Bad Business

A fire broke out at the Sulo Hotel where we were staying last weekend. At about six in the morning the alarms were going off and the hotel staff was frantically knocking on every door. It was my older sister Grace who was the first to wake up to the commotion, and she hurriedly got my younger brother Enrico and me out of bed. Half asleep we staggered towards the lobby (our room was luckily on the first floor) and found our way out through a thick blanket of smoke. We waited in the parking lot with the rest of the guests — most were still in their pajamas — while the firemen did their job. This lasted about 45 minutes and when the fire was doused and the smoke finally cleared, a rude hotel employee started shouting orders for the guests to go back in. I was too sleepy at the time to even bother giving it a second thought, but then I realized that: "Hey, the least this person could do was be more polite since we were the hotel’s guests." This was definitely a bad way to start the day.

Our Manila house was undergoing major renovations, and I suppose we should have stayed at the usual hotels we go to. But my younger brother had to take an entrance exam in the afternoon, so we decided to stay in a hotel near Ateneo. We just arrived from Baguio the night previous, my brother needed his rest, and waking up at daybreak was a major inconvenience—to say the least.

You may ask why I’m going on about this since no one in his right mind wants accidents to happen. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that no one was injured and the building didn’t burn to the ground. But there is one thing that I have to make clear. The fire was NOT caused by an irresponsible guest who fell asleep with a lit cigarette in his hand as I earlier speculated. The cause, we were told, was in fact a television set that shorted out on the second floor.

Technically, and I’m sure you will all agree, the hotel should be held accountable for what happened since the defective TV belonged to them. A discount on our rooms would have compensated for the trouble but that didn’t happen. Perhaps, even just a cup of coffee for the people who had to wait outside for almost an hour would have made it all better, but we didn’t get that either. The least the staff could have done (and I mean the least) was to apologize to everyone for the inconvenience. But they didn’t. Not a single employee. Not one: "I’m sorry for all the trouble." Oh, and let’s not forget the guy who tried to play the hero but was actually a jerk. Overall, I don’t think that this is the way a business should be run.

More than a month ago, my older sister Joy tried to make a withdrawal from an Equitable ATM machine at the Glorietta, but no money was dispensed. It even said so on the receipt. When she went to another machine and checked her balance, it was short by exactly the same amount that she tried to withdraw the first time. Money was missing because of some sort of computer error. She reported this to the bank right away, and until now the problem hasn’t been solved. No one from the bank has bothered to write her, and the amount hasn’t been reimbursed. Fortunately, she says, it was a small sum. But then, if this sort of thing happens countless times to so many people, can you imagine the cash it would add up to? She’s betting the money is lost forever, but in the unlikely event that she does get her money back, she’ll just donate it to charity. "It sucks!" I tell her. But then, she just shrugs her shoulders and says, "Take it with a grain of salt. I’m just happy I didn’t lose more."

I suppose her reaction is typical of people in this country who have been victimized by bad business.When I tell my friends about these stories, all they can say is, "Well, that’s the Philippines for you."

Why is it that when something goes wrong in this country it seems that whoever is responsible looks away and pretends that nothing has happened? Did the Sulo Hotel staff expect the guests to forget that there was a possibility that they might have died in a fire because of their defective TV? Did the bank assume that a small amount lost because of a faulty ATM machine does not warrant a quick response? Businesses have to be accountable and exercise some degree of responsibility— if only to maintain the loyalty of their customers.

The harder I think about it, I realize that this is just another manifestation of the faulty mindset that impedes our country’s progress. People count themselves lucky that they aren’t rich enough to be victims of kidnappings. "Di bale, kaya naman magbayad ‘yan." They count themselves lucky if their cellphones were snatched but they weren’t stabbed. Buti ‘yon lang, di sinaktan. They watch the evening news and stare at crime victims mashed to a bloody pulp and say, "Grabe naman, they shouldn’t show that on TV. I’m glad I live in Luzon." But they ogle anyway. We are a nation content with small mercies!

A major problem in this country is that people tolerate "bad business" just as long as they are not the victims. We live in an H.G. Wells "Country of the Blind" state, where it is easier to conform to what is usual than it is to stand for what is right and true. We are quick to overlook "small offenses," and tend to concentrate on the "big crimes."

My sister who lost her money in the ATM machine and was nonchalant about it is currently very annoyed that one of our Caloocan properties was listed as a "delinquent property" by the Caloocan City government, especially as she has the tax receipts to prove that it is not. She has tried to call the Treasurer’s Office, but her call was transferred from one office to another and it looks like she has to go and clear the mess caused by someone else’s inefficiency herself.

I say to her: "So, why are you so annoyed this time, when you didn’t care about that ATM booboo?"

I remind my sister that it was she who said about life in general: "If it’s ripped, sew it up. You should darn a small tear, otherwise it becomes a big tear, and eventually if you leave it as is, you’ll end up with something hopelessly tattered. You won’t be able to sew it back together anymore."

Hey Ate, doesn’t that apply to business and the process of putting together the country too?