Don’t forget to don your helmets, armpads and gird your loins, the time is here for the twice yearly S&R Sale and the stores are jampacked with stuff. I will be in Cebu for this event, so will be battling it out there… a couple of years ago, a rather able-bodied lady cut line directly in front of us (we had someone in line since 4am and he was the sixth cart in line) just before the store opened and I went ballistic, but of course the store didn’t do anything and just allowed her to sneak in right under everyone’s protestations. Needless to say, she couldn’t look me in the eye the entire time she was in the store and a couple of dozen other people were giving her really beady looks as well. The last time an apparent Makati Village lady did that to me at the wet market on Christmas Eve, her lame excuse was that “she woke up that morning, prayed the rosary and never MEANT to cause harm to anyone else…” needless to say, she got an earfull and had to get to the rear of the very long line to pay for vegetables. I am not sure if it is a national trait, but far more pinoys seem to cut line with abandon and disregard others who have patiently waited their turn. I wish I were allowed to bring a low wattage tazer to zap such line-cutting morons when they are in action… And to S&R, I know at least some of you are reading this… prices for several goods have NOT dropped in recent years, as the peso has gotten much stronger, so I suspect you guys are raking it in a bit, or making hay while the sun shines, but the sale prices just bring you closer to the very competitive prices in the U.S. these days. The same comment, by the way, applies to car dealers whose prices have not fallen at all, despite car prices (for U.S.and European brands at least) now being significantly cheaper in peso terms… Anyone noticed just how expensive flat screen televisions are here? Double or triple prices in the West or Hongkong, even with taxes taken into account! The same seems to be true for several appliances like refrigerators as well. At any rate, happy shopping, the longest Christmas holiday period on the planet has truly begun… :)
31 Responses
Market Man, I am totally with you on the line cutting. Never tolerated it.
Sir, I agree with you on the car dealers. It seems like the car dealers really think that they have a monopoly on the local market.
Already went to S&R yesterday for the Early Bird treat… :)
I’ve noticed that most line cutters are of a certain “mature” age group.
Yes, that’s true…about the line cutting….just recently at the airport as we were putting our bags on the X-ray machine belt this woman suddenly put her bags in front of our bags probably thinking since she had 2 small kids in tow it gave her the right to do so! Ok, maybe they were running late for their flight but they should have said “excuse me or sorry” especially because of her haphazard way of putting their bags, our bags were displaced from the belt and fell down!oh well….we could just stare at her rudeness and clumsiness…we were not ruining our trip! :(
Yup, preparing to battle it out at SnR. :)
Wow. 4am??? This is my first year as an S&R member and I’m planning to just saunter in at about 330 on Wednesday. I thought I was prepared for madness and crowds but a line at 4am? And not even the first at that! Yikes.
ami says:
I’ve noticed that most line cutters are of a certain “mature” age group.
–> Yes, I’ve also noticed this basing on my first hand experiences of “line cutters.” Thank you MM for highlighting this shameful pinoy trait. I hope everybody gets to read this post.
MM, you’ve mentioned about flat screen TV. For my ministry in Quezon Province, I went ahead and sent (through a freight company here in Texas), a 48″ flat screen HDMI tv. Yes, I admit nabili ko ito during the Thanksgiving Black Friday, so yes, mura talaga siya. But even if I purchased it regular price, and adding the freight cost, mas mura pa rin than the price of TV dyan sa atin. And with better quality of a named brand. And I did not have to be in line, I ordered it on-line.
MM, here in the USA, very predictable,if you see anybody cutting line, it’s a Filipino.
How I wish we could go to this sale! Unfortunately, neither my wife nor I have the patience for crowds. And yes, line cutting is insanely irritating.
The line cutting is truly irritating – We have that here too in S. Tx even some people complains they stay put as if they don’t know .
I too dislike such undisciplined persons! I sometimes get in trouble (lol!) whenever I try to get those persons in line. Even old persons do it! I stood in line and waited for the bus for more than an hour, then this old lady just went up the bus and gave the excuse that she just came from the hospital worrying for the sick relative! She kept on blabbering about the confined relative and that the line was too long kaya di na raw sya pumila! Kahit marami na ang nagreklamo, some even shouted! Hay, nakakahiya! What an undisciplined lola!
