THEY CAME IN CARS, IN VANS, IN tricycles, in pedicabs, even on foot?all 1,500 of them. They came to have their laundry done, free of charge.
After Tropical Storm ?Ondoy? slammed into the metropolis, there was an outpour of relief donations never before seen and felt in Metro Manila. For its part, Samsung Electronics Phils. decided its support would focus more on rehabilitation than relief goods.
?People who we thought were invincible were suddenly as vulnerable as everyone else, that?s why suddenly, there was overwhelming support from everywhere,? said Glenn Glinoga, marketing director, Samsung Electronics Phils. Corp.
With Ever Gotesco Mall in Ortigas Avenue Extension, Pasig, Samsung launched a two-week free laundry station, with an electronics repair station to boot. Huddled inside the 40x40-ft tent were 15 washing machines?from the home products line, not industrial ones?humming overtime, 24/7.
Two large LCDs were set up showing popular movies and cartoons to make the restless children feel at home. The queue was long, the tent hot. The weary, stressed-out crowd could use some television entertainment, said Glinoga. A water station was also set up in one corner.
Families trooped in with sacks of clothes, large garbage bags stocked with muddied comforters, curtains, seat covers. Volunteers with trolleys were quick to assist the elderly and those with large, heavy bags.
Samsung initially set a 7-kg limit, but when people came in carrying not one, not two, but three bags of laundry, Samsung didn?t have the heart to turn them away, especially when these people had traveled from as far as Marikina or Antipolo. Some mothers even showed ?battle scars? on their hands and arms, caused by handwashing mud-soaked clothes.
Sheila Jaucian, head of Samsung?s customer contact center, is no stranger to programs such as this. A few years back, she said, Samsung also launched a free-laundry drive when Typhoon ?Milenyo? struck the city. Still, she never expected to see such a huge turnout of typhoon victims and a mountain of laundry to finish each day.
Ever Gotesco guards volunteered to help wash the clothes during evenings, she said, much to the relief of the Samsung team. Grateful souls came back the next day to offer food and drinks to the volunteers.
?Every thing was provided for. We had laundry soaps and even fabric softeners and conditioners. Clothes were pre-washed with pressure washer, and folded and sealed in plastic wrapping before we handed them back to their owners,? she said.
After a couple of days, people began coming in to have their appliances repaired?washing machines, refrigerators, LCDs. The offer was limited to Samsung appliances, since the repair team didn?t want to tamper with unfamiliar technology by other brands, lest they did more damage to it.
Those under warranty were given discounts, while those no longer covered were only charged for repair materials. Labor, cleaning and consultation fees were waived.
Samsung, through Samsung Hope, also donated to the Red Cross, GMA Kapuso and Sagip Kapamilya of ABS-CBN Foundation, to help in their drive to rebuild schools damaged by the typhoon.
