Wild Taxi Drivers

I am a taxi freak! I don't have a car yet. I'm working on that one. So I'm forced to ride taxis everywhere my legs will not take me.

Observation 1. Picky taxi drivers. For crying out loud, I always give tips, 10-50 pesos, depending on the distance. I have had so many cab drivers refuse me for going to Makati or Ortigas. Shit, I'm not going to Ilocos. When they refuse, I walk out of the cab, and leave the door open. I know that's bad. I gotta learn to relax.

Observation 2. Lots of English speaking taxi drivers. Do you think they can work for the call center?

Observation 3. Taxi drivers love to pee. I guess they have small bladders. They are always pulling over to pee where ever they want. I learned a new word...jingle. Mag-ji-jingle!!! He will pee.

Observation 4. They don't want to turn on the meter. I can understand; the meter cheats them of a higher salary. Unfortunately, they always go over Php 100 than what I would normally pay from point to point.

Observation 5. They always beep at you. If I wanted a taxi, I would raise my hand. No need to beep for me.

Observation 6. Most of them are very friendly. They like to talk about politics. Then they like to ask me what country I'm from because my Filipino sounds weird they say.

Observation 7. They like to complain about the traffic. I guess this is their first time in Manila, and they've never seen traffic before. I've been here about a year, so I no longer complain. I just accept and start to look for alternative means to beat it.

Observation 8. They like to charge extra if you're carrying a luggage. What difference does it make? You don't charge extra for my friend, do you? What an opportunistic!

Observation 9. The one with the yellow cab seem to be a better experience. They're nicer, friendlier, and smell better.

Observation 10. Race car drivers or taxi drivers? Filipinos should go into drag race now. They're very good weaving in and out of traffic. And no accident. Whoa! I'm amazed.

I have a million observations, but I guess 10 will suffice for now.

Proof that Filipinos are Poor in Customer Service

I was looking for a place to eat in Market Market a few weeks ago, and I chanced upon this interesting gadget at North Park Restaurant. Could this be proof that Filipinos are ingenious? Or is it proof that Filipinos just don't know what good customer service is?

First, my idea of good customer service in a sit-down restaurant is where the waiter or waitress attending your table serve you. When I say serve, I don't mean serve you food or kiss your feet. What I mean is that they should come around your table once in a while to refill your water, ask if you have another order, refill your drink, remove your used plates, comes to check on your table if everything is okay. This should be the norm. However, I find myself having to raise my hand every time I need a refill, or I have more order, or if I want napkin, or if I want the bill, or if I want some ketchup, some hot sauce. Maybe I'm just too demanding. But this is the norm I'm used to. In fact, good waiters and waitress upsell their products and come back if you want some dessert or anything else. Here in the Philippines, it seems like you are an inconvenience for being in their restaurant.

Okay, before you all get fired up about this, I'm not saying all Philippine restaurants are like this. Just the ones that I go to, like the ones in Greenbelt or Glorietta. And around Metro Manila. Perhaps 5 out of a 100 restaurants I go to are actually decent when it comes to service. My personal favorite for service is Bubba Gumps. They are so attentive, so fast, so nice...Oh, and Burger King! They're awesome! They can make your burger the way you want it...no pickles, extra onions and lettuce please. McDonald's crewmembers would flip out if you asked for extra lettuce. Haha.

Anyway, back to this picture. This gadget allows you to push the button and a waiter/waitress will see their electronic board that table #37 is in need of service. To me, that means they won't care about you unless you press that button. They take a more reactive approach. Me, I want proactive. If I want my tip to be bigger, I'd take a proactive approach. I'd come by your table, and I'd ask if there's anything else I can get for you. I'd keep refilling your water or softdrinks. I'd clear your table immediately so that you don't have leftover chewed food in front of you. I'd really do that. I have done that. Here, eat your shit, pay your bill, and go cause I have another customer coming.

This gadget to me is symbolic of a Filipino robot. Push the button, and I will respond. Otherwise, my battery is dead, and I will not pay attention to you.

Method to my Madness Revival

It's the new year, and it's time to plan things again. I've always been a new year's resolution fanatic. But most of my resolutions did not come to fruition. Perhaps a new year's resolutions are just like promises, which were made to be broken.

So far, I am achieving to resolutions. Quit smoking! Last cigarette was on January 1, 2 am. Go to the gym! It's been nine months. This week, I've been to the gym twice. It's a slow start, but hey, it's progress. In fact, I'm planning to go again tonight.

