By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
People I’ve worked with in the Tempo office for 29 years would know that to get on my good side during deadlines, all it took was a neatly wrapped “turon” (fried banana roll) on my desk beside my coffee mug. My all-time comfort food was easily accessible from across the street in those days.
Today, it’s hardly a secret that the turon sold at Savemore outlets is, perhaps, the most sumptuous deal you can get for P20. I believe vlogger Momshie Odille thought so, too, when she bought five pieces and released a Tiktok video of her eating one of them in the car last week.
But what struck netizens was her appeal to her followers to purchase Savemore’s turon because if they were not sold out by day’s end, employees were supposedly charged for the leftover stock. So naturally, her Tiktok vlog went viral and scathing comments against the grocery chain followed.
Last weekend, Savemore released an official statement to address the issue: “We would like to clarify the wrong impression with regard to our Zabarte branch. Our store staff do sell a lot of Turon and these are usually sold out by the end of the day. The store staff are not and need not be charged for any unsold turon. We have communicated to our branch personnel to correct this wrong information.”
Obviously, the statement hoped to pacify public outcry, reassure its employees and put an end to Momshie Odille’s vlog about the “turon issue,” which, as of this writing, has had three parts. Certainly, the vlogger had no intention of hurting the image of Savemore. Her heart for its employees was simply in the right place.
Actually, netizens did not need any prodding. Such an abusive labor practice, which Savemore’s official statement did not deny categorically, will really rile up the public – not just SM employees and SM patrons.
I happened to buy turon at a Savemore branch here in Quezon City last Sunday and asked the cashier if the Momshie vlog’s claim still prevailed. In the lightest of whispers, she replied: “Di na po, sir. Pero pinagagalitan kami. Eh, pa’nong gagawin namin kung ayaw talagang bumili ng customer?” [“Not anymore, sir. But we’re being scolded. What can we do if customers aren’t really interested in buying?”]
However lightly this incident may slide off the multi-billion cares of the country’s biggest retail empire, it remains incumbent on the top management of SM to make its store policies a benchmark not just of legal practice but of ideal and compassionate employment conditions.
To big business owners: Do not lack compassion for Filipino wage earners – especially those under your employ – because they spend all they earn on their families so that this nation of 110 million can be your source of profits. Charging your measly “turon” losses against their salaries does not make you richer; rather, it makes you poorer in the eyes of the world and the heavens above it.
* * *
SHORT BURSTS. For comments or reactions, email firingline@ymail.com or tweet @Side_View. Read current and past issues of this column at http://www.thephilbiznews.com