Saturday, June 14, 2008
Can I pack my own bags?
I have noticed over the last year I have seen many articles on this site regarding the differences in customer service and customer satisfaction, and in the main the the expats ( including me), have been very negative about the quality of service.
Be it in a a restaurant that has nothing on the menu, a shop where no one wants to serve you or a shop that is very happy to let you queue until you die, and even work in slow motion until your blood boils!
Yes thats my first impression and to be honest its very true, but then you have to realize that the people are paid almost nothing they have no security of job as most have to leave after six months so the company gets over a high hike that is placed in employment legislation.
The other day having now been here some time I can wait in a queue with my MP3 player and accept its going to take a long time and something will go wrong, I am pleased with myself to accept that it will happen ad that I can deal with it wthout being a noisy ex pat.
But this time I just could not get my head around my last experience in a supermarket.
After queuing for a lengthy time to get a basket of groceries, I watched as the cashier worked in slow motion examining everything and even ringing up everything separately even if there was ten of the same item.
Still I accepted this and I noticed that they were so busy as the packing boys behind the counter were not keeping up with customers packing and running the boxes to the taxis. My guy was running out to a taxi and left the customer before me with no packer and the goods were piling up and the cashier just kept adding items, I thought what a lazy customer why not pack it yourself!!
I was the next customer but the cashier could not ring my stuff as the previous customer goods were packed high as the boy had not yet returned from the taxi, so we waited and waited! Finally I said can you start and I will pack my own,and I lent over to get some shopping bags and I could hear three people “tut tut” me . The cashier put my hand over mine and said its not allowed to pack you own sir. “security sir”.
I tried to say its OK I do not mind ,she looked in horror and called a supervisor over who told me I must not pack my own but wait for a packer, I explained there are no packers available and everybody is held up, she gave me a look of “stupid man”, and walked off, so we all waited another five minutes till a poor exhausted packer came and he had to work at top speed as the cashier and every customer in the queue watched him, with eyes that blamed the poor guy for the delays.
After he packed my bags he offered to carry it to a taxi. i told him thank you but I am ok and gave him a tip for his hard work which he had to refuse as the cashier gave him the “Evil stare”.
Logic of the situation baffles me,I was going to pack my paid goods to help the other customers and the staff, but all I got was to do was upset everyone. OK back to the culture books and start again!
# 1 john.j. said:
Hi John,know the feeling well
I was in Victoria Plaza a few weeks ago buying some clothes,there was three behind the checkout,one putting purchases into a calculator,another operating the cash register and another packing.There was about eight people in front of me and it took thirty mins to get out 
John.J.
# 2 Robert G said:
I am so looking forward to all this soon enough. It is nice to see you writing more articles here.
# 3 Bob said:
Hi John - I have a perfect solution. Send somebody else to do the shopping!
# 4 Maryg said:
Hello John, Hello Bob — ohhhh my blood is boiling!
Sometimes, its too difficult to understand that in this kind of situation, you were just trying to keep things done right away, and just using your initiative to help and yet you are in the bad spot.
# 5 Aldel said:
The management teams at many of these places are obviously not keen on increasing efficiency nor do they have to since the local populations are not the complaining types and they have not see how other places do these kinds of things. In the Philippines time is slow and the business rhythm follows this mantra while in most western countries time is valued in terms of opportunity cost. I doubt you’ll see this kind of inefficiency with Jollibee who has to compete fiercely with McDonald’s.
# 6 Steve said:
John, I know how you feel. That happened to me so many times. Just go with the flow and laugh about it or you will go insane.
# 7 Joanne said:
What I think most people from fast paced countries like the United States and Great Britain don’t understand is that there is no sense of urgency in the Philippines, especially in the provinces. I don’t believe it’s a question of customer service or low wages, but adjusting to the cultural difference of the pace of life in a country besides your own.
# 8 kikas_head said:
I can pack my own bags at my regular grocery in Manila (which is what I usually do in the states), however I still have issues with refusing a bag. When I buy one item (i.e., one toothbrush from Mercury). they insist I take a bag. Usually there is a security guard there so I can usually get away with it (he can see I have paid for the item). I hate the tiny bags for single items. I have no use for them. Plus, I always have a purse so once I leave the store I can shove it in there.
# 9 john said:
Joanne
I in the main agree with you but where customer service does exist like JOLLIBEE and Mcdonalds the pace is fast the service is excellant and more important the local community pack these places full.
My question is if its a cultural thing why do some places break the culture successfully/
JOHN J
I was in that queue I think i read WAR AND PEACE as I waited.
# 10 Dom said:
John, I share your predicament having frequented the places you mentioned, being a former davao resident myself. If they only allow customers to bring their shopping carts to the parking lot or maybe, to the bus/jeepney stops, packing the stuffs into boxes, might not be necessary at all. At Wal-Mart or CostCo, there are two lanes for every till, one for the client and the other for his/her cart. You put the small items on the till counter and may leave the bulky ones in the cart. After scanning the stuffs, the cashier put the smaller ones back in the cart, and off you go. It is over in a few minutes. A quick random check, though, is done near the exit, so keep your purchase receipt.
# 11 Bob New York said:
On my recent visit to Mindanao, there were a couple of times I had to remind myself that I was Not in the USA and I must try my best to accept tings as they are there. Although the majority of my dealings with merchants and business establishments was favorable ( see my comment in ” Custome Service Again ” .
In one instance I wanted to get a cash advance on my ( major brand ) Credit card at a bank. I had to go to 4 banks to find one that would do this. All of the ATM’s in town were only working a few minutes and then they went off again due to system overload.
Fortunately I had local friends with me that greatly helped to expedite the transaction once I found a bank that could take care of my request. They said they could give me the cash advance but would need a photo copy of my credit card and passport. I asked ifthy had a copy machine and they referred me to a copy shop down the street. I never expected it would take several hours to get cash with a major brand credit card.
From what I had previously learned by regularly reading Bob Martins websites prior to visiting Mindanao, I was not totally shocked when something like this happened and with effort I was able to keep my cool.
When things like this happen, I file them under ” Culture Clash ”
About 10 years ago an organization started up in the UK to improve customer service and it seems to have caught on and made significant improvements by rewarding and publicising establishments that truly give great customer service. Award recipients are nominated by the customers through their own personal experiences. I have nominated retail establishemnts in the past and one of them, a small independent audio dealer, was issued a ” WoW ” award which through the positive publicity did increase his revenue.
You can check this out at:
http://www.thewowawards.com
I wonder if anyone would be interested in starting something like this up in Mindanao or the entire Philippines to encourage retail and other establishement to review their customer service policies.
# 12 Bob New York said:
Reply to Comment #9
According to the history of Jollibee Foods Corp. as I read on their website, the founder of Jollibee came to the USA and studied the Fast Food Franchise business as it exists here in the USA. I feel that is a primary reason why Filipinos can enjoy USA Style Customer service when they go to Jollibee or any of the other eating establishements owned / operated / or franchised by Jollibee Foods Corp.
I enjoyed many visits to Jollibee and Greenwich Pizza on my recent visit to Mindanao. I think they even outservice McDonalds and Burger King as I have experienced those franchises here in the USA. The founder of Jollibee not only learned USA Customer Service culture, I feel he actually improved upon it !
Unfortunately I did not have time to visit any Chow King locations while I was there but then again it is always good to leave something new to experience on a next visit.