MikeLigalig.com

Article and Interview by Loy Palapos
published by the Bohol Sunday Post

Jollibee has gone international, its impact on the fastfood-chain business has reverberated world-wide, leaving a delicious after-taste among gourmets. It's " Langhap Sarap" slogan is very Asian, appealing to all generations; so that it's not surprising to see one family (from the grandparents, parents, and grandchildren) seated in a Jollibee outlet to savor the flavor of the leading Filipino eatery.

Even its FSC (Food, Service, Cleanliness) has gained recognition, and has become a model of excellence. By year-end there will be 600 Jollibee branches all over the Philippines. Outlets have also been opened in foreign countries: Brunei (7 outlets), Hongkong (1), Vietnam (, and Guam (2); in California alone there are 35 Jollibee outlets. When Jollibee opened in Las Vegas last August, it stunned the world with a seven-figure opening-day sale. But most noteworthy in the business realm took place in 2004 when Mr. Tony Tan Caktiong was accorded Ernst Young's World Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

There are now three Jollibee outlets in Bohol, all of them in Tagbilaran City, and plans are underway to branch out to a few selected municipalities by 2008. The first Jollibee outlet was in Plaza Marcela, the second in Alturas Supermarket, and the third in Island City Mall. Responsible for these three is Nancy Araco Doydora (NAD), the Managing Director. Assisting her are 222 supervisors, staff and crew.

This ambush interview took place at ICM, last Wednesday, even when Jollibee-ICM was bursting with kids and their elders. I ask a grandmother, who was with two boys and a teen-age girl about her presence, and her answer was: " Kon ang akong mga apo maghisgot na ug kaon sa gawas, Jollibee na… ug di ko makabalibad kay ganahan man sad ko dinhi."

LMP: What is your present designation?
NAD: Managing Director of Jollibee and Greenwich Tagbilaran Group.

LMP: When you started studying, what was your dream?
NAD: I wanted to become a nun. I was exposed to religious activities like Flores de Mayo for the whole month of May, and other church projects. In Gallares Street, we have a chapel there. Santa Cruz Chapel. I was active in youth activities, like the PYM, the Parish Youth Movement.

LMP: You finished elementary, where?
NAD: At Cogon Elementary School as Salutatorian.

LMP: Then, high school?
NAD: University of Bohol. Valedictorian.

LMP: And college?
NAD: Still at UB

LMP: What course?
NAD: Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. Dean's Lister.

LMP: What year?
NAD: That was 1988. My first job was as checker at Alturas Supermarket.

LMP: Did you apply right after graduation?
NAD: No. I took a rest for 3 months. And then my father suggested, I work in Alturas because he knows Mano Narding. My father was a winch- man before at the Tagbilaran Pier.

LMP: So you stayed there?
NAD: After 3 months, I resigned. I thought I wasn't fitted for the job.

LMP: Where did you go after that?
NAD: I went to Cebu, and worked there in a rattan company as Methods Analyst.

LMP: Did it fit more, the kind of training that you had?
NAD: Yes. An Industrial Engineer's job is more on analysis, finding ways on how to make work easier and profitable. And minimizing the time element.

LMP: Did you stay there long?
NAD: For 6 months.

LMP: Why only 6 months?
NAD: I started working in another rattan company.

LMP: The same job?
NAD: As Cost analysts

LMP: What was the name of the other company?
NAD: Cebu Rattan.

LMP: The same as the first one?
NAD: The first one was Amancor in Mandaue.

LMP: And you liked the job and stayed longer?
NAD: No. I stayed for only 6 months.

LMP: Another 6 months. After that?
NAD: Then another job. In MEPSA.

LMP: What particular company was that?
NAD: KH. It was Japanese Company.

LMP: What job?
NAD: Supervisory.

LMP; In particular, unsay product sa company?
NAD: Garments, for export.

LMP: And you're a supervisor there. The question is, how long did you stay?
NAD: Another 6 months.

