The store stock of items that seem to not be there next week! This is how it works as explained to me by the Manager of Royal Duty Free Subic. Items are stripped from stores and warehouses in Europe and the U.S., loaded into shipping vans and sent around the world. The reason, there’s less than one year shelf life left on the product.
Now the van arrives in the P.I., all the big chains and distributers bid on the items in the van. This week it could be Folgers Coffee, or another brand. The next week it happens again with other brands available. The brand you like might not show up for a month, or never. They can’t order by brand unless the stores want to pay the premium price plus shipping. When buying by lot there is no shipping cost.
As my last four years in the Navy were as a Commissary Store Officer, I understood what the guy was explaining to me. I hope this will clear the air on this subject, and as you said, “If you see it buy it now!” Or forever hold your peace. That’s why I have an upright freezer!
Mr. Whipple (of Charmin fame) signing off! You wrote a very funny story btw.

P.S. My all time favorite Philippine acronym is the one for Congressional Assembly or as it’s on the News “ConAss”.

Thanks for your comments. To be sure there may be times you can get a replacement for something that is actually faulty. But that is not always the case. And, in particular, you can never expect to get your money back … you can get an exchange or you can get credit, but actually taking something back, as if perhaps it wouldn’t fit … rarely, if ever.

And my article is not intended to be anti-Filipino .. but if it is perceived as anti-Filipino retailing practices, amen, I conveyed the message. Buying anything like a computer can turn into a real job of work and it is hard to spend your money sometimes. There are so many stores focused on _not_ making the experience easy for the customer that you wonder how they survive.

That’s why I tool the time to highlight the excellent service I got from Sherwin at the SM North store … believe me, it stood out and I appreciated it.

Anyway, as a bit of an update, I still have my money and I still don’t have a new computer … I spent an hour this am at several other shops in the mall trying to find something that would substitute for what I wanted and still fit in the space I wanted it to, but no luck. Tomorrow there’s a bunch of medical stuff going on, so more on the computer challenge when it happens. Always Buy Now.

You’re right that it’s infuriating … but there is another positive side that is worth remembering. Twice recently I’ve bought self-assemble furniture: quite a large computer desk and a microwave oven stand on wheels. Both times I asked if the shop could assemble for me and both times they said sure. The stand was done in the shop on the spot, while for the computer desk the guy came to my apartment and did it there for the same price as home delivery of the kit would have cost. Having watched them do the assembly (and the desk had no instructions!!) I was profoundly grateful I did not have to attempt it myself.

Basically I think a lot of individual Filipinos are very happy to serve but the corporate policies are terrible, although both statements are over-generalisations.