Daily thoughts - Commendable customer service from PETCO

We recently adopted a yorkie who was abandoned by its owner. I will share more photos about him in a future post but for now I want to share an exceptional service I received from one of my favorite pet stores here. When we adopted our new baby Gummy bear last Thursday, we decided to immediately head over to petco to pick up items for him. I have never had a small dog live in a tiny apartment before so I didnt know what I had to get. Back in the Philippines, we had a bigger house and a carport to accommodate the many pets that lived with us. The dogs usually slept in the carport and had a leash or was in a kennel. Ive never had a toy dog before. I decided to take in Gummy bear because of his pitiful state after seeing his photo. A good friend of mine posted a photo on his facebook wall and when I saw it, I was just overwhelmed with sadness thinking whats gonna happen to the dog if he didnt get adopted.  I feared that pets like him might have a hard time getting a potential fosterer/adopter considering his age and other vulnerabilities associated with senior dogs. I decided to take the plunge but I was not quite prepared to actually bring him home and provide him with his basic necessities on the same day. 

Me and the hubby got a little crazy when we got to petco. we started grabbing whatever we thought was necessary from the dog section. wee wee pads, brush, toys, bowls, harness, tag, retractable leash, wet ones etc., Since we were there I also thought of getting the cats their wetfood and new ceramic bowls.For some reason, the counter at petco at union square didnt seem to have a display to show the prices as they were being entered in the system. Our bill rang up to $230 usd. I have never purchased anything for myself that was that much so I was taken a little aback with the hefty tag. But then again I reminded myself the items we got are for the long term use of our new furry friend. 

When I got home, i checked the receipt and discovered that we were charged 3x for one of the items. So i got on my computer and emailed Petco right away. I politely expressed my disappointment and my hesitation to go all the way to union square to have the amount credited back to me. I received a reply the following day from them. 

Dear Mam,

We are sorry to hear about your recent experience with our store at 860 Broadway, and thank you for bringing this to our attention.

At Petco, we strive to give every customer a fun and friendly shopping experience every time they visit one of our stores. I'm sorry to hear about the not so positive experience you had in this location. I assure you that I have already shared your concern to the appropriate department for immediate resolution. We are always investigating new features for our stores and rest assured your comments are sincerely appreciated so that we can continue to improve.

 I reviewed our records and it shows that you currently have two (2) * reward coupon/s which you can use next time you shop online or at your local Petco. To get your next $5 reward coupon you would still need $*** worth of purchase.

 Also, we have verified that you have earned three (3) $* Pals Reward coupons which have expired. Clearly, you are a valued customer and as such, we have re issued the expired coupons so you and your pet can enjoy shopping at Petco. I also added points on your Pals reward account for the extra charged on your debit card and it will generate additional two (2) $* reward coupons.  Pals Rewards coupons are valid for 45 days upon issuance. Please allow 24-48 hours for coupons to be generated.

To print your rewards online, all you need to do is to log in at www.petco.com with your email address and password. Just click on the My Account Home and under Pals Rewards click on the Pals Rewards Status to view the coupons. Enjoy shopping with your Pals Rewards.

For further assistance, please feel free to reply to this email or call us at 1-888-824-Pals (7257).

Sincerely,

MJ.
Customer Relations Coordinator

Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World.

Petco values your insights, so please tell us how we are doing on our customer service survey.

I was totally impressed at how efficient and professional they handled my concern. They went above the usual kind of service I have been accustomed to in this country. Because of this I will always get my pet supplies from this store.

Thank you PETCO!

and I think it wasnt just me who was happy!

Daily thoughts - Work outs and Break outs

The past few days have been torture. the heat just wont let up and our unreliable ac is not helping. but still that doesnt stop me from taking a few minutes or hours to pound the pavement and enjoy the beautiful view out there

a few more breathtaking photos of some of my run routes in the past months

and of course when working out, it can be physically taxing and takes a toll on my skin. Im not promoting nor beauty blogging. just sharing that i thought of trying the trial offer from proactiv to deal with the breakouts. I will find out in a couple of weeks whether it works.

here is a cute photo of my cat trying to take over my mat. i rolled out it to stretch after my workout and she thought it was for her.

Daily thoughts- Home improvement stuff, a trip to the library, coffee and air conditioning

my gorgeous new placemats

First, Im excited to post a photo of my new placemats which i got for a steal at Bed, bath and beyond. We stopped by there on our way home. We spent the day at the New York Public Library at 5th avenue with good friends. The weather was horrible but inside the library the ac was nice. I wanted to stay longer but the exhibit we went to check out was not that big. We spent only 2 hours there and had to get going coz we also started to get hungry. I also managed to finally meet a good friend I met on the internet there. He works at the library and I cant wait to go back and visit him. Id like to take another tour of the building plus enjoy of course the wonderful world of free air conditioning. hehehe.

So anyway we had this wonderful dinner at a place called Lili's 57 over at 57th st. Food was good. I had the Lemongrass spicy chicken and tiger rolls. I dont remember what the rest ordered but the hubby had something called masaman curry. We walked our friends to the bus stop and bid them goodnight. We then cut through central park and had coffee (for him) and tea (for me) at Starschmucks. I honestly am not too crazy over their merchandise but the hubby loves their stuff. Speaking of coffee, we finally invested in getting a keurig coffee maker. I gave it to him as a gift on our 5th wedding anniversary. We have been putting it off because when I first got here, he already bought a cuisinart coffee maker. It just didnt make sense to spend more money just to make coffee.

He was really very happy when I did get him what he calls his new fountain of life. Lol. The thing came with 12 free samplers.

