Suriya Spa

Since we got married, it has been a tradition for us to treat ourselves to some extra special pampering every Valentine's Day. We used to just visit a nearby salon for some facials and foot spa, but over the last few years we were able spend some hours of indulgence at a number of top spas in the city. I promise to find time to post a review for each one of them soon (right ;p).

For this year's Valentine's Day, with the number of discount and promotional sites I am signed up for, we were lucky to be able to take advantage of a couple's promo for Suriya Spa in Frontera Verde (beside Tiendesitas in Pasig City). I verified through my PayPal account so I could give you specifics - we actually spent only PHP2000 as a couple for their Ayurveda Package (body massage, body scrub and scalp massage). We got a private couple's room with Jacuzzi  and I was able to book it early enough to get an available slot on the eve of Valentine's day. How's that for a deal?! Although the promo was truly irresistible for a luxury spa located in a major district, I have learned my lesson so I did my research prior to buying. From the google search results page, all I got were words like "perfect", "sanctuary" and "best" to name a few. It was my cue to hit the buy button and thank goodness I did.

It was raining when we got to Frontera Verde. The world class customer service experience was jump-started by the security guard. I mean how rare do you get to see a pleasant security guard these days? This kuya was smiling while giving hand signals to make sure hubby was able to park properly, holding an umbrella on the other hand ready to usher us to the main entrance. That moment I thought, if every single guard would take care of not just security but our safety and satisfaction, I can only imagine how happy our city would be.

The place seemed bigger from the outside. As soon as we entered the hotel-type lobby, I was surprised to see that the reception was just a few steps from the door, this is what I felt since it was also photographed on a bigger angle in their website. But still, from there you could tell that though the place has been on business for years, maintenance is a top priority. The menu book and their furniture was almost brand new. Relaxing music and fresh air also filled the place. I couldn't wait to see our room and experience the massage beds.

We spent just around a couple of minutes providing our details at the front desk before we were immediately led to our room. This was when my smile expanded. Our room was compact but spacious enough for us and the treatment we will have. It has its own toilet and shower, a closet-type locker complete with robes, towels and slippers - the works. We also have our own private couple's Jacuzzi with a partial garden view. Good thing I was able to take pictures.

We were then given more or less half an hour to either take a shower or lounge in the Jacuzzi, we chose the latter. :) As instructed, we rang the bell when we were all set for the treatment, and a pair of masseuse entered the room with their R&R paraphernalia. We were advised that we are to get a massage prior to the body scrub which was a first for us. I tried to raise a hesitation since we were not used to it but since they were able to explain the process and objective confidently, we proceeded.

As expected they were careful about the strokes and pressure, consistently checking on the customer's preference. Although the massage was good, nothing was worth remembering, sorry. What stood out was the scrub right after. I didn't bother asking what the product was but it smelled like ginger with mint and the supposed beads were powder-like. The scrub formula did not feel like it has oil, it was dry but wasn't tough on the skin. It still gave me the feeling of being exfoliated minus the common smarting pain. After which our whole body was wrapped with something that's similar to an insulator for about fifteen minutes. I wanted to fall asleep since the scent and feel of the scrub plus the music playing was really relaxing, but I have this thing about sleeping in spas, it never happens regardless how much I want it. We took a shower after, sipped our cup of teas, checked out and headed to dinner.

Although the massage itself was not notable, and that we were not comfortable with the massage-scrub-shower sequence, there were a number of things that made the experience worth every cent of this deal:

• I highly appreciate their acknowledgement of the importance of time. More establishments should better understand that this is exactly the reason why people set appointments. I couldn't even think of anything more important in life than time.
• I loved our room and I will never forget that scrub. One of the best body scrubs I've given my skin over the years. Exfoliating, relaxing and very organic.
• Their service speaks for its price. For a spa like Suriya, you spend more not just for the treatment but the whole experience. That kind of comfort and luxury you get to enjoy for a few hours is priceless.
• Despite having paid just half the price, the experience we had as customers was world class. Every single one of them was nice, from the guards, to the receptionist, to the masseuse, their courteousness was commendable! It was a big deal for me because as you know, coupons and vouchers are everywhere these days and I find it very annoying every time I encounter a sort of discriminating scene when I use one. They see you as a budget conscious social climber than a potential source of referral. They don't get to realize that the objective of their proprietor was to advertise and establish customer loyalty through experience. I just hope every management team would get to realize and understand that thought.

