One Direction VIP Concert Tickets Sold Out Before 3PM in SM MOA

May 24, 2014

We were in SM's Mall of Asia this afternoon hoping to buy a 1D Concert Ticket for one of my sister's nieces. At 1 p.m., this was what greeted us.

  

A very, very long line of ticket buyers that approximately spans SM MOA Arena's perimeter four times over.

How long have some of the patrons been there? A group of teenagers we asked told us that they'd been there since 7 a.m. (and yet they weren't even close to ticketing office!)

Close-up of what's going on in the line. There wasn't any movement for awhile, apparently due to the ticket sellers taking a lunch break.

That's crazy, I know! But unbelievable as it may seem, while we were eating at Sbarro, my sister was able to catch a glimpse of the ticket prices. Guess how much!

More avid 1D fans camped out, sitting on newspapers, and finding means to keep themselves preoccupied in the blazing heat of the sun.

14,000+ ?!? To be more precise, the Diamond ticket cost a whopping 14,800 pesos. This was nowhere near the VIP that amounted to 17,950 pesos. 

SM MOA Arena today, May 24, 2014

When is One Direction's concert in the Philippines?

March 21, 2015!!!

Hopefully, 1D's management will decide to give the horde of devastated One Directioners a second-day concert (based on tonight's news in ABS-CBN's Bandila).

Obviously, a one-day sale on the One D concert tickets wasn't enough. A one-day performance of One Direction isn't enough either.

Ticketing Prices were as follows:

*Bronze (standing) -- P1150

*Silver (standing) -- P2200

*Gold (free seating) -- P3775

*Titanium (free seating) -- P7450

*Diamond (reserved seating) -- P14800

*VIP (reserved seating) -- P17950

How does that song go again? Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy 'till we see the sun...

Fortunately, my sister's niece was able to procure a ticket in SM City Iloilo because they distributed the One Direction concert tickets to other SMs. That's so 1D fans in the provinces could get an opportunity to buy one.

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Is Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company Inc's (PPLIC) LABB PLUS Refundable?

As of April 22, 2014 at 12:16 a.m., someone was kind enough to post these comments in "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...". Latest update was on February 7, 2015.

I'd like to personally thank Theresa, dimakahindi, and the other Anons for keeping us updated and informed regarding their request for a refund on Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company Inc's LABB Plus.

PLEASE READ THROUGH THE COMMENTS (inside this post and beneath it) BEFORE ASKING HOW THEY CANCELLED THEIR LABB PLUS. NANDYAN LANG LAHAT NG HINAHANAP NYO.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Is Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company In...":

Hi guys, naibalik na sakin yung LABBPLUS worth 4500! Pinacancel ko xa Oct. 21 then cancelled na xa ng Nov. 3, hinintay ko lang yung bill just to make sure na wala na nga xa, tsaka wala po akong processing fee, yung iba kasi may nababasa ako na hihingan daw nun.. Ayun, share ko lang, Happy kasi ako eh.. hehe sana maibalik din nila agad yung mga nakulimbat nila sainyo.. Basta agapan nyo lang po, tas kulitin nyo sila ng kulitin para maicancel at maibalik na pera nyo...

-dimakahindi-

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at December 1, 2014 at 11:10 PM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Is Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company In...":

Hi Haopee, naibalik na po sakin nung Nov. 3 pa, hindi na nirequire ng bank na magsend ako ng kahit anung docs sakanila, kasi 100% sure na cancelled na daw yun! at wala pa processing fee..ayun napakasaya ko lang.. hehe salamat sa tulong po nyo :)

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at December 1, 2014 at 11:17 PM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...": 

I had my Endownment plan and LABB PLUS cancelled yesterday. Thank you for all the tips I got from this blog. Sa mga na biktima din ng PPLIC, check nyo lang lahat ng comments and mga links na meron dito sa blog, sobrang helpful. Another tip pag magpapacancel kayo always have a back up whether if it is your parents, close friends and relatives. Makakatulong sila sa iyo lalo na pag pinag aralan din nila yung mga policies sa contract mo. Tandaan nyo MAY LABAN KAYO! Wag kayo papadala sa non refundable na LABB PLUS na yan kasi hindi totoo yan. May 15 day grace period ang bawat policy ng insurance. NASA BATAS NA YAN. Hopefully makuha ko na within 30-45 days yung pera ko. hindi ako papayag na hindi nila ibibgay lahat. Just make sure na nakuha nyo ung statement of account ng both endownment and LABB plus plan nyo, photocopy nung letter of cancellation na ginawa nyo kasama yung written confirmation na nagsasabi kung kailan mo makukuha yung pera. Mas maganda kung papa photocopy nyo ung ID nung kung sino mang kumakausap sa inyo. Kung sila nga nakakapag request ng id nyo para pa photocopy paano pa kaya tayo d ba? MORE POWER SA BLOG NA ITO! 

