Thursday, April 24, 2008

Provincial vis-a-vis Manila prices

A few weeks ago, my husband who has lost some weight, had one polo shirt altered. It cost him a little over P1k. If my memory serves me right, the alteration cost was higher than the shirt's price years back.

Some weeks later, my son had two polos altered in the same shop but a different branch. The cost of the alteration of the two polos was less than what my husband paid. So we thought the second branch charged cheaper. So we brought 3 of my son's polos to the second branch. He fitted them and pins were stuck wherever an alteration was necessary. When the bill was computed (you have to pay the entire amount before they'll do anything), it reached a whopping P3.9k. That made me think twice, then another time, then another. I asked if they had a discount card that entitles one to a 20 percent discount but costs P250 to procure. They had no more card left. They also give SM advantage card holders and senior citizens the same discount.

I hastily said I'd get the shirts back and return when they'd have a discount card available. At 20% off, I'd save P700 plus. So even if i'd have to pay for a discount card, I'd save P500 at least. A bit peeved, the girl canceled the transaction receipt and gave me back the 3 polos. Somehow the high cost didn't seem reasonable. I might as well have bought 3 new polos and added a few hundreds, if necessary.

I thought of sending the 3 polos to Bacolod to Mrs. Lim who made my clothes when I was in high school. Yesterday, she texted me that they were ready. The cost: P360 for all three polos. I rest my case.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Outrageous prices!

I was told that we have an influx of call center operators who are from Manila. They have chosen to work here because, even if salaries are lower, the cost of living is sooo much lower than in Manila.

I am also reminded of some friends of my brother who visited him here. They wanted to try chicken inasal and liked it. When they saw the bill, they decided to order take home - "for everybody back home".

antonette said...

Years back, a classmate from Bacolod came and many of us batchmates had dinner in a restaurant in Ortigas Center. When she saw the prices indicated in the menu, she was aghast. She said that the price of one dish could pay for her family of 5's dinner out in Bacolod.

Wow, people form Manila actually go there to work? That's reverse migration no? In the past, many of us from Bacolod wanted to go to Manila to find employment because there were more opportunities here and the pay was higher!

Unknown said...

You won't believe it. I sometimes feel there are more Koreans and Tagalogs around than Bacolodnons or Negrenses. I see them everywhere and I hear them noisily flaunting their American "ek-sent" but oftentimes lapsing into tagalog. A friend has 3 boarders who are from Manila, all call center operators.

Re Manila prices... sus, can you imagine what I feel each time I come home from Manila with a burning hole in my pocket? The other night, friends and I ate at - te, where else pa abi... Bob's e! We ordered a lot! Many of them have not come home for a long long time so ordering was more "bulong sa hidlaw" than "gutom". There were 6 of us and our bill was less than 2k. We even took some home, sobra sobra gid ya. We were guessing how much it would have been in Manila (average). Told them that when I treated some friends in Aristocrat (because that's about the equivalent of Bob's), there were 4 of us and I paid a little over 2k. No take home. Ubos tanan.

antonette said...

How awful no about the excessive disparity in prices? Hala, those call center operators who speak with an American "ek-sent" might have been trained by a friend who pronounces accent like that "eksent" kay she stayed a long time in the US. I once teased her: "If an operator answers me who sounds like you I'll ask if you trained her." ka OA. Ga kiliwi ang moouth. I think many are amused when she speaks.