Saturday, July 28, 2007
WAITING IN CEBU FOR CARGO
I was supposed to have returned to the US early Sunday, but had to stay on because of delayed cargo from Manila, which I must receive here in Cebu.
I will point fingers here because this kind of mistake is unforgiveable, especially for an outfit that charged an arm and a leg. Never, but never use Lane Movers and Storage in Manila! I trusted them, contracted with them a door-to-door service to ship from furniture and household items from Manila to Cebu. The manager, Dennis de Guzman met with me once, and when I paid him, never showed up again. The packers did show up - and they seemed efficient. But Dennis never showed the day of the packing. The other thing Dennis did that was annoying was to give an initial quote, without mentioning that crating and insurance would be extra - and the costs were large - so the final price was a shocker. Insurance was mentioned to me AFTER the packers had whisked away my things.
But here's the really unforgiveable part. I made it very clear to Dennis that I was scheduled to leave for the US on a particular date and I had to receive the cargo in Cebu before then. He understood me clearly. Then this is what happened. I was told I'd get the cargo on Monday, then it was delayed, then I was told it'd get in Wednesday, then Thursday, and meantime, I'm scheduled to leave Sunday. The recent report from Lane is that my cargo will get in Monday - tomorrow. I had to cancel my Sunday flight to the US, with great difficulty as it is high season, not to mention the upset to my schedule and my family's disappointment.
So let us see if the cargo arrives tomorrow.
Meantime, Lane blames Sulpicio shipping for bumping off my cargo. A nephew said Sulpicio does do this. It seems unthinkable that I contracted Lane to send my cargo on July 16, and here it's July 30 and I don't have my cargo. This is not international shipping.
My big advice: DON'T USE LANE MOVERS AND STORAGE AT ALL.
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
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