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at June 25, 2014 at 9:06 AM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...":

Guys, narefund din yung LABB+ at endowment ko. so may pag-asa. Sasabihin talaga nila na hindi refundable yung LABB+ (kasi yung endowment may 15-day look out period). Kaya magsesend kayo ng letter of reconsideration for cancellation sa email nila (lagay nyo yung reason. yung akin kasi hindi ko alam na may rider na kasama in the form of LABB plus yung ENdowment ko. so bayad ko na bago nila inexplain na non-refundable yon. so sabi ko this is a violation of contract kasi may concealment silang ginawa). Sa head office yon. i-cc nyo na lang din yung email nyo sa insurance commission (nasa site nila yung email add nila). Anyway, after nyo magsend ng letter tumawag kayo sa main office nila (wag mainip kasi sobrang laging busy. redial lang ng redial). iconfirm nyo sa head office nila kung natanggap nila yung inemail nyo. after non, follow-up lang kayo lagi (by phone lang ako kasi may trabaho ako.) then, tatawag sila sa inyo kapag cancelled na yung plan. Papupuntahin nila kayo sa branch kung saan kayo nag-avail to surrender yung documents. DOn't forget to get your SOA na may nakalagay na cancelled with refund. Yun nga lang may bawas na P250 pesos yung ibabalik nila. after nyan w8 kayo tas follow up lang ulit kasi natagal bago nila naibalik yung akin. around 20 working days (meaning di pa bilang yung Sat at sun plus holiday). so sobrang tagal.

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at May 27, 2014 at 5:18 PM

*****

Ang time line ko ay, March 21 nag-avail ako. March 22, nagpacancel ako then send ng email of cacellation for LABB plus. Then follow-up na lang sa head office every two days. April 1, nakatanggap ako ng tawag na okay na. Cancelled na yung LABB PLus. May 5 ata o 8 naibalik yung pera ko (ang tagal). As for my endowment cancelled na agad sya nung March 22 pa lang pero nabalik pera ko around May 23-25 ata.

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at May 27, 2014 at 5:22 PM 

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...":  

Hello! This is Antonette. PPLIC called me last night and told me that they already cancelled my LABB Plus. I just have to return the documents they gave me when I bought the plan. They told me that there is a Php 250.00 processing fee so Php 4250 would be returned to me. They told me that my money will be returned after 30-45 days.I told them it's okay as long as I can have my money back. After office, I'll go there to return the documents. 

I don't know how they were convinced to cancel my plan. I just gave them a cancellation letter 6 days after I bought the plan. It stated in my letter the rights I have as their client according to the Insurance Code. I even mentioned Title 4, Sections 26-27 which they violated. Maybe they found my reasons valid and was convinced to cancel the plan even though their contract stated that it was non-refundable. 

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at April 30, 2014 at 11:42 AM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...": 

hi haopee, just want to update u that i got my labb plus refund amounting to 4250php last april 12. ~theresa 

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at April 21, 2014 at 4:04 AM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...": 

hi all, just want to update u that i got my labb plus refund amounting to 4250php last april 12. ~theresa 

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at April 21, 2014 at 4:00 AM

*****

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...": 

hi all, Theresa here.. i have received an email from IC, they sent a letter to pplic requesting for refund on my behalf kaso tagal bago sila ngsend. then i just got my labb plus refund amounting to 4250 last april12. keypoint to get this is be firm na IC said this is refundable, its better kun sabay sabay kayo punta sa HO ng PPLIC wag sa SM north ave. okay din na lahat kau punta sa office IC nang makita nila ganu karami ang biktima. 

