Polibusocial

When I thought about starting on my own I didn't think about the complicated world of politics, the competitive business arena & the crowd I would bow to daily (heheheheheh as if I do that) Monday of this week, my sisters & I went to our Municipal Hall. They were renewing their NBI clearances & I have to renew my business permit. Getting to renew & acquiring a new permit is not as frustrating anymore. Because the day I came to the Business Permit & Licensing Office there was a great turnout. I'm not referring to the applicants & business owners but a great turnout of staff from the BPLO office. The demeanor has improved, too. Instead of being shoved around & being shown a finger pointing you to the next step, now you get a SMILE every now & then. Not all will give you that drop dead gorgeous smile,(if you can call it that) but some of them do try to. Their department head even at this point I can say, is haplessly hopeless in this category of a Smile away. His is more of No smile so you can't stay in his presence longer than needed. Although, he gets to talk to a chosen few & I guess if he does not know you, like in my case, you will still get a glance, a sharp not so friendly glance as he signs your documents. Then thankfully someone helpful tells you where to stand next & you will still get lost even in that small space. Because even if they tell you number 6step, while you are there you will have to really ask them where to next.You will look like a fool at first.Why? Because even if you are at your destination, you feel alienated until you get to the right person who will accomodate you. Once they notice you, they make you sit unwelcomingly. Then they will insist that they do not believe that you only earned this much the previous year, even to the point of you letting them know that you started the middle of the year. Oh no they tell you straight "No, we don't believe you, we know for sure that stores like you earn this much." And they assess & write the monetary figure as they know should be your due. Which in my case is not like all the others they know. Anyway, as I finished in this section & paid off what was needed, I was asked to get another document. While I was at it I got acquainted with a fellow store owner. She asked me how much I paid & when did I start my store. When I told her she said that she requested the staff who interviewed her to assess a lower amount for her store. She also told me that she should have transacted with the inspectors, whom she confessed she gives P500 everytime they visit her store. This woman continued to tell me that securing a permit is not necessary at all, in fact she said the inspectors told her, she shouldn't have declared that she has this store in the first place. What does that imply? ? ? Those revelations coming from a woman, a store owner at that approx 20 years my senior, who encourages corruption by bribing inspectors, is not my style. While I on the other hand was told by an inspector to register & pay. But as I was going through what I have experienced it also crossed my mind that if I would have done what she did then I would have to pay less, and even give myself a pat in the back for a wise move by having an inside connection. Alas, I am not her. When I came home, all the things I saw & heard were reviewed. In the end I feel much better that I did what I have to do & didn't have to deal with a guilty conscience. Owning a business albeit a small one still requires responsibility. It does not necessarily mean that if it's a small sari-sari store, you don't have that dignity to deal with your customers & suppliers & be a good taxpayer. That dignity & respect is in fact what they should admire you for. Or is it? I face people everyday & I have my family's reputation to uphold. What I know is, I may not be as popular & as well accomodated as the others I saw in that office, and I may not be as cunning as that storeowner who managed to cut her dues in half; One thing for sure is this taxpayer earns through honest means & does not compromise on the quality of goods & services that she provides to her customers just because she has financial obligations to the goverment. The market has shrunk because there are many, many newly established businesses wanting to take a piece of the pie. I will just have to be creative & earn the best way I know. I guess if I want to survive in this polibusocial society is to learn from the best, do your best & give the best service you can provide. The way I see it, money is not everything in that office, power is. As long as they have the power to issue you a permit & to shut you down if you don't own up & pay up, they know you will be powerless to not shoulder your dues. BTW, if you get the chance to visit them, look at the slogans they have. Something like "taxpayer as important. . ." For some it would be BS for others you could say their getting to that commitment, because at least a few staffs are trying but not at their best try.