Filipino traits that suck (airline version)

The following post is a collection of comments from anonymous flyers on PAL. While we understand they fall on deaf ears and blind eyes, we wanted everyone wanting to go back to manila as balikbayans to at least know these stories:

"I bought a box of AA batteries to use for my friend's radio in the US. When I reached the philippine immigration in new NAIA, they opened my luggage. The immigration officer said that the batteries were not allowed on-board the plane, and so they had to be left behind. Weird thing is when I told them I would open one to use for my digital camera, they said it was ok. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT? I'm so sad at how garapalan (greedy) our national airline service has become. I'd like to believe the rule about batteries (or any power source) not being allowed onboard, but my other cousin who was flying with her had the same amount of batteries in her bag but hers were all opened, and she wasn't harassed by immigration. Something smells fishy.."

-oOo-

"I can't believe at how our immigration services personnel is treating filipinos on departure. After I presented my passport to the immigration officer, I was warned by the immigration officer that someone with my name has a criminal record. And that the next time, I needed to file for a declaration document saying that I am not this convicted person. This "document of declaration" is a document that you have to pay for. This immigration officer never even looked up the alleged person's date of birth and other related-information on the computer, so I didn't pay him any heed and just proceeded after uttering 'yes, ok' several times."

-oOo-

"I'm disgusted at how the porters and customs officers in our port of departure are explicitly asking for money from filipino flyers. They make phrases like 'sige na ma'am, baka may natitira kayong peso dyan, amin na lang po'. It's really disgusting and is just a demonstration to watching foreign passengers at how screwed the values of people of this country is"

-oOo-

"I'm wondering what this stupid 'terminal fee' is for.. the people who collect this don't even give a receipt. May all people should ask for one the next time they pay something like this. We're not even sure this is all going to the airport. In fact, NAIA is the only airport in the world that you have to pay this stupid 'terminal fee'. You'll never experience that in the US, Japan or Korea - so what gives the Philippine airports rights to charge this when their overall services suck compared to other international airports?"

At the end of the day

I read a passage from this book a friend in the industry recommended. It's something like a bible for successful designers. It went something like this:

"At the end of any given day, it's not about who met the deadline, who missed it, who blew what up, or who wronged who. It's always about relationships. What good would it be to insist your client is wrong? For the sake of saying that it wasn't your company's fault - at the expense of losing a client? The matter at hand is not just the project, but the RELATIONSHIP between the client and the company. Because if there is no relationship, there is no business.

This is even more importantly so within any organization - flaming the junior who couldn't perform up to par with your expectations doesn't deserve to be ill-treated for it. What would be the best thing to do - is to know the person, then talk it over, and discuss ways to strengthen your organization by improving people (in whatever aspect). In this way, you are in a win-win situation. You win favor from your junior, and you make the company stronger. Isn't that what we all look forward to at the end of the day?"

* Adapted from the book "Designers in Handcuffs"