ONE of my close friends is a very simple person. An engineer and head of her own trading company, she is most at home in jeans and casual shirts, and can live without makeup or flashy jewelry.
She was just telling me a few days ago how some business establishments could be so judgmental.
Recently, she went to a high-end department store because she needed to buy a whole new set of makeup to replace her whole kit. She went to the counter of a well-known international brand. Another customer, a woman who was dressed well, was there too and asked about lipsticks. The counter personnel kept on attending to the woman, showing her all the different colors of lipstick they have and encouraging her to try them on. My friend would ask for some items, which they would give her, but they did not really attend to her in the same way or offered to put on makeup on her.
In the end, my friend bought a whole set of cosmetics from that brand while the woman left with just one lipstick purchase.
“I told them they should have attended to me with the same level of attention they gave the other woman. It turned out I bought more than she did,” my friend said. “I could relate to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she was discriminated on in a Beverly Hills store because of how she looked.”
In another incident, my friend and her husband used the valet service at the five-star hotel they go to regularly for the buffet. Now her husband is the more “maporma” between them and would always be the one to hand over the car keys to the valet and claim the car. One time, her husband had to talk to someone, and so my friend gave the claim stub to the valet counter. Other wealthy-looking people also came to claim their cars after her. My friend did not say anything but noticed that the other people were serviced first.
After what seemed like thirty minutes later, she was still waiting for their car when her husband came out and wondered why it is taking so long. When the valet, who knew my friend’s husband by this time, saw him, he greeted my friend’s husband, “O boss, kayo pala. Yung claim stub niyo po?” My friend’s husband told him that his wife has been there a long time waiting for their car. The valet said they should have been informed that it is for him so they would get their car first.
My friend could not let this pass and asked the valet if this is how they service customers – favoritism for the wealthier-looking ones? And so she told them that from then on, they should not expect a tip from them. They have been back to that hotel a number of times but my friend still refuses to give the valets a tip.
Another friend of mine who used to work in the administration office of a bargain center in Divisoria told me how interesting it is to see people in plain shirts and tsinelas coming in and paying their leases in cash by the bayong. “They are the unassuming rich. It’s true—you should never judge a book by its cover,” she said.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:07 am
sorry, can’t relate….. have not had the chance for an encounter like that yet in a dept. store …. but i also dress simply, t-shirt and maong…… my exp is if you linger your eyes a bit longer on a product on display, someone will definitely ask you what you need…. i agree too many saleslady
October 31st, 2009 at 9:52 am
Yap it happened also in one bank in commonwealth. If we will go to our clints and its accessible in mrt or lrt then taxi, we rerely use our car. One time our client gave a check and we would like to encash it, we arrive 5 mins before 3 o clock we arrived riding in a tricycle , and unfortunately the guard never allowed us to enter ..my husband told me if we arrived with car they will surely entertain us. here in the phils you dont know talaga what kind of dressing you would be, one time i came abroad and as ordinary ofw porma white shirt and maong jeans..hahha pinoy eh levis …grabe they were very snubbish in the airlines..when i came back i dressed naman as a chinese woman haha sa custom naman hinaharang ako because of the tax daw coz i brought home lcd…when i told na ofw ako , they kept their mouth shut…
Another one a lot of our taiwanese friends were shck when they came here in naia a lot of employees daw and porters are asking for pamasko, as i know pamasko sholud be given di ba not to be asked hehe
July 16th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I have read all of the comments in this article and I find it very interesting.
Everything actually depends on our concept of customer service. A lot of people seek better service because they think they have more money than the other person in the counter. Some think that they look better so the person in front of them should give them better service, etc.. I agree when someone said that it’s just insecurity. It all boils down to pride and self-respect. If you want better service you have to state what you need and approach someone for it and don’t just stand in one corner and wait for someone to notice you. We, ourselves do the same sometimes when we are placed in their shoe. Sometimes its actually our fault why certain things happen to us, like dressing something like “jologs” when you are going to a place of business. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or there’s a storm, you still have to dress according to the occasion. I am not attacking your point of views or the way people think, it’s just that it’s the best example that I can state so everyone in the forum will understand what I am trying to arrive at so please don’t get me wrong. So if you want to be treated nicely, you have to change the way you think and everything will follow.
July 1st, 2009 at 9:24 pm
haaaaaaaayyy nako…
i would like to share my experiences sa mga ganitong tipong mentality ng mga pilipino, hindi lang ng mga sales lady,etc…pati narin ng mga mga taong nasa matataas na posisyon i.e. manager ng banko sa BDO!
BDO service sucks like ass….lalo na yung mga nasa bayan2 like Pateros..hahaha…
one story: i went to BDO pateros to open TIT (treasury in trust account) for our family business. i went there na super casual,not casual pa nga actually, kind of a mess coz i used the motorcycle going to the bank, at umuulan nun kaya i was kind of marumi at jologs.anyway, you can imagine how i looked, pero i didnt expect na gaganunin ako kasi its BDO “we find ways” ika nga.but what did i get, pinatayo ako ng nasa marketing nila nang hindi pinapansin for what seemed like forever pero talagang 5 mins lang yun, pero syempre muka akong gago non diba.the manager was taking orders for something, the person who was supposed to cater to my needs talked to her friend while i stood up there waiting na parang wala lang.so,patience parin nde ko na pinansin,pero i moved my bank eversince…BPI rocks btw.
June 30th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
it also happens here in Dubai…if you go to a jewellry store the kabayans will not entertain you. I had a friend who visit a jewellry store and wearing abaya..Abaya is the traditional dress of the muslims here in Dubai..and when she entered the store immediately our kabayans entertained her and calling her madam….bwa hahah kala nila ang dami ng pera ng friend ko…