Mahiya Naman Kayo!

The following is a true story. I say it's true because it happened to me, just today, as I was commuting from the MRT-Quezon Avenue Station to the MRT Ortigas station, where I was to meet my husband for a doctor's appointment at Mega Mall.

I had just bought those new re-loadable MRT cards from the Globe booth a couple of weeks ago, the ones with KitKat branding splashed all over it, you'd easily forget it was a Globe product. This, after being told three weeks prior that the Globe chip I had been using was phased out already. And who told me this? A lady at a Globe booth at the Shaw Station when I asked why my chip wasn't responding. "Ay ma'am di na po ginagamit yan. Matagal na. Bili na lang kayo ng card." Great. I just lost P40.00 -- the amount loaded in my Globe chip.

Now this is not about being kuripot. This is about service. When was Globe going to inform us that this chip would be phased out? Why didn't the administration of the MRT put up notes to the public? This is so typical of Pinoy businessmen: go in, get your money and screw the people you're supposed to serve. Bahala na silang mahirapan.

Anyway, back to my story.

So there I was, at the Q Ave station. To enter the platform, I swiped my card with ease at the turnstyle and waited for the train to arrive. I got into the all-female car and then got off without incident at the platform at the Ortigas station.

There are two turnstyles with RF receivers at the Ortigas station when you're arriving from the North. I lined up at one of them and I swiped my card. At about the same time I noticed the lady next to me on the other turnstyle did the same. As we both swiped, it blipped red. We couldn't get through.

So we raised our cards in signal to the guards for assistance. There were three that day: two males and a female, who was in charge of checking the bags. As Guard no.1 reached for my card and swiped it himself, he said, "Naku Ma'am. baka walang laman." This was preposterous because just the day before, I had purchased P100 worth of load.

I said, "Kaka-load ko lang po niyan, Kuya. Maraming laman pa yan." He didn't seem to hear me, and pointed me to the purchase window where a "teller" was giving out tickets. "Magbayad na lang po kayo."

This incensed me. "Ha? Eh bakit ako magbabayad eh nagbayad na ako? Nagload na ako, so ibig sabihin pre-paid yan".

"Eh ayaw nga po baka walang laman," said Guard no.1.

I was losing my cool "Di nga pwede kasi kakaload ko lang. I check niyo diyan sa Globe booth!" He looks behind him and says, "Ay wala pong tao, di natin matatanong." He proceeds to swipe my card on the RF receiver attached to the INCOMING turnstyle. It blinked red. Eh di NATURAL, it would blink red, kasi palabas nga ako ng platform, di papasok. "Wala, eh Ma'am," he repeated.

"Wag niyo diyan i-swipe! Dun sa kabila, kung saan ako galing!" I said pointing to the turnstyle I came from. At this time the lady who had the same problem had gotten through. "Dun niyo sa kabilang turnstyle i-swipe."

Then suddenly Guard no. 2 jumps in, "Ma'am dito na lang po muna kayo. Magbayad na lang kayo."

I was mad by this time. So I turned to the teller and asked him why I should pay "Hindi naman po mababawasan yung card niyo." I said, "That's not the point. Nagbayad na ako, so why should I pay again?" Then he started to mumble something unintelligible, and all I understood was a hugas-kamay comment that went something like, wala po kasi sa control namin yang card, bla bla bla."

I had lost my temper by now, because no one seemed to want to listen or understand me. So I said to Guard no. 1, as I reached for my card "Akin na yung card ko, i-swipe natin dito kung saan ako palabas, hindi yung papasok."

Guard no. 1 yanks my card out of my reach (what? as if I was going to grab it run, to avoid paying a measly P12.00? DUH! It's the principle, not the cost!) and CONTINUES to swipe it at the opposite turnstyle "Wala talaga Ma'am eh." He then gives it to Lady Guard "O subukan mo diyan" he said referring to the other INCOMING receiver on the turnstyle. Naturally it blipped red "Wala talaga Ma'am," she says, swiping it three more times.

I wanted to bang their heads together. "Eh hindi nga diyan! Dito nga sa outgoing! Natural di gagana yan kasi palabas ako, hindi ako papasok!"

"Teka check nga natin" said Guard no. 1. I raised my hands in exasperation: I had told them to CHECK it first before doing the moronic thing of swiping it at the wrong turnstyle! All this time people behind the counter at the station were just watching. No assistance AT ALL was offered to me! I then tried to follow Guard no. 1, who was headed to the Globe booth. Suddenly Guard no. 2 puts his filthy hands on my shoulders to stop me from exiting through their special "gate" beside the teller they told me to pay P12.00 to! I screamed at him. "Don't you touch me! Kanina ko pa sinasabing i-check niyo ayaw niyo akong pakinggan!"

So he backs off. I exit through the gate and as I get to the Globe booth Guard no. 1 sees I do have over P60 in my load. "Ay may laman nga!"

He walks back to the INCOMING turnstyle and swipes it again. By this time I had lost it. I screamed "Ang tigas naman kasi ng ulo niyo! Wag niyo diyan i-swipe kasi palabas ako! Akin na yan!" I grabbed my card from his hands, leaving the plastic casing. I swiped the card on the RF receiver that the lady beside me earlier had swiped her card on. And whaddaya know? It blipped green!

I walked back to Guard no.1, grabbed my plastic casing from him and said, for all of them to hear, "Ang dami-dami niyong sistema dito, di niyo alam kung anong ginagawa niyo!" And stormed off.

I didn't care if EVERYONE in the station was staring at me. It was clear they were caught being stupid. What is it with Filipinos and public service? As long as they receive their monthly pay they have the license to slack off? Don't they have the initiative to ask about things happening around them? Wala na bang saysay ang accountability? At yung GLOBE -- pupunta lang ba doon to make money without at least informing the staff at the stations about troubleshooting procedures? It's all a simple case of communication and proper business process; and above all else, service to your fellow Pinoy consumer.

Ganyan na ba talaga ngayon? Hugas kamay na lang lagi, walang sense of responsibility or serbisyo para sa kapwa? Ang kapal ng mukha nilang mag astang pro-Filipino or public servant. Mag-usap naman kayo. Kasi pagnagkakaroon ng ganyang aberya kaming mga sumusunod sa mga patakaran niyo't bali-balikong batas ang napeperwisyo! Mahiya naman kayo!

photos from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortigas_MRT_Station
http://mccedtrip.blogspot.com
http://migs.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/contactless_smartcard.jpg