A great disservice

In the ’70s, public service programs meant TV shows that gave financial help to the poor or provided medical assistance to the indigent – like Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko and Damayan, both of which were started by the great humanitarian Rosa Rosal.

The ‘90s saw another definition of public service on television with the launching of Hoy! Gising on ABS-CBN and this served as a venue that empowered ordinary citizens to report abuses committed by civil servants and public officials – or anything that was a menace to society. This tradition continues with public service programs like Mike Enriquez’s Imbestigador, XXX and the shows hosted by the Tulfo brothers.

However, there is still one type of public service program that I feel we need to have on TV – a show where we can air our gripes if we are unhappy with the services provided by department stores, restaurants or even airline companies that sometimes have snooty cabin attendants.

In the late ’70s, there was a program on Channel 4 that tried to protect the interests of the consumer and this show was put together by the Kapisanan ng mga Mamimiling Pilipino and one of the people behind it was advertising executive and Ateneo/UST professor Nanette Diyco, who would later become one of my favorite teachers in college.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a program like that on TV now – a show that can help us return store-bought products that turn out to be lemons or where we can complain about lousy service provided by commercial establishments.

A ‘loveless’ loveteam that clicks – and how!

I think we need that kind of program today because we are more dependent on service now compared to two decades ago when we ate more often at home. These days, we have most of our meals in restaurants – and especially at these fast-food outlets. But how is the service in these hamburger joints? Oh I have horror stories to tell you about these places, but those incidents happened years ago – when I myself would drive there to get a burger. Now, I just send the driver. Maybe he has his own nightmarish experiences getting my burger. I no longer bother to ask.

But I still continue to get my own share of bad service. A few months ago, for instance, I decided to finally check out Gateway and went there on a Sunday. For dinner, my companions and I went to one of those seafood restaurants in the heart of Cubao. It was full and getting a server to attend to us was like hailing a cab on a rainy evening on payday.

When a waiter finally came over, we gave him our orders, except that most of the items we chose from their menu was not available. We ended up getting whatever food was in the kitchen – one of which was shrimp sinigang sa bayabas that I mistook for dessert because it turned out to be as sweet as guava jelly. I didn’t complain about that.

What bothered me was when I asked for Coke Light and they didn’t have that. That was what ruined my dining experience because – call me odd – but I always want my meals with Coke Light. It was out of stock – the waiter told me. Fine, I’ll drown my disappointment with tap water. But deep inside, my heart was aching and crying out for Coke Light.

Was I being a brat? You bet I was. My companions thought so, too. But was I asking for much? It was just a Coke Light that I wanted and nothing else. I just kept quiet all throughout and no one outside of that table knew that I was stewing inside.

But the assistant restaurant manager made the mistake of passing by our table and asked us how we were enjoying our dinner. I took that as my cue and asked her: You really want to know? You actually really want to know? You absolutely, actually really want to know?

I wanted to ask first for a PLDT phone directory on which she could swear that she}d be able to stand my ranting and raving, but I was afraid they wouldn’t have that either.

And so I gave it to her – all in one breathe: Okay, all I was asking for was Coke Light. It wasn’t as if I was looking for a rare bottle of champagne that you only find in the dark alleyways of Paris. Neither were we in the middle of a rice field in Guinobatan, Albay where there is no convenience store. We were in the middle of Cubao where commerce throbs. Surely, there must be a place where you can buy Coke Light somewhere that was just a few steps away.

"Yes, I could have sent for somebody to get you your Coke Light," the assistant restaurant manager agreed with me. Did I want my Coke Light now? No, thank you, I’ve lost my appetite not because my dessert came with the main course (the shrimp sinigang sa guava jelly) but because the service staff didn’t want to go the extra mile for their customers.

I promptly marked that restaurant NA – Never Again. (If food critics can use spoons on their ratings sheets, why can’t I have my own coding?)

It’s really unfortunate that most commercial establishments provide lousy service to their customers. I think it’s due to lack of training and the fact that owners of these corporations have this bad habit of terminating the services of their crew after six months so that they don’t become regular employees who have to be provided with benefits.

And the pay is so low that the sales clerks/servers can’t wait to get out of the workplace at closing time. Unfortunately, it’s the customer who gets shortchanged in the end – the poor consumer who never gets his money’s worth, no thanks to bad food, defective products and poor service.

Truly, a great disservice to the public.

(Next: Horrible service in a bakeshop.)