Hello everyone. I simply had to share this uncomfortable phenomenon and wondering if others have had similar odd experiences. I am a retired Imam and senior citizen who has been shopping at Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Department Store and HandyMan Hardware for several years. Mostly, my family and I have had good experiences in the mall. There have been some very professional and friendly sales associates who seem quite diligent about assisting customers as much as they can. They would help to find products and prices with a very positive enthusiasm that makes a customer feel very comfortable shopping there. Sadly, though those helpful associates are there, the in-store security are NOT of the same mind set. All too often, my family and I have endured security guards following our every move in the Robinsons department store and supermarket. Seems like no matter which aisle we are in, there is a security guard close by observing. At first, it seemed maybe just typical surveillance but soon becomes a puzzling annoyance. We tried to ignore it since we could not think any LOGICAL reason for the stalking behavior but it became painfully obvious that it was simply profiling and prejudice at its worst. We are of darker skin and clearly Muslim in religion and seem to be a magnet for their unsubtle prejudice. I do not know what could prompt such ridiculous profiling or surveillance since we are regular customers spending over 10k php per visit. Moreover, we are simple folks that have not caused any problems or instigated any issues in the store or market. I think we may have questioned a sale price or signage twice, maybe asked when a previously purchased product would be in stock again, and asked why credit/debit cards are handled differently in the supermarket and the department store. None of which should cause extra surveillance! So, finally we decided to address the uncomfortable behavior which management which seemed futile with no resolution. They did not even give us the courtesy of a face-to-face meeting- they called their head security guard and he handed us his cell phone and someone on the other end of the line basically says “…my guards are doing their job...” Well, maybe some may call it “just doing their job” but maybe they are not the ones who are being prejudicially profiled and followed about. Some may even call it paranoia but maybe some need to see the photos and videos we started taking these last few years for our own protection. We have photos are guards in our aisle and at our register for the entire time we are in the store. Extremely annoying and uncomfortable which probably is reason enough not to return and report this to happening to as many people as possible. Our friends and family here say that the Philippines is full of prejudice people and that may be but its ok to allow establishments to continue to practice prejudice and profiling against any particular skin tone, religious belief or way of life. We noticed others have shared their sad prejudice experiences to this post in other web locations as well as facebook. We just want to say Thanks for sharing and sad to know there is still this horrible element of prejudice and profiling disguised as "security". Though we have seen the ugliness of prejudice in other places, it was not as awful and blatant as Robinsons. Sadly, you will probably not be able to stop or challenge the senseless illogical prejudice with just sharing your experience. It may seem small in their large corporate bank accounts but we will make a difference by sharing our experiences and boycotting those establishments that refuse to recognize their prejudicial behavior and uncomfortable feeling they present. We have never returned to the store and will continue to shop elsewhere and encourage others to do the same. Happy New...
Read morePoor customer service. I've always been commending Robinsons, be it it Mla, Iloilo and especially The Galleria in Cebu for being the best mall. I was traveling with my husband from Cebu-Siquijor for the holidays. Dropped by Robinsons Dumaguete to shop appliances and groceries before our trip to Negros. We had to leave two luggage bags at the Supermarket Package counter as per the Guard and yet we ended up with an argument with the staffs. We were told they couldn't accommodate because of space issues when in fact if they only arranged the items there would've been spaces. I myself asked for alternatives as they need to reconsider cases that of tourists. The customer service staff wasn't helpful at all even my prodding as travelers and I do have robinsons member card. She said "no, nothing!" My husband gave them constructive reprimand as it was very stressful. The package counter staff then gave in. It was very disappointing and sad as I don't encounter such treatment in other Robinsons malls. So much for my first impression of my first time...
Read morePlace had been the only shopping mall in Dumaguete for years until City Mall opened. Kudos to Robinson's maintenance crew, the AC at this venue is blasting pretty cool air offering relief from the hot and humid temperature outdoors!!
The place anchored is by Robinson's grocery, hardware, and department stores. With a variety of shops - electronics, a drug store (Watson's), travel agency(ies), fashion, optical, dental, money changer, souvenir shop, cargo forwarder (LBC), etc.
The place also hosts a lot of government agency sub-offices (PRC, etc), SSS, etc
Looking to dine? It offers quite a lot of choices, from the typical KFC, Jollibee, Chow King, Mang Inasal .. to the chic Sans Rival, native Hukad, a Rib Shoppe, a Goldilocks kiosk .. the second level hosts a variety of food and drinks kiosks and a good sized food court with stalls offering themed food servings.
One can also get a massage on the second floor serviced by blind masseuses/masseurs - p150/30 minutes (as of writing).
There's a cinema...
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