It seemed to have disappeared so quickly in 2 or 3 days. We wound up getting a box of 40 kcups of Brooklyn Beans from amazon. It has cute names like Brooklyn Bridge,  Cyclone, Corner donut shop, Breakfast Blends, Colombian etc. So far Im liking the Colombian with plain milk as creamer. I am jotting down my reviews on a notebook so I know which will be my favorite. We normally add plain milk so we can appreciate the flavor of the coffee. But there are also creamers we like. They have this creamer called the cold stone creamery international delight and they come out with some delicious creamers. Ive tried their cookie and ice cream creamers and those 2 are amazing. The baileys irish cream coffee creamer was also on sale at Fine Fare so I grabbed 2 of those and stuck it in the fridge. I just love coffee. I also like tea, cheesecake and ice cream =) And before I get carried away talking about food and drinks I think I better go back to the original trail of this post.

We went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get an additional fan because our portable AC has failed us. Since we cannot return the crappy thing, we have to resort to making it work at least for the remainder of the summer. Part of our dilemma is the size of the apartment. I think the ac is not strong enough to generate enough cool air to fill up the room.We have a long hallway going towards the door and hat has made the floor area bigger. We intalled a rod and put a curtain to cover the entrance to the hallway. We also bought a new vornado fan to help circulate the colder air from the portable ac to the rest of the room.

While im typing this post, i can say that there is noticeable improvement. Over the past few days it would take 4 hours before the temperature would go down. Today it took only an hour for the temperature to go down by at least 7 degrees. Even the cats seem happy about it. I see our cat Dapper laying on our bed which is unusual. Normally she likes to lay down on the dining table or on the floor. Sometimes she also wants to hang out by the bathroom floor. I am actually tempted to fill the tub with water, not for dapper, but for me to soak in. hehehe but yeah yey for the air situation in here.

Right now I just feel totally happy because it was such a great day. Everyday is not always as great but its up to us to really make the most out of each one. Not everyone is also as lucky to spend another day on earth so instead of moping and focusing on the things that make us sad, why not choose to look the other way and be grateful?

And here is a mushy post I put on my facebook wall today:

"when i read about chaos in the world, all the hurt and suffering, i stop to pray and wish for better days, not for me but for those who have to witness and experience such turmoil..around the same time I feel grateful for being blessed with health, kind friends and family and endless opportunities. All my doubts are dwarfed by the grand manifestation of His presence. Have a Blessed Sunday everyone. God Loves you."

Daily thoughts - 2nd FOJ and happy times at home

Celebrated Fourth of July yesterday with family. Lots of good food and I also cooked some pancit because its Mom's special request. We also took home some left overs and thats good news coz I dont have to cook for a couple of days at least. Yey for that. I love to cook and I have been doing that almost everyday since we moved to the new place. But the temperature in my kitchen is just going to make me melt. Too hot this Summer! But yeah it is nice to go visit family at such an occasion. We did'nt get to stick around too long because we had to hurry home to our girls and make sure they havent suffered from heatstroke.

Its been so hot the past few days that  even with all our fans on (2 tiny flippi, one lasko tower fan, one compact fan) plus our portable ac running it is not even enough. We have this wallclock that has an additional feature and it picks up the temperature of the room, and also there is the window fan that takes the one outside. Thats how we are able to tell whether there is any slight improvement with all the fans blasting at the same time. Sad to say it has only improved the temperature by a notch or two. Fail. too late to return the damn thing. We already discarded the box for the portable ac. Besides I cant imagine hauling that huge piece of shit on the subway again.

Cats are getting agitated over the insane heat

Dapper walked and plopped herself in front of the fan

Thumper and Dapper 

I have to put ice cubes in their water bowl everyday too to alleviate their discomfort.

But other than that though the four of us are all doing great and are having a marvelous time at our new apartment. We are still in the process of moving stuff from storage to our new home and getting things in order in terms of organizing where to put which. Its like the fun and games doesnt seem to end! We are always running around getting things done. Im not complaining like it is that exasperating. In fact Im enjoying our home improvement sessions a lot. Its just that the whole process is a little addicting like we want to get more stuff to make our place comfortable. Not that it isnt now. We basically have everything we need, but im forever finding trinkets and cool furniture that I think would look awesome in our apartment. I think I should stop looking at Pinterest! hehe we kind of joke about it because we think older people get excited over such things. Even the simplest addition like coasters, fridge magnets and the like make us jump in glee! well the jump part is exaggerated but everytime we do pick up a package at the lockbox at Gristedes, we are always crazy excited.

Here are my new magnets=)

And our new coasters :

Needless to say, Im a fan of George RR Martin=). Also here is another item I got for the closet door:

Dapper wanted to photobomb the poster

There are a few more cute stuff I got but I havent had the time to upload photos.

I am truly loving it here at our new home. Plus I discovered this delicious cake called Tres Leches at the bakery a few blocks away . The cake means 3milk. To me its 3 layers of deliciousness.

Sarappp!

Here is a beautiful view of the Washington bridge during one of our daytime strolls:

ATTENTION : AIRBRUSH MAKE UP MANILA. IF YOU WANT TO THRIVE IN YOUR BUSINESS, TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS RIGHT!

My friend just experienced horrible customer service from a place called AIRBRUSH MAKE UP MANILA. Just wanted to share:

"Excuse my ranting but AIRBRUSH MAKEUP MANILA has the worst customer service everrr! Unfortunately theyre the only ones i know that sell dinair stuff here. They make me pay for shipping, couldnt ship so i go and pick it up at her house in makati. I text her 15 minutes before i get there and still had to wait outside forever. Didnt have stocks of what i wanted (she didnt inform me before i went there), said she couldnt give me my 300 refund because she didnt have cash on her and said she'd deposit. Well hello its been 2 months. Its just 300 pesos! Mygad. This is on top of really crappy replies when asking about their products. DO NOT Buy anything from them!"