Filipinos are renowned for their jovial spirit, warmth and hospitality, and willingness to go the extra mile to make a visitor’s stay pleasant and memorable. But sometimes a fine line is crossed between being genuinely helpful and overly eager.
An American found this the hard way and was shocked that Filipinos can be overly ‘helpful’.
She came to the Philippines to work as an intern for a lawyer, but she was little appraised of the culture she was about to dive into. Perhaps assuming that she can research about the country and the region she is going to work in on her own, her employer did little to help her navigate the strange world of Filipino behavior and customs.
She was to go from one end of the Cebu province to another with a little more than terse instruction and travel money. She was groping in this confusion as she went to the bus terminal to start her journey. To her surprise, the people seemed more than eager to help her with her luggage, taking her bags and stowing them inside the bus without even asking her where she intends to go. The situation became so frustrating as she hopped from bus to ferry to pedicab that she eventually exploded and screamed which stopped the ‘bag men’ in their tracks before they could stash her bag someplace else.
Luckily for her, she and her luggage arrived at the intended destination in one piece.
The Scenario Explained
Filipinos are naturally helpful people, even to a wandering local. When they see someone who is visibly not from around town and obviously groping his or her way in the crowd, they do not readily present themselves and volunteer their services unless categorically requested to do so or asked a question. When they are approached and asked, they open up and try to be as helpful as they can.
Those who go out of their way to “help” lost travelers do so because it is their business. The American intern was in a bus terminal where there are porters – either officially deputized by the terminal management or are working ‘freelance’ – who make a living by carrying heavy luggage from one point to another, or in this case, from passenger to vehicle. The idea is to get gratuity from the effort expended, not unlike bellhops in hotels who get tips from carrying a guest’s luggage from reception area to assigned room. Because competition is fierce, the first ‘helpful’ porter gets the most tips. Hence, a likely scenario for somebody loaded with luggage – and a ‘walking US dollar’ at that – is to be mobbed by porters.
How to Decline Offer for ‘Help’
If you don’t want your luggage to be moved about, gently but firmly tell the porters that you can carry the bags yourself. If they insist, and often they will (since they are making a living out of it), give them whatever amount you feel is justified. A dollar is usually enough for moderate luggage, but for really hefty boxes which require several porters to carry, US$2-3 is fair.
Tipping well is good traveler etiquette after all. You also get to help people whose livelihoods entirely depend on this ‘service’ industry.
Photo by happy via
