Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Destiny and Cold Storage

Early yesterday morning, I read Krip Yuson's column in Philippine Star where he mentioned getting himself connected to Destiny cable after Sky dropped Solar Sports and Basketball TV from its line-up following Solar Sports' granting GMA7 exclusive rights to Manny Pacquiao's fight months back. Yuson convinced me Destiny was ok, a question I had long wanted an answer to before getting a connection myself for the love of husband and son who enjoy watching NBA games.

I thought Destiny, like Sky, had 24-hour service. So after calling 187 for its number, I promptly dialed for Destiny but got no answer. I called 187 again (that was a little after 8) to ask for a second number as the first wasn't answering. The operator gave me a second number plus the info that Destiny starts office at 8:30. I patiently waited but wanted to be sure I'd get through early enough as I feared Yuson's article would evoke several calls from disgruntled Sky customers.

My efforts were rewarded. Shortly after 8:30, I dialed Destiny's number, was told I'd get a connection the very same morning at P450 monthly plus P250 for an AC switch so I could switch from Destiny to Sky channels. I got a call from the company and was told they'd be late, around 2 rather than in the morning. I said I'd wait. By 1:30 they were at the gate. Before 2 I had 2 cable connections. Now that's service. No installation charges to boot. Just 3 months advance. And mind you, the signal is much, much better. Hooray for Destiny (412 9685)! The guy I spoke with was Gene Loyola but his real name is Jennifer Loyola. Not kidding. And he's Ilonggo hence the pronunciation? He's male. Very serious. At one point he spoke to his companion in Ilonggo and his clownish companion said, "don't speak to me in English. I cannot understand English." I didn't get the companion's name, but such a jolly being!

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When the people from Destiny left, I promptly hied off to Rustan's for some groceries. Near the open freezer of Cold Storage was a made-up attendant of the entity, distinguishable by her aqua apron. She offered me some shells and said they were delicious. I asked, "which is better?" She said both. I didn't get. She offered me squid balls. I asked, "how can you cook it so it doesn't become tough?" She said, "when it's cooked, remove it." I said, "How can you tell if it's cooked?" She answered, "You take a bite!" Whoa. How very enlightening. I couldn't help it so I asked, "You don't cook, right?" With a sheepish smile, she said, "no." I advised her to learn. None of my business, actually, but at the rate she's going, she won't last on the job. What if I were her boss's spy? She'd be jobless by now.

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

SkyCable changed a lot of channels on Jan. 1 this year so I'm now thinking of getting a Dream subscription. The new SkyCable now has Discovery Channel but it's the channel that shows mostly animals. I wanted their Travel channel. Sky also dropped Ellen de Generes and some other programs I watched.

Re sales ladies (promo girls?). Each time they tell me "namit ni", I can't help asking, "natilawan mo na?" and when they confess that they've not tried it yet, my heart melts. Kaluoy no? I'd feel stupid selling something that I have not tasted or something that I don't like so I pity these girls who have to do it for a living. I wish the producers/manufacturers would give them some training first or, at least, allow the girls to take home a couple of cans or packs so they'd know what they're selling.

antonette said...

Is the Dream subscription something that goes with a satellite dish? I like Destiny's line-up. They have TCM which Sky only offers under Platinum subscriptions. They also have Living Asia, Voice of America (sometimes they have musical artists), etc. I think it's a steal at P450. The only compelling reason for Sky now is their ANC channel when there's a compelling Senate hearing. Otherwise, Destiny's ok for me, though Dan likes to watch ESPN and Star Sports in Sky.

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Re food entities that have promo persons enticing customers to buy, there are a few who have personnel really have product knowledge and that impresses me. There aren't too many of them though.