More resolutions. Be more patient. Be more understanding. Smile more. Sometimes, these things are very hard to do because of the country we live in. But I've learned, after having lived here for a little over a year now, that we just need to accept certain things we cannot change. Instead, we need to change ourselves, and then slowly change the people around us. So I have learned to love this country even more, but I have learned to hate it even more. There's an oxymoron for you! How can I possibly hate something more if I love it even more? Beats me. But I'm slowly discovering that myself. Thus, the title of this blog: Method to my Madness.

And through this blog, I will discover myself even more. But to discover is just half way. How do I change? How do I change the people around me? By writing things down, it's at least a start.

And with new year's resolutions, my blog is reborn. It is revived. The revival of my blog. To pour my thoughts and hopefully change the mindsets of people. It's a pretty lofty goal, but hey, I'm ready for it. I don't intend to change everyone's mindset. Just one at a time, that's all. Just one at a time.

Whatever Happened to my Perpetrators?

It's been several months now since I was mugged by some young thugs in Pasay, and I wonder what happened to my perpetrators. I called the police station several times wondering when I was going to appear in court for the trial. They just told me it was coming soon, that I should receive the letter of instructions (subpoena, I believe) in a few more days.

The letter never arrived. Perhaps it was stolen. Maybe not.

What probably happened is that the police officers took some bribe money from the "hold uppers" and released them without consulting with Ms. Justice. Oh well, I am in the Philippines after all.

Sometimes, I feel so guilty, so helpless, so confused, so bad about this situation. Why couldn't I do anything? After all, I am an educated person, and I have some money. But why did I not fight this? My friends advised me that it was going to be a dangerous battle. They told me to let this battle end, and fight another battle. True, I didn't want to get involved with the police. I didn't want to be in another dangerous situation.

I hope one day God will forgive me that I didn't fight this battle.

The Filipino and McDonalds

Am I an asshole? Am I asking for more than what I truly deserve? Some say I ask for way too much here in the Philippines. I should just shut up and accept what is and not to fight everything that the Philippines is not. And yes, sometimes, I do shut up. I do know how to pick my battles. I have learned this from one of my advisors in high school, Mr. Hendricks. He was also the one who told me to relax and not be so serious all the time.

Back to this thing of just desserts. Am I asking for too much here?

Just recently, I went to a McDonalds, the one near Greenbelt 2. I actually go there a lot, since it's near my condo, and when I'm lazy to cook, I just McDonald it. Yes, the fat, the grease, the salt. Can you feel the arteries clogging? Not a nice thought. Yuck. But on nights when you are just too damn lazy to fix a healthy meal for yourself, this is a great treat.

I'm probably one of their most frequent customers there. By now you are thinking, this guy must be really unhealthy. I actually eat a lot of chicken breasts and salads as well. I also go to the gym to burn all the calories. In fact, I love sports, and I play volleyball and basketball all the time. So, I think I'm pretty healthy. Sometimes, McDonalds is just so convenient. I actually prefer Burger King, because the burgers there are flame broiled, and the staff there is much nicer.

I digress.

I ordered a quarter pounder, and nicely requested from the cashier if they could put a small piece of lettuce in it. You see, I usually get a Big Mac, and it's got lots of shredded lettuce. This time, I wanted something different. I wanted a quarter pounder, but this quarter pounder has no lettuce. I thought maybe since they see me there all the time, they would grant my request of a lettuce leaf in my quarter pounder.

Obviously, they didn't want to put in a lettuce. The cashier confirmed with her manager, and NO, a big NO. Damn it. Just for a piece of lettuce. I didn't insist, though I guess I became an asshole at that time. What did I do?

I ordered my usual Big Mac. This time, though, I told the cashier to not put the lettuce in my Big Mac. Is there anything else, sir? Yes, I still want my quarter pounder. So I order a quarter pounder. But please put the lettuce, the one you're going to "hold" from my Big Mac, in the quarter pounder. The cashier confirmed with the manager. That was completely OK. No problem at all.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

When I saw my quarter pounder, I decided to change my order. Ms, I don't want the Big Mac anymore. Cancel that order. I just want the quarter pounder.

Voila!!! I got a quarter pounder with lettuce.

I would have paid for the lettuce, had she asked me for a charge from the beginning. In fact I pay eight pesos for barbecue and sweet and sour sauce all the time. I just got so upset, that after spending thousands of pesos there a month, they wouldn't grant me a piece of lettuce. If that makes me an asshole, then let it be. I felt good about it. I'm allowed to be a jerk once in a while, right?