go gokongweis!

The Gokongweis are close to my heart. No, I do not know them personally, nor do they know me. We have no relations whatsoever, except that I am a fan of some of their companies and I would like to emulate their business attitude and the regard they give to their customers.

I first took note of the Gokongweis or at least one of their business enterprises during my “teen” years in Naga. I remember us needing a telephone for our new home. My mother was in some sort of dilemma choosing between Bayantel/PLDT and Digitel. Bayantel/PLDT had been in Naga for quite some time then, and its service was far from satisfactory. It took it a few years to approve and install new telephones and its after-sales support was notorious for making one wait for months. On the other hand, Digitel was a new comer. It had some reputation for reliability as allegedly their lines can stand typhoons due to the fact that most of their major cables were laid underground and their new poles were concrete. Eventually my mom decided to try Digitel, and lo and behold, we had a telephone line not even a week passed after applying! After-sales service was also prompt and efficient.

When I went to college after graduating from high school, I cured my home-sickness through long distance calls. I remember saving 250 pesos for those PLDT cards. I would call first our home and talk to my mom and siblings, then the remaining balance I used to call my girlfriend. The rate then was something like twelve (or was it nine) pesos per minute. I only stayed in Manila for a year. I transferred to Baguio the next year as I was having a hard time adapting to the environment in Manila which was making me sick. After sometime in Baguio, I was re-introduced again to Digitel, this time through its phone-cards that offered very cheap (four pesos-per-minute) long distance calls when PLDT had it at eight pesos . Eventually however, telephone booths became a bit redundant then later near obsolete as GSM cellular phone gained popularity with its free text messaging.

Years passed and I found myself studying in Manila again but this time with a family of my own left in the province. Again, communication became a grave necessity, and Digitel, through its Sun Cellular initially saved my day. However, the service was still unreliable so I reverted back to Smart as I needed to keep in touch and be within text-and-call distance for my family. (I’m amazed at how technology creates standards for what is necessary - a weekly call before the advent of cellphones was enough, nowadays, an hour of no signal creates anxieties of being out of touch). Cell cards were eating a large portion of my budget when luckily for me, Suncell offered its 24/7 service so I bought a sun sim which I used interchangeably with my smart sim. I was really thankful.

To be continued…