- Albert Einstein
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Mami Athena conducted a training for the special accounts operators yesterday. Apparently, the clients abroad were not happy with how we are handling their user's concerns. Our means of calling their attention to return and use the service does not work anymore. New strategies must be applied to keep them interested in our "I-can-see-the-future" role-playing game.
The quote from Albert Einstein was her introduction. She said that we have been doing the same job for a long time that our old methods have already become a routine. We might not notice how formulaic our responses are, but the users feel that the longer they stay in the service, the more their "personal psychics" sounded like a machine. "It turns them away," Mami Athena explained, "Kumita na kasi ang style niyo."
Her recommendation was to change the way we talk to the users. "A product must have three qualities for it to survive the market," She said. Mami then went to point the three phrases written on the white board. "Personalized Approach, Buzzwords, and Call to Action." Suddenly, we found ourselves having a crash-course in Marketing. Much as her subject felt so alien to me, I knew such knowledge would greatly improve my chances of having a longer chat strings at work.
"If it comes from her, then it must be essential." I said to myself.
"Let's have Tide and Surf as an example," My surrogate mom continued. She then made a gesture as if holding two imaginary sachet in her hands. "Tide has its own market, while Surf sells more than its rival because of its lower price." My head wanders, I do not know anything about laundry soaps. Nevertheless, my ears were all hers. "In order for Tide to survive, it's campaign should have sounded like this..."
I do not know if it was the cold weather or my brooding fears about the family business that was responsible, but staring at Mami's eyes as she spoke in front of us explaining the ins and outs of advertising, suddenly made me remember how it used to be like in high school.
Long before I discovered my gift in writing and long before I discovered my liking for boys, my first love was with business. Back in high school we were given advanced subjects according to our academic capacities. The students who belong to the cream of the crop of the batch took up Bookkeeping. The average ones were assigned to Stenography and Office Management. While we, who were considered the delinquents and below-average were thrown to Salesmanship. It was a mark of embarrassment for many, but it was a wish came true for me.
For two years, I made it a point to achieve excellence in my field of study. We studied theories, consumer behavior, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and so on. We were sent outside the campus to interview entrepreneurs, big businesses and corporations, and for two quarters of the school year, we ran the only corner store allowed in our building.
We were the richest students in the batch.
However, much as I would like to take up Business Administration in College, my weakness in Mathematics pulled me out of the ranks and out of the schools I took entrance exams in fourth year. The summer after graduation, I had to beg my aunt in the Royal Pontifical University to push for my application's reconsideration in the Faculty of Arts and Letters. Fortunately, they saw my potentials and my thrust began to change from selling and starting a business to pursuing the arts and unleashing my creative muses.
Another four years had passed and college molded me to become a man of letters.
As Mami continued to explain our new strategy in winning back our users by using Tide as an example, it came to me that it's never too late to pursue my ancient dream.
"Kapag Tide ang ginamit mo, magkakaroon ka ng mas maraming panahon sa iyong pamilya." Mami was citing an example of a Personal Approach.
"Dahil ang Tide ay mabula at konting kuskos lang, tanggal lahat ng dumi sa damit." She asked one of my colleagues to state what she thought was the buzz words in the sentence. Hesitantly, she answered the words mabula, kuskos and dumi sa damit. My colleague was correct.
"Kaya't ano pa ang iniintay mo misis, bili na ng tide!" Had I heard the example of Call to Action she had given while inside the supermarket, I'd immediately return Ariel back to its shelf and pick Tide instead. Who can blame me, I'm just partial to my Mami.
The refresher course went on for another thirty minutes before she dismissed us so we could take charge of the account left by the shift before on the floor. I still have to see if her new methods would improve the chat strings I make in every text conversation. Nevertheless, I am glad she made me remember my roots in business. It would be something worth exploring the more I feel threatened that my family's way of life might be taken away from us.
As for Albert Einstein and his definition of insanity, It came to me that I'm going around in circles lately. My issues with Phanks and my new-found independence remains unresolved. My fears of starting all over again and falling madly in love with another person hounds me like a restless ghost. And my attempts in putting up walls and closing down my doors and avoiding places of distraction have just boxed me up but it never did something to really improve my well-being.
It's like doing so many related things over and over expecting a different result.
If only it would be easy to come up with a convincing call of action like Mami encourages us to do, I would immediately say yes to what my mind desires me to execute. However, with no plan to hold on to and no clear aim in sight, changes will be easier said than done.
