From civic-minded lady Chari Bagatsing:
• Manufacturers would think of how to improve their production. And they’d consider the impact of their goods on humanity, on the environment, on our health and well-being.
• The government would be consistent in enforcing fair trade laws protecting consumer rights.
• My fellow consumers would be more aware and vigilant regarding such issues as:
1. Checking the implementation of the price tagging law.
2. Monitoring weighing scales, especially in the market.
3. Being more cautious in checking expiration dates.
• Consumers would not be influenced by advertisements and promos. Instead, they would be more concerned about the product’s real benefits.
• Local manufacturers would improve their products, especially fabrics. I have noticed that clothes coming from China, Bangkok, Vietnam have flooded our market because manufacturers of good fabric and prints are not available to our designers.
• Food manufacturers would be more conscious about developing healthy products that cater to people’s well-being.
• People would learn something useful from watching TV. There’s so much trash in media today.
From Lifestyle sub-editor Tanya Lara:
• Lower parking rates and enough parking slots.
Every time I venture out to the mall in December, I fear being shot, run over and assaulted by angry drivers who can’t find a parking space. Malls are morally responsible for all the deaths and accidents that happen because of their shortcomings.
• Better training for sales people.
When you’re in a store, you expect people behind the counter to be able to answer your questions. Often, they just give you a blank stare. We wish that businessmen would not scrimp on training for their people. We wish businessmen would not fire them after six months even before they know the answer to the oft-asked question, "Miss, saan ang banyo?" We wish businessmen would take consumers who complain seriously and not think of them as merely pests.
• Nutrition facts for everything that’s canned, packaged and wrapped.
I’m diabetic. I look at the back label for sugar content whether on chicheria or fruit juice. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that I can’t drink soft drink because it contains the equivalent of seven tablespoons of sugar – but I want to know how many grams of sugar it contains anyway. Supermarket foods are rarely labeled unless they’re imported. Don’t we have a law against that? Even otap should be labeled.
• Customer hotline for every mall, service provider and institution.
The reason why people get into fights with the wrong people (like shoppers picking a fight with security personnel) is that they have no outlet for their complaints. For instance, if you want to complain about stinking bathrooms and escalators that don’t work, who do you call? So shoppers are always in a bad mood.
From PR lady Roseann Coscolluela-Villegas:
• I hope for peace in the world. And that this peace would continue to dwell in our hearts and in our minds. I wish that the crime rate in our country would go down and that everyone would turn to prayer for solace.
• I wish for a life filled with serenity, good health and prosperity. These I wish most for my family, most especially my husband Val, my immediate and extended family, my friends and colleagues.
• I wish for good governance so our country would prosper.
• I wish for a cure for cancer and other dreaded diseases.
To cap her Christmas wish list, Roseann enumerates the following: a pair of diamond stud earrings (about 3 karats would do), a chance to visit Paris with her husband, and a vacation house in the mountains, preferably in Tagaytay or Baguio.
From Dimpy Jazmines of Globe: "I wish taxis have complaint hotlines painted on their rear so holiday shoppers who are turned down would know where to report these erring taxi drivers."
From newshen Linda Bolido: "Full implementation of the Consumer Act; informed, enlightened and empowered consumers so manufacturers would not treat them shabbily."
A merry – and complaint-free – Christmas to all!