it comes in three, really?

unknown trade shoes - irate customer

i got my passport last friday and learned that the information posted there was incorrect, instead of having my year date as 1983, it was 1963. so i went ahead and called the DFA hotline the next morning when they informed me that i should contact Air 21 (who delivered my passport) for assistance regarding my concern. and there i was, dialled the Air 21 service number that the gentleman gave me and explained to them, again, what had happened.

of course, Air 21 would not take any liability for the mistake, they just got my passport from the DFA Office and send it to me(after i paid Php200 so i dont have to go back there again just to get the "thing"), after a short conversation with the Air 21 represenatative, he gave me another number to call. now, its the direct number of the DFA administration department. i talked to some guy name "i forgot" and gave me another number. at last, i talked to Jeff and he told me that he will take care of my concern after repeating my story for the 5th time(i should have recorded it so i dont have to repeat myself that much). so much for my rant, Jeff advised me to call back Monday and look for him, he gave me his direct line and promised me to follow up the correction.

the next afternoon, i dialled Jeff's number and was informed that i need to go back to DFA Manila and go directly to the director's office (WTH? now we are talking about inconvenience here, i paid so i don't need to go back and now you're telling me what?!) but hopelessly, i went there right after my freaking mid-shift, met Jeff at Gate 1 and was in queue which seemed like forever.

i was so irate, for the fact that i dont have time to go under that stress. man, its not my fault if they had it wrong, i submitted all my requirements and they can actually drool their faces over those documents and verify that. alright, that was a mistake.. now what?

imagine yourself in a corridor 5 feet wide with people going back and forth, with two irritating guards shouting over the people to get away from the main entrance ("don't try to push us away like dogs, we are humans anyway", the woman beside me uttered), with not sleeping for more than 12 hours, with not eating anything for the past 12 hours except a candy after the usual "yosi break" and a couple of cups with 3-in-1 coffee and with a low-charged on the battery of your phone. where can you get a thread of patience out of that, huh?

i still did not make any move to get at least a water to quench my thirst and stop my soul from drying; for the fear of losing the seat i got from waiting at least an hour of standing beside it, for fear of having my turn (with number 36 boldly written in a small square pink carton).

"pink 16", the guard called after an hour of waiting.

impatienty, i waited..

hungrily, i ranted..

sleepy, i tried putting the tears away..

i had my turn after 3 more hours of waiting. finally, got the chance to talk to a representative from the director's office and repeated my story, again. his name was Morris, a woman trapped in a man's body, pretty nice and accomodating. he got my passport corrected, apologized for what happened, gave me another releasing form and asked me to come back the next day, which is today.

in short, im coming back today in DFA's Manila Office along Roxas Blvd, for the third time. i will be on my way after posting this and hopefully, i will get good customer service today. my only consolation for what happened was the experience of being an irate customer(haha). i actually traded shoes with my Sprint customers; learned how difficult it is when the people you are trying to ask help for passes you around and do not have any concern with you.

the secret to customer service is, emphatizing.

believe me, it works...

and nina, please eat before you go...