“I hate this trip!” - first words from a client upon arrival at the airport

#HumanConnection #Philippinemangoesarethesweetest

#ONETeam #SNAPS #SageandNotableAdvisesfromPatrickSalazar

About the photo:

This was taken in my condo in Cebu during the lockdown period of 2020. I was able to order fruits from a neighbor who sells it. Every time I eat mangoes during summertime, I remember this story and smile looking for shaved ice to cool down the hot weather.

Here’s my story:

After managing a couple of hundreds of client visits, there’ll be a few that you’ll never forget. This is one of them.

It was summer time and there was a very important client visit for a big name brand and a potential new industry vertical for our Team. I fetched the client from the (Provincial) airport and even before I introduced myself she said loudly..

“It’s so hot & humid here!” “I hate this trip!”“Your domestic planes are too small, there’s no decent business class” “I have allergies” “We already have a consultant here and they should be doing this trip” “The only reason why I’m doing this is because my boss said I should personally choose the next vendor from the Philippines”

This kind of non-stop remarks went on in the van to her hotel and from her hotel to our Site.

If you listened carefully, she said in passing… “Ah! I do know one Filipino, he was a former assistant of mine and he said Philippine mangoes are the sweetest!”

Discreetly, I called my staff in the Site and told him to immediately “buy 5 kilos of ripe mangoes, slice it in half, taste one half, if it’s sweet, put the other half in a long serving dish, and serve it with shaved ice. You got 45 minutes to make this happen”. The sweet mangoes during summertime in the Philippines are found in Luzon, and not in the Province where our Site was located so I had to be creative.

When me & the client finally arrived in our Site’s Boardroom, the first thing she told me was “Your elevator is too small! If your boardroom is on the 4th floor, you need to have a bigger elevator!” and so on…. Then, suddenly she noticed something on the middle of the boardroom table and said…

“Oh! Mangoes!” She ate one slice. “Hmmm, this is delicious!” She got another slice and this time remarked in a relaxed, friendly, low toned voice…

“So, who’s idea is this with the mangoes?”

Everyone looked at me.

By the way, we never left the welcome page of the PPT.

After 3 months, we won that deal. The headcount tripled within the first year then doubled the following year. We added 4 more logos within a year and that vertical became a major strength because of the sweet mangoes of the Philippines served with shaved ice.

Even on a personal level, you must always listen empathically to your friends, to your parents, siblings, to your children and especially to your spouse or partner.

Human connection is important. Try it.