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at April 21, 2014 at 4:35 AM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "STOP Buying Philippine Prudential Life Insurance C...": 

i just got my labb plus refund last april12. it took them more than a month to give it back... ~theresa

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at April 21, 2014 at 4:13 AM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Is Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company In...":

Nkuha n pla refund nung nagcheck ako ATM last Feb 5 bio p rin 9k 

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at February 7, 2015 at 9:29 PM

***** 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Is Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company In...":

Hi. I would like share my experience.
The day was December 7, 2014. I was walkingaround farmers plaza when a girl approached me. She asked if I am already working and if I have a credit card. I said yes. Sabi nya may promo daw sila sa company and if I want to join, saglit lang naman daw and I would really help her if I would say "yes" to their orientation which is going to take about 45mins To cut the long story short, I said yes and she asked me to follow her on their office in gateway, I thought 45mins lang talaga but lumagpas na ng 45 mins, they're not allowing me to go. Everytime that I said no, the agent keeps on offering me a new plan. By that time, I feel pressured. sabi ko ayoko gumawa ng decision in a short span of time since I want to think about it more. Pero di pa rin sya tumigil until such time na nag offer na sya ng mas mababang policy, the LABB PLUS. dahil sa nakulitan na ako sa kanya, I said yes. pero labag talaga sa loob ko yun. After that, dun palang ako nakaalis (after signing the papers and video confirmation), 

The next day, I wrote an email to the insurance commission stating that I felt forced to avail the paln that I never wanted to get in the first place. I explained how the agent tre\ted me. I did not receive a reply until #rd week of February 2015. Someone called me and said she was from the head office of Philippine Prudential. She said she was able to receive an email from the Insurance Commission from which attached my email. We discussed about how I was able to avail the policy and my experience. I told her na di na ako nag eexpect na makauha ng refund and my only concern is the way their agents are offering their prospective clients their policy. Matagal kami nag usap mga more than 30 mins siguro. then finally, she informed me that she would review my case (she will check the video confirmation, papers, etc) and will call me as soon as possible kung ano kakalabasan. Yesterday, March 9, 2015, naka tanggap ako ng tawag. Informing me that my request for cancellation for my policy has been approved. I would just submit to the all the papers that I have signed and bring with my cancellation letter. 30-45 days daw before ma refund yung pera ko which is P4,500.

Posted by Anonymous to Digital Brew at March 10, 2015 at 11:47 AM

So there you have it. I hope this answers the question of whether LABB Plus is refundable or not. 

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Where to Buy Cakes and Pastries in Marikina? Wolly Winkle

Now, before anything else, I have to say that this was not paid nor endorsed by the owner. I simply came across the tiny patisserie while waiting for our car to get upholstered, which took about 3-4 hours!

To make a long story short, I got hungry and checked what was in the Wolly Winkle Cakes and Cafe shop.

Don't let appearances deceive you.

Wolly Winkle is located near MG Square Upholstery at G. Fernando Ave., Corner Dragon Street, Marikina City. It's directly beside the newly-opened, awesome-looking Car Wash and Restobar whose name I have not taken note of.

The Wolly Winkle Cakes and Cafe's atmosphere suggest a cozy and welcoming vibe.

So I entered the establishment with sky blue metallic sticker plastered all over its front display. I'm not sure why the owner chose to do this with the cake shop as you could barely see through it during afternoons.

This cake shop may look barren in the outside, but once you've entered, you'll certainly appreciate the thematic choice of blue and Alice in Wonderland artwork hung throughout the small room. 

I especially love that their service water is served in a wine glass instead of a regular cylindrical one.

There aren't that many tables, which makes sense since it's not an ideal place to eat dinner in. 

However, if you're going to hang out with a friend and just want to try some cakes, it's definitely a place to consider (especially if you're near Sta. Lucia Grand East Mall).

A slice of cake cost within 100 php range. The portions are smaller than what I expected, but I won't judge this yet since I haven't tried any of it.

Cake pricing is as follows:

(Cake - Slice/Whole)

Blueberry - 125 / 1000

Oreo Cheesecake - 125 / 1000

Classic Sans Rival - 105 / 840

Chocolate Dream Cake - 95 / 760

Chocolate Paradise -  95 / 760

Unfortunately, I forgot to name of their best-seller... It had something to do with Marshmallow; it's the one located at the upper right corner of the picture directly above. 

I ordered their Mac and Cheese (95 php) and Revel Bar (45 php). 

The bread was a little chewy (perhaps from having been refrigerated). Nevertheless, the Mac & Cheese was real good.

Okay, so the price is a little steep compared to mainstream restaurants and fastfood joints. After all, Goldilocks' Baked Mac cost about 65 - 75 php. 