LMP: Where did you go?
NAD: I decided to come back to Bohol.

LMP: What year?
NAD: 1990.

LMP: Back at Alturas?
NAD: Alturas.

LMP: Where were you assigned?
NAD; I was assigned at the Planning Department headed by Mr. Elison Tan.

LMP: How long were you in the planning department?
NAD: For 6 months. After 6 months, I was assigned at the Bakery and Fastfoods. That time Flora Bangkoy was the supervisor and she was planning to enter a nunnery in Italy. When I started at the Bakery and Fastfoods Center, may plano na si Flor nga magmadre. I mean, iya diay kong giplanuhan nga iyang ipuli. Pero, I was not aware of that. Iya lang kong gihinayhinayan ug makmak. So, when she finally decided nga magmadre siya, akoy iyang gi recommend sa General Manager.

LMP: Did you accept the job at once?
NAD: No. I was hesitant to accept the job. I loved to be involved in the different departments, to learn their systems. Pero Sir, I believe nga if decision na sa taas like Sir Mar, wa kay reason nga mubalibad kay ikaw may nangitag trabaho. And what I did was to prove lang nga wa pod magmahay si Flor nga nagrecommend nako.

LMP: How long did you hold that job?
NAD: 5 years.

LMP: Then came Jollibee?
NAD: No. Plaza Marcela. I was the OIC of Plaza Marcela when it opened in 1997.

LMP; Why did you leave it?
NAD: My choice. Because during that time, Plaza Marcela was mingaw pa. The management decided to put in Jollibee so Sir Mar went to Manila and applied for a franchise. I think, when Sir Mar was asked kinsay angay padad-on sa Jollibee, he just mentioned my name.

LMP: So you were not able to refuse? So readily, gi accept nimo?
NAD: No. I was afraid. I was not ready. But I had no choice. Kon decision na sa top management, dili pod siguro sila mu decide kon sa tan aw nila, dili kaya nako.

LMP: You were trained after that?
NAD: Yes

LMP: For how long?
NAD: 3 1/2 months.

LMP: In what Jollibee outlet?
NAD: The strategy of the training, Sir, is that they assign you to a Jollibee store near your boarding house. My boarding house was at Binondo, so I was assigned in Jollibee Divisoria Mall. It's a walking distance.

LMP: Was the training on the management for the full operation?
NAD: Only on the basic operation Sir. More on crew work; how you deliver the food; how you prepare the food; and how you entertain customers. Financial side. I had no idea.

LMP: Then afterwards, open na?
NAD: Open na ang store.

LMP: So wala na ka mahadlok?
NAD: May kaba gamay.

LMP: Can you still remember the date nag-open ang Plaza Marcela Jollibee?
NAD: Of course, Sir. It was April 18, 1998. Mag-10 years na ang store.

LMP: Did you find the job challenging?
NAD: Very challenging. The demands, the requirements, the kind of people, you work with. Very challenging jud. That time, ang Jollibee was new to Tagbilaran, and the pool of applicants and the kind of people we hired, were from the prominent families. Basta gikan sa prominenty family, kasagaran naay kaugalingong thinking.

LMP: What did you find at Jollibee that was unique?
NAD: The FSC. Our way of life. F is food, then S is service and C is cleanliness and condition.

LMP: That's basically Jollibee? Naa ba na siya in other restaurant?
NAD: We differ in different ways.

LMP: How about the crew? How was the recruitment process?
NAD: We coursed it through you before, you were the HRD manager. We coursed it through your department, Sir. We centralized it in your department.

LMP: Jollibee is famous for hiring part-timers. Would you say that among the stores in the country Jollibee started the hiring of students in order for them to help them with their studies?
NAD: I think so, Sir. Because we believe nga once part-timer ang bata, dili sila magpondo. They have a chance to really move forward for what they want in life nga dili lang permanente nga crew but somebody nga nay kaugalingon nga pride, nga naa silay decision in life and the community.

