I DO not like shopping. More so during the Christmas season. I find it tedious doing a shopping list, much less going out and braving the hordes of shoppers jockeying for the best prices, or rummaging along rows and rows of endless aisles looking for the perfect gift for family and friends. I would rather stay in the safety of my room and just do my work, watch a movie, or read a book. Especially now that the pandemic has made it risky to go out.
I opened my phone and started browsing through mobile shopping apps hoping I could do my gift shopping online. However, I quickly discovered that the delivery time was too long, and I was not even sure if the pictures of the products shown were actually the ones which would be delivered. And based on the comments and ratings of the items I wanted, I changed my mind.
Fortunately, someone gave me the idea to try retail giant SM’s Call to Deliver service by calling #143SM (#14376).
I was wary at first because having a personal shopper is new to me. So I found out more about it on their Facebook page. I was impressed with what I read about it, but I still wanted to know more so I started a chat with them on their Facebook Messenger hoping I could talk to someone. Right away, it asked me what I wanted, so I clicked “I’d like to buy something” and then it asked me for contact details so they could refer me to a personal shopper who will message me through Facebook Messenger or Viber. I was still hesitant but I gave the needed information and waited for them to contact me.
While waiting, I clicked on “Can I see your catalog?” and it gave me a link to an online list of items by categories. Now this was something I could work with. I discovered that I could make a complete shopping list right out of my phone using their catalog. And true to its motto, The SM Store has so many options for gifts for just about anyone. I started taking screenshots of what I wanted so I could tell my personal shopper which items to pick.
After a few minutes, a personal shopper named Grace called to introduce what the service was and asked me how she could assist me. I told her I wanted to get some items from the online catalog so I sent the screenshots of what I wanted and she started looking for them. Later on, she messaged me that some items were already sold-out. I was dismayed but she sent me alternative items similar to the ones I liked. So we exchanged screenshots until I settled on what I was finally getting.
I was impressed because the items she recommended were actually better than the ones I initially wanted. But at the same time, it was like I was also with her throughout the process of choosing the items. There were even some items I wanted but were not in the catalog, so I asked Grace if they had something similar. One of the items I was looking for was a dog bed. Surprisingly, she sent me pictures of what they currently had in the store. They were too small for my dog but I was amazed that I could even ask her to look for other items.
After getting everything I wanted, I verified with Grace the items in my shopping bag and asked for the total. She sent me a picture of the provisionary receipt and then asked me if I would like to send over some of the items to the gift recipients. I was thrilled. Not only did I have a personal shopper, but I could also ask them to deliver the gifts to the recipients for a minimum fee. Now that is service which is literally and figuratively going the extra mile.
You can pay for the items online using your credit card, debit card, online bank transfer, or your digital wallet (like GCash, PayMaya, GrabPay). Now that is convenience all the way. You can call them daily from 10 am to 7 pm, with a delivery cut off at 3 pm. The SM Call to Deliver Service is so easy to use that even someone like me would want to use it. True to their brand, SM has got it all for you.