Still, it's definitely a place I would consider visiting again. I wasn't able to taste their cakes, but their revel bar sufficed to tell me that its preparation was home-made.. and I just love home-made cooking.

To sum it all up:

***** Ambiance/ Atmosphere - cozy, thematic and just great for friends who want to hang out.

****   Food - Good enough. I haven't tasted the cakes yet, but their Revel Bar was OK! It's not too sweet or too jam-packed with flavor.

***     Price - A little steep in comparison to Banapple (my favorite cake place), but all the well good. Can we go back to the ambiance? It was really cute and adorable.  On the other hand, the pricing just sounds about right if you were to go to a cafe to hang out. It's cheaper than Starbucks albeit the lack of specialized  coffee blends.

Will I go back there to try their cakes? Definitely!

Wolly Winkle Cakes & Cafe is located at #32 Gil Fernando Ave., San Roque, Marikina City

Tel No. 631-76-44

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How to Root Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360 (Newbie Guide with Pictures)

Last time, I discussed about restoring/ resetting/ reformatting your Samsung Galaxy Y. This helps with problems regarding slow android phones and frequent "forced close" apps.

For one, a friend of mine paid a whopping 250 php simply to have her phone reformatted because she couldn't text or call or do anything functional with it. That's a less-than-5-minute process. Others have actually charged her 500 php when all they had to do was do a hard reset/reformat.

So, for my first tip of the day: LEARN HOW TO REFORMAT/ HARD RESET YOUR SAMSUNG GALAXY Y.

Rooting a Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360 is actually easier than rooting a MyPhone A818g

Let's get down to business, shall we.

Rooting... Why should I root my phone? (in layman's words)

To be honest, I've barely rooted my phone. And to be more embarrassingly honest, I have bricked  a MyPhone A818 because I was dying to root it. So why do we root?

1. Rooting your android phone can help you adjust the parameters for which your phone is functioning e.g. kill bloatware and manufacturer apps that hog up battery life.

2. Rooting your Samsung Galaxy Y will allow you to install custom roms. Mine, at the moment, is running on ChobitsDigitalis ROM.

3. Rooting gives you that SuperUser icon that looks so cool because it shows you have the briefest idea of what you just did. Oh, and having superuser rights allow you to download the infamous ClockWorkMod/ ROM Manager.

FAQs:

1. Is rooting the Galaxy GT-S5360 difficult? 

No.

2. Do I need to back up my old files? 

In this case, no. They will remain there. 

However, just to be safe, when it comes to tweaking, rooting or installing custom roms, backing-up your files is an imperative.

3. What do I need to root my Samsung Galaxy Y?

a. your computer, to download the update.zip

b. a USB cable to transfer the files from your download folder to your SD card.

c. a Samsung Galaxy Y that has a minimum charge of 50%

d. your concentration

4. If I accidentally install the update.zip more than once, will I brick my phone?

Not to my knowledge. While doing this article, I actually rooted my Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360 3 times. Just don't try it for the sake of testing the theory.

5. Will this update.zip work on Galaxy Y Duos?

I haven't tried it (for the absence of a Duos phone). However, I strongly advice for you to look for a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos root instead. 

How do I root my Samsung Galaxy Y?

1. First, download the update.zip.

2. Attach your USB cable to your computer's USB port with the other end on your phone.

USB Connected notification in android phones.

3. Once you see the notification 'USB Connected', just press it and choose "Connect USB Storage". Press "OK" on the next prompt. Your green Android will turn orange and the phone's memory will become visible under 'Devices with Removable Storage'.

Some devices will have another pop-up message before green Android turns orange. Just press 'OK' if this notification pops out.

4. Copy the update.zip into the main folder.

Main folder just means the very first window that opens when you click on 'Removable Disk'

5. Once done, go to your phone again and select  "Disconnect USB Storage".

6. Turn off your phone in preparation for 'Android System Recovery'.

7. Once it's off, press the Volume Up, Home button and Power Button simultaneously. Once the Samsung Galaxy Y logo appears, just let it go  

8. Using the Volume Button as your scroll keys, just press it to go to "apply update from sdcard". Press the "Home" button to choose the update.zip package.

9. Scroll down again to highlight update.zip. Press "Home" again to install the zip.

Select update.zip. If you accidentally placed the zip file in another folder, just select the folder name (the one with a / after each word) and choose update.zip

10. It's a pretty quick process. Once it's done, your phone will have the message on its screen saying: You've been rooted! Install from sdcard complete.

