FITNESS FIRST, EMPLOYEES LAST. -- Episode 2: The Employees Strike Back
Well, since the first one was such a hit, I think it's fitting that I come up with a sequel. Yes or yes? That's how it always works -- Star Wars, Spider-Man, Friday The 13th, and the list goes on. So here we are. For those of you who haven't read the first part, fear not. You can get yourself up to speed by clicking HERE.
And in true Star Wars tradition, I'm calling this sequel: THE EMPLOYEES STRIKE BACK. (It's a spoof of "The Empire Strikes Back"... Get it? Get it? Oh nevermind.)
Okay. So I went to bed last Friday without a reply from Mike Abacan. I woke up at 11:00am the next day, and I saw 2 messages from him in my inbox. The first one...
Was not able to reply to ur message last, fell asleep. You know jake, nothing is intentional. If I was not able to clearly tell you to communicate with your FOHM then my fault. But you don't need to accuse that you are left hanging in the air. Cancelation of membership is one of the privilege a GXI may have, and we are happy to give that. If things don't go the way we want it to, why don't we look for solutions instead of bickering with each other? I will personally call Maki of Eastwood to process your termination and a charge back on your credit card. Thanks.
Paging the grammar & spelling police! Someone needs you badly. But wait! There's more! His second message...
Now, you are accusing the company thru facebook? Did the GXC's where u are teaching not inform you of Frank's appeal for GXI's to refrain from discussing thru facebook matters pertaining to fitness first. I just got a txt message that you posted "fitness first. employees last". These things does not help.
I wasn't about to take this lying down. (Although I was still lying down when I typed my reply. What can I say? I love my bed.) So I replied...
Sorry late reply. Bickering? Other than last night, when else have we been bickering? If I remember correctly, I've ALWAYS been so subservient and obedient. And believe me, I've tried looking for other solutions. I've asked soooo many people. I just didn't want to go over your head and bypass you because you were the one I was originally in contact with. I did that out of respect.
1 message down, 2 to go...
Besides, I asked Eastwood reception yesterday, and they said they would need some form of endorsement or authorization. They said from Ramon daw. I also asked May a long time ago. And she said to approach you. So ganun din, it all comes back to the SGXM's. I'd still need to course it through you guys.
And lastly...
And no, none of the GXC's informed me of anything regarding Facebook. No, I am not accusing the company of anything through Facebook. Everything that is written there are my personal opinions which, as it turns out, most of the GXI's AND members completely agree with. There are no legal or formal accusations. It's just a summary of my personal experience. It's my blog, and I'm keeping it there. It's not open to the public anyway, just to certain people.
3 minutes later, Mike replied with 3 messages of his very own...
I already talked to Maki Jake. She will be there tom. She will process it. Again, things like these remind us constantly because we are preoccupied with lots of things and we understand your situation as well. Again, let's look for solutions and work on it. Pls go to Maki tom.
His second message...
I am speaking in general Jake, because I'm sure things like these would continously appear. I'm sure you know how bickering is within the group. I appreciate ur being a team player, but when a misunderstanding like this occurs, let us not be so emotional and instead find a solution.
Misunderstanding? There was no misunderstanding. All this crap was crystal clear. Anyway, his third message...
If they feel that way, then the best way to deal with it is to communicate with the people involved, just like what u did. Then u will get an answer. That is the best way to communicate ur concerns.
This left me sorta puzzled. So the best way to get things done and to communicate our concerns is by... sending him insanely anger-filled text messages??? Cool. I can do that. And if you continue reading, you'll see that that's exactly what I did.
So anyway, I didn't bother replying to him anymore. I was too busy fixing my Christmas gifts. 4 hours later, he tried calling me. I missed his call, so he texted me again...
Is it true that you are posting comments against me in facebook? I don't open my facebook so i am not aware. If it is true, then why the need to put things in a place where nothing can be resolved. Thank you jake.
Like I said, I was too busy buying stuff for Christmas, so I wasn't able to reply to him until 3 hours after his last text. So this was my reply...
Sorry late reply. Okay, thanks for that. I'll pass by Eastwood tmrw to talk to Maki. Just to make sure everything's in order. I deleted the Facebook comments this morning pa. And as for the other GXI's, I do believe they're working on their own form of communication. I support them and I hope they succeed.
He didn't reply anymore. So Saturday ends. I go to bed. I woke up Sunday morning, and I saw that I had another missed call from Mike + another text message from him...
Hi Jake, a GXI called me and told me that your comments are still up in the facebook. Is this true?
Two things:
1) I really did delete my negative comments the day before. I wrote stuff about him looking like a primate. I deleted all that already.
