not again

leaving chow king hi-top (aurora blvd. cor. f. castillo) last tuesday, august 22...  guard writing something on a logbook, his back to the door...

me:  "next time pag magsusulat ka dito ka humarap para kita mo 'yung pinto."

guard:  "bakit?"

me:  "para kita mo 'yung mga taong dumadating 'tsaka umaalis."

guard:  "kita ko."

me:  "pa'no mo kita e diyan ka nakaharap sa aircon?"

guard:  "it's out of your business!"

me:  "ganu'n?!  ako 'yung may kasamang bata diyan sa hi-top last year!"

guard:  "alam ko!"

me:  "o!  alam mo pala, e!  dapat matuto ka na.  baka maulit na naman 'yung isang taon na, hindi ninyo pa rin alam anong pangalan nu'ng lalaking muntik kumuha nu'ng pamangkin ko."

guard snickers.

me:  "i'm telling you this hindi dahil gusto ko lang.  dati akong head ng security..."

guard:  "i don't care who you are.  you're just a customer!  you're not my supervisor!"

me:  "e ayusin mo pagbabantay mo!  pag may nag-inspect dito makita kung sa'n sa'n ka nakaharap."

i had things to attend to so i had to leave.  after my to-dos, however, i came back and asked for the manager.  with the managers around (there were two of them, male and female), i asked for the guard.  well, he was nowhere to be found.  (he wasn't at the door when i came in.)

i told the managers we'd just wait for the guard because i want him to hear what i have to say.

the managers didn't want to wait, however, so i started.

<blah-blah-blah,
blah-blah-blah,
blah-blah-blah>

and then i saw the guard and waved him to the table.

he comes and i start again:

i go to this nearby establishment at least once a week and i pass by chow king to order siomai primarily because i like their chili sauce.  i said i also like chicken soup but i haven't been ordering because of bird flu.  i also like their halo-halo.  in other words, i frequent the place.  my observations therefore are based not just on a one-time visit but on multiple visits.

i pointed out to them where i usually sit.  my back is to the counter and i'm facing the door.  the guard is in my line of sight.

i said maybe i'm extra observant because:

1.  we had a bad experience with the same guard at hi-top supermarket last year
[the guard walks out at this point but the male manager orders him back.]

2.  i used to head security, IT security, not the security guards but they are part because of physical security.  you have to protect the servers, etc. and control who has access to different areas.

i said i therefore am not saying things just because that is how i like them but because there really are certain practices that you adopt to improve security.

i said i noticed that their guard is often out of post or he's not at a good vantage point.

the crew would be eating or waiting near the door and he'd be chatting with them and people would just be passing to and fro behind him.

there've been times when within my meal he'd leave his post and go to the bathroom at least twice.  i said i'm not saying guards should not go but i'm saying someone who has to go that often should not be assigned at busy entry and exit points.

i said one time he left and went not just to the bathroom but outside just as i started eating and then i've already finished and have gone out of the premises and he still has not come back.

i said he's fidgety and he keeps on fixing his sleeves.

the guard snaps:  "are you angry at me because i'm fixing my sleeves?!"

i snap back:  "i resent that you cannot see what's happening because you are looking at your sleeves!"

i said this time when i saw him facing the aircon i called his attention and he responds with:
"it's out of your business!  i don't care who you are.  you're just a customer!"

the guard adds:  "you're not my supervisor!"

again the guard walks out.

i ask the managers to call him back but the male manager said never mind and just continue with my story.

okay.

some establishments spend so much and go to great lengths just to improve security.  my suggestion was very simple.  face the door instead of the aircon.  it wasn't hard to do.  it doesn't entail cost.  it's not even based on some obscure security principle just common sense.  and that is how the guard reacts?  that aircon is so big and heavy.  it is opaque.  there is no added value in facing it.  on the contrary, you are negating the value of having a guard by having your back to practically everything no matter how momentarily.

i said this very same guard was on duty at hi-top supermarket also august of last year when there was a commotion because my cousin saw someone holding my little nephew so she started screaming and she confronted the guy while i whisked my nephew out of the spot.  i brought my nephew to the cashier, i paid for my purchases then we all left.

when i came back the following day to ask for a copy of the incident report, it turns out this guard did not record anything!  actually, my cousin was saying throughout the incident the guard did not do anything.  what sort of security officer acts that way?!  guards are supposed to observe and record and investigate anything unusual.  they are supposed to maintain order in their place of assigment.  this one involved shouting and a supposed attempt to take a little boy and basic things you fail to do?!

i insisted on a report so they produced one.  well, the report they put together fails in terms of completeness and accuracy.  i'd say truthfulness, too.

the basics:  who, what, where, when.  if you can produce the why and how better.

the who, there were four people involved:  my nephew, the guy, my cousin and i.  in their report there was just three.  my cousin has disappeared from the picture.  it was my cousin who saw what the guy did and it is their names that were left out.  [the report says they were not able to talk to the guy sensibly because he was mentally handicapped so "agad din namin pinauwi."  actually i doubt whether they questioned him at all.]

the what, it was my cousin screaming but in their report i was already the one screaming.

the where, good, they got it right.

the when, they were off by over an hour!  i know because i paid with a credit card and the slip has a timestamp.

this guard was closest to the incident at the time.  i am saying he was alarmingly incompetent.  a year later it shouldn't be like that anymore.

now i don't want people to lose their jobs because of anything i say.  what i have in mind is to give them a refresher course to bring them at par with the requirements of their position and assign them to a post suitable to their disposition.

customer entrance and exit is not the proper posting for someone who has no sense of decorum.  i suppose chow king trains its employees on how to interact with customers.  you have marketing.  you have PR.  you don't counter those efforts by posting an ill-mannered guard at the door.  you will antagonize customers that way.

a heavy traffic door is not the proper posting for someone who is inclined to leave his post.  you're giving bad elements too much window.

true, chow king has a CCTV but that is a passive device.  you have a guard precisely for active protection.

i asked the managers to have a security professional review footage from their CCTV and evaluate the kind of protection they've been getting given the behavior of their guard.  they have only one guard.  he must know at least the basics otherwise you're putting life and property at risk.

the female manager said she will ask the guard for an IR.  i left my name and number with them.  up to now i haven't received any message.  i really am curious what the guard has to say.  i will hear him out.  i will not walk out.