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Having lost big and small things like jewelry and a 21-inch TV to rogues in the past, I’ve gotten the impression that am quite the alluring magnet to bad elements. That, or it’s just the hassle of living in the city where even policemen steal for a living. That’s why it was quite a breath of fresh air when my cellphone, which I thought I had lost, was returned to me over the weekend. It makes me believe that kind souls still abound in Manila after being cynical about this place for quite some time.
I was about to pay some purchases at the SM Department Store in the Mall of Asia that Sunday afternoon when I realized my slim cellphone wasn’t in my wallet, as it usually was. So we hurried back to the Kenny Rogers resto where we ate 30 to 40 minutes before, just to try my luck at asking if they found it. I was already prepared for the worst, but somehow regretting the fact that my friends and contacts would have to find me again. I don’t subscribe to a postpaid line because I hate paying the surcharges and I only maintain one phone because am not a text and call addict either. But with the frequency that I lose my mobile phones, I’ve gotten into the routine of changing my phone number every six months or so.
Imagine my relief when the Kenny Rogers staff told me to wait, because they were retrieving my phone in the vault. This was after I told them the table where we sat, previously. Raymond, one of the managers, told me that a customer was trying to grapple with him to get the phone. My cellphone itself isn’t too expensive, but like everyone, I have my contacts there and it still had a load of P1,300 … LOL. I was profuse with thanks to them and even gave a little reward, but more so because being reunited with my phone again wasn’t something I expected.
The last time I encountered a Good Samaritan was when I was a tourist in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia where I didn’t know anybody. I was going around this mall and left my wallet in the toilet. Worst thing was that my wallet had all my trip pocket money and bank cards in it. God knows I would have been washing dishes in a restaurant just to take my taxi ride to the airport. But yes, somebody was good enough to keep my wallet and wait for me to claim it.
My little experience reminds me of the Global Cellphone Honesty Test conducted by Reader’s Digest in 2006. In this study, the magazine staff deliberately lost cellphones in 32 cities and found out that people returned more than half of them, or a return rate of 68 percent. Manila tied with Mumbai, India and New York City to land in the fifth place!
When I posted about my cellphone incident in Facebook, some of my friends were quick to share their experiences too. Stuff they lost in the past were also returned to them. So yes, all’s not hopeless in this world after all 😉
Lucky to have your mobile phone back! I was unfortunate that whenever I lost one nobody would be kind enough to return it. For the record I’ve lost a mobile 5 times already.
Sana dumami pa ang mga Good Samaritans sa Filipinas. Let’s dine in at Kenny Rogers.
That only proves there are still good people out there. But, let’s always be careful. Like you, i am such a magnet to thieves. Well, maka-karma din sila. 😀