Rey Beltran | ExecutiveChronicles.com
One of Senator Gil Puyat sons did not enter the world of politics, but the entrepreneurial world. In 1965, he had established the Loyola Memorial Park which became a template for all memorial parks that were built afterwards. Two decades after, he brought to the Philippines a product that changed the cleaning system in every household – Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner. Rainbow Cleaning System, the ONLY vacuum cleaner CERTIFIED as an air purifier by the American Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).
[Read more: Vic Puyat: The Grandfather of Rainbow Cleaning System in Southeast Asia]
“When I was doing Rainbow, the Americans probably heard that we were doing Rainbow,” Vic said with a smile. “There was a group of American entrepreneurs who checked me out. They said Rotorooter is a big name in the US, the number one plumbing company, and you’re doing Rainbow. Why don’t you give this a try?” So Vic gave Roto-Rooter a try after much hounding from them.
Roto-Rooter Philippines specializes in preventive maintenance for restaurants, fast-food outlets, condominiums and hotels. In this way, trap waste will be disposed properly in an ecologically friendly way reducing further health and environmental hazard.
“We have two American products that just kept me busy, which is now being handled by my children. Ako, medyo semi-retired na ako. I just come to work in the afternoon to sign checks, and to be around for giving advice. Operationally, sila na.”
So how is he as a boss?
“I’m not a boss, number one,” Vic stressed. “ I do not like to be bossed. And I am not bossy. That’s probably my best answer. I work with people, I’m not a boss.”
Vic further explains, “I show them I live a simple life. I’m a learner. I want to catch people doing right instead of berating them about the wrong they did. I tell them, I call them aside and tell them, you did something like this, I don’t think it’s right, I don’t want you to do that again, here’s the way I want you to have it done.
“I tell them the right thing to do rather than telling them why did you do it? Don’t focus on the wrong. Talk about how to do the right thing. Then you’ll see, nobody in this office is afraid of me. Walang takot sa ‘kin yan. Pag takot sila, bakit ka takot? Meron ka na bang ginawang mali dito na hiniya kita? Halika dito, magkwentuhan tayo.”
Vic’s management style resonates in the office. Indeed, you see that his staff members are in awe of him and they respect him. He’s like a father to them all. It’s how they see him, it’s how they perceive him.
Speaking of perception, Vic beams that he was successful at changing the perception of the public when it comes to funerarias.”Who wants to go to a funeraria? I called it memorial chapels. Now everybody has a memorial chapel.” The Americans wanted to start a funeral plan in the country, he called it a life plan.
You can change the attitude of the people, their perceptions, by coming up with a different name for a product they attach a strong feeling to. “I am the author of the life plan industry and the author of the memorial chapels industry, but not the memorial park. The memorial park came from abroad. But I was the one who coined life plan and memorial chapels. I could’ve registered that, but no.”
