I hosted a birthday party recently for a very close friend and he invited a lady that was new to the group. I had a variety of drinks – red and white wine, scotch, tequila, vodka, different fruit juices, cognac – and all the sodas one could ask for. When this lady walked in, the first thing she asked for was a glass of champagne, Veuve Cliquot at that. I wanted to say to her that I didn’t run a liquor store, but being the hostess, I had to be polite. So I told her we only had wine and other drinks, no champagne. She took the bottle of wine in front of her, read the label, and looked at the vintage. She wasn’t pleased that I had Australian wines instead of French and was forced to drink what was there but she wasn’t happy that there was no Veuve Cliquot champagne. What is the rule on visitors being offered drinks?
– VIOLET
When a guest is offered a drink, he should ask, "What is available?" or "What are you serving, please?" And he should choose from what the host offers him. If you want champagne and you can see there is no champagne being offered, don’t ask for it. This lady showed bad manners by asking for a drink the moment she walked in and naming the brand of champagne she wanted. Serious social faux pas! I would be surprised if you would want to invite her again.
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Ink The Name Of The Computer |
Like many Filipinos, my computer is a big part of my life. I use the Internet frequently and I print out a lot of my document files and photos. In short, I am a frequent buyer of inkjet cartridges. For the first few times I did not mind the cost of replacing a cartridge, but recently I’ve realized how expensive they are (P1,200). At a certain point, I will have spent enough on my cartridges to exceed the price of my printer. I have tried looking for alternative sources of cheaper inkjet but it seems that the major manufacturers of printers have a monopoly on all the inkjet cartridges being sold. What’s worse is that when one of the three color inks runs out, I have to replace the whole cartridge even though there is still some of the black ink left to print documents. I wonder if I am the only consumer who feels this situation is so unfair.
– BERNARDO
I browsed the Internet and found some very interesting developments abroad. You are not alone and American consumers are furious about the inkjet cartridge situation. So furious, in fact, that a class-action lawsuit was reportedly filed against HP (the largest inkjet cartridge manufacturer) by three women who found that when they bought new printers, the color cartridge was only a half full of ink, without HP disclosing this. It appears that in the US market, HP sells two versions of its cartridge, one of which is called "economy." The "economy" contains one-half the ink of a standard one but sells for about $28 against $50 for the standard. The case is reportedly still in progress, revived by a Minnesota appeals court’s ruling last May. Another article I read reported that given the cost of inkjet cartridge, it effectively costs around US 20 cents per page (in the US) to do your computer printing. That means that once you have printed 500 pages, you have already spent $100 or the average cost of a discounted printer.
Apart from filing similar class-action suits which could cost a lot, you and I cannot probably do much except monitor what is happening in the United States, where the consumer is so conscious of his rights that ultimately, the big manufacturers come up with better alternatives.
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How To Tell Someone It’s Dutch Treat |
I belong to a group that loves to eat out and we always go dutch treat. Recently, one of our groupmates brought along a friend of his who is newly arrived from the States and needed to meet some nice friends like us. Since he is bright and personable, we agreed to his bringing along this friend. However, we all noticed that when we asked for the check, he excused himself to go the men’s room and didn’t come back until we had settled the bill. So we thought it was just a coincidence and we all decided to host him since it was his first time to join us. The second time around, he excused himself again and came back after we had paid. Nobody had the guts to tell him how much his share of the pot was. What should we do with a guest like this?
– MATT
The friend that brought him should have told him the rule, that everybody goes dutch. The friend should collect from him what the last bill was and pay back all of you your share. If he cannot do this verbally, he should write him or e-mail him a simple note: "Dear X, Every time my group goes out for dinner, we go dutch. The first time, we decided to host you as it was your first time. Your share of last night’s dinner is P500. Please drop your check or your cash at my office or residence...Best regards."
If he doesn’t pay up his share, drop him from your group as he is obviously a freeloader.
Recently, my husband and I hosted a sit-down dinner in a hotel restaurant for our wedding anniversary for 30 people. We reserved a private room with three tables for 10 people at each table. The problem was one of the guests brought along a friend (who was not exactly a plus factor to our dinner) without advising us. I was so furious but had to be gracious and asked the waiter to add an additional chair. Would it have been impolite of me if I had told my friend that her friend was not expected and therefore had no place at our dinner? That was what my husband wanted me to do as he was more furious than I was!
Yes, it would have been impolite of you if you had done that. This depends on your personal relationship with that friend who brought the uninvited guest. If you are not close enough to her, and don’t care if she never speaks to you again, then you could have done that. The rule is: If an invited guest has brought an additional person without advising the host, the host is not obliged to entertain the uninvited guest. If it’s a seated dinner, the invited guest should be aware that there are only so many seats, and that he should be prepared to be refused.
Mail your questions to Mayenne Carmona at Stargate, 6th floor, Jaka Bidg., Ayala Ave., Makati.
