The Superpowers of a Lineman
Neither lightning nor lockdowns could stop Globe field territory specialist Jose Macaranas from doing his job
Words by RHYS BUCCAT
The skies turned gray a few minutes before the sunset. It was 5 PM, and Monday rush hour had begun to engulf Quezon City. A series of lighting streaks and thunder claps signaled the approaching downpour.
Field veteran. Jose has years of experience under his tool belt. He used to work for Bayantel, and was absorbed by Globe when it acquired the company in 2015.
“Mabilis lang yan,” says Jose Macaranas looking up at the sky. Having worked out in the field for decades, he’d become quite familiar with telltale skies. His job as Globe’s field territory specialist had given him an uncanny ability to read the clouds, enabling him to decide whether or not to postpone an outdoor operation.
True enough—the rain poured but stopped after five minutes, bringing back the soft light skies of the golden hour. “I was right,” Jose quips, as he jumped out of the van to unload the lineman’s metal ladder. He wore his hard hat and tool belt. “Larga na tayo, boss,” he says. “Para sa clients, bawat minuto ay mahalaga.”
He took one final glance at the skies as he positioned the ladder on the utility pole. No one dared to ask if this was safe to do after the rain. He seemed so sure of what he was doing. After all, he was a man who could read the skies.
#AyalaCitizen Diary. Jose distributes canned goods to the technicians. The contractors are not Globe employees, but he sees them as part of the team—and will help and protect them as much as he can.
Armed with PPEs—and passion
He was also a man determined to get the job done. While he had years of field experience, as a territory specialist he could have monitored issues and installation requests from his home in Bulacan. However, most of his team technicians couldn’t report for work during Metro Manila’s lockdown due to the absence of public transportation or sheer fear of contracting the virus.
As customer requests poured in, Jose rose—or, more appropriately, climbed—to the occasion. He did not hesitate to gear up, dust-off his tools, and personally do installation and repair service—things he had not been expected to do for some time now.
““Talagang tagaktak ang pawis at parang ‘di ka makahinga. Pero kailangan kasi ang customer ang puso namin sa Globe.””
“Noong una, naninibago rin ako kasi matagal ko nang ‘di ginagawa,” Jose recalled. “Parang nangatog din ang tuhod ko habang umaakyat sa hagdan.”
Nevertheless, Jose conquered his fears and did the job. It was the call of duty, he said, that kept him and other Globe linemen going. In areas under special concern lockdown, they had to wear full PPEs over their usual gear of hard hats and tool belt. This made the job a lot harder than usual.
“Talagang tagaktak ang pawis at parang ‘di ka makahinga,” he says. “Pero kailangan kasi ang customer ang puso namin sa Globe. Without them, wala rin si Globe. Kaya talagang focused kami sa kanila.”
“Five out of five”
One satisfied client is Joan Heroza, a remote marketing professional who also has a thriving business. She sells cookies, lasagna, and other home-made goodies which are delivered to her clients’ doorsteps.
Joan, 35, has been a Globe client most of her life. She never considered any other Internet service provider because she was impressed by their reliable customer service.
In April, in the middle of the lockdown, she experienced intermittent connection. She called Globe’s area manager and was endorsed to Jose. “Nagulat ako kasi ang bilis ng response. Expected namin, may work permit pang kailangan. I was thinking na baka bukas pa ma-resolve iyong issue,” Joan says. “But no. Naayos nila within two hours. And I’m very grateful.”
Asked to rate Jose’s performance, Joan said she is giving him a five-star rating. “Alam kong may crisis, pero ang bilis ng response ng Globe at Home. Talagang nandiyan sila.”
Underdogs. It’s difficult to install wires and climb high ladders in full PPE. But for Globe technicians who responded to service requests around the country, just helping their customers (and their furry friends) made it all worth it.
“Maaasahan mo ako”
According to Jose, whenever he visits a client, he always gets to the root of the problem. Everything can be resolved with proper customer handling, he says. He puts himself in their shoes, understands the heart of their concern, and addresses the problem the best way possible. That’s his second superpower.
Jose’s great, reliable work was not left unrewarded. Some clients cooked for him in return. Others, just like Joan, gave him commendations that reached his supervisors. “Pero para sa akin, ang best reward ay kapag masaya at satisfied ang client sa service ko,” he says. That’s a promise he and Globe plan to keep, even in the new COVID world where the future may seem as gray and cloudy as an approaching storm. “Gusto ko lang maalala nila sa maaasahan nila ako at ang Globe.” #
PUBLISHED JULY 31, 2020