2) I think I know who his source was. Because exactly 3 minutes after Mike's text came in, a fellow GXI texted me that he/she just read my blog entry. Coincidence? I think not! But if my suspicions are correct, I'm not mad at him/her. He/she is a good person. I think he/she was just trying to be the peacemaker.
So going back to the exchanging of text messages. I replied...
Nope, not true. Like I said, I already deleted all my negative comments against you yesterday morning. Everything that's left there are my opinions in general. There are so many people that left comments though. Maybe that's what your source was talking about. That's beyond my control. I can't stop them.
Mike didn't reply after that. So I got out of bed. Had my breakfast. Took a shower. Got dressed. I was supposed to go to FF Eastwood to sort things out with my membership. But Mackie (apparently, that's how it's spelled) told me that it was the Club Admin's day off, so she asked if i could drop by on a weekday instead. I understood and said yes.
Mackie went on to say that there shouldn't be a problem with my membership status anyway. It should be all set by January. I proceeded to ask her if the monthly fee they charged me for November & December would be charged back. Mackie said NO, because Mike said that he received my e-mail in November, and there should be a 1-month calendar notice to cancel membership. So what happened was that December 2008 served as my 1-month notice, and I was still billed for this month.
BULLSHIT. Pure bullshit. The flames were already dying down, but that just brought it back to life. So I immediately texted the one & only Mike Abacan. I wanted to let him hear it from me again. I unleashed another of my text tirades on him. 2 mesages this time. The first one...
Hi Mike. Mackie just texted me and she said that she won't be able to charge back the monthly fee for November & December 2008. That's P4,600 down the drain. How am I going to get that back? It's insanely ridiculous and unfair for me to be charged P4,600 simple because YOU FORGOT to follow it up and process it. Why should I be the one to lose money because of YOUR shortcomings? Need I remind you that I did my part and informed you as early as OCTOBER 12?
My fingers were still on fire. My second message...
I am getting increasingly tired of chasing after you and bugging you about this. I'm sure you are too. I did way more than my fair share of running around. You're the SGXM. I expect you to fix this, not me. However, if speaking out is what it takes to get things done, then I will not hesitate to do so.
Then the biggest letdown occured. I was expecting him to reply with an equally wordy & lengthy message. But that never happened. Instead, all he texted me was...
Pls send me ur account number so I can send the money to your account. Thanks.
Yes, folks, that was it. But being the outspoken-when-angry person that I am, I bombarded him with even more text messages...
Okay. I'll send it in a bit. But wait, is that all you're going to send me? What about my missing salary? What about the rehearsal fee that you promised for the Powerade gig? What about my fee as host for the combat event? Can you send that all to my account too? And now that we're on the subject, what about EVERYONE'S missing salaries? What about the rest of the fee that you promised Jhay, Suzane, and the other presenters for the combat eliminations?
I continued by sending him this...
And just in case you forgot AGAIN, let me recap... You said that we would be paid demo rate for EVERY Powerade rehearsal session. You also told us to check attendance and list the names down. Are you even aware of how many rehearsal sessions we conducted? Or did you somehow "forget" to check and tally it? Wow, you're becoming very forgetful when it comes to money matters. Are you sure you don't have Dementia? I'm honestly concerned for your well-being.
Finally, Mike replied with his own long message...
Wait jake, combat events payment will be received Jan, I send that info to all of you. Missing salaries, did u talk to all of them and asked them who made the error in doing their payroll? Why are you blaming me then? If your class pay is inaccurate you need to communicate with your GXC's. I don't do the inputting they do.
Well, would you look at that? He was trying to weasel his way out of it! He actually wanted to pass the blame to other people! WHAT A PRICK!!! I immediately replied. This time, it was my turn to send the short mesages...
Most of us didn't get paid at all. Not a single peso. I'm sure you're aware of that. What good will checking with our GXC's do?
I sent that. But then I forgot to add something. So I sent another one...
And by the way, the only thing you texted all of us was that AsiaMo payments will be received by end of the month. We did not get any notice regarding Powerade.
I think I was walking through Shangri-La while I was typing those messages, hence the shortness. A few minutes later, Mike tried calling me again. Twice or thrice, I think. As usual, I didn't answer his calls. So he texted me again. TWO messages this time...
That is the only way for you to communicate kung saan nanggaling ang error. Would u like to answer ur phone coz I've been calling you
No, at that time, I really didn't want to answer my phone. Who wants to squabble with someone over the phone while doing Christmas shopping? His second message...
