adult contemporary boy band consisting of four vocalists: brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre, and Jeff Timmons. I really like their song "Because Of You".

A1 - is an English/Norwegian boyband. They were originally made up of Mark Read, Ben Adams, Christian Ingebrigtsen and Paul Marazzi. For me, the best song that I can remember with them is "Everytime".

Boyzone - an Irish Four-piece vocal pop group comprising Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch. I love their song "Picture Of You" which was the original soundtrack of Mr. Bean.

5ive - an English boyband put together in 1997 by the same team that managed the Spice Girls before they launched their career. The five members were Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville, J Brown, Abs Breen and Sean Conlon. I'm so amused with their song "Until The Time Is Through".

'N Sync - an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich,[2] 'N Sync consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick. Surely, we were amazed when they portrayed puppets in their video "Bye Bye Bye".

Westlife - is an Irish pop group formed on 3 July 1998. The group's original lineup comprised Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden. Their music genre is pop. Their most noted song for me is the remake song "Uptown Girl".

911 - a British boyband that consists of Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable and Spike Dawbarn. The song that makes me think of them is "Love Sensation" from the movie Casper.

There are other boy bands that were introduced in the 90's but I must say the list above made their mark in the industry.

Music Zone: The Corrs And Their Melody

I just heard a lot of their songs for today as I turn on my radio. So, I asked myself, why not feature them for today's Muzic Zone? I present to you the one of my favorite bands... THE CORRS.

The Corrs are a Celtic folk rock band from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle); Sharon (violin, vocals); Caroline (drums, piano, bodhrán, vocals); and Jim (guitar, piano, vocals).

The group's career started in 1995 when they launch their very first album "Forgiven, Not Forgotten". From there, the group was known internationally. Song after song, people liked and voted for them. To date, they have eleven albums, five are original albums, four are compilations and three live albums.

Here are my Top Five songs from THE CORRS:

5. Irresistible

4. I Never Loved You Anyway

3. What Can I Do?

2. Runaway

1. Breathless

I really love their group!!! =)

Francine's Fire Soul: Up Close And Personal With The Stars

When I was still young, I used to believe that artists in the Philippines weren't real. I thought they don't exist since I just see them in television.

Now, I know they are real. Here are some photos of my celebrity encounters:

This picture was taken when Kyla had her album tour in SM Bacoor (I don't remember the date anymore... hehehe!!!).

This shot was taken when Spongecola also had their album tour in SM Bacoor...

When we had our team lunch at Gilligan's in Glorietta 5, we've spotted Ryan Bang and James Reid from Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition... =)

It was an unexpected event when I saw Miguel Mendoza, a product of Philippine Idol and Pinoy Dream Academy at Sukina in Makati... =)

Recently, when we had our anniversary for Optus, we saw Troy Montero and Aubrey Miles in Opus in Resorts World... =)

Who will be next? I'm so excited... =)

Music Zone: International Artist Of The Week: Mariah Carey

 
Today is the beginning of my blog's theme and we'll start it with Music Zone.

When we hear the word "DIVA", I must say that the name Mariah Carey, if not the top choice, for sure, her name will appear as one of the top three choices.

Mariah Carey is well-known for having an amazing vocal range and whistle that registers. Her forte are R&B and Pop music. From 1990 until today, she was able to come up with thirteen albums, of course each album has its own hits. I still remember, I even bought three of her album when I was in high school, namely, Music Box, Butterfly, and Rainbow. But now, I just download her songs because it's free. In one of the award giving bodies for music, she was hailed as "Diva Of The Decade".

Some of her songs were collaboration with other artists such as Whitney Houston, 98 Degrees, Jay-Z, SnoopDog and Boyz II Men. She did cover songs from other artists like Phil Collins and also Christmas songs in some of her albums. She is also an actress and made appearances for some shows and movies, but I like her more as a singer.

My Top Five Songs From Mariah Carey

5. Never Too Far Away

4. I Stay In Love

3. My All

2. We Belong Together

1. Always Be My Baby

My First Week In The Optus Operations Floor

It's been a week since we were endorsed to the Ops (Operations) floor. I missed training, the drinking sessions, laughing and bullying times with each other. I miss my wave mates who treated me nice and loved me the way I am.

At first, I'm sad because I was the only one who was distributed to one team, my other wave mates, they were in one team and being handled by one of the team leaders who joined us for training. Eventually, as I meet my new team mates one by one, I feel okay already and happy and I just realized that being with tenured agents gives me an advantage when it comes to handling calls. I'm not saying that my wave mates are not good, it's just that since we just came from training, what they know is what I know as well. Training is just the tip of the iceberg and everything will be learned in the operations floor.

Interacting with Aussie customers for me is better than the Americans. They are much nicer. I've noticed that the irate Australian is the equivalent of a nice American. Most of the Aussies are understanding once you tell them the current situation. They value honesty and they would even thanked you for being straightforward to them. I love them already!

Honestly, I'm still grasping for processes but I know, with the help of my SME's (Subject Matter Experts), my team leader and my team mates, I can survive this account.

Glee Character Of The Week: Sue Sylvester

Sue Sylvester is our Glee character for this week. The role is being played by Jane Lynch. She is the head coach of the "Cheerios", the cheerleading group of McKinley High. She is also the arch-nemesis of the glee club. She will do everything just to win.

She had tried to destroy the Glee club many times but she was unsuccessful. She allowed Quinn, Brittany and Santana to join glee club to destroy the group but the three girls eventually loved the group. She also made stories between Mercedes and Rachel about the "DIVA" thing that caused them to have a diva showdown but in the end both just enjoyed their performance.

For me, her most noted performance was "Vogue" by Madonna. She sang this together with Kurt and Mercedes in the episode, "The Power Of Madonna" in season 1.

She also had a performance with the entire New Directions with the song "Sing" in Season 2 episode 13: "Comeback".

I'm not sure what else or how worse Sue can do to the glee club members. I hope that she can be kind in the future.