Get in line, and get used to it
I was calm through this.
So I'm in the province for a few days with my pinay. We are having the usual lovely time. Her youth, vigor, and continuously growing appetite had earned her a new phone and some shopping. We arrived as the mall opened, and she had previously picked out a new smart phone and was showing it to me at the mall. I was surprised at the relatively inexpensive price and we purchased it using my CC. As the deal was wrapping up I asked the clerk to make me a photocopy of the hand-written receipt. She said that they had no copy machine, and instructed me to the mall's department store for a scan. I left the pinay at the phone company wrapping things up (she was looking at some other stuff) while I wandered next door for a photocopy.
I handed the receipt to a male clerk and asked for one photocopy. He handed it to a lady clerk who was operating the copy machine and they spoke the local language for 90 seconds. It took him 90 seconds to explain that she needed to make one copy. She put the original on the glass, pushed START, and made one copy (that took 5 seconds). Keep the time (s) in mind here. She handed me the original and copy and printed "1. 75 xx" on a piece of paper. I pulled out a p50 note (my smallest) to pay the under-2-pesos price, and she directed me to a separate payment counter. Of course. The mall had only been open for 25 minutes and I noticed about 25 people in line at the payment counter, with only one register ringing items. Hmmmm. What to do? Hand the copy back and say 'No thanks', walk away, and have the hotel make a copy for me in a heartbeat? Why yes, that should be the call. Just then she grabbed the copy from me and pointed out to the other guy that there was a smudge on it. I didn't care. But she insisted that she re-copy the original (more time spent).
I was not thinking straight, and I got in the long line. I read on my phone for a few minutes, and then it became a bit like torture. I watched the sales clerk ring one item at a time (not by scanning, but by entering the price by hand). Several customers had oodles of items (it must be back-to-school time, every pencil must be entered separately at the register). 10 minutes on I had closed half the distance to the register, in order to hand over 1. 75 pesos. Tick, tock. One's blood should boil, right? I just didn't have a fight in me, so I just waited. 20 minutes. Bit like torture defined: Its like sticking a sewing needle into one of your testicles, but just 1/20th the way. Every 60 seconds, stick it in 1/20th more. Painful, but in drawn out doses.
I could see my pinay way down the hall still talking to the phone sales lady. When I finally paid for my item and got my change and receipt, there is a lady sitting next to the sales clerk. She bags things, smiles nice, staples the receipt to the bag, says good morning, etc. She wears a different outfit than the other floor personnel so I assumed she was management. Seemed pleasant. Ma'am, can I have a moment? I'd like to discuss an issue with you, ok? Right away she and the sales clerk stopped dead and looked nervous, like they had done something wrong. The sales clerk said "I think the change is right sir. I can count it again". No sweetie, I wanted to find out how it could take 25 minutes to get and pay for a single p2 photocopy.
More nervous stares. Nothing moved. I asked the second lady, the one in the different outfit, if she was management. "No sir. " Ah. Well, can you call a manager here for me? "No sir". Ahhhh. Why not? "No sir. We don't have manager here". Both girls were staring at me like there was about to be a fight. Everyone in line was staring. Nothing moved. Really ladies. A big department store with no managers? "No manager". Well, nothing to lose here, and my (mild) fight was back in me: Ladies I can stand here until you get security or a manager. Or anyone. "OK fine. You go upstairs and find manager. You make a complaint me". Oh, no ma'am, I don't want to make a complaint about your performance. I want to complain about the long wait. "Then you go. You go there". OK ladies, you get back to slowly doing. . . What you do. I'm off.