11. Select "reboot system now" and we're done with rooting. You should now see the superuser icon in your menu.

Viola! Now, you've successfully rooted your Samsung Galaxy Y.

And that's how the cookie crumbles, folks.

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5 Ways to Deal with a Slow Yahoo Mail

Ever since Yahoo Mail's update (where Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, say it's all faster, easier to navigate and better looking), it's brought nothing but frustrations and agitations to a lot of end-users. 

In fact, a lot of Yahoo Mail loyalists have switched because not only is it extremely slow,  but the ads seem to hog more resource than the mails. Furthermore, after Yahoo Mail Classic was discontinued, the company put out a glitchy, unreliable and often times inaccessible Yahoo mail which seems to only focus on their advertisers rather than their user.

Have you experienced problems with your Yahoo Mail?

1. Has your Yahoo Mail been extremely slow?

2. Does Yahoo Mail seem to lag in a perfectly fast computer?

3. Do you have problems opening your email in Yahoo Mail?

4. Are you having problems with download and uploading email attachment from Yahoo's Mail?

5. Have some of your friends mentioned not receiving emails you've sent?

6. Heaven forbid, did you get hacked?!?

Well, welcome to the club. You're the only one experiencing these problems with Yahoo. It's actually a world-wide plague.

Oh, Yahoo Mail, why so slow?!?

Scrolling down is labored. Opening mails take forever. There's a giant ad asking you to sign up when you already are.

So what do we do? Just a fair warning, this isn't anything technical... it won't resolve the Yahoo Mail issue either... They're simply steps to alleviate the problem.

How to Deal with a Slow Yahoo Mail? Switch!

But before that try these first.

My top choices in browsing capabilities

1. Use a different browser. 

If you're still sticking with Internet Explorer, you should consider switching. Some people prefer Chrome, others Firefox. The difference between Chrome and Firefox is that Chrome loads faster while Firefox loads pages more reliably.

2. Try using an email client like Mozilla Thunderbird or Outlook.  

Need to avoid those annoying ads, try Thunderbird. All you need to do is set it up and you're free from having to deal with Yahoo Mail's annoying ads.

Mozilla Thunderbird archives, stores and syncs Yahoo Mail.

Note: If your email has a suffix other than yahoo.com e.g. abc@yahoo.com.sg, then you might need to set it up properly. Start with this thread on how to set-up Thunderbird with Yahoo Mail.

3. Delete ancient emails because they take up space. 

So you might be the type to store emails from the late 1990's to the early 2000's. Back them up and delete the ones that are no longer important.

How to Back-Up Yahoo Mail locally.

Once you've gotten Thunderbird installed and set-up, download the ImportExportTools through Thunderbird's Add-ons Manager and right-click on a folder/ mail and do the steps as pictured below.

4. Use a different attachment uploader/ online storage. 

*cough" Dropbox. Why bother doing attachments when you can use Dropbox. All you have to do is make an account, install Dropbox into your computer, select a folder to store hard copies of your uploaded files and Viola. You're set!

Using Dropbox is as easy as putting your files into the Dropbox folder.

Note: The green check on the Dropbox folder indicates that whatever is in that folder has already been successfully stored online. All you have to do is get the link.

5. Finally, switch emails providers and have your Yahoo emails forwarded to it. 

For instance, Mail.com offers a Mail Collector that users can take advantage of for FREE.

If you need to use one account for Gmail and Yahoo, consider using Mail.com.

So there you have it... 

Sure this may not be a solution to fix your buggy Yahoo Mail, but it helps keeping your options open.

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Undeniably The Worst Starbucks Branch Ever... Starbucks at Southpoint SM City Iloilo

Like most of you, I love Starbucks. Although somewhat expensive, the fact is, they have the friendliest and most helpful staff, the tastiest coffee, and the extra whipped cream. Who doesn't love the free extra whipped cream? And I thought that this was applicable to all branches of Starbucks. In fact, I've never known a Starbucks to skimp on ingredients...or whipped cream.

And no, I am not talking about the whipped cream that's blended into the coffee. I just want the extra fluff on top of my Frappuccino!

Starbucks' Raspberry Blackcurrant Blended Juice and Mocha Frappuccino

But I was wrong. There's actually one branch which just plain sucks at making Starbuck's prize-winning coffees. To add to the frustration, they don't do "extra whip". They just charge you for it while most branches (all branches I've gone to), give this as a typical freebie.

