Zoey's POV
I'm not okay. How can I be okay? Ibinabad ko ang sarili ko sa trabaho dahil alam kong 'yun lang ang tanging makakapagpaalis sa akin sa pag-iisip kay Nathan. Naka-ilang imbita sa akin si Paige pero hindi ko siya sinasagot. Wala naman siyang kasalanan dito pero hindi ko lang sila kayang makita.
"What?!" Parang umakyat lahat ng dugo ko sa ulo ko sa narinig ko. "Hindi niyo nasabihan ang Baguio na dumating 'yung mga steaks?!" Hindi nakasagot ang purchasing team. "How much?!"
"H-half million ma'am Zoey." Napaupo ako sa upuan ko sa narinig ko.
"How can you be so irresponsible?! You are 15 in your team, wala man lang nakaisip na i-inform sila?!"
"Ma'am, I think it is the responsibility of the Baguio team to check as well. They sent a purchase request, they should follow it up.", sabi ng Purchasing Manager sa akin. Hindi ako makatayo sa narinig ko.
"Was this already investigated?"
"Yes ma'am." Pumasok ang HR Officer para ibigay ang summary incident report. It's clearly the fault of the Purchasing Team. Since it's just one container filled with steaks that cost around 50, 000 each, Manila decided to send it through bus instead of the company's delivery truck to lessen the cost. The protocol is for the team to inform the Baguio team if the steaks have already arrived but the Manila team was "too busy" to inform the Baguio team. Kaya ayon, walang nag-pick up which caused the spoilage of the steaks. Of course you can't serve that!
"This is clearly your fault.", sabi ko sa Purchasing Manager. "This happened on your watch."
"Ma'am, we have been handling Purchase Requests of not just the Baguio Team but of the other properties as well. It is the holiday season that is why we are busy.", sabi niya sa kalmado pero inis na boses.
"Nasa employee by laws ang negligence of duty, hindi natin napupulot ang 500,000. We have a protocol and your team didn't follow it. Someone should be penalized."
"But ma'am, that is not humane!", sigaw ng Manager.
"So now what? Goodbye 500,000?"
"Ma'am, with all due respect we have been working our asses of for this company for so many years now. If sir Carlo is here, he would recommend otherwise." Tumitig lang ako sakanya pero mukhang nagulat din siya sa sinabi niya. "I-I'm sorry ma'am Gen."
"All of you get out of office now.", sabi ko sa pinakamahinahong boses na kaya ko. Kahit gusto kong umiyak walang lumalabas sa mga mata ko. Nagulo ako nang biglang may kumatok sa pinto.
"Zoey-"
"Kuya Carlo?" Tumakbo ako papunta sakanya at niyakap siya. "What are you doing here?" Ngumiti lang siya sa akin at niyakap ulit ako. Hindi ko na napigilan 'yung iyak ko.
"Are you okay? I heard what happened." Ikinwento ko ang nangyari at ang mga detalye.
"Recommendation ko nalang ang kulang kuya. They should pay for those!" Ngumiti si Kuya at pinahinanhon ako. Tumawa lang siya at nilabas ang cellphone niya sa bulsa at nag-selfie kasama ako. "What kuya?! Are you not even bothered? That's half a million! Pinaghihirapan natin 'yon!"
"I know- but first calm down." Pinaupo niya ako at ngumiti.
"Zoey, what's your intention on recommending the penalty?"
"Of course I want them to learn and it's in the company policy! We should follow it for us to be objective. Para sa susunod, aayusin na nila 'yung trabaho nila." Tumango lang si Kuya.
"So you think that if we charge them with that amount, they will automatically improve on their jobs?"
"Well they should be, it's the company's loss!"
"Zoey, managing a business is not just about money."
"Kuya, we do business for money!" Tumawa siya at ginulo ang buhok ko.
"I should send you to the Training Department to be re-oriented in the history of the company."
"Huh?"
