Rene Pastrana: Grocery Store Manager Who Can Melt the Anger of an Irate Customer
Posted on Thursday 21 April 2016
Rene
Pastrana: Grocery Store Manager Who
Can
Melt the Anger of an Irate Customer
By Apolinario Villalobos
One morning, when I purchased some goods at
Isetan grocery store along Recto Avenue in Quiapo, I had an unfortunate
experience that almost spoiled my day. Rather than talk to any of the
rank-and-file staff, I looked for the store manager, whom I found to be Rene
Pastrana. Before I could blurt out my complaint, he broke the ice by asking
with a smile, what he can do to make my shopping comfortable. His stance
immediately pacified me. After relating to him my dissatisfaction, he gave me
an assurance that he will do his best to patch up the “loophole” in their
operation.
What touched me was his unabashed confiding
that he knows what to do because he started his career as a “merchandiser”,
which actually, was the focus of my complaint. Instead of anger, what I felt
was sympathy while listening to his story. It could be a ploy on his part to
divert my focus, with which he was successful. On the other hand, I selfishly
thought, that his story could be another blog material that could inspire
aspiring Filipinos.
According to Rene, he left his
island-province of Marinduque after graduating from high school. When he
arrived in Manila, he immediately looked for a job, with a plan to proceed with
his college studies by all means. He fortunately found a job as a
“merchandiser”, which sustained his studies, until he finished Computer
Science.
His diligence in job, pushed him along his
career path with unusual expediency until he became manager of Isetan’s grocery
store, charged with its overall operation. He has been in the job for the past
twenty years, his earnings from which have also helped his family back home, in
Marinduque.
Rene could well be considered as a
self-appointed “ambassador” of his province in his own way because he does not
hesitate to promote it as a veritable tourist destination every time he gets
the chance. This he did to me, when he shared touristic information about the
island. His effort proved helpful to me, as what I knew about the island have
all been updated, especially, about the islets with resorts.
In appreciation of all his effort to pacify
me and giving me updates on Marinduque, I told Rene to count me as among the
convinced patrons of Isetan grocery from then on. He practically “captured”
another patron for their grocery because of his amiable and brilliant sales
technique not found in sales training manuals…I know that, because, I, myself, have been a “sales person”.
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