Where's the vacuum?

That was the very first question that I asked my wife when I heard this story.


My son was confined at the FEU hospital for five days. The hospital was fully booked and the only remaining room was the Executive Suite Room which is two levels up versus my health insurance coverage.

We had waited to be admitted for more than an hour and when it was finally our turn I was informed that there is no more regular private room available nor any other room lower than my coverage except the Executive Suite Room. Given the late hour and the need to have my son checked, I agreed to check in to that room in the hope that there would be an available regular private room available the following day. No such luck.

In fairness, the room was spacious and except for the hospital bed, it did not look like a hospital room at all. There was a ref, a leather sofa, a four person dining table, a wash sink, and a personal bath with hot water. Oh, and did I mention that the floor was carpeted? Well it was! Such a nice room it was!

However, I can’t say the same in terms of services.

Having stayed there for 3 days, my wife noticed that no one came to clean up the carpet. So that’s three days worth of food crumbs, dirt, and what not. A tickler for cleanliness, my wife couldn’t resist calling up housekeeping to request that the carpet be cleaned. Expeditious action is definitely an asset of this hospital. Within minutes, here comes the housekeep. He tells my wife and son to cover their noses and then proceeds to sweep the floor. What?! Sweep the floor?! Where’s the vacuum?!

I should have seen this coming. On our first day, my wife would like to take a hot shower and found the heater was not working. Again, their maintenance people got there quick checked on the problem. When they where done, I asked what the problem was. According to the tech, “Mahina ang tubig sir kaya walang nakakarga sa heater.” What?! A suite room with a low water pressure? E manong pang sinisingil ka ng mahal?!

Hmmm…dapat yata e mag demand ako ng discount.