Volcom Fail

Remember that raffle I won over a month ago? For some reason, the prize wasn't available until today. I was instructed by Mr. R. Arcilla, Volcom's brand manager, to drop by the Primer office at 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. I excused myself from work earlier eager to finally get the shorts that I picked at R.O.X last February 25. Each winner was allowed to select one item as prize. The Volcom personnel involved were supposed put it on hold until everything (paperwork I suppose) is clear and the prizes are ready for pick-up.

Upon getting to their office, imagine how disappointing it was when Mr. Arcilla asked me to select another pair of boardshorts because the one I picked was "hindi ma-pull out", whatever that means. I asked him if there was any way to get the exact boardshorts that I wanted which they said they'll reserve for me. Negative. He asked me to select one item among the ones they had on display instead.

There were racks of Volcom apparel in the lobby and upon checking the tags, everything was marked down, say from P3,000+ to only P1,000. I was basically asked to pick a prize from a bunch of marked down clothes which was fine until I couldn't find anything that I liked and that fit me as most of the items were only available in big (36, 38) sizes. Luckily, there was one in my size but in a design that I didn't really like. Frustrated, I asked Mr. Arcilla again if that was really all they had as it's the only boardshorts that fit me. He said yes and suggested I pick a shirt instead. "Nah," I responded.

While I'm glad to have won such raffle, I didn't like how they set the wrong expectations. I was so disappointed that after a few minutes of leaving their office, I sent a text to Mr. Arcilla asking him why exactly I couldn't get the prize that I initially picked. No response up to now.

I don't know how these guys from Volcom Philippines operate, all I know is this incident is not going to give the brand any favors. Too bad.

literarybulimia@gmail.com