This is part of Major Business Opportunities in the Philippines
Another major business opportunity in the Philippines is called Filipino Time. Filipino time is a habit and phenomenon where a lot of Filipinos do not normally come on time to their appointments. The worst case of Filipino time or Filipino Timekeeping is that the Filipino forgot all about his appointment and does not show up for it.
Filipino time is does not just occur in social gatherings but in other important gatherings as well. If you’ve lived in the Philippines long enough you’ve probably seen the following occur:
This does not happen all the time but this does happen quite frequently though. Filipino time is a Filipino bad habit to most people. I see Filipino time as a major opportunity for improvement and a major business opportunity in the Philippines.
A lot of foreigners actually like working with Filipinos because they’re excellent team players, hospitable, customer oriented and they actually love their jobs. In fact Filipinos are the favourite employees in many nations that even when Filipino time does occur, it get’s disregarded (and is usually tagged as a minor downside with working with Filipinos) because of the upside of working with Filipinos.
Filipino time is a major opportunity for improvement because if Filipinos actually showed up on time their productivity will soar and they will no longer be seen by the international community as the people who don’t show up on time. Again, this is an image not all Filipino’s have. We just got tagged because of a lot of Filipinos who practiced Filipino time.
How do I solve Filipino time?
If you’re a Filipino, show up on time for all your appointments. Leave the house earlier. Manila traffic is one and a half hour from anywhere to most other places in Manila so leave earlier. Traffic is not an excuse. Waking up late is not an excuse. Preparation to leave the house late because you woke up late does not count as an excuse. Sleep earlier and stop watching Filipino news or the crappy Filipino Telenovelas (soap operas). They’re crappy anyway. If you actually come to your job/meetings on time, you’ll get extra income for it. No more salary deduction due to late or lost sales because you’re client left already or worse you just gave your client a bad impression.
If you’re a foreigner or someone that gives opportunity please give it to the person who comes on time and don’t give opportunities to people who don’t deserve it. i.e. Somebody that practices Filipino time.
Why is Filipino time a Major Business Opportunity in the Philippines?
Consider this scenario. You’re setting up a company in the Philippines. All the preparations are complete from paperwork to deliveries and what you need now are clients. You set up a meeting with the prospects that you want to be clients and they agree to meet with you. You come in fifteen to thirty minutes in advance and you notice that you’re the only person at the meeting place. You have time to spare to freshen up. You’ll sometimes need to because of the Manila traffic which is another Major Business Opportunity. You’re client arrives on time and he tells you he doesn’t have a lot of time. You then introduce yourself, company, benefits of your products/services and your client agrees to do business with you. As your client is leaving, you see a Filipino rushing to the scene on his phone and your new client picks up his phone and says that he already gave the business to you.
It’s a best case scenario for you if you come to your appointments on time. You might say it’s exaggerated but it does happen quite a lot. Many Filipinos say it’s not a good idea to sell or do business in the Philippines because of the competition. I say most of the competition is blown away by them not showing up on time or not showing up at all. When you come on time you build trust with your client. When you come on time all the time you win their respect because you respected their time and your time as well.
A famous business speaker said that “Success is 50 percent showing up and 50 percent participation.”
I agree. Showing up on time gives you a definite advantage over all the competition.
What other opportunities do you see open up for you because of Filipino Time?
Written on March 8th, 2011 by Kevin Olega