Despite having said all that, I still don't find the service being worthy of its original price. I loved the place and their people, but it would take another similar deal for me to come back.

Suriya Spa
Address: Ortigas Center (Opposite Tiendesitas) Ortigas Avenue, cor. E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C5) Ugong, Pasig City
Website: http://www.suriyaspa.com ; http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Suriya-Spa/221491721305413

Date of visit: February 2012

Laxare Day Spa

Caution: this is gonna be nasty and I swear, not a single exaggeration.

The first time we visited the place was February in 2011 and it was just for nail services. I knew because the photo that my friend and I took is still posted in Facebook so I was able to verify. The place was almost brand new then, it was during the time when SM North EDSA main building was undergoing renovations and the 3rd floor had mostly new tenants right after, Laxare was one of them. We haven't heard of the place in the past (their facebook page barely have 15 likes) but since Let's Face It was booked, we took the risk. At the same time, we just gotten off of work, craving for some quick R&R and we badly needed to get our nails done, we didn't have the stamina to walk around and search for other options anymore.

And so we went, given that the place was pretty new, it was nice, like the only place of tranquility you can find in a busy mall. I had second thoughts though as soon as we saw their rates. Half of me felt that they seemed really pricey for a place that is not that known, the other half of me though wanted to think that, with the ambiance of their place, they could be another gem that we are yet to discover. I was wrong. We ended up paying almost one grand (php980) for a mediocre foot spa with pedicure and manicure, we even had to pay additional for the polish. Don't get me wrong, I have no issues with splurging every now and then, most specially when it comes to anything relaxation, but the experience should speak for its price and that one didn't.

I never dared to come back after that day. My friend Eva though, tried their massage one time and she was satisfied. She visited the place for more or less 5 times in total so far, not for anything but their massage. I have heard all positive feedback from her since, but also not for anything but their massage. Well, I should've realized that before deciding on giving it a try last Saturday.

I honestly have forgotten about our not so happy experience with the place from a year and a half ago, obviously. We agreed on getting a massage here since we needed to drop by the mall for brunch and to buy a couple of things as well, and I wanted to experience the massage that my friend kept coming back for. We arrived past lunch time, we were greeted by a pleasant receptionist and were told of the need to wait on queue for about 45 minutes and we agreed. We were asked to sit down while waiting on the exact same spot we were at when we had our nails done before. While waiting we were exchanging stories non stop as usual so we didn't notice that almost an hour has passed and we are now being asked to head to our respective massage rooms.

The moment we got to our rooms, I felt that something is not right with the smell of this dimmed lit cubicle. I don't normally inspect the condition of massage beds but for that moment, I sort of had a strange feeling of someone telling me to do a spot check, something pushed me to look for the switch and turn the lights on and so I did. I knew it, the room stinks because the bed was dirty. They don't seem to change the sheets after every client. There were dirt and oil marks on the light green colored blanket, while the edges of face hole of the white fitted sheet was also dirty and yellowish. There was a towel by the upper area of the bed that looks like an old rug, it's no longer white but almost grey in color. When I lifted it up, it was damp from I guess some wet hair which is of course not mine, and underneath is a pair of hand marks that looked really fresh courtesy of the last customer.

