Awful, Awful Dining Experience

What I thought would be a nice evening turned out to be well.. not quite. At least not in the beginning.

The great thing about getting Myozyme is that now it’s allowed me to regain some of the things I’ve not been able to do. I now have more energy to go out again and enjoy life.

We went out to celebrate my brother’s birtday. We were going to eat at a restaurant called Buma at Tiendesitas in Ortigas Center. My mom and dad have ate there before and said that the food was good. My brother wanted to try it out.

I’ve been using a “Bi-Pap breathing machine”:http://www.cpap.com/productpage/respironics-synchrony-st-bipap.html 24/7 for several years now. I have it attached to my wheelchair. I also run it with an external battery although it can also run via electrical current.

When we got to Buma, we were seated at our table. We then asked if we could plug in to the electrical outlet to conserve my batteries. The waiter said yes. He then informed us that they’ll be charging us for the use of the electric outlet. My parents said sure. We were then told that it would cost 500 pesos per hour (a little less than $10). What the hell…

My dad went to talk to the manager to clear things up. It could have been just a mix up. No dice. The manager said that it was policy. My dad tried to negotiate a fair rate. Say 50 pesos an hour ($1). No luck there.

My dad went back to our table mad. He told us that we were leaving. He had our orders cancelled and we went to the restaurant next door.

Wow.. How uncompassionate can some people get.. I mean I’d understand if we were plugging in a laptop, celphone or whatnot. But a breathing machine?!?! Have a little heart. It’s not as if we’re going to make money of the electricity. Plus the Bi-Pap doesn’t draw that much power. Certainly not that much to warrant that kind of fee.

In the end we just ate at another place, Mario’s Kitchen. They were also going to charge us for electricity but at least at a reasonable 50 pesos ($1) an hour. After we finished dinner and were about to pay for the food. The waitress told my dad that they decided not to charge electricity anymore. My dad was happy. At least some people still had compassion in them. My dad left a tip for the waitress.

Rest assured my family will not be eating at Buma again.. Not until they apologize and promise not to treat customers like that ever again..

14 Replies to “Awful, Awful Dining Experience”

  1. Wow! 500 pesos per hour?? What were the ones who made that policy thinking? I’ll remember not to eat there.

    I’m glad there are still nice people around.

  2. P500 per hour!!! That’s outrageous/sinful, even if you are plugging a laptop, and doing it for business!!! I’m never eating there, too!

  3. To hell with their policies. Greedy capitalists! I had dinner at Buma once, it’s a good place but after reading your story, I’m not going back there, ever.

    Keep up the fight! 😀

  4. I just read the article about you in the Star. The url of your blog was there so here I am. I turned 50 a couple of months ago. You’ll be turning 29. Your life story inspired me this morning. Thank you.

  5. hi. i just read the article written by nina corpuz in star.. and so i went to an internet cafe and log in to your blog. it amazes me so much of the courage youve shown all these years. i too am afflicted with a chronic skin disease which in some way hinders my everyday activities but it is not comparable to what you are suffering right now. suffering, i guess, is to me a cruel word. but sometimes we need to experience it to see the bigger picture. anyway, thanks for bringing your story throguh this blog.. hang in there …

    jun

  6. I logged in because I read an article about you written by Nina Corpuz. Actually, it was the picture of you when you were little boy that caught my attention. Your “journal” is very inspirating and leaves me with more hope as I keep on reading. You are a constant reminder that there is always a reason for living. My prayers are with you..

  7. You are an inspiration to many. God bless you with divine healing grace.
    That story about Buma…well, bummer indeed! Now we are properly adviced not to patronize that restaurant.

  8. hi john, this is miss ness, remember me? I taught you english in kostka? howarya? i want you to know that i have been reading great things about you – – in my mind, you will always be the quiet but funny guy who sat in my english class sometime ago. I will always pray for you. Apir!

  9. Kudos to you Juan for keeping up the fight..And for the managers of BUMA restaurant-Im not going to dine on food prepared by heartless, selfish, and inhumane hands..SHAME ON YOU.

  10. Hi Juan! It’s my first time to read your blog. I wanted to let you know that I admire your courage. Keep on fighting! Keep the faith! My prayers are with you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *