My Cebu : Home Appliance Shopping (SM Appliance)

I stayed for another 10 days in Cebu recently and was tasked by my family to purchase a simple washer. My mom didn’t want to burden the house-help so much and wanted her to have an easier life. We agreed to just buy a small washer (5kg or so) minus the spin dryer. We have a very reliable clothesline area at home. Brian (my hubby) who was my partner in this task asked me if there were appliance centers alongside the Cebu South Road. I told Bri there are lots of appliance centers in Cebu, big ones are Citi Appliance, Gillamacs ... but I’ve never bought in any of these places.

So past experience in setting up our place in Mandaluyong told me the best place to go was SM Appliance Center. So off we went and was at SM City Cebu by 10am. We browsed through the displays and an SM attendant answered our questions. Unfortunately, for our top 2 choices, they didn’t have stocks and only have items on display – NO I’m not buying display items unless its discounted. But SM as they are, they couldn’t give me that discount which other smaller appliances in the city would have given. So we bought option 3, a Sharp washer. The SM attendant told us that delivery to our place is P520, just as I thought, pay P520 delivery for a 3k product! We told her we have an SUV and we can just bring it home. She replied saying, that the people working at the warehouse were not available yet and we should come back at 11am. So to make things faster, we paid in advance and browse around looking for refrigerators.

Time passed and by 11am we gave our receipt to the claim counter. The lady told us, item is not available yet and they don’t know how many minutes more it’ll take for the item to be brought in the store from the warehouse. To really show more incompetence, this lady called up another attendant and asked what time ... she was answered maybe 15 or 30 mins more while cutting paper in front of us. There you GO! INCOMPETENCE at the core. In instances like this, I look for the manager to get what I want. Well, the manager was able to have the item brought in, in 15 min. Boy, I sure was mad as hell by this time, we were already in the store for more than an hour and purchased a freaking 3k washer! My bag is more expensive than this! Grrrr ...!

Lesson learned, never buy in impersonal stores like SM Appliance Center in a place like CEBU. In impersonal Manila, maybe it works best but in Cebu, stick with the locals! I should have went to the downtown area and went to the many appliances stores there, they would have been more attentive and fast! Ah the problem of the big retailers, loyalty maybe low because service is just terrible ... no wonder my dad never bought any of our appliances at SM Appliance Center! Dad knows best!

Mrs Jane B.

My Cebu : Fresh with a new look -- Robinsons Smkt Fuente O

Before the days of Ayala Center Cebu and SM City Cebu, the uptown area was the “in” place in the City. People and teenagers would flock the Rustan’s area where the first National Bookstore branch is also near and Robinsons Mall Cebu was the mall to be seen in. Of course this was in the early 1990’s. In those years Robinsons was more known for its dept store more than the supermarket (and the snake that lives in the spiral complex!). They had a wide array of clothes, shoes, accessories and even baby items. With the rise of the malls and the mini-malls, boutiques and specialty shops have challenged the existence of the dept store format and probably (I don’t have insider info) but the Robinsons Mall Cebu changed with the times and downsized its dept store to give way to space for boutique stores.

But my recent visit yesterday showed a newly renovated supermarket area. Mind you, despite the downsizing of the dept store, Robinsons has not reduced the size of its supermarket. This is really because this is the only supermarket in the Fuente O area that caters to communities around the capitol, Jones, Ramos areas. The nearest one would be Foodarama in the Mango Ave side, SM’s supermarket at the Elizabeth Mall which is quite far already and caters more the shoppers going south.

The newly renovated store reminds me of our very own Robinsons Otis near our Unilever Office at UN Ave. It’s small yet very complete with fresh food items, packaged food, personal care and home care products. The colors and the layout have made the store looked cleaner, more spacious than before where one can hardly push a cart inside the aisles. I’ve noticed that the personal care and the snacks area had more shoppers milling about and the fresh section. The wine and the fresh fruit section were pretty dead areas – note that just outside the mall there are fruit vendors everywhere selling mangoes, apples, now lansones, so I guess buying at the smkt isn’t so appealing. But it pretty much looks like any big supermarket.

Ah but the crux of it all, is parking. I find the mall parking inconvenient specially if all you want to do is do grocery shopping. One has to drive up into the spiral ramp and go down into the basement where the smkt is located. The mall compensated though via having a taxi lane and the jeepney stop pretty much near the smkt entrance/exit but for those shoppers w/ cars, this may prove to be a hassle. Dont know this can be solved though.

But Cebu residents rejoice, for Robinsons is building next to Chong Hua hospital its Cebu Cybergate Mall which I believe would have another smkt and would probably be really like the Otis Mall where there are offices in the complex. Forgot when the project completion is though but if they can build fast, Christmas 2008 might be the target.

Cebu is indeed changing to the times, yet still keeping its island charm ...

Mrs Jane B.

My Cebu : Eating & Dining Out

Ah, years ago when I was 8 or so, I remembered that eating out was truly a treat not just because we were kids that time but even for my parents. I remembered going to the same Chinese resto year-on-year. In fact, my dad, used to come home during lunchtime to eat and have siesta. Even my mom (who worked full time too) would come home for lunch and she would tell us stories before we have our afternoon nap. Life was simplier then, not sure how many parents now get to come home for lunch and see their kids.

