It all started when I arrived an hour too early.

I was asked to pick up a t-shirt from People are People, it was supposed to be a gift for a cousin on his birthday.

We reserved it Sunday afternoon for a next morning pick-up. Because the size we requested wasn't available in the Shangri-La branch, they had to pull out the size from the Megamall branch and deliver it to Shang.

It was 10 am. An hour early for Shangri-La's opening time. I thought that I could save time by going directly to Megamall and see if the shirt hasn't been delivered yet so I could purchase it there instead of waiting till 11am for Shangri-La to open.

10:30am. People are People, Megamall branch.

Went inside and asked the supervisor if the shirt was still there or was already delivered to Shang. They told me it was brought there Sunday night. I thought: how efficient! No problem I'll just go back and pick it up there anyway. Looking around the store, this branch was loaded with more shirt designs compared to Shang's. I had the option to pick another shirt out right there in Megamall, but held back because we had a prior arrangement with Shang, I had to respect it at least.

So there I was walking back to Shang on a hot morning. I even passed by a flattened decaying rat in the gutter. But I was content to know that the day will be productive (I am the type who has a checklist whenever I go to the mall. Yes, to some, it's called obsessive-compulsive, but to me, I just like the feeling of ticking the boxes one by one and finishing the list in a day.).

When I got to the boutique, I asked the cashier if they had the shirt and that I was ready to pick it up. She just gave a dumbstruck look and searched for the supervisor. Apparently, they told me the shirt wasn't there and that they didn't know where it was. I told them I just came from megamall and they told me the shirt was here.

They didn't apologize to me about it nor did they try to appease my boiling rage.

So during the series of phone calls from People are People store supervisor in Shang and Megamall and too frustrated to even say anything to them and wary from saying anything impulsive that I might regret, I walked out. Thinking that maybe if I walked it off, I'd forget about the whole scenario and eventually move on and try to look for a new gift.

After briskly walking through the whole floor, I was on the brink of an outburst. Walking it off didn't do me any good (which is surprising because it usually works on my sudden emotional rush.).

Now, I was ready for Round 2.

I stormed into the shop, put on my don't-mess-with-me-or-hell-will-break-lose voice and demanded to speak with the manager. The store supervisor nonchalantly told me that the manager wasn't here, so I asked decently for the contact number, but she still insisted on telling me that I won't be able to contact them today. I told her that it wasn't her business on when I was to call her manager, and to just write the number down on paper plus her name and the name of megamall's supervisor.

Still she didn't apologize.

She then told me that no one informed her of the pull out - a rather stupid reason to point out especially when you are the store supervisor. So I asked her if she was the supervisor (seeing the title from her ID made it so much easier), she said yes. (Aha! you're trapped!! MWAHAHAHA!!) So I told her that it is her responsibility as a supervisor to be on top of everything.

Only then did she apologize to me about the whole scenario. But she quickly followed it up with a "High-blood kasi kayo ma'am eh."

And that statement made all the difference. The damage was only about to begin.

I flared-up. She asked for it. Didn't I have the right to be mad about the whole thing? Weren't they the ones who committed to a morning delivery and failed to keep it? I buy a lot of clothes from People are People, I've even recommended them to some of my friends and convinced my conservative mom to buy clothes as gifts there...and this is the thanks I get? I was trying to keep my temper down the whole time, it's like trying to force a cap on an already highly pressurized pot. And all I get is an apology that's followed by an insensitive remark? Screw it.

Noticing the foreigner in the shop, I switched to English, increase my volume and spoke. I told them how this was the worst type of service I have ever encountered in any shop and how they handled the problem poorly. She then told me that she and a personnel from Megamall branch were neighbors and they left it at her house. And if I wanted to, they could have it delivered here, but I just had to wait for it. I told her that I had to walk from Shang to Megamall back and forth just to pick up something that isn't there in the first place and now you're asking me to wait. How ignorant.

I didn't have the time to wait, and I had other errands to run. She did ask me where I lived, possibly to have it delivered to my house, but it stayed a question and never materialized. They didn't offer to deliver it home.

Of course by that time, I had already lost my interest whatsoever about the shirt and getting even was my only option. So the only thing left for me to do was to take the manager's number and leave with a subtle threat.

So I did.

Now, I'm contemplating on whether to actually spend time to talk to the manager or not waste my time at all. ^_^