Well, for me the answer to the question asked in the title is clear, I believe that the short term should always be sacrificed for long term benefits. Sometimes, though, businessmen think more about what they can do today that will benefit the coming days, rather than what would be helpful for the company a year or 5 years down the road. This is, in my opinion, quite short sighted.
I got thinking about this because of John’s excellent article about Customer Service in the Philippines, and also Tina’s comment on that post, saying that it was a training problem that caused some of these Customer Service problems to kick in. I couldn’t agree with John or Tina more. They are both right on target. But, for many of our readers, I believe it is possible that they don’t know why this happens the way it does in the Philippines.
When it comes to jobs like store clerks and such, did you know that the employees in those types of jobs are almost exclusively hired on a 6 month (or less) contract? The reason for this is because under Philippine labor laws, any employee who works 6 months or less is not considered a “regular” employee. If you get a job where you are classified as a regular employee a lot of extra benefits kick in. For regular employees, the employer must provide health insurance (PhilHealth), SSS (Social Security System), Pag-Ibig (a housing benefit) and other such benefits. Basically, I guess that it adds probably at least 50% to the normal cost of a salary.
So, the employer has a choice, he can hire people who will work for 6 months or less, and pay them a daily salary, or he can hire them on as a regular employee and pay them the daily salary plus additional benefits that will increase his out of pocket costs by about another 50%. For most employers here, the choice is clear. It’s 6 months maximum term of employment.
Now, let me be clear, I am talking about jobs at the supermarket, flipping burgers, that kind of thing. When it comes to highly skilled people like engineers, managers and such, those people are generally hired for the longer term.
So, as John said in his article, customer service here is indeed poor. As Tina said in her comment, it is largely due to a lack of training. The people working in the stores genuinely want to help you, but often times they simply don’t know what to do, or how to help you. Why doesn’t management train these people to do it right? Well, think about it. To really train somebody well, it could take 3 or 4 months. I am not talking about 3 or 4 months of doing nothing but training, but basically training while they are on the job. There are so many different situations that would need to be taught to the employee that several months would be required before they would really be a good practitioner of customer service. Well, if it took 4 months, and the person was only going to be working for 6 months, I guess the management figures that it is a waste of time. That, in my opinion is short term thinking.
So, what would be a good solution for this? Well, I think I have one. Firstly, for an employer who wants a well trained staff – forget about the 6 month contract. Hire these people on as regular, permanent employees. This way, they can gain years of experience, good training, and offer assistance to the customers. I know that I prefer to shop at places where I am treated well, and assisted in a way that I like. What about the additional costs to the employer? Pay them! For one thing, if the employer wants to stay within his budget, simply go with a smaller staff. There are way too many people working in the stores now anyway. There are lots of employees, but none of them know how to really offer customer service! Cut the staff a little bit, train those who are remaining, and watch the customers flock in.
In a lot of cases, the stores here are full of people who don’t even know about the products they are selling! They don’t know if their store carries certain items or not, because they have not been around long enough to know.
I believe that making a move to permanent employment would serve a two-fold benefit in the Philippines. First, and most obviously, it will provide for better customer service in the stores. More importantly, I believe it would lead to a more stable society in this country, a place where earnings could increase a bit and people will be happier. Imagine always knowing that your job is almost over and you will be looking for another job soon. Providing a better sense of stability, and a better wage for the workers can only have a positive effect on society in general.
What do you think?
Interesting thread. I guess I a real contrarian. I find the customer service in the Philippines outstanding in many cases. Of course, I ignore the US-franchise food outlets in the mall whenever possible. I disliked them in the US, why patronize them here?
As far as the speed of the checkers at Hypermart? Apparently there's a lot of difference in how one perceives the Philippines when one has just shifted his/her "gotta earn a living' mentality from one country to another … I'm retired, I came here because I wanted things laid back. I can send someone to the store if I want to, or I can walk a few feet to a sari-sari store and buy something or I can call and have supper delivered and not even worry about the lines at the store.
How about having your doctor's cell phone number in your phone so you cna text him night or day? or the doctor's office secretaries number so when you want to see the doc, you text and she texts back when it's 15 minutes before he can see you … so you walk right in with no waiitng … when's the last time you saw adoc in the States when you didn't need to beg for an appointment in 2 week's time … and then wait. (and by the way, I pay 300p per office visit for this guy, same as my aged MIL does, so it's not a case of paying the "Long Nose tax" as so many Westerners think)
Or your own clerk at the bank … which is in the mall, open 7 days a week … just walk up to her desk and she'll fill up the forms, put them in the cashier's line and give you the receipts when the transaction's done … I'd like to see service like that at my bank in the US.
Or the newspaper guy who came by to collect this morning … "I didn't leave you a paer yesterday because I noticed your car was out and it looked like rain … do you want your Saturday paper now, ot just deduct it from your bill? I never got service like that from a newspaper carrier in the US … half the time you'd come home from vacation and find a mountain of wet papers in the drive, attracting thievs _and_ a bill for them.
So I won't be spending much time suggesting ways for the Philippines to improve customer service, I really do like the kind I get now … and I don't want it "Americanized", thanks.
Bob
Seems like john is an expert on supermarkets and so we can appreciate his comments, but like Dave says not all is wrong, anyway we all (or most of us) appreciate Davao and Mindanao for what it is, some frustrations but……. good train of discussion though
Hi Bob,
you are spot on again! If an employee knows they will be out of a job shortly then why should they bother to go the extra mile to offer better service?
Its also a bit annoying that I haven't been able to build much of a friendly relationship with the music stores in manila as the employees are different every time I visit, sure they are helpful and I explain what I am trying to achieve they give me their business card and tell me to contact them when I am ready to buy some equipment. When I call a few weeks or months later all the staff are different and I end up shopping around again instead of repeating business at the same stores.
regards
phil
Hi Dave – Your examples are indeed spot on, and I have similar experiences as well. I also have my doctor's cellphone number and can call her anytime I need to talk. Like you, normally if I have some transaction that needs doing, I send somebody to do it. I would not say that I have had a lot of customer service experiences that were "excellent," but I've had some good ones. I've had bad too. My experiences like going to the grocery story last week are not normal, because I usually send somebody to do these things. That trip was just sort of an experiment of mine, and it worked out well, because I was quite happy with the experience. I was more testing my own ability than the grocery store's. Anyway, I'm glad that things have worked out for you!
Hi Rick – Yes, I agree, not all is wrong. I don't think I've ever said or implied that all is wrong here. I love this place, and if I didn't, I would not be living here. The thing for me, no matter where a person lives (US, UK, Philippines), if they really become part of the place, they have a legitimate purpose in trying to help improve the place where they live. As a matter of fact, I would say that if a person calls a place "home" he has a duty to do what he can to improve the place in his own way.
Hi Phil – I agree, it can be frustrating when you are trying to deal with a certain person at a store, but every time you go back that person is already gone on to a new job. Each time you have to establish a new relationship. That is sort of what I would love to see change here. It would be good for the customer, but also good for the worker who could have a long term job.