I went to the phone place and grabbed my pinay. "Where are you Westy? I'm starting to worry". I gave them the short version. The phone-store saleslady said to go upstairs and find the management office to file a complaint. So off we went upstairs. You'd think it would be easy to find the Management office, but think again. We asked clerk after clerk at the department store where the Management office was, and mentioned I wanted to make a complaint. They pointed in this direction, then that direction, they called other mall employees over to confirm the location. Finally we reached the Management office, in the far back corner. Just a door and a security guard. Employees walked in and out. The guard confirmed that yes, this was the management office. Well, I'd like to file a small complaint. "Really sir". He said that like nobody had ever done that before. Yes, son, yes. "OK then". He picked up a phone and talked to someone for 2 solid minutes. Then he looked at me and said: "Complaint, yes?" Yes, stud, yes. Another solid minute of talk on the phone from the guard. "Sir what is your complaint?" Wait time downstairs, and one other item. Any manager will do. Well, another solid minute of phone chat from the guard. "Sir, they will not speak with you. OK?" What? I walked all over the place looking for management. Isn't this their office? "Yes sir. But they won't hear a complaint". He hung up the phone. "Sorry sir".
Well, if you want to get a cano's neck hair up. I said politely that I would not leave until I could find a way to file a complaint. He talked to my girl for 2 minutes. Then he got back on the phone and talked for 90 seconds or so. "So, you want your 2 pesos refund. Correct?" No. I never mentioned a refund. Neither did my pinay. "Yes she did sir. " I looked right at her and asked if she told the guard that I wanted a refund, and she nodded yes. Jesus (stick the needle in just a bit farther, please). I re-explained that I was complaining about the wait time, and the fact that nobody seemed to know how to find a manager. "Ohhhhhh. Wait sir. " he talked on the phone for another minute. "OK. You can make a complaint if you want at the complaint desk. Down one level". Wait, wait. You mean there's a COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT, and nobody bothered to mention that? "Yes sir. Just I find out about it also on the phone". Hahaha OF COURSE!
We walked towards the escalator to go down. For fun I asked the first passing saleslady: Who would I speak to if I had a complaint about the products or service here? "Um, I don't know. Wait". She called over another, then yet another clerk. They talked to my pinay. They spoke for a moment and my pinay told them that we'd been to the management office. It was like we'd cured cancer, suddenly they were all smiles. "Yes sir. You would go to the management office". Jeez.
Soooooo. We get downstairs to a desk marked "Complaint Desk". I sit and relay the situation to a nice lady. Her brow furrowed. She seemed genuinely interested. "So you have two complaints. First, too long to pay for copy. Second, the lady there say there is no management?" Spot on girl. "That lady also did not direct you here to me?" Correct. "We have a policy to direct unhappy customer to my desk for complaints. We imbestigate all". Oh, sweet woman, the lady at the sales counter was not the only one who didn't direct me to you. Most every employee I've spoken with in the last twenty minutes didn't direct me to you when I mentioned a complaint. "Really. Do you remember who they are?" Yes. Sherrie, Claudine, Monica, Samantha, Esmi and Langa. Several others. Also the security guard at the management door didn't know of your desk until a few minutes ago. If you have that policy, why didn't the manager on the phone with the guard originally tell the guard to send me to you? He asked questions over the phone and then tried the brush-off.
"Really". She was writing names as fast as she could. "We have complaint policy!" She herself, the Complaint Manager, seemed to have a complaint. THIS is why IMFITP. She picked up the phone and called somebody. No kidding, she talked for 90 seconds on the phone to bring me this: "OK. Upstairs at the checkout counter. There is 2 registers. Each register must have 2 employees, its policy. On one register we have only 1 sales clerk so we cannot operate 1 register. So we only operating the other register this morning. That's why its so long the wait. You understand". No. Really. Really no. How does that diminish the wait complaint? "I don't understand sir. You have long wait because we don't operate 2 registers". Well if you had both registers operating I would have had a 10 minute wait in the payment line, not 20 minutes. "Yes sir". Isn't that still way too long to stand in line to make a p2 payment? Longgggg pause and a stare. "Well. Yes. It is. But understand all registers must have two employees".
She said that she would talk with each of the employees that I had mentioned, and also one of the managers in the management office (whom the guard was speaking with) to find out why they did not direct me to the complaint desk. I said that I would be back tomorrow to follow up with her on her 'imbestigasyon'. Of course I didn't go back.
