It was indeed a very sad day when we lost “Señor Don Ramon San Agustin” last Monday at Makati Medical Center.
That is who he was to me: a tall and elegant Spanish-speaking señor from Bacolod who came to Manila to eventually take SSI clients by storm!
You certainly missed a great and wonderful experience if you were not fortunate enough to have had the pleasure and privilege of shopping with the help of Don Ramon. He was a master in the art of selling. And he made it a true science and a true art form.
I am among those who experienced this with Don Ramon San Agustin. I will never forget it! It was amazing how pleasurable he made it for you, once he helped you make a decision on what to buy. He leaves you feeling absolutely happy and privileged with your purchase. I witnessed his mastery of this art when he successfully closed eight sales of Tamara Comolli fine jewelry at Silver Vault in one day.
He pulled me aside one day during a special event at the Makati store, and we talked about his special talent and the amazing skills he exercised every time he helped out a client. And he told me he would like to share this and teach it to others—I just had to form the group of my choice. And I told him it would be a great idea if he could teach members of our family the art of selling the Ramon San Agustin way. Sad to say, we were both very busy and never realized this plan. It is truly regrettable.
But the art of selling was not the only talent Ramon possessed. He was also gifted by God with a beautiful operatic voice. He was a natural baritone who performed several times for my special dinners honoring VIPs. He always gave an outstanding performance singing with soprano par excellence Rachel Gerodias.
He was an excellent, loyal and hardworking Maestro of Salesmanship for SSI. We were the beneficiary of his God-given talent. I will always be grateful to Ramon. He will always be a special part of my personal memories whenever I think of unique moments in retailing.
Ramon San Agustin was a key accounts manager who was based at Gucci but could go to Tod’s, Zegna and other key SSI brands, wherever key clients requested his assistance.
