ME AND ROBINSONS: ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

Last January 16, I got a surprise call from Robinsons. Being a holiday, I was just at home watching Pope Francis’ televised activities. It was my Aunt, however, who picked up the phone. And the caller I guess simply requested her to relay the message to me: that they extended the redemption period for the points I earned through my Value Plus card.  

If you still remember, I created a furor about this matter when my card expired last December 31, 2014. This led me to write an article about it on this blog to express my disappointment, that nobody from Robinsons’ supermarket branch in Berkeley Square informed me of the expiry date beforehand, considering the fact that I frequent their place for my grocery shopping.

I even shared it on Facebook, which in turn, was shared by many people. Did my article reach the Robinsons people? That I don’t know. But the comment I posted on their Facebook page for sure has reached some of them, most especially those in the customer service department.

My comment had the same thought as that in my blog article – I was not informed. In fairness, Robinsons replied to my post by asking for my contact number.

Moving on, I went to Berkeley Square last January 30 to have my much-needed haircut. And when I passed by Robinsons Supermarket leading to the basement parking lot (to go home), I suddenly remembered to redeem my points.

So I went inside the supermarket and proceeded to their customer service counter. I told Haydee, the lady at the counter, that I got a phone call informing me of the extension. Another lady at the counter commented that the extension was until the following day only (January 31).

In my thoughts, I had a sigh of relief that I was able to beat the deadline. Initially, I had the impression that I can redeem my points anytime (what was I thinking?)

Had I decided not to go inside, then I would have lost all my points for the second time since I did not know of January 31 as the deadline. My guardian angel must have prompted me to go inside and redeem my points that day since I was at Berkeley Square anyway.

At one point during the transaction, I kidded Haydee that perhaps, I was the culprit as to why an extension has been made. I told her about the article I wrote with reference to my expired card.

At some other point, Haydee mentioned that the management decided to create a one month extension for the sake of their card holders who hail from the provinces.

So to cut the story short, I was able to redeem my hard-earned points. Since I wanted to avail of their new rewards card - Robinsons Rewards, I followed Haydee’s suggestion that 100 points from my Value Plus card be used to purchase it. The remaining points from my previous card were then transferred to my new card.

So all is well that ends well between me and Robinsons. And before I forget, the new card indicates its expiry date, unlike my previous card.

Well done.

I thank sincerely those who took the time to read my previous article about this uproar, as well as those who even shared it.