LMP: That is one way to build the self esteem of the people. That they are not hired just to be there, but that they have something to be proud of and they can grow. When did the Alturas Jollibee open?
NAD: Alturas Jollibee opened on June 30, 1999. A year after Plaza Marcela.

LMP; And that's with Greenwich
NAD: Yes. Before, the trend was co-branding. When you franchise Jollibee, packaged na ang Greenwich.

LMP: Was that also the trend when there was Jollibee ICM?
NAD: No. because by 2002, they realized that co-branding is not healthy for Greenwich .

LMP; Did Greenwich and Jollibee ICM open at the same time?
NAD: No.

LMP: Kinsa may nag-una?
NAD: Jollibee. On June 26, 2004.

LMP: How about Greenwich ?
NAD: December 18, 2004.

LMP: Have you found out that the decision to separate was good for both?
NAD: Yes, it was proven good.

LMP: How many years has Jollibee been here?
NAD: In Tagbilaran 10 years, next year.

LMP: Is there a possibility for other expansions?
NAD: There is.

LMP: If it's not confidential.
NAD: Actually, Sir, there is no exact time pa, but there is,

LMP: Away from Tagbilaran?
NAD: Possibly. Now, aggressive kaayo ang Jollibee, Sir, for expansion.

LMP: How does Alturas and Jollibee contribute to your personal life?
NAD: I become more confident. Decisive on things, more open, and know more how to reach out to people.

LMP: What more do you expect to come?
NAD: You grow older, you also want to be self sufficient, also you want to handle your own business.

LMP: How long will you like to stay in Jollibee?
NAD: For as long as they are still confident and satisfied with my performance. and for as long as I still have something to contribute to the Alturas Group and new things to share with my managers.

LMP: How do you express your gratitude to Alturas and Jollibee as far as personal growth is concerned?
NAD: Without the Alturas Group, we will not have Jollibee. I realized that both have helped me a lot in terms of expanding my knowledge, especially in Jollibee.

To Sir Mar, he's like a mentor, bisan ug masayop ka, Sir, he always gives you another chance nga macorrect imung sayop, and then eventually, mamaayo jud ka anang field.

LMP: He makes you realize your mistakes, how your fault can be corrected. How about the public?
NAD: I'm so grateful that they patronize Jollibee here in Bohol. In fact during the HNU survey, it turned out nga dako kaayo ang disparity sa Jollibee with other competitors. Dako kayo ang percentage nga labaw ang Jollibee.

LMP; So naglead jud ang Laghap Sarap Pinoy?
NAD: Yes Sir. Ang FSC pod namo, Sir. Ang food ug ang service. I believe that we have the best service in Tagbilaran. When Jollibee came to Bohol, I noticed the progress of the province. Jollibee grows with the City and Province. Jollibee has exerted its influence to the public through its service. It's a give-and-take relationships. The public have changed for the better. We at Jollibee are happy we are a part of progress.

Last September, on my way back to the Philippines via San Francisco, Mark Cabañeo, his wife, and three children brought me to dine at a Jollibee outlet in Daly City. It was six in the afternoon and the line to the counter was getting linger (we were number 9). Even while partaking of the spaghetti and chicken we ordered, I cant help but noticed the mix-race crew. Five were Mexicans, three were Americans, and 2 dark-skinned boys were probably Jamaicans. The feeling I had was of awe and pride, proud with the thought that "Langhap Sarap" is now enjoyed in foreign shores.

Jollibee is now an epitome of speedy service with excellence. It's organizational structure is a product of good planning. The training a would-be employee gets leaves something to be desired. The Corporation is also a pioneer in the recruitment of part-timer crew and staff members among students. There are even well-heeled families who encourage their children to work at Jollibee, as a good training for their development as students, and later as entrepreneurs.
Jollibee is still growing, and still growing strong.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6223.0