Load and behold! Globe goes to the supermarket

MANILA, Philippines - Technology just got fuss-free and down right convenient when Globe Telecom took a leap of faith and decided to go right down to the supermarket. Hello! Haven’t you heard? Now, you can buy Globe prepaid load at nine branches of Shopwise and 22 Rustan’s Supermarkets in Metro Manila and Cebu (or a total of 400 checkout counters), along with your groceries.

Hear this: After I’m done loading up my cart at Rustan’s Supermarket or Shopwise (I’m a frequent shopper in both), I line up at one of the checkout lanes, unload my groceries posthaste, and wait for the cashier to ring up my purchases. Oh, did I forget something? The Toblerone and M&M chocolates that my mother always nags me to buy? The rice, sugar, eggs, bread, butter, cheese, bangus belly, fruits and veggies, low-fat milk, Datu Puti vinegar, UFC banana catsup, bath soap, laundry soap? Nope, they’re right on top of my grocery list. Oh, yes, I forgot to buy load for my Globe phone (call me weird, but I have three Globe prepaid cell phones which I religiously have to load every now and then). So, in my must shopping list that includes (aside from everyday essentials) ice cream and some facial cream, I now add my all-important Globe load. How cool is that?

Super duper cool! The friendly and very efficient Rustan’s Supermarket cashier asks for my cell phone number and how much load I want to buy. Then she types these bits of info into the computer. In five seconds, I hear my cell phone’s message alert and read this: AutoLoadMax — P100 prepaid credit was loaded to your mobile #. Trace No: 726222225 05/03/2011 01:20 p.m. A few seconds later, I hear my old trusty cell chirping again and the little bird tells me: P10 prepaid credit was loaded to your mobile #, etc.

Wow! Did I just get a P10-bonus from Globe for my P100 load?

“Yes, for every increment of P100, you get P10 — so for P100, you get P10; for P200, P20; for P500, P50, etc.,” says Ferdz Dela Cruz, head, consumer sales group, Globe Telecom. “This promo is good until the end of May. But of course, you can load as low as P15.”

Hello, there!: Now, you can load your Globe prepaid phone while shopping for your groceries at Rustan’s Supermarkets and Shopwise.

Now, you know what to do with your loose change when you do your groceries — aside, of course, from donating to Caritas and making sure those little cans by the cash registers are never empty and some indigent people don’t die of hunger.

You can even load your phone even if you left it at home. Or load other people’s phones. Like your children’s phones so they can text you back when you’re checking on them (unless they’re playing hide and seek with you). Or your driver’s phone so you’re sure he texts you back when you tell him where to pick you up after a party. Or your yaya so you can check on your little bundle of joy and make sure she’s not sleeping (literally) on the job. Or your masseuse so you’re sure she keeps your home massage date. Or your best friend who likes to give you an ego massage. The list goes on and on.

“Now, my daughter can add the phone number of our majordoma to the grocery list,” declares devoted family man Donnie V. Tantoco, president, Rustan’s Supercenters Inc.

Today, being Mother’s Day, you can surprise Mom by loading her cell phone for a change — instead of you always asking her for money to buy load. Certainly, it’s not the usual gift you give Mom on Mother’s Day — last year, you gave her a wrinkle remover and the year before that, you gave her the wrinkles.

How did this beautiful partnership between Globe and Rustan’s Supercenters Inc., operator of Rustan’s Supermarkets, Rustan’s Expresslanes, and Shopwise, come about?

Answer: Facebook. Let’s face it, Facebook is today’s biggest meeting place.

“It all started in Facebook,” Donnie Tantoco relates with a big smile on his face. “Raya Roa of Globe, my FB buddy, wrote me a note. She felt our companies are very similar with the way we approach our customers, position our brands on the market, even our values. She said we should try to do something together. She didn’t have a specific idea at that time. She said let’s try to sit down, compare notes, and do something together because it seems our brands should work together. And I bet you we have an overlap in terms of our customers. Let’s do something for our mutual customers and let’s build from there. We had a meeting where I included Frances Yu (Rustan’s Supercenters Inc. VP-marketing), and she and Raya made a short list of ideas. We’ve developed the concept and we’re ready to execute this one, a back-to-school promo, and more.”

Well, it’s about time — no need to buy a Globe prepaid card and then go through the trouble or aggravation of scratching (sometimes the numbers come out muddled) and then calling 223 and pressing the numbers on your phone that takes forever (sometimes I press the wrong number).

“This is now a regular feature when you do your groceries at any of Rustan’s Supercenters Inc. stores because the system is already integrated,” Ferdz Dela Cruz notes. “No more scratching a long series of numbers because somebody is doing the loading for you. And you’re given a receipt for it; it won’t print if your phone didn’t get the load.”

Ferdz hastens to point out, “What everyone wants is speed of service. Nobody wants to be waiting in line to give you money. Haha!”

To which Donnie adds, “We tested it before we rolled it out. We wanted to make sure it works as it should. And one of the key considerations is we shouldn’t build up the queue because there are a lot of shoppers. So the processing is very quick. All it takes is five seconds!”

It can only spell convenience with a capital C for working moms (and generally, working people) who do their groceries after work as Rustan’s Supermarket is open until 10 p.m. while Shopwise stays open till 11 p.m. (and much later on special occasions).

“We feel it is important to diversify our reload channels in line with the fact that cell phone load has virtually become a basic commodity and is now part of the so-called consumer basket of goods and services tracked by government statisticians,” says Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe.

It can only spell hassle-free for Globe’s 25 million prepaid subscribers — and counting. No more having to eternally pass load to a family member or friend badgering you for a load. Or perhaps buy load from a Globe dealer at work. Don’t feel guilty now for no longer buying your load from the office secretary; who knows, she may be moonlighting as an Avon lady or selling other stuff.

“With this tie-up, we will make sure Globe never runs out of load,” Ferdz promises Globe’s loyal subscribers (and Rustan’s loyal shoppers).

Message sent. Indeed, load and behold!