(This is a story I wrote way back 2013 for e-Frequency, ABS-CBN's intranet, which I handled back when I was still with the company. It is among my favorites of the many articles I've written, because German is an extraordinary person.)
It’s been 16 years, but to this day, German Pablico still remembers his very first day at work in ABS-CBN General Santos City vividly.
It was in March 1996. He arrived at 5 am, much too early for his supposed time-in of 9 am. The entrance leading to the 3rd floor of Asia Glass Building where the ABS-CBN GenSan office was located was still locked. There wasn’t a place to sit, so he had to wait for four hours on his feet.
But he didn’t mind at all - he was too excited to feel tired. After all, it was a big break for him, a tricycle driver, to be joining the company.
Humble beginnings
It was a friend, who was an ABS-CBN cameraman, who encouraged German to apply in the company, and fortunately, he got in. He started out as a driver and a utility guy, cleaning the office, making coffee, driving the company car, and assisting the account executives (AE) who were trying to close sales contracts for the company.
“I wasn’t earning much then so I thought of selling lunch to my fellow employees,” he shared. “My wife and I would wake up early to cook food, then I’d walk about 400 meters to the tricycle terminal carrying all the food I’ll be selling.”
A big break
At that time, ABS-CBN was fairly new in GenSan and it was a challenge for the AEs to convince clients to advertise so they would reach their sales quotas. It came to a point when the AEs started resigning one after the other, until there was none left.
Having assisted AEs many times before, German readily took on their tasks and even got existing clients to renew their contracts with ABS-CBN. “Before I knew it, I had already closed so many contracts, and I was also able to bring in new clients as well,” he said.
One day, German was informed by his boss that he was going to be transferred to Sales and promoted to the position of account executive.
German wanted to turn down the offer. While it was a big break, he felt that given his humble beginnings, it would be impossible for him to perform the job well. “But my boss reminded me about how much I’ve done to boost the company’s sales” he said. “She told me that all I have to do is work hard and it will all be okay.”
He accepted the promotion.
Getting his groove
It took a while before Pablico was able to overcome the feeling of insecurity. But the support and assistance of his officemates and manager, as well as the inspiration from his family, helped him to slowly come out of his shell.
German was also given the chance to go back to school and finish his studies, as well as attend trainings and conferences.
All these pushed him to do his best at work. Now, he contributes more than 50% to ABS-CBN GenSan’s total sales quota.
Also, the former driver now drives his very own car.
“When I started working for the company, we were poor and all I really wanted was to live a comfortable life,” German said. “Now I can provide for my loved ones and buy what I need. ABS-CBN helped me make my dreams come true.”
#
Comments
Post a Comment