The empowered Filipino consumer

Can the interest of consumers and business ever come together? Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II thinks so. He calls the Filipino consumers today’s "power holders".

"Before government intervention, changes in ideas, and advances in technology, the consumer had no choice but to bow his head," said Roxas during the recently held First National Efficient Consumer Response Conference. "Consumers with grievances (and) attempting to fight for their rights were greeted with contempt from business or, worse, were called trouble makers. Much has changed since then mainly because of technological changes which have allowed the spread of information all over the world. Consumers are better educated. They are more aware of their rights and are demanding products of high quality at low or reasonable prices. In other words, they are looking for more value for their money."

Because of this new-found "consumer power", more and more companies are reviewing their businesses to better meet the needs of their customers. "In a borderless economy, consumers will not look if a product is made in the Philippines or in another country. What they will be looking for will be the price and quality of the product. Thus, for our local businesses to thrive and compete with other countries, it has to be efficient, innovative and of high quality," said newly appointed Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal, Jr.

Business, however, should not be alarmed with this heightened consumer awareness. Alert consumers who freely voice their concern have become the standard by which businesses can measure their performance.

A case in point are fake products like toys, shampoos, soaps, and video cassette disks, which are being peddled in the country. These fake products are hard to recognize because their packaging look exactly like the genuine ones. Only after usage will the consumer realize the product they have bought is fake.

The Department of Trade and Industry has received complaints of loss of hair from fake shampoos and rashes from fake soaps. While toys usually do not last long due to a child’s curiosity, fake toys conk out faster than it should.

Protection

As part of its Consumer Welfare Program, the DTI has in place a project called ConsumerNet. Under this project, DTI processes the complaints for consumers and tries to resolve their problems on the spot through mediation on the phone. When mediation fails, the complaint is referred to the proper government agency.

"We are reviewing the mechanism now and exploring ways to strengthen it to make it more responsive and effective for consumers. We have to increase the two hotline numbers that we have and, if the figures justify it, set up a call-in center," said Cristobal.

Because of this new paradigm or change in attitude by businesses which intend to slug it out when globalization sets in, many industry associations now recognize the need to connect with its various consumers through the internet and phone as well as through the more traditional mail.

DTI is also getting a hand from other countries. The Australian Consumer Commission, for example, shares insights and experiences to improve DTI’s efforts to protect the consumer while encouraging businesses to further innovative and become more efficient.

There is, however, a dark side to the growing consumer empowerment. Some groups claiming to be protecting the consumers are legitimate and some are not, fronting instead for their own self-interest.

Like fake consumer products, these fake consumer groups eventually hamper DTI’s goal of creating business champions, on the one hand, and satisfied consumers, on the other hand.