"Nakalimutan mo na bang nagsimula ang lahat ng 'to sa isang maliit na Inn? Kahit na pinanganak na may kaya si Dad, he never relied on Lolo for everything. Do you think na lumago ng ganito kabilis ang Mercado Group dahil sa pera lang? He took care of his employees. Sa industry natin, prone tayo sa transitions dahil lahat ng tao gustong mangibang bansa o mag barko. Iilan lang sa Pilipinas ang hotel na may competitive salary. And do you think sweldo lang ang nagpapa-stay sa mga empleyado natin? No. We focused on Employee Engagement Programs and Training for our employees para kung aalis man sila, they are competitive. Inaalagan natin ang tao natin."
"But kuya, if we don't give penalties to employees, they will think that it's okay for them to make such mistakes."
"Zoey I've been with these people for years. Since I started my OJT, we had our ups and down everyone made a mistake, I did too."
"Kuya, it's half a million!" sigaw ko. Pinitik niya ako sa noo.
"I know! I'm not deaf, kanina mo pa yan inuulit sa akin." Huminga siya ng malalim. "The decision making process in Sales and Marketing is not the same with the Decision Making process of managing the hotel as a whole. In this case Zoey, your decision could affect the life of a person. You said that since it the fault of the team, the Manager should be the one shouldering the penalty."
"Yes, it's his fault he didn't train his people well."
"Have you ever made a mistake in your work?"
"You know me kuya, kung meron man it's minor and alam kong gawan ng paraan."
"Not everyone is as smart and keen as you are and you should not compare them to your own abilities. If 500,000 is large for a billion peso company like us, how much more is it for an ordinary citizen? The Purchasing Manager is the only breadwinner of his family. May pinapaaral siyang tatlong nasa kolehiyo, may sakit ang nanay niya, may breast cancer ang asawa niya. He is basically living from paycheck to paycheck."
"I didn't know."
"We are already in a capitalist world kahit anong gawin natin nandito na tayo. Nasa peak season tayo, kayang kayang mabawi in just 2 hours ang 500,000 na loss natin but you can't replace a trained and valuable employee. Relax, hindi sa bank account mo nabawas ang kalahating milyon. We can earn that in no time. Remember this, running a business is not just about money. That's our secret. We have the best employees, the best workforce and the best quality of service because of our people. Eighty percent of them are here for 5 years already. That's a lot of years in this industry. Let's bring back the human in the human resources."
"Thank you Kuya, you're right." Ngumiti siya. "What do you think I should do? I should do something."
"Well, instead of finding who to blame. Find out why this happened. Alam kong nagawan na ng Purchasing Department ng paraan 'yan. One thing is for sure, the protocol was not followed. Why? What improvements do we need? Do we need to make a AI system for it not to happen again? Zoey, always focus on the solution. Okay?" Tumango ako. "But of course, this is still because of their negligence. But we can penalize them in a different way such as giving him additional tasks, without additional compensation or giving him suspension. You talk to him and let him choose."
"But isn't that unfair and subjective? How will the employees trust our by laws now if we dont follow it?"
"If the employees sees its management worthy of their trust, this will not be an issue. Alam mo ba nung OJT ako, may similar case na nangyari. It's clearly the employee's fault and according to the by laws, he should pay 50,000 for the damage caused. The union of employees made a petition for him para mapababa yung penalty. You see, employees here treat each other as family."
"Thank you talaga kuya. I missed you. Bakit ka pala nandito?"
"I know you need me. Do you want to go to Baguio for a vacation? Don't worry, I've already prepared everything there. You just need to be there to oversee everything. We have a Hotel Manager there so you don't have to think about it too much."
"What about here?"
"I'll take care of it.", sabi ni kuya.
"Huh? Eh paano sila ate?"
"The family will spend Christmas and New Year here in Manila so its very timely. I'm sorry dear we will not be able to celebrate it together this year again."
"No problem kuya, it's okay. I'll just ask the gang if they want to go there."
"Sure." So it's settled. I called everyone and okay silang lahat na mag celebrate ng Christmas sa Baguio. Baguio, my escape place. Maybe I need this to think clearly. Baguio for me when it comes to healing is already tried and tested.
I can't wait.