To cut to the chase, I will never ever EVER go to Starbucks at Southpoint SM City Iloilo EVER AGAIN! Why? Because of the following reasons:

1. Starbucks at SM City Iloilo skimps on ingredients. 

Their coffee neither taste as strong nor sweet as the ones in NCR branches. My top three examples... Starbucks Marquinton (love the extra strong coffee taste), Starbucks Eastwood (a little sweet but still fine) and, my personal favorite, Starbucks at Katipunan Ave along Ateneo (extra whip filled to the brim of the Frap's cover).

Hey Manager! This is how extra whipped cream is supposed to look like. And it's freaking free in all the other branches you aren't working in!
Starbucks Green Tea by Terry Johnston, CC BY 2.0

Is it too much to ask the same level of taste and quality from Frappuccinos of the same store name? Doesn't Starbucks pride itself in keeping quality and service at its finest?

I won't be attacking the lack of telephone numbers/ hotlines in the receipt... But how am I supposed to make a complain?

Oh wait... here it is!

Southpoint SM City Iloilo        

Southpoint SM City Iloilo, Benigno

Aquino Ave., Manduriao, Iloilo, Iloilo

(033) 333-34-90

Add-on shot for a premium ingredient... Sure!

I can't wait for the time to come when Starbucks starts to charge its customers additional for using their electricity and Wi-Fi. Although I doubt that'll happen in NCR, I won't be surprised if it does at Iloilo.

2. They charge you for "Extra Whip on Top". 

Yes, dear friends. Starbucks at SM City Iloilo charges extra for extra Whipped cream which has always been free in all the other branches. This is the second time I've been charged for Extra Whipped Cream. The first time (same branch), the manager explained that "Double Whip" does cost additional since whipped cream is blended in the drink and on top of the fluff. Extra whipped cream on top, however, (which is often confirmed by the cashier or barista) is FREE- no matter how many Frappuccino blended beverages you've ordered.

This is how Starbucks Frappes should look like. No extra charges involved, unless you want an entire espresso shot!

According to their Shift Manager Ms. KLQ, they DO charge extra for premium ingredients. And since whipped cream is a premium ingredient (obviously another ingredient they want to skimp on), then an additional 20 php is added to your bill.

Thank the coffee gods the condiments are free!!!

And to further agitate me, she adds that it will only be charged once for the two coffee-based blended beverages where the whipped cream will be split in half. Does this mean people who request for "no whipped cream" get a 20 php rebate on their payment?

I didn't know Starbucks has been opened for franchise! It truly sounds like a businessman's imposition rather than the beloved store group people from different nations have adored. Apparently, it's not enough that you're paying 180php for a Venti Frappuccino.

3. Something is definitely wrong with Starbucks SM City's whipped cream.

Let me give you a recap of that, their Frappuccino isn't as tasty, they charge an additional 20 php for Extra Whipped on Top (a typical freebie in all other Starbucks branches), and their whipped cream isn't smooth or fluffy (To be honest, you're better off in Coffeebreak. And I'm not even a big fan of theirs anymore!).

Coffeebreak is one of Iloilo's pioneer cafes. And the whipped cream on top of their Frappes are perfect.

I'm supposed to think this is okay? It's not smooth and fluffy. Something is wrong with this Starbucks branch's whipped cream.

Perhaps it's because the staff of Starbucks SM City Iloilo has yet to experience the taste and level of service other branches are currently offering. Heaven forbid I'd get the excuse that this Starbucks is in the province! I know Ilonggos are better than that.

This is how the Starbuck's Whipped Cream should look like.
coffee tiramisu cappuccino by hirotomo t, CC BY-SA 2.0

Perhaps it's because they have yet to internalize what Starbucks embodies.

It has always been, and will always be, about quality.

-Starbucks Mission Statement

Perhaps the managers are just plain too busy  to impose strict quality control.

Perhaps they're too busy to compare their service with other Starbucks branches that they're confident enough to say that anything extra costs extra (probably except cream, sugar and anything in their condiments table).

Perhaps its because no dissatisfied customer has ever confronted them yet.

I don't know. One things for sure, I will never EVER EVER EVER go to Starbucks at SM City Iloilo ever again.

Starbucks Philippines
bad Starbucks experience
Starbucks coffee
Starbucks whipped cream

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