BUT! I laughed while reading your post sir, ‘coz I’ve had the same experience too! :)
MM, hate these line cutters too. I went ballistic once in Rustan’s (Christmas lines) when a blonde, bouffant-hairdoed, very well known socialite in Cebu cut the line along with her alalay who was holding her grocery basket. The cashier just let her cut through as she was a “suki” and “she was always like that.” Nevertheless, i still told “Tita” (as she was known to everyone) that there is a very long line at that counter. She just shushed me and said “Ay day, i only have one little basket and im in a hurry, this should not take long.” Well Tita, im pretty sure that everyone else has somewhere to go to as well, but they all patiently fell in line.
I took a photo of the back of her very well-known and recognizable head as she pushed her way to the front of the line and posted it on my FB. The response of some “socialites” who saw my post: “My dear, we do what we want to do. We dont really care about what the masa thinks about us.” So there.
I was expecting that the comments would discuss shopping strategy but interesting how MM has hit a nerve regarding people cutting in line.
To Tracy… suggest you shop in tandem… one to already get in line for payment… the other to get the items from the aisles… pwede kayong magpalit after a few minutes para maka-rest ka … :) … Don’t ever, ever go to S&R alone during the sale period…
Yikes, I hate having to fight for a spot when I have to pay for something. But I have a soft spot for the oldies. Can’t they have their own cashier/line? They can’t endure that long. I would end up giving my spot for them anyways. Sheesh.
I was in a very long line once. And the person in front of me let a friend cut the line. So what I did was cut ahead of the pair of cutting friends. “Touche”
I was ready to pick a fight with them in case they complained but luckily they did not. I only wished the people behind me also followed suit.
“I wish I were allowed to bring a low wattage tazer to zap such line-cutting morons..”
So do I MM. So do I.
Oh wow, 4am?! So that’s how early some people are. Haha…. I’m usually there 6:45am and I bring lots of docs to read and sign while waiting in the car. Somebody else lines up for me.
Am usually out of the store by 9am b/c I do reconnaissance 1 or 2 days prior. This way, I already know where to go and what to buy since they re-shelve in different gondolas for the sale season.
This year, my haul was not that big b/c the early bird sale had lots of good things already. I bought more from the early bird than from today’s sale. The store already informed shoppers that the early bird prices will not go down for the member’s sale, as early as 1 or 2 weeks prior. I thought it was a good strategy to manage the turnout of the member’s sale, but apparently not! There was still a huge crowd today.
I hate line-cutting and am not afraid to speak my mind and shame line-cutters to the rear of the line (or to another line if they’re not especially thick skinned). BTW, I’m a 42yo heterosexual male.
I spent the entire workday at S&R Congressional today, may overtime pa! Got in line at 740am, left parking 530pm! (Partida pa yan kasi by 2 or 230pm nakapila na ako papuntang cashier) This is my first time to go during the morning. Past sale events gabi na kami pumupunta, usually in line for 1-1.5hrs before we’re able to get in. This time, a ridiculous 5.5hrs in line just to enter the store. Di na siguro ako uulit ng umaga at unang araw pa unless may pipila para sa akin.
Sa mga sumingit/sumisingit, ang kakapal talaga ng mukha nila. Daming style na-observe namin kanina. At meron pa sumubok “lagyan” yung guard sa exit para lang makapasok!
I had been at S & R, 2x on sale at Alabang ! The parking lot was really full at 9am. It seems the end of the world had came since everybody was buying lots of stuffs. The line was really great. Somebody suggested going to the Aseana branch since there were few people there. It was right. Never went on a 3rd sale again !
@Sandee: I had the same experience yesterday. I always go on the 1st day of SnR sale all these years (except the last one preceding this) but this is the longest I stayed in line just to ENTER.The previous years I always arrive around 9-10 am just as the 1st wave of customers are coming out with their haul and am usually finish by 1-2pm.But this time I was able to enter only at 2pm! and the line to the Cashier was also very long! I thought I was prepared.I don’t think I can do this again next time. :( It didn’t help that I was a bit anxious too to finish on time as we had dinner planned and tickets to The Phantom of the Opera last night.
@Cris Jose and @Gigi: you did the right thing! Next time I will just avail of the early bird treat.
I’m glad I came across this site! My family was supposed to go to SNR Macapagal last Wednesday night but at 7:30pm, (this is our first to go on a sale) the line was looping around the warehouse already so we didn’t bother going thinking if it closes at 9pm, there isn’t much we can buy if we get in at all. But I came across another site saying one cardholder can only bring 2 guests which is one less person than usual? I know that four of us used to go all the time when shopping but is this really the rule during this big sale? I hope anyone can clarify this before we go tomorrow.
@Betchay: We know some people who went during the early bird treat but some of the stuff we bought at the sale weren’t on sale at that time. Kaya nagpabili nalang sila sa amin ng items like Combos, Starbucks mocha frappe. During the early bird only the lite mocha frappe was on sale.
