In many a blog, you will have noticed my contempt for the “jaguar”, right?! Yes, the gwardya, the sekyu, the blue-guard and whatever name else they are called in this our beautiful country! But not this one! He is helpful and takes the petty things to his hands, SINCE, he knows he can be of help anyway.
The case: I was already on the way to the airport and forgot to print my e-ticket. Argh! But it was not as if a real total bummer. I know my way around. Options: pop into an internet shop or pop into the AirPhil Express ticket office and wait it out. I chose the latter since there was still time. Ample in fact.
On entry, I stood a bit in front of this guard who I expected would issue me a number so I can wait for my turn with the ticket agents. But, after greeting me a “good afternoon, sir”, guard who seemed to have guessed my purpose asked “print lang ng ticket sir”? Surprised I smiled and said “yes”! Guess what…
He proceeded to the middle PC in that counter, checked for my ID and voila, the printer whirred out my ticket. And he handed it to me. Total time spent? Well, probably not even a minute! Done! Tapos! Period! Amazed, I still had the presence of mind to snap this photo.
But there is a little issue…
Guard himself together with that ticket agent on the left admonished me to delete that photo as they could get reprimanded by their superiors. I did. Yes, as far as I knew, I did. Honest! However, I was unaware, I have already set my camera to the 2-image setting which I usually do when it gets dark. One shot is always with the flash and the other without – all captured in a single click.
Now now… when I was reviewing my pics for that trip, I was happily surprised that that photo remained in my memory card. So I asked a 2P officer with kinda higher authority than their supervisor or manager. The reply was “they could get in trouble for that”! Argh! I exclaimed "why the hell can't I brag about this good deed?" - as if I don't know the answer hehe. System security, password sharing, unauthorized access, name it... there is a litany. But then again, I also know "what transaction can a guard do aside from retrieving and printing a passenger record"? I know he was not the one who logged-in into that computer. So, I insisted I want to write about it and tell the traveling public about such good deed.
The officer I talked to had this to say, "it's still your call, since in fact, you saw them do it and was able to capture that photo, but am telling you, if you have pity on those guys, better not show the photo or say a thing about it on your blog". That was a firm reminder. I still chose and choose to publish it anyway. Then I will monitor those two guys if they were reprimanded. If ever they are slapped with a suspension or something like that, I will formally protest with 2P Management and start a crusade to collect an equivalent amount of money for the number of days salary they are suspended, or even more. Promise!
I still say, Thank you AirPhil Express for a nice experience! Indeed!
Why would the superiors reprimand them anyway? The guard, and obviously with thanks from the “real” ticket agents and passengers, is just trying to help out. Ah yes, you are worried he may and can press anything on that keyboard that would be tantamount to irregularity. Hardly! In fact, it is about time the world give these guards some real role than just standing around and watching us the passengers ever ready to say “bawal yan” or “bawal yun”!Let’s delve a bit deeper. Aren’t companies all over this country using guards for clerical works anyway? Especially in the airline industry. Take those numbered stubs for an example. Yep, the one that they issue to us so we have our number in a waiting list at ticket offices. The act of issuing such stubs, esp using machines, is no way near from the responsibilities of a giuard, right? That is clerical! But tell me, which company fields a non-guard employee just to issue those waitlist stubs. In some places, that is a self-service thing, yes, where you just detach your number yourself. But in 99% of the time, they use guards to do the issuing, right?!
Therefore, nice move that the above encounter is already starting to happen. Its probably time companies relegate these petty little things such as mere printing of e-tickets to guards, if they cannot have it self-service! Its just printing anyway. No payments, no talk, no nothing. You just pop in there, tell the guard your flight number, show your ID and zzzzzzzzt zzzzzzzzzt zzzzzzzzzzt, you have a printed copy of your e-ticket which you already paid online anyway!
Sign of our times? It better be! If we must remain behind many countries in terms of technology, let us at least be ahead of ourselves little by little!
Nice encounter. I insist!
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