Connie at Manila Grill | Colorblind Photographer

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Connie Manila Grill

Just like a TV show,cheers’For those who remember,’Everybody knows your name’The welcoming owner, always willing to help, and immediately welcoming you by name if she knew your name, drew me in as opposed to you being just another customer. I wanted to know more about this atypical businesswoman named Connie, so I decided to ask.

Born into a middle-class family with three siblings (two brothers and a sister, Connie is the third in line to the throne). *Quezon City,suburbs Manila inside the Philippines She (Connie) considers herself to be “very lucky” than most people growing up.The class system in the PhilippinesShe commented, “Unlike Canada, the situation in China is very different and life is very difficult, even for the middle class.”

With an almost musical smile and a twinkle in her eyes, she recalls growing up in the rice shop that also served as her home, where her parents still live and run the shop. She explains that it was a two-story building with the shop on the first floor and the living quarters on the second floor. However, she notes that unlike here (Canada), there was no furniture because it was unaffordable. She recalls that the beds, the family sofa, and even the tables and chairs were made from rice bags, which she notes are very comfortable because you can mold them to fit the contours of your body.

She explained that this lifestyle taught her from a young age to value having your own business because it allows you to make ends meet and provide for yourself and your family. In the Philippines, with no welfare or unemployment insurance or even retirement benefits by North American standards, you can only survive on what you earn.

Due to this, many people are unable to find work in their home countries, and many (known as Overseas Filipino Workers = Overseas Filipino Workers) have no choice but to leave their spouses and children behind and seek a life elsewhere in the world. In this way, they can provide their families with the basics: food, shelter and clothing, and, where possible, education and health care. In most cases, they work in extremely harsh conditions, depending on the employer and the country, on contracts that can last up to two or three years, and often work long hours with no days off. They and their families face either starvation or starvation. Those who are lucky enough to start their own business or acquire education and professional skills stay if they can.

Education in the Philippines It is not free, which means that unless you or your family can pay for the education, you will not be able to get an education as the government does not provide any kind of assistance to public schools. Cash is king and if you do not pay the required fees, the school will not allow you to register or even enter each new semester. The same rule applies when it comes to exams, and it is the norm to pay an additional fee for each exam.

Here, she and her two brothers and her sister were not only lucky enough to live in a middle-class family, but their parents ran a family business, which provided them with not only an income but also an education, which was not only a priority for future survival but also a viable option. (In Connie’s case, she graduated from University of the Philippines Los Baños With a degree in Marketing…)

After graduation, she applied and worked as an event staff member on a cruise ship, a position she held for three (3) years before she got tired of the constant traveling and returned to the Philippines.

Upon her return, she became a sales representative for a cosmetic raw material supplier, responsible for meeting with cosmetic manufacturing companies and selling them chemicals/products. It was during this time that she learned to drive for work purposes, and as she happily puts it, “I learned to drive the Filipino way.” She goes on to say, “I’m a bit of a noisy driver…”

“I really like this job,” she told me, not only because of the flexible hours but also because she gets to talk to people.”I am a person who is good at dealing with people.”, she commented.

She continued: “When I eventually started my own business in Canada, I felt like my strength was my love for talking to people.”

She is now married with two children, a son and a daughter. She explained that she and her husband met, fell in love and got married in the Philippines. Her eldest daughter, Chloe, was born a year after she arrived in Canada.

“Unlike Canada, courtship in the Philippines doesn’t take too long”, she commented. “Soon after they got married, her then-husband decided to move to Canada and once he was settled, he sponsored her.

“When we separated”, she recalls with a note of sadness, “we didn’t really know each other because we hadn’t been married for very long”. “Unlike a normal relationship, where you fall in love, get married and live together”, she continues, “you spend day after day together, get to know each other’s likes and dislikes, get to know each other’s truths”. “Long distance doesn’t allow for that,” she says.

She said she was not