"Just avoid going in circles and aim for the first straight line you will come across..."
What really matters at the moment is that Einstein's theory never applies to me.
The quote from Albert Einstein was her introduction. She said that we have been doing the same job for a long time that our old methods have already become a routine. We might not notice how formulaic our responses are, but the users feel that the longer they stay in the service, the more their "personal psychics" sounded like a machine. "It turns them away," Mami Athena explained, "Kumita na kasi ang style niyo."
Her recommendation was to change the way we talk to the users. "A product must have three qualities for it to survive the market," She said. Mami then went to point the three phrases written on the white board. "Personalized Approach, Buzzwords, and Call to Action." Suddenly, we found ourselves having a crash-course in Marketing. Much as her subject felt so alien to me, I knew such knowledge would greatly improve my chances of having a longer chat strings at work.
"If it comes from her, then it must be essential." I said to myself.
"Let's have Tide and Surf as an example," My surrogate mom continued. She then made a gesture as if holding two imaginary sachet in her hands. "Tide has its own market, while Surf sells more than its rival because of its lower price." My head wanders, I do not know anything about laundry soaps. Nevertheless, my ears were all hers. "In order for Tide to survive, it's campaign should have sounded like this..."
I do not know if it was the cold weather or my brooding fears about the family business that was responsible, but staring at Mami's eyes as she spoke in front of us explaining the ins and outs of advertising, suddenly made me remember how it used to be like in high school.
Long before I discovered my gift in writing and long before I discovered my liking for boys, my first love was with business. Back in high school we were given advanced subjects according to our academic capacities. The students who belong to the cream of the crop of the batch took up Bookkeeping. The average ones were assigned to Stenography and Office Management. While we, who were considered the delinquents and below-average were thrown to Salesmanship. It was a mark of embarrassment for many, but it was a wish came true for me.
For two years, I made it a point to achieve excellence in my field of study. We studied theories, consumer behavior, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and so on. We were sent outside the campus to interview entrepreneurs, big businesses and corporations, and for two quarters of the school year, we ran the only corner store allowed in our building.
We were the richest students in the batch.
However, much as I would like to take up Business Administration in College, my weakness in Mathematics pulled me out of the ranks and out of the schools I took entrance exams in fourth year. The summer after graduation, I had to beg my aunt in the Royal Pontifical University to push for my application's reconsideration in the Faculty of Arts and Letters. Fortunately, they saw my potentials and my thrust began to change from selling and starting a business to pursuing the arts and unleashing my creative muses.
Another four years had passed and college molded me to become a man of letters.
As Mami continued to explain our new strategy in winning back our users by using Tide as an example, it came to me that it's never too late to pursue my ancient dream.
"Kapag Tide ang ginamit mo, magkakaroon ka ng mas maraming panahon sa iyong pamilya." Mami was citing an example of a Personal Approach.
"Dahil ang Tide ay mabula at konting kuskos lang, tanggal lahat ng dumi sa damit." She asked one of my colleagues to state what she thought was the buzz words in the sentence. Hesitantly, she answered the words mabula, kuskos and dumi sa damit. My colleague was correct.
"Kaya't ano pa ang iniintay mo misis, bili na ng tide!" Had I heard the example of Call to Action she had given while inside the supermarket, I'd immediately return Ariel back to its shelf and pick Tide instead. Who can blame me, I'm just partial to my Mami.
The refresher course went on for another thirty minutes before she dismissed us so we could take charge of the account left by the shift before on the floor. I still have to see if her new methods would improve the chat strings I make in every text conversation. Nevertheless, I am glad she made me remember my roots in business. It would be something worth exploring the more I feel threatened that my family's way of life might be taken away from us.
As for Albert Einstein and his definition of insanity, It came to me that I'm going around in circles lately. My issues with Phanks and my new-found independence remains unresolved. My fears of starting all over again and falling madly in love with another person hounds me like a restless ghost. And my attempts in putting up walls and closing down my doors and avoiding places of distraction have just boxed me up but it never did something to really improve my well-being.
It's like doing so many related things over and over expecting a different result.
If only it would be easy to come up with a convincing call of action like Mami encourages us to do, I would immediately say yes to what my mind desires me to execute. However, with no plan to hold on to and no clear aim in sight, changes will be easier said than done.
"Just avoid going in circles and aim for the first straight line you will come across..."
What really matters at the moment is that Einstein's theory never applies to me.
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