I called the attention of the first attendant I saw by the hallway. I showed her my findings and requested, let me say that again, I REQUESTED-NICELY for her to change the towel and sheets. I explained to her in details on why I was asking so, and pointed out each and every single thing that wasn't right with my massage bed. She immediately took off the light green blanket and got a new one. When she was trying to setup another blanket, she saw that the new blanket she was about to put was unclean too, she didn't proceed and instead, called the attention of another attendant, which so happened was my assigned therapist, to assist. When my therapist started placing the new blanket she got I asked if she could change the white fitted sheet as well since the face hole was already dirty and yellowish but she refused. She insisted to slightly cover the area with a new towel instead. Since the towel she used was way whiter than the other one, and I really just wanted to be done and over with the treatment, I just kept quiet and tried to move on. Even though I saw that the supposedly new blanket they placed got three drops of red paint stains for who knows why. On my mind, I was really close to asking if they have ever heard of the power of bleaching!

You have no idea how close I was to wanting to just leave, but when I told my friend that I am close to changing my mind, she was of course isn't OK about it so I ended up staying. I was then preparing to take a shower when I noticed that they didn't even provide a simple robe, and that the shorts they gave me were all torn and old. The shower room didn't have any hooks for your towel or clothes, which made perfect sense since it was extremely small. I'm talking about 3x2 feet in dimension small, (come on, given my very slim size!) you call that a shower room?! Furthermore, the shower head was literally broken in half, it was just tied by a number of rubber bands so the water flows from all sides of the head but the nozzles. Don't ask me how was I able to take a shower with that condition because I was so pissed to want to remember the whole thing. What I did, I let it go. At that point I already lost the urge to raise another concern.

Here comes the climax, the much awaited massage from this unpleasant therapist who kept on interrupting every small talk I had with my friend, impolitely jumping into our conversation and even tried to put up an argument with me on where is Toccarre Spa and whether or not Ventosa massage leaves marks, goodness! But in all fairness, the massage was pretty good. Not the best I've had but it was good. Their strokes and style is unique and my (rude) therapist seemed to have a good execution of what she is paid to do. I would tell her every now and then when she needed to increase or decrease pressure and would thank her right after she take note of it. She kind of had realized eventually that I wasn't a difficult customer after all. She even noticed that I started to sneeze a bit halfway through the session and I explained to her that I have allergies that's why I needed to make sure the bed was clean. Right after the massage she offered to get me tea, I said I preferred hot and thanked her. After which she placed the cup of tea on my bed (a smart move to prevent me from lying back down for a quick nap perhaps) and asked if she could leave a tip envelope, I said yes and thanked her again. I guess what I'm trying to say is, during our encounter for about an hour and a half, I said 'thank you' more than five times but the only single time I gotten a response was when I handed her the tip. I honestly do not understand why it's difficult for people who work in customer service to be nice to anyone anytime all the time. Like seriously.

Well if you think that my horror story is over, you're wrong. Given that the attendants did not appreciate my requests from earlier, I had doubts with the tea that she served. I switched the lights back on and to my surprise, there were a couple of lips/lipstick stains on my transparent mug like as if it was never washed from who knows when. I showed it to my friend and at that point I told her I was speechless. Right after I dress up I decided to raise my concerns with the pleasant receptionist. Well, she wasn't that pleasant after all. I was holding with me the cup of tea I was served with and I started by asking if she was the manager. There was no manager on duty that time so I asked for the contact number of the owner, she underlined the email address on the receipt and after that she did her best to ignore me. I pointed the lip stain on my mug and she took it, she whispered and said they would throw it instead "ma'am tatapon ko nalang po", I told her I am not interested in drinking anything anymore. Since she was obviously no longer paying attention and evidently ignoring me, I said my last thank you and decided to leave with the regret of not being able to take even a single photo since both devices I had were running out of battery.

