Honesty rewarded

Egay Uy .

ON Thursday, I got a call from the Gaisano management’s human resource management chief, Ms. Susan Lacuarin.  She informed me the Department of Trade and Industry sent them a letter about my April 4, 2018 column “Gi-uli ang sukli” which featured two honest employees of the Gaisano Mall supermarket at Recto-Corrales, this city.

Briefly, Mr. Ryan Racal, the packer partner of cashier Ms. Amina Econar, returned to me and my wife Juliet the P500 I inadvertently overpaid for groceries we bought from the supermarket.

Ms. Lacuarin informed me the two honest employees will be rewarded by the Gaisano management. She also said their employees are under instructions to be courteous to customers at all times and observe honesty in their dealings with their patrons.

I informed Juliet about this and she felt good and was happy for Ryan and Amina. I also felt good not only because the honest employees will be receiving rewards but more importantly because of its indication that the Gaisano management has successfully coached their employees to be honest and courteous to their patrons.

I am sure there are more Ryans and Aminas not only in the Gaisano supermarket but also in other malls and supermarkets around. Ryan and Amina were lucky they practiced what were taught to them in the right place and at the right time.

My youngest son, Jose, used to work in a retail store. I have a personal experience how rigorous the job of retail outlet employees is. They come in early and punch out late. I pity most the “closers” because they oftentimes get to the comforts of their homes past midnight already.

Unfortunately, my son got “endo-ed” but he had no regrets. He earned a whale of experience how life is in the real world. He got to meet a supervisor who was stricter [and meaner] than the owner, and co-workers who sweated it out to eke a living.

He got to meet customers who still believe they are always right even as they have already transgressed the dignity of the workers who attend to them. He got to meet buyers whose pockets were as deep as the neighborhood well.

He also got to experience dealing with a rude customer but he had to keep his cool because that was how they were trained to respond to rudeness.

To the Ryans and Aminas around, your good and honest deeds are what’s keeping most of us all going. Just don’t get tired of doing what is good.