If instructors did not get the correct amount of pay, they need to communicate with their GXC's because the GXC's inputted the payroll. I am accountable to the classes paid in manila, but accountability is on a per club basis. Again, by not directly communicating their concern to the correct people, the situation is not addressed.
Now this really pissed me off. And i mean REALLY REALLY REALLY pissed me off. First, he's trying to pass the blame by saying that the GXC's were the ones who messed up. Second, he has the nerve to insinuate that the GXI's are not communicating with the right people. Who the fuck are the right people anyway? HE'S OUR FUCKING SGXM!!!
Okay. Wait wait. I don't want to spoil my reply, because I love love love what I texted him. I love it so much that I'm gonna make the font bigger! Here it goes...
So you're telling me that it's the GXC's fault that a huge chunk of the GXI's did not receive a single peso? How is that even possible? You're saying that all the GXC's somehow conspired to not input everyone's classes? And for fuck's sake, why do WE have to do all the work? Why do WE have to trace the root of the error? You're the SGXM, aren't you? You should be the one to do something about it, not us. WE ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES. TAKE CARE OF US.
The brilliant Mr. Mike Abacan never bothered replying after that. Last thing I heard was that he was caught in the middle of an argument at FF Greehills. I don't know the details. I don't know what happened after either.
I guess this would be the part of the movie where there's this big explosion, and the villain is trapped underneath the crumbling building. But when the dust settles, the villain's body is nowhere to be found. And you don't know where the villain is. You don't even know if he's alive or dead. (I'm sure most of you prefer the latter. Mean, but true. Evil, but true.)
You know, it's really simple. If he doesn't want the job, then he should step down. If he can't do his job properly, then he should step down. If he constantly finds himself too preoccupied with other things to the point that he can't take proper care of his subordinates, then he should step down... Either that, or all the unhappy subordinates should unite and move to have him removed.
So as the sequel comes to a close, I would just like to remind you that all this time, I've only been ranting about one person. But little did you know that there's another person who's been doing some corrupt bad deeds of his own!
This person has the same position as the ever popular Mike Abacan. Now, I don't want to discuss the details, so I'll just end this entry with a couple of questions I want you to think about...
How much does a plain black shirt cost in divisoria?
How much does it take to print a Les Mills logo on that same shirt?
Why was it reported that each Les Mills shirt cost a whopping P600?
And as we say in Tagalog: BATO-BATO SA LANGIT, ANG TAMAAN... GUILTY!!!
Hmmm... I smell a third installment... TRILOGY!!!!
And in true Star Wars tradition, I'm calling this sequel: THE EMPLOYEES STRIKE BACK. (It's a spoof of "The Empire Strikes Back"... Get it? Get it? Oh nevermind.)
Okay. So I went to bed last Friday without a reply from Mike Abacan. I woke up at 11:00am the next day, and I saw 2 messages from him in my inbox. The first one...
Was not able to reply to ur message last, fell asleep. You know jake, nothing is intentional. If I was not able to clearly tell you to communicate with your FOHM then my fault. But you don't need to accuse that you are left hanging in the air. Cancelation of membership is one of the privilege a GXI may have, and we are happy to give that. If things don't go the way we want it to, why don't we look for solutions instead of bickering with each other? I will personally call Maki of Eastwood to process your termination and a charge back on your credit card. Thanks.
Paging the grammar & spelling police! Someone needs you badly. But wait! There's more! His second message...
Now, you are accusing the company thru facebook? Did the GXC's where u are teaching not inform you of Frank's appeal for GXI's to refrain from discussing thru facebook matters pertaining to fitness first. I just got a txt message that you posted "fitness first. employees last". These things does not help.
I wasn't about to take this lying down. (Although I was still lying down when I typed my reply. What can I say? I love my bed.) So I replied...
Sorry late reply. Bickering? Other than last night, when else have we been bickering? If I remember correctly, I've ALWAYS been so subservient and obedient. And believe me, I've tried looking for other solutions. I've asked soooo many people. I just didn't want to go over your head and bypass you because you were the one I was originally in contact with. I did that out of respect.
1 message down, 2 to go...
Besides, I asked Eastwood reception yesterday, and they said they would need some form of endorsement or authorization. They said from Ramon daw. I also asked May a long time ago. And she said to approach you. So ganun din, it all comes back to the SGXM's. I'd still need to course it through you guys.
And lastly...
And no, none of the GXC's informed me of anything regarding Facebook. No, I am not accusing the company of anything through Facebook. Everything that is written there are my personal opinions which, as it turns out, most of the GXI's AND members completely agree with. There are no legal or formal accusations. It's just a summary of my personal experience. It's my blog, and I'm keeping it there. It's not open to the public anyway, just to certain people.