Now, if you visit Cebu, with the advent of malls, a lot of families, groups and two-somes now meet up in a resto not just to eat but really to socialize. You know, the Cebuanos are the hardest market to crack in the Phils. We believe in quality products and services but we want the best bargain/price for it. Sorry, a P60 shake won't really sell in Cebu years ago. A P100 meal is too expensive, what with Larsian BBQ place at Fuente O and ngohiong at P10/pc and hanging rice, "puso" -- one can eat at P50 w/ drinks! When SM City opened, Wendy's was one of the fastfood chains that opened but had to close down because the offering wasn't as competitive. Racks even closed down -- with ribs that expensive, nobody would buy it in Cebu. That's how picky we are.

I think, with more non-Cebuanos in Cebu, the resto and fastfood business are making money. With the advent as well of the call centers (the major ones have operations in Cebu), eating and dining out is really "IN". So, if your non Cebuano, check out places like Chika-an, Golden Cowrie, CNT Lechon place (we have the best lechon in the Phils), or check out SU-TU-KIL restos that abound in the metro that specialize in "sugba" - grilled/bbq, "tula" - fish clear broth soup, "kilaw" - raw food usually fish our version of sashimi.

For more modern, metro eating places, visit the BTC area, the IT Park (near Waterfront Lahug) has buildings with eating places at the 1st floor and the newly revived "THE Walk" -- the "in place" right now. Check out my pics with HS friends in our latest meet up at THE Walk 2 wks ago.

So when you're in Cebu, remember, its where you can eat great food at great affordable prices!

Mrs Jane B

My Cebu : Shopping Destination

Cebuanos are one of the luckiest people in the Philippines. Even as early as in the 80’s, we were already exposed to the what we call modern retailing. Growing up we were already into the supermarket and department store set-up. Well-known in the 80’s were GAW, White Gold, Gaisano Main, Gazini Plaza, Fairmart, Rustan’s and Rosita’s to name a few. We already had those computer-generated instant win promos in Gaisano during the Christmas season that drove my dad crazy – he would buy and buy just so he can play the game! Colon St. (oldest street in Cebu and possibly in the Philippines), housed most of the dept stores and big supermarkets in the city. If one wanted the local market type, we had Carbon Public Market and next to it is Freedom Park where one can buy flowers and plants. My lola used to have a stall there selling flowers and angel wings during Flores de Mayo. For the dried fish and seafood that Cebu is known for (danggit, pusit, bolinao), we have the Tabo-an Market.

In the mid 1990’s SM and Ayala came into Cebu to set up their malls. SM City structure was box-type and attracted quite a wide-spectrum of people. On the other hand, the Ayala mall with its circular set-up and more Mediterranean architecture, attracted the more affluent groups in Cebu. The set-up of these malls changed the way Cebuanos shop. We were used to the one-stop shopping concept already brought about by the smkt w/ dept store set-up but the mall concept where different stores where housed in one air-conditioned structure was new and allowed people to meet up and get-together! The mall allowed for Manila stores to be introduced into the local retailing scene and allowed the local ones to set-up shop as well.

Now, Cebu boasts of not just the big malls of SM City and Ayala, but mini-malls as well set-up by the locals like the BTC Mall in Banilad, the JY Square Mall in Lahug (its now expanded, a far cry from the mall we used to go to when we were in High School at UP), the Elizabeth Mall near UC Main downtown area, the Robinsons Place Cebu Mall at the Fuente Osmena has been rehabilitated as well, the Gaisano Festival Mall in Tabunok to name a few that mainly cater to the immediate neighbourhoods’ malling and shopping needs. With the rise of malling in Cebu, it brought with it as well a new change in Cebu, its dining and eating out. Check my next write-up on this changing habit.

BTW, check out my older posts to read about SM North Wing Shopping in Cebu, this is truly an example of how “malling” has become a habit of the pure-bred Cebuano!

Mrs. Jane B.

Jane's CEBU

There are only a few who can call themselves, pure-bred Cebuanos now-a-days. A lot of the people living in Cebu now actually come from neighbouring islands like Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Negros and Mindanao. I’m pure-bred with my dad side (Quijada) hailing from Guadalupe Cebu City (known for mangoes & CNT Lechon) and my mom side (Bandillo/Villagonzalo) hailing from Alcantara/Ronda towns southwest side of Cebu province. With Cebu rising as the 2nd most important city in the Philippines, local and foreign companies have set head offices and branch offices in the Queen City of the South! This has also spurred a lot of migration of people even from Luzon and “imperial Manila” as a Cebuano would put it.

Being from Cebu and studying in Manila, I got the usual, “ah so you’re from the province” statement from classmates in university. These people sure don’t know their history and haven’t travelled within the Philippines to know where and what Cebu stands for. Cebu was the 1st to defy the Spanish conquistadores, with local Mactan chieftain Lapu-Lapu slaying the Spaniard Magellan in 1521. The battle of Mactan is re-enacted every year during the city fiesta and getting local celebrities to play the lead roles. Ah, those ignorant even in their own country!

I’ve lived away from Cebu to be in Manila for quite sometime now, that I sometimes feel lost when in Cebu on new places to visit and hang-out. For the past two years though, with lower airfare rates, thanks to Cebu Pacific Airlines, my husband and I visit Cebu on long weekends and on special family occasions vs the usual summer and Christmas visits.

My CEBU is a series of write-ups I intend to publish here in my blogsite before I leave for South Africa to talk about the changes I’ve observed in my recent trips back home.

Mrs. Jane B