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Thursday, January 19, 2006
Malig: Puregold and Makro's inconvenient procedures
By Jun A. Malig
(Note: I received several requests to write a column about Puregold Supermarket and Makro-Pampanga's seemly "I-dont-trust-you" procedure of scrutinizing the products purchased by their customers before they leave the exit doors. The two establishments are both located in Mabalacat town. Below is the column I wrote many months ago about this particular issue.)
WEBSTER'S New Collegiate Dictionary defines mistrust (or distrust) as "to have no trust or confidence in" or "to be suspicious" (of or about someone or something). This exact term and definitions are what many shoppers of Puregold Supermarket and Makro-Pampanga in Mabalacat town think about when they are made to endure time-consuming queues while security guards search their shopping bags for, apparently, stolen items.
"Binayaran mo na sa cashier, tapos chine-check pa dito. Anong akala nila sa atin, magnanakaw?" an irate customer beside me commented while we were waiting in line for security guards to inspect what we bought from Puregold in Dau last Monday. It took about six minutes before the guards finally checked the plastic shopping bags I was carrying. They ripped the cash register stub, which also served as the official receipt, and I was, at last, allowed to exit the store.
While driving home, I thought about the old lady's comment about Puregold's policy of inspecting its customers' paid items before allowing them to go. Her words made a lot of sense. Does Puregold management's "exit procedure" a manifestation of its apprehension that its customers are thieves that it has to inspect the items they already paid before letting them leave its store?
"Dakal Pung Salamat, Sana Mibalik Ko Pu," says Puregold's official receipt. The words are very reassuring. It connotes both respect and confidence. But words are different from actions. In the case of Puregold, trust is definitely absent in its policy. Sure, the management could say that the procedure is part of monitoring its employees' efficiency, particularly its cashiers. But again, trust is a must in employer-employee relationship. It is expected for employers to hire only employees they can trust. And in this consumer-friendly age, monitoring of employees' efficiency should not affect customers' convenience.
I wonder why Puregold and Makro have to subject their customers to "search" procedures. Sure the two corporations could argue that their exit procedures are not meant to intimidate customers. But actually, such a procedure is very intimidating. Such act gives a shopper the impression that the store does not trust him/her. It creates a perception of distrust, whether real or imaginary.
Every search procedure has a purpose. When guards inspect your bag upon entering an establishment or building, he is looking for a bomb, gun, or anything that could kill or hurt people. When K-9 units inspect luggage at the airport, seaport or bus stations, they are looking for bombs or illegal drugs. Now, when supermarket security guards inspect the already paid items of shoppers, don't tell me that they are just re-counting the items. Shoppers do not deserve to endure time-consuming lines and have guards inspect their shopping bags just for a mere recount of the things they bought.
Mr. Webster defines "search" as "to look into or over carefully or thoroughly (which is what Puregold and Makro guards have been doing) in an effort to find or discover something." The definition clearly speaks about the intention of inspection.
I wonder why bigger department stores and supermarkets like SM and Robinson's in the City of San Fernando and Angeles City do not have to subject their customers to post-shopping search procedures. Perhaps, the two have achieved enough maturity or in the business long enough to know the importance of customers' convenience in the supposed-to-be customer-friendly world. But how come smaller establishments like Jenra and newcomers in the retail trade also do not ask their guards to search the shopping bags of their customers? Perhaps it is only about trust and confidence, nothing more and nothing less.
(January 19, 2006 issue)
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