3 minutes later, Mike replied with 3 messages of his very own...
I already talked to Maki Jake. She will be there tom. She will process it. Again, things like these remind us constantly because we are preoccupied with lots of things and we understand your situation as well. Again, let's look for solutions and work on it. Pls go to Maki tom.
His second message...
I am speaking in general Jake, because I'm sure things like these would continously appear. I'm sure you know how bickering is within the group. I appreciate ur being a team player, but when a misunderstanding like this occurs, let us not be so emotional and instead find a solution.
Misunderstanding? There was no misunderstanding. All this crap was crystal clear. Anyway, his third message...
If they feel that way, then the best way to deal with it is to communicate with the people involved, just like what u did. Then u will get an answer. That is the best way to communicate ur concerns.
This left me sorta puzzled. So the best way to get things done and to communicate our concerns is by... sending him insanely anger-filled text messages??? Cool. I can do that. And if you continue reading, you'll see that that's exactly what I did.
So anyway, I didn't bother replying to him anymore. I was too busy fixing my Christmas gifts. 4 hours later, he tried calling me. I missed his call, so he texted me again...
Is it true that you are posting comments against me in facebook? I don't open my facebook so i am not aware. If it is true, then why the need to put things in a place where nothing can be resolved. Thank you jake.
Like I said, I was too busy buying stuff for Christmas, so I wasn't able to reply to him until 3 hours after his last text. So this was my reply...
Sorry late reply. Okay, thanks for that. I'll pass by Eastwood tmrw to talk to Maki. Just to make sure everything's in order. I deleted the Facebook comments this morning pa. And as for the other GXI's, I do believe they're working on their own form of communication. I support them and I hope they succeed.
He didn't reply anymore. So Saturday ends. I go to bed. I woke up Sunday morning, and I saw that I had another missed call from Mike + another text message from him...
Hi Jake, a GXI called me and told me that your comments are still up in the facebook. Is this true?
Two things:
1) I really did delete my negative comments the day before. I wrote stuff about him looking like a primate. I deleted all that already.
2) I think I know who his source was. Because exactly 3 minutes after Mike's text came in, a fellow GXI texted me that he/she just read my blog entry. Coincidence? I think not! But if my suspicions are correct, I'm not mad at him/her. He/she is a good person. I think he/she was just trying to be the peacemaker.
So going back to the exchanging of text messages. I replied...
Nope, not true. Like I said, I already deleted all my negative comments against you yesterday morning. Everything that's left there are my opinions in general. There are so many people that left comments though. Maybe that's what your source was talking about. That's beyond my control. I can't stop them.
Mike didn't reply after that. So I got out of bed. Had my breakfast. Took a shower. Got dressed. I was supposed to go to FF Eastwood to sort things out with my membership. But Mackie (apparently, that's how it's spelled) told me that it was the Club Admin's day off, so she asked if i could drop by on a weekday instead. I understood and said yes.
Mackie went on to say that there shouldn't be a problem with my membership status anyway. It should be all set by January. I proceeded to ask her if the monthly fee they charged me for November & December would be charged back. Mackie said NO, because Mike said that he received my e-mail in November, and there should be a 1-month calendar notice to cancel membership. So what happened was that December 2008 served as my 1-month notice, and I was still billed for this month.
BULLSHIT. Pure bullshit. The flames were already dying down, but that just brought it back to life. So I immediately texted the one & only Mike Abacan. I wanted to let him hear it from me again. I unleashed another of my text tirades on him. 2 mesages this time. The first one...
Hi Mike. Mackie just texted me and she said that she won't be able to charge back the monthly fee for November & December 2008. That's P4,600 down the drain. How am I going to get that back? It's insanely ridiculous and unfair for me to be charged P4,600 simple because YOU FORGOT to follow it up and process it. Why should I be the one to lose money because of YOUR shortcomings? Need I remind you that I did my part and informed you as early as OCTOBER 12?
My fingers were still on fire. My second message...
I am getting increasingly tired of chasing after you and bugging you about this. I'm sure you are too. I did way more than my fair share of running around. You're the SGXM. I expect you to fix this, not me. However, if speaking out is what it takes to get things done, then I will not hesitate to do so.
Then the biggest letdown occured. I was expecting him to reply with an equally wordy & lengthy message. But that never happened. Instead, all he texted me was...
Pls send me ur account number so I can send the money to your account. Thanks.
Yes, folks, that was it. But being the outspoken-when-angry person that I am, I bombarded him with even more text messages...