I would probably not ask this much if they were an establishment that is not located in a major mall that gives which gives them an instant responsibility to exceed expectations, and if I was not asked to shell out PHP480 for the service. Because really for that price, and given how their place and menu was presented, these are the type of places where the bigger part of what you pay for are supposedly for the amenities and the whole customer experience. Yet, they have very poor maintenance and customer engagement skills. I called their branch in Alabang and learned that they are not under the same owner nor management. I tried to get a phone number for the owner of the SM North EDSA branch but unfortunately they don't have it, and I know the staff in SM wouldn't give me the number either so I didn't bother trying. Will I come back to the place, maybe. Should they decide to keep up with the number of customers they cater to everyday (given their location) and the consistent maintenance of their facilities, sure. My family and friends could attest to how much of a forgive and forget person I am. ;)

Like what I have mentioned on my last post, I've been everywhere, from the high end spas to some hole-in-the-wall massage parlors, so I know where I can get a way better customer service experience for the same amount, even much less. Consumers wouldn't care if you have the simplest shower room, so long as the shower heads are not broken. I wouldn't mind getting a massage from a lesbian (e.g. Nuat Thai), if they are polite and really talented. We would understand if you have the most compact massage cubicles so long as they are hygienic. Paying customers deserve their hard earned money's worth. They should be treated how they wanted to be treated. I have high hopes that after this post, Laxare SM North EDSA would start paying attention.


Laxare Day Spa
Address: 3rd Floor Main Building, SM North EDSA, Quezon City
Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laxare-Spa/144896968909869
Date of visit: October 2012

Callospa Resort

Spa and Massages are extremely popular nowadays. I guess if you even try to randomly conduct a survey, 9 out of 10 people would opt to visit the spa than the gym. This is probably why we see more of them than fitness centers. They are everywhere literally, there's a spa salon within walking distance from both my home and office.

With the number of spa and massage options we have today, add to that the countless deals you could find online, sometimes it's sad that these establishments again do not live up to good first impressions. A perfect example would be the place where I had my most unforgettable massage experience with, Antipolo city's Callospa.

I have been wanting to visit them again for the longest time, but since I got tons of other nearby options, the plan was continuously being delayed. I've been curious about how they are doing now. Last month I searched for bloggers / spa enthusiasts who have paid them a visit just recently. Since I was there a couple of years ago, the time difference can tell whether or not they have lost their serenity.

I got mixed reviews. So far, every single blog I've read seemed to be written by "paying" customers, if you know what I mean. It's just strange that some of them actually visited the place in almost the same season, but their views were different. It's a good thing majority of them are still on the positive note. My blog about their place got quite a number of hits through the years, this could be a proof that they have gained popularity, consumers are curious of who they are. Sharing with you an excerpt of the review I wrote in August of 2010:

It was just a couple of hours drive, thanks to the deceiving map from their website (lol). It was an interesting place. Imagine Fernwood Gardens with a pool and spa services. You would really feel like you're closer to nature. It was a resort/spa/events venue kinda place. There was even a couple who arrived a little after us for their pre-nups since the place was just perfect for weddings. 

We then altogether laid on their massage beds and experienced their Signature Massage (Swedish-Shiatsu-Reflex-Thai) and man, it was, hands down, the best massage you could ever imagine and wish for! Their massage was even the only part of the whole trip we enjoyed so much! 

If not for the massage, it wouldn't be worth the trip. Their amenities were not that well maintained, the place wasn't spotless clean, I've experience better-less expensive scrubs from other more maintained and freshly scented spas, plus, their manicure and pedicure gave us nothing but disappointments. But their massage - bow! :) Their Signature Massage is definitely the only reason why we are going back to this secluded place again.

