In an interview for my Anthropology paper, one staff member of Sogo agreed that the Hotel has a negative image, i.e, a place where “ang habol lang ng tao e init ng katawan,” but refuted it by saying some guests check straight from the airport for the lack of place to stay. Then he claimed,
“Iba ang dating ng Sogo Hotel. Iba sahod dito, may benefits pa…Ang panlaban ng Sogo hindi ganda ng room o sarap ng pagkain. Dito sa’men implemented ang courtesy. Tinuturo sa staff ang Japanese bow. Administrative, employee, or staff kailangan [marunong] ng Japanese bow.”
Based on guests he served, he could say that Sogo is a walk-in hotel for the masses.
He amusingly recalled some guests who would rather take the stairs because they do not know how to use the elevator. This made me ask a rather silly question, “Tinatawanan nyo ba yung mga ganon?” which made him talk about ethics in service:
WAITER: Ay hindi ma’am, hindi po pupwede yung ganon, very unethical po kasi yung tawanan nyo …[ibang tao.]
AI: Totoo ba yung sinasabi ng iba na bawal kayo tumingin sa mata ng customer?
WAITER: Yes ma’am, kasi po once na tinitigan mo isang guest, …halimbawa may kasamang lalaki…e yung babae maganda, [hindi mo maiiwasan mapatingin] …tiisin mo na lang, sabi nga ng manager namin, hindi naman mapupunta sa inyo yung babae kaya wag mo nang tignan.
AI: E kung yung lalaki ang tignan mo?
WAITER: Ok yun sir kahit mula ulo. [laughs]
During the interview I would also notice that the ones who open the door to receive the delivered food are males. Indeed, according to the interviewee, most of the time the females remain in the inner room. This nurses a kind of binary function: whereas males are the active doers of tasks, females (or those who perform the female role) are the passive ones who wait for the action to get started.
AI: May ghost stories ba dito…
WAITER: Ghost stories…[usually daw di ba sa mga gantong hallways pag madaling araw. Pero] wala…
AI: E sex scandal
WAITER: Sex scandal, wala naman po akong nababalita. Malabo kasi sealed na sealed mga kwarto rito. Meron daw, ibang customers…pinaglalaruan mga kasama nila, pero sa tingin ko wala naman. Kasi mahigpit po ang management dun sa baba, binabantayan nila, at least walang camera, yung malalaki, pinapaiwan pa rin.
Once again, this kind of strictness against recording devices is a telling sign that scandal or no scandal, Sogo is a potential porn site. More importantly, this is a place for a kind of fun and relaxation that is not quite wholesome.
*part of paper submitted to Anthropology 292 (UP Diliman) submitted on Oct. 2008
I’ve always wondered what’s inside that hotel kasi nga it doesn’t seem wholesome. Ganoon pala. Hey aren’t you worried about Sogo’s reaction about this?
talagang hindi wholesome ang Sogo kasi saan ka ba naman makakakita ng wholesome na hotel where you can find porn channels, not to mention, mirrors all around.,. Those 2 features just connote a motel for panandaliang aliw.,.
I’d be glad to hear their side. 🙂
that’s nice to know about..it has really differerent connotation…..hehehhe…cool nito..parang eye-opener….gano kayo kadami sa grup nun??
aba.
interesting yung “bawal tumingin sa mata ng customer,” parang slaves. 🙂
Mr JR,
There’s no group. 🙂 I just asked a friend to accompany me to the hotel. Since the HR personnel wasn’t very accommodating, we went straight to the lobby and kept on bothering the hotel manager for an interview.
nelsin, 😀
they say the ka-womenan are too shy to be seen in that hotel so the staff kinda ease that hiya by not looking at them.
“AI: E kung yung lalaki ang tignan mo?
WAITER: Ok yun sir kahit mula ulo. [laughs]”
The guy’s response made me laugh! Hehehe :p
been there already. i feel sad for the hotel for having that kind of negative image. kasi wen i saw one of the rooms, it was not bad. it cannot be compared to those five star hotels pero ung quality nung room, sulit n sa murang bayad.
Curious, why feel sad? 🙂
“Bad” here means ‘not wholesome’ (and not low quality). Sogo is three-star, hence, the elegant look and professional service from the concierge to the doorman, but we cant hide the fact that this motel has been living up to its connotation. I hope I could include in my articles the interview with people who check in for several hours of sexcapade, but that must be unethical.
kaya ata may negative connotation e nakikita kasi natin ang hotel in places where hotels aren’t necessarily supposed to be… (or maybe that’s just me)
masaya sa Sogo and other motmots, pero siyempre depende pa rin sa linis ng lugar at serbisyo…you have to try to know..
motmots. cute nicname
napasok ko na yan… 🙂 hmmm.. ok naman
jz an incident happened to me last dec 6,2009 while staying in sogo harrison nr edsa..somebody get in to my rum and stole my laptop…they claimed its s secured place but using ID card can easily get in and open the main door since the 2nd door doesn’t have any lock key…no camera either…they promoting so clean and good hotel but not secured place…and still not a wholesome image though not a hotel image….
@aj oh? ano ginawa mo after mawala? sana dinimanda mo sila… tsk tsk..
bakit walang lock ang 2nd door?? can you tell me how to use that door, parang electronic type yta
@pedro yes sir the lock is electronic. the card given to you for you to swipe it 🙂
miss aimac what if paglabas ko???
ask ko lng po sna,
f ever u know…
me nkta po ksi akong promo nla n 175php,
econoroom nla good for 3hrs..
ask qoh lng po sna f gud for 2 persons nba un?
@pedro you can use the doorknob to get out haha
@rald yes thats for 2 pax.
Hey just wanna ask for your opinion bout this. you think their mirrors are one-way mirrors? and do you think they have hidden cams? we went in sogo once, and we did it – of course. just don’t wanna see us getting posted as scandals 🙁
id like to think there is none, ms shasha. and that they wont post videos on the net as scandals, simply because… it’s going to be thousands of videos everyday, if you know what i mean. seriously now, i think the hotel is pretty decent about their management and etiquette. they would want to protect their own business, else they lose clients. thats just my opinion. 🙂 have a nice day~
Actually Nakita ko yung Ginagawa namin ng Girlfriend ko sa SOGO na ininspect ko yung room at wala naman akong nakita so I think it is by hidden cam kaya kami navideohan. Wala akong interes na videohan kami pero may nakita akong video. hindi naman kita oh mahagilap mga mukha namin kasi madilim yung room at kami lang nakakaalam ng ginawa namin nun. Sa SOGO Kalentong branch po yun. MAGINGAT PO KAYO SA PINHOLE CAMERAS BAKA MARAMI DUN.
nakita mo yung ginagawa nyo ng girlfriend mo saan? sa internet? what a chance
hi,im melissa of hotel sogo’s marketing dept.we will be having a bloggers event this coming Sept.14,2013 at Eurotel Trinoma.It’s free for all bloggers,der are many freebies to be given away.hope you can come.email me to confirm.Thanks.Hope to see you there.
Sino po nkaka alam if magkano
Po sweldo sa hotelsogo?, room attendant,,,, manila rate at provincial rate….tnxpo,
Responce po s nkaka alam,,.
Fb- basqueschris@yahoo.com