Okay. I'll send it in a bit. But wait, is that all you're going to send me? What about my missing salary? What about the rehearsal fee that you promised for the Powerade gig? What about my fee as host for the combat event? Can you send that all to my account too? And now that we're on the subject, what about EVERYONE'S missing salaries? What about the rest of the fee that you promised Jhay, Suzane, and the other presenters for the combat eliminations?
I continued by sending him this...
And just in case you forgot AGAIN, let me recap... You said that we would be paid demo rate for EVERY Powerade rehearsal session. You also told us to check attendance and list the names down. Are you even aware of how many rehearsal sessions we conducted? Or did you somehow "forget" to check and tally it? Wow, you're becoming very forgetful when it comes to money matters. Are you sure you don't have Dementia? I'm honestly concerned for your well-being.
Finally, Mike replied with his own long message...
Wait jake, combat events payment will be received Jan, I send that info to all of you. Missing salaries, did u talk to all of them and asked them who made the error in doing their payroll? Why are you blaming me then? If your class pay is inaccurate you need to communicate with your GXC's. I don't do the inputting they do.
Well, would you look at that? He was trying to weasel his way out of it! He actually wanted to pass the blame to other people! WHAT A PRICK!!! I immediately replied. This time, it was my turn to send the short mesages...
Most of us didn't get paid at all. Not a single peso. I'm sure you're aware of that. What good will checking with our GXC's do?
I sent that. But then I forgot to add something. So I sent another one...
And by the way, the only thing you texted all of us was that AsiaMo payments will be received by end of the month. We did not get any notice regarding Powerade.
I think I was walking through Shangri-La while I was typing those messages, hence the shortness. A few minutes later, Mike tried calling me again. Twice or thrice, I think. As usual, I didn't answer his calls. So he texted me again. TWO messages this time...
That is the only way for you to communicate kung saan nanggaling ang error. Would u like to answer ur phone coz I've been calling you
No, at that time, I really didn't want to answer my phone. Who wants to squabble with someone over the phone while doing Christmas shopping? His second message...
If instructors did not get the correct amount of pay, they need to communicate with their GXC's because the GXC's inputted the payroll. I am accountable to the classes paid in manila, but accountability is on a per club basis. Again, by not directly communicating their concern to the correct people, the situation is not addressed.
Now this really pissed me off. And i mean REALLY REALLY REALLY pissed me off. First, he's trying to pass the blame by saying that the GXC's were the ones who messed up. Second, he has the nerve to insinuate that the GXI's are not communicating with the right people. Who the fuck are the right people anyway? HE'S OUR FUCKING SGXM!!!
Okay. Wait wait. I don't want to spoil my reply, because I love love love what I texted him. I love it so much that I'm gonna make the font bigger! Here it goes...
So you're telling me that it's the GXC's fault that a huge chunk of the GXI's did not receive a single peso? How is that even possible? You're saying that all the GXC's somehow conspired to not input everyone's classes? And for fuck's sake, why do WE have to do all the work? Why do WE have to trace the root of the error? You're the SGXM, aren't you? You should be the one to do something about it, not us. WE ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES. TAKE CARE OF US.
The brilliant Mr. Mike Abacan never bothered replying after that. Last thing I heard was that he was caught in the middle of an argument at FF Greehills. I don't know the details. I don't know what happened after either.
I guess this would be the part of the movie where there's this big explosion, and the villain is trapped underneath the crumbling building. But when the dust settles, the villain's body is nowhere to be found. And you don't know where the villain is. You don't even know if he's alive or dead. (I'm sure most of you prefer the latter. Mean, but true. Evil, but true.)
You know, it's really simple. If he doesn't want the job, then he should step down. If he can't do his job properly, then he should step down. If he constantly finds himself too preoccupied with other things to the point that he can't take proper care of his subordinates, then he should step down... Either that, or all the unhappy subordinates should unite and move to have him removed.
So as the sequel comes to a close, I would just like to remind you that all this time, I've only been ranting about one person. But little did you know that there's another person who's been doing some corrupt bad deeds of his own!
This person has the same position as the ever popular Mike Abacan. Now, I don't want to discuss the details, so I'll just end this entry with a couple of questions I want you to think about...
How much does a plain black shirt cost in divisoria?
How much does it take to print a Les Mills logo on that same shirt?
Why was it reported that each Les Mills shirt cost a whopping P600?
And as we say in Tagalog: BATO-BATO SA LANGIT, ANG TAMAAN... GUILTY!!!
Hmmm... I smell a third installment... TRILOGY!!!!