For the complete story of our experience and a documentary-level of photos taken (lol) head to my multiply site while you can:
http://nicoledgoddess.multiply.com/photos/album/418/

I wish to be able to find the time to come back to the place, hopefully at least before the year ends. I have been craving for their signature massage since our last visit. I've been everywhere, from the high end spas to some hole-in-the-wall massage parlors the past couple of years, but I still have not found a place that could top their signature massage as of writing. Once I got that chance, I will quickly let you know how it went. :)

Callospa Resort

Address: Address: Marigman Road. Colaique, Antipolo City, Philippines 6007

Website: http://www.callospaweddings.com/; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Callospa-Resort/172992412731036

Date of visit: August 2010

1st of my 3rd. Happy 8th!

My third blog for my 8th year in Blogger. Wow. That was huge. I myself was surprised to find out that I have had this account for that long and that the last time I actually posted something was some four years of life lessons and experiences ago. So I thought it was just rightful to set the first two "naive" blogs to private - this is my version of saying don't bother and try to find them anymore. :) And since I am ashamed to admit that this move is due to some bad customer experience *wink*, allow me to list down the top reasons why I have finally convinced myself / followed my heart and decided to write again.

1. Multiply social network is closing down. It was I think sometime second quarter of this year when I received a notice in a form a newsletter that the social networking platform of my online sanctuary will be taken down and that their company will now be focusing on e-commerce a.k.a. online marketing. I was all negative about the news. Not only did the said site host seven years of life in almost 500 photo albums, I have started to use their site for blogging since I temporarily left blogger. I realized that I needed to get a brand new page to house my old and new rants and raves.
2. It is sometimes difficult to find reviews on things I plan to buy, see or experience. The type of consumers nowadays are smarter than ever and I am proud to confess that I have successfully left the impulse buying phase of life. We are now more careful on where our earnings go, and part of the precautions is making sure we get adequate information prior purchasing. Don't get me wrong, hats-off to those blogs and sites who have posted their views on dining, shopping, etc. and I consistently envy Travel bloggers for their amazing writing skills and priceless (literally and figuratively) experiences. What I would like to do is to contribute. I have done my share and would like to continue posting reviews so from now on, they will be posted here.
3. Experiences, both good and bad are meant to be shared. Admit it, given our erratically busy lifestyle, we would only spare a part of our ultimately precious time, to tell stories of either our best and/or worst experience. What about the mediocre, standard and average ones, aren't their stories worth telling? I have worked in a customer service culture for almost a decade now. I have seen most, if not all customer types and needs. Add to that, myself who might pass as one, if not the most observant consumer there is. We would want the product or service we get to be worth way more than how much we actually pay for. Sadly, we are limited to availability and cost, but we should not be limited to details too. Consumers need more honest and helpful sources of information on products and services - genuine experiences. We could no longer rely on endorsements, we need referrals. Good thing we're not far from getting there, thanks to Foursquare and Tripadvisor.com. If more and more internet users will consistently publish their views and experiences, a continuous improvement on our economy can be the bigger picture.
4. Customer Loyalty is the make or break of a business. It is amazing to learn about how more feasible it is now to jump-start a business. The question is how will you make it work - successful is a big word. I may not have a business of my own but I have seen a number of people succeed and failed. It is disappointing to see that a lot of these companies and establishments invest on advertising and promos to establish a name and be known but after which, there is no follow through. They do not acknowledge that these consumers, out of all their other options, decided to spend time and money to experience their product or service. It seemed like satisfying customers always come secondary to revenue. Given my optimistic self I always see situations as a glass half full. Through the years I have learned to only speak positive if possible. I am guilty of only acknowledging above average customer experience. Every time I would be faced with the opposite, I wouldn't say a word and complain. I would usually ask my husband, or friends, or whoever I am with to deal with the scenario instead, then I would just rant over and over about how bad the experience was, every given chance, to other people. Things are way different now. I would more often encounter a bad than a good experience and I have gotten really tired of it. Proprietors need to be aware and their management needs to do something about it. I hope soon they would realize that highly likely, their decrease in revenue is not due to bad economy, it's bad reputation.

I am looking forward to writing again. For now, we shall continue to exist, enlist, explore, engage, experience, enjoy, etc. :)