I saw this posted on Globe’s Gcash website two weeks ago. I stopped using Gcash since I lost my last phone over a year ago, but I used to utilize it often for online purchases. Since my friends and I decided to start our own online business a month ago, I figured it would be a good idea to re-active my Gcash account again.
What further spiked my interest was this promo they have. Instead of paying P100 for a Gcash card, you can get it for free either by purchasing tickets at SM Cinema with Gcash or by subscribing to a postpaid plan. Subscribing to a postpaid plan is not an option for me since I can barely consume P500 a month on prepaid credits. So I clicked on the first option which is through SM Cinema. The link opened to this page here.
This wasn’t the exact page that appeared. It seems like they have extended the promo period. This promo was supposed to end by June 30th and since it was already the 25th that day, I called their hotline to verify some information. The representative on the other line confirmed that as long as I make the purchase during the promo period, I would be eligible for this offer. I just need to wait for the confirmation message from Gcash that would enable me to apply for the free card. Armed with this information, I proceeded to register my current Globe SIM to Gcash.
It took a while before I got to register through my mobile phone. I had to try a couple of times before my registration finally went through. Apparently, my previous Gcash account was interfering with my current registration. I had to find that out the hard way because I had to wait in line (sure there were seats and numbers but my point is, I had to wait a long time) the next day at the Globe Business Center in SM Marikina. It took around 20 minutes for my number to be called at the counter and when I got there, they had to send me over to Account Modifications at the Express lane because I can’t put money in my Gcash account yet. I waited another 25 minutes at the Express Lane as they tried to modify my account, and when they finally did, I had to go back to the counter again. Good thing they didn’t ask me to fall in line again.
While waiting for my account to be modified, I asked the personnel about this Gcash promo and she did confirm that purchasing tickets online from SM Cinema’s website would allow me to get a Gcash card for free. Purchasing the ticket went smoothly but I haven’t received any notification from Gcash yet. I called the Gcash hotline again as soon as I got home and asked how long it usually takes for the notification to arrive and the representative said it usually takes a week. I again asked, to make sure, that as long as I purchase the tickets during the promo period, I would be entitled to that promo and she said YES.
Fast forward 2 weeks later. I still haven’t received any notification so I called up their hotline again a few hours ago. This time the representative was telling me something else. I called twice and spoke to two different people (Mayfel Colasito and Satine Armada). This time, they were saying that only select subscribers are eligible for this promo; which is contrary to what appears on their website. Their website clearly states that ALL GCASH SUBSCRIBERS WHO PURCHASE SM CINEMA TICKETS FROM www.smcinema.com THROUGH GCASH DURING THE PROMO PERIOD ARE ELIGIBLE TO JOIN. It does say on the following line that an sms notification will be sent to qualified subscribers but it wasn’t clearly stated that being eligible doesn’t equate to being qualified. So we may have a loop hole here. Nonetheless, I called twice and asked a personnel at the Globe Business Center and they all told me the same thing – that buying a ticket alone would allow me to take advantage of this promo. Not once was it implied that this is some sort of raffle.
I have heard a lot of things about Globe’s “tendency” to not disclose things ie. those people who were billed exorbitant amounts for being unaware that they should manually switch from kb to time-based internet charging, and it annoys me that these little bits of misinformation is causing people too much hassle. I sure wish something can be done about this.
I am a big supporter of unconventional Pinoy movies. For years, almost every Filipino-made movie was as predictable as one of our grade-school science experiments where we put an onion bulb on a jar of water and wait for it to turn into a unicorn. Recently though, there had been an influx of entertaining Pinoy movies that, as much as I hate to admit it, made me interested in actually going to the theater to watch it, which is exactly what happened yesterday. 





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