You know, I'm in the province being lazy with my girl. I didn't want to have to go to her house again and buy lunch for everyone (again), so the idea of shopping and hanging in the mall a bit wasn't bad. What's an extra hour or so?
Making Lemonade from Madness
[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2053966]*** So I'm in the province for a few days with my pinay. We are having the usual lovely time. Her youth, vigor, and continuously growing appetite had earned her a new phone and some shopping. ***
I was not thinking straight, and I got in the long line. I read on my phone for a few minutes, and then it became a bit like torture. 10 minutes on I had closed half the distance to the register, in order to hand over 1. 75 pesos. Tick, tock. One's blood should boil, right? I just didn't have a fight in me, so I just waited. Bit like torture defined: Its like sticking a sewing needle into one of your testicles, but just 1/20th the way. Every 60 seconds, stick it in 1/20th more. Painful, but in drawn out doses. ***
She said that she would talk with each of the employees that I had mentioned, and also one of the managers in the management office (whom the guard was speaking with) to find out why they did not direct me to the complaint desk. I said that I would be back tomorrow to follow up with her on her 'imbestigasyon'. Of course I didn't go back. ***[/QUOTE]Condolences, Westy, most of the rest of us mortals have suffered through a number of similar painful experiences, and can empathize with you.
For what it's worth, I have a good old American friend who retired to the Philippines 35 years ago, and who started and has run for many years a thriving, low-overhead business here. He still gets pissed off (in a manageable way) at similar daily experiences, and swears at the execrable traffic. He calls the Philippines "The Land of the Not Quite Right" among other things. But in his more philosophical moments, his view is as follows: Because things don't work efficiently or effectively, the country has not progressed economically as fast as many other countries in Asia. Because of this depressed economic situation, foreigners with some money are still attractive to Pinays.
In other words, if things worked efficiently and effectively here, and if the economy were booming, the local women would not find us so attractive any more. Given this perspective, we should be thankful for this Kafkaesque condition here.
I know, this may seem like a BS rationalization. But, still, it is food for thought.
As I posted just a few minutes ago, don't try to do all the small stuff yourself. Try to delegate as much of the small stuff as possible. Pay an eager local person some modest (to us) sum to be your "gofer". They will be happy, and you may be happier too. Lean back and maximize your time relaxing and enjoying the lovely young lasses. That's the reason, after all, that most of us are here.
Good luck!
OM.
The Business Model in the PI and its Origin
[QUOTE=MrWoolyBooly;2054076]I keep telling myself that it's a rational business decision weighing the cost of labor over the cost of whatever automation they'd pay otherwise. I have no idea. Drives me crazy in any small store to have them write with pen on paper an itemized receipt on carbon paper. Regardless of (in) efficiency, there is simply no culture of hustle on the job. While in the Philippines we need to just psychologically get over it or leave. [/QUOTE]The commercial / accounting system in retail businesses which has been the subject of recent posts. Here are a few more observations on this issue.
(1) Only one person handles the cash register which will make it harder for employees to skim money.
(2) The wait staff are assigned numbered charge slips which they use for each transaction. This will discourage skimming and pilfering.
(3) The system has deliberate redundancies which seem to be aimed at preventing employee theft.
(4) The inefficiencies in the system never seem to be intended to serve the consumers' interests but rather to protect the owner from his own employees.
(5) The method of transacting business seems to be nationwide and not just in Angeles or Cebu. It is probably taught in accounting programs nationwide where its practices are integrated into an entire business model. It is part of the national psyche as much as is driving on the right side of the road.
(6) Where did the PI get this system? Is it is a throwback to Spanish colonialism? Did the Americans teach them this business model along with instruction in English? Or is it a homegrown Philippine chestnut?
American business practices underwent a revolution in the 1940's with the promulgation of the Uniform Commercial Code. This new vision of contract law call Legal Realism did away with Legal Formalism where a contract could be voided by peccadillos like forgetting to put in the date. Legal realism looked beyond the form of the contract to the actions of the contracting parties to find evidence of things like the effective date of the contract. Did Legal Realism come too late be implemented by the PI? Interesting question.