@sophie: I don’t know about the 2 guests per cardholder. Wala ako narinig na ganon. Besides, andami ko nakitang isang battalion eh iisa lang naman ang card. May nabasa akong blog, 5 daw sila pumunta sa sale (isang family lang ah). Just like the “one card, one cart” policy being announced by S&R personnel while we were in line. May nakakalusot pa din.
Here’s a pic, pampagana haha just kidding. Taken at 830am on Day 1. May extended portion pa ng line na di nakunan
@Sandee: Thank you so much for your response! I read that “Max 2 guests” from this blog: https://nappykaye.blogspot.com/2012/09/important-sale-reminders-from-s.html
which made me worry because my family of four is not going to have a nice time deciding who will be left out lol. I’m glad to hear you confirm that I can bring 3 guests. I also called SNR (took all afternoon for someone to pick up the phone) and they confirmed the same. I can only imagine the line in BGC (I can’t tell if that is the branch you went to) but in Macapagal, we didn’t bother to try because we were there 7:30 PM last Sep. 26. Never went to these big sales I didn’t know it was that jampacked. I hope you got good stuff! Enjoy the weekend and thanks again. :)
That line-cutting thing really is a pet peeve. It happened to us, too at the NAIA2. The culprit was a Pinay with a different colored passport travelling with her teenage Eurasian kids. None of the immigration personnel paid any attention to the fact that we were the first in line and were travelling with an infant and to make matters worse even found my dad’s tirade amusing. Couldn’t help but wonder if she did the same in her adoptive country.
@sophie: you’re welcome! We went to the Congressional branch. I heard from a friend that those who went to BGC branch at 7am last Sept 26 were in by 9am. Not sure how accurate the info is. The BGC branch is smaller than the others, especially the parking so it’s not really our first choice. Besides, we’re located in QC so Congressional is really the nearest. Yup we did get good stuff, particularly the items that ran out of stock during the last sale event – Herr’s cheese curls, Combos, personal foldable table (hindi naman lahat junk food haha). Also got some BOTO items.
Funny, I just made a comment earlier that I wont go back again at S & R when there is a sale but my sister went home early and we left the house after an early dinner. During the previous years, we usually arrive at around 9 am. This is our 1st time to arrive at almost 6pm. When we came, we were just in time to get a nice parking slot. The parking was really FULL. I think it is more organized now than the previous 2 sales I went. The problem is that pushcarts are usually left in the middle, I hope that people should be at least responsible to put their pushcarts on the side so that other people can pass by. It is like parking and leaving your car in the middle of the street.
I used to think that Filipinos are more respectful but after being in other countries, I found them more respectful of the elderlies. I came with my mom ( in wheelchair), my sister, brother-in-law and my 6 year old nephew. We just used 1 card. So there is no issue on how many a member can bring. The more the merrier. Some people let me pass, since I was navigating my mom’s wheelchair. However, there are some who really dont move. There will come a time that all of us will be elderly too. How I wish there will be parking reserved for the senior citizens. The comfort rooms of Shoemart and Alabang Town Center is better. There is a separate one for the elderly. In S & R, the designer of the comfort room didnt design it well for the elderly. Yes, they have the big one but it is so hard navigating the wheelchair inside the comfort room. The space is too small.
With regards to the products, I noticed that the empty ones are the comforters which was sold at 2,900 and the towels. The discounts for some items are 100 -250 pesos, most specially the foods and some items. We bought the medicine for my mom, Glucosamine, Calcium and Fish oil. With regards the things we needdaily , the canola oil was cheap, same with the creamer, dishwashing soaps, toilet papers.
We are luckier now than the previous 2 sales we had attended. It is more organized now, it is more faster, more cheaper items and really worth the trip.
Went on the first day (Congressional Branch) at 1:30pm, saw the line that snaked out into the blistering sun and just decided to leave. Went back the next day around 12:20pm and waited an hour to get in. No need to really get there on the first day since they do restock pretty thoroughly, what with those huge containers parked outside. Hope these passed legally through customs. Hehe.
Hi Sophie! Thank you for leaving that comment regarding the two-person rule. Please do note that the guidelines I had posted came from S&R Marketing. It is not something I made up for the blog. Also, as clarified by S&R on their Facebook page, Warehouse/ Store managers are free to “bend” the rules as they see fit. The guidelines are just that – guidelines. Even I broke the first one as I brought my son to the sale on its first day. ;)