(A lesson in Human Resource Management)
by Dino Crescini
This particular episode in my life happened while I was managing the Credit Center of Bank of America Manila Branch. What is now known as EFTPOS or Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale terminals have not yet been invented at that time (1976). We relied heavily on using telex machines to communicate with various banks from all over the world who were issuing Visa and MasterCard credit cards.
Thus, hotels and airlines need to contact the center to obtain authorization for card usage beyond the established merchant floor limits. We had to be in operation 24/7 which made it mandatory for me to roster three employees round the clock. We therefore had the morning shift, the afternoon shift and the graveyard shift. We called them Authorizers who were tasked with answering the telephone to provide service mostly to hotel and airline merchants. Hotel cashiers would call in the wee hours of the day as some hotel guests had to check out early to catch an early morning flight. Our Authorizers would then establish contact with the Bank Card Issuer overseas using the telex machine. Depending on the credit standing of the cardholder, an approval code would usually be given. Such code would guarantee payment of the overlimit transaction by the hotel guest.
One such Authorizer was Arnold Gomez (not his real name) who accepted the graveyard shift. He therefore started work at 7:00 pm and had to stay up to 3:00 am until the next shift arrived.
I thought everything was going on smoothly until I received complaints from many hotel employees that no one was answering the telephone. The situation prompted me to investigate and check the logbook of the security guard assigned at the 7th floor of the BA Lepanto Building where the Bank of America Card Center was located.
It was then when I found out that Arnold Gomez was leaving the office at a much earlier time than expected. I normally left the office between 9:30 to 10:30 pm. It turned out that Arnold would just wait for me to leave, wait another 30 minutes and then quit, leaving no one to answer the telephone to provide authorization.
I checked various dates and saw a pattern. He left shortly after I left the office. Thus, I made photo copies of the logbook entries that showed the actual times when Arnold left the building.
I then called him and asked for an explanation, showing him copies of the logbook of the security guard. He turned pale and begged for a second chance, promising never to do it again.
Thereupon, I produced a Letter of Resignation that I wanted him to sign. He initially refused to sign the letter, telling me that he had five children and that he was the sole breadwinner in the family. So I told him that he would be sacked if he would not sign the letter. Getting fired would mean losing his superannuation or retirement benefits and everything else including unused vacation and sick leave.
He then asked why the letter had no date. I said that his signature on the letter was his guarantee that he would never leave the office again prior to his assigned schedule. If he does, then all I needed to do was to fill in the date and he could collect his termination pay from the Human Resources Department. Scared as he was, he finally complied.
From then on, his attendance record improved and he was always in the office until the designated time. Consequently, our sales also doubled as more hotels called our office for an authorization code.
Then came the time when the bank offered a very generous retirement incentive which many of the staff couldn’t refuse. The bank offered 3 months’ salary for every year of service on top of our regular retirement benefits. Everything was tax free. I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime offer. I just had to accept the deal.
It was my last working day when I was approached by Arnold. I thought he merely wanted to bid me good luck and goodbye when he offered a firm handshake. But before I could release my hand, he asked for his ‘diploma.’ I knew right away what he meant, so I pulled out from my locked drawer the letter of resignation that he signed more than 10 years ago. I did not give it to him but I tore it in front of him. Surely, I did not want him to use the letter against me. The strong Bank of America Employees Union could have used the incident as employee harassment. There was no way I would allow that to happen — not even on my last day at the office.