Is it really so bad? Apparently, this British businessman-philantophist left our island in a huff because of corruption and found a place that accorded him better treatment.
If his plaints are true, how can we attract investments and provide more employment opportunities to Boholanos?
Sudoku-loving expat shows how it's doneBy Joel B. Escovilla Published : 2008-02-02
A RETIRED British expat in the city is proving that business and philanthropy are not two opposing forces locked in a perpetual tug-of-war.
In fact, even if his little restaurant sticks out like a bent thumb from among the rows of beauty parlors, barber shops and ukay-ukays (surplus clothes) along Crooked Road, it does serve an altruistic purpose.
The concept is short of revolutionary, said 60-year-old Alan Barnett, as he took a page out of a regular and profit-oriented business model, tore it to pieces. The result is this equation: Income – expenses = profits – charity.
Now, if that doesn’t make any difference, maybe this will: 50 percent of the diner’s profits will go to the purchase of brand new computer sets for public elementary school children in the city. So the next obvious question is: did he suck at math when he was a child?
“I’m a very good at math,†he said. “I was brilliant but did not know it because everything came easy to me. I’d get the lesson in five minutes and the rest of the time I’d be fooling around.â€
Of course, with an I.Q. of 160, there’s no reason to doubt him.
Barnett spent the better half of his life in the United States. After riding the bandwagon during the computer boom in the 80s and building his own company in England, then advising big businesses on human resources and setting up their own computer systems, he “retired†a millionaire at the age of 40 and relocated to Miami, Floria and decided to take it easy.
But boredom pushed him to put up another consultancy firm, and his reputation as a quick-thinking troubleshooter grew that he was able to corner big name clients like Kodak and Ford. That challenge, however, quickly dissipated and he found himself in a dilemma. He now has enough money in his pockets to retire ten times over and nothing to do.
So in 1999, he decided to put into practice the equation that he has been perfecting in his head.
“It took three years of planning and researching but it boiled down to a choice between Philippines and Vietnam because of the high level of English competency,†he said.
After mustering all his courage along with the confidence that his plan would work, Barnett packed his bags and set up the very first Al’s Diner in Bohol in Central Visayas. It didn’t last however because the few bumps he expected turned out to be much bigger than he anticipated.
“I started doing something like this in Bohol but I was hit with a lot of corruption,†he said, adding that he was so disappointed he immediately decided to transfer his business to Vietnam.
A friend from Davao City, however, persuaded him to visit the place so Barnett again packed his bags and converted a local hotel as his base of operations while they scoured for an ideal place for business. Despite his bad experience, Barnett was convinced that a restaurant is the way to go.
“All Filipinos love to do two things, karaoke and eat and I have a pretty good burger recipe in the states,†he said.
Good marketing sense
In February of 2006, and with P1 million as seed fund, Barnett officially opened Al’s Diner in Davao City.
The diner seemed anachronistic with its 50’s themed design. The splashes of red, blue and white underscores the fact that everything — from the architecture, leatherette benches, down to the menu – is American. On top of the door reads a sign: “The Little Restaurant that Cares.â€
If not for the Davaoena waitresses, you’d catch yourself speaking in English when you give your order.
“It’s a very good marketing sense because at the end of the day, we run projects for the community.†Barnett said. “We started to make real profits in the last three or four months,†he said.
He said 50 percent of the profits of the diner is earmarked for his “A Bite for a Byte†program, 25 percent for the operations and another 25 percent for the expansion.
As part of the “self-help†concept, the program seeks to provide computers for elementary school kids but the number of units lent out will depend on how much school principals and teachers put out.
While the program does not ask for financial collateral from the potential school-beneficiary, Barnett does require their students to visit the diner at “1 point†per order.
“They don’t have to order the most expensive food, just 20 pesos will do. The visits will depend on the population. So if the school has 600 students, that would mean 300 visits,†he said.
That prerequisite is important, he added, so that the donated computers would not seem like dole-outs and the school will take better care of them because they now have a stake in the project. “This is not an aid program, you support the diner and the diner will provide the computers.â€
Although he said that employees, high school and college students, can also adopt a school whenever they eat at the diner so each order will amount to one point.
On August 2, 2007, the Agdao Elementary School became the 2nd recipient of the Bite for a Byte program, after Bunawan Elementary School two years ago, when it was awarded with two sets of computers along with licensed softwares. Barnett also volunteers to oversee the training of the teachers and the maintenance of the equipment.
He said two more computers sets are lined up for release.
His expertise in human relations came in handy as the staff are well-trained in assisting to the needs of customers, still patterned after the American way of service, and multi-tasking. The diner attempts to create a homey feel where the waitresses not only serve but engage you in a conversation.
Though Barnett quickly added that the waitresses know when to back off when you need your space.
From the giant burger which boasts of one pound of 100 percent lean Australian beef, to the milkshakes and the fries, the menu is all American. The only anomaly in the menu is the affordable rice and viand dishes. This is still the Philippines, after all.
“We take the Philippine taste and added an American kick to it,†he said.
Lesson learned, lesson imparted
With his ubiquitous cap, Barnett is a regular fixture at the diner, never failing to greet bystanders and familiar faces with his gap-toothed smile; unless he is busy networking with other restaurants to buy into his campaign to help schools or solving two Sodokus at a time.
His cap has another function. In order to amuse little kids or break the ice, Barnett takes it off, exposes his bald head, and cry out: “Siopao, Mami!â€
His voice drops to a whisper, perhaps worried that one of his waitresses might hear him, as he admits he prefers to drink his chocolate at his usual watering hole in Agdao Public Market, “because it’s cheaper there.â€
Believe it or not, Barnett pays for his own food when he eats at his own diner. “When you open a business, you don’t abuse it,†he said.
The British national intends to put up five more diners in the cities of Davao, Zamboanga, General Santos, Digos and Cotabato.
His only regret is when the challenge dissipates once his vision to provide computers to every public elementary school throughout Mindanao takes off. And when that happens, he hopes he still has some energy left to solve another equation.
Where did get his sense of charity?
“Probably from my father; he told me that I won’t get a single cent when he dies because it’s all going to charity.â€
That’s the same lesson he told his only daughter, because when he dies all his money will fund the Bite for a Byte program.
As our interview ends, Barnett stood up and lights up a cigarette.
“This is my only vice,†he said, raising his cigarette as he puffs out a lungful of smoke.
“You sound like you’re making an excuse to yourself.â€
“Yeah,†he said, “My only luxury is when I travel I have to go first class especially on long trips so that I’ll have a good night’s sleep and not wake up grouchy.
I have no intention of getting married again because I get more kick in helping people.â€
I remember him telling me that he was married four times in four different continents: North and South America, Antarctica and Asia. But I did not ask whether or not that could be the reason.
Night fell and a group of beauticians coming from the neighboring salon passed by. They were talking animatedly as their shift ended.
As their voices were drowned by the blare of a speeding jeepney, Barnett greeted them a hearty “good evening†and the intrusion earned him a defiant glare from the group.
He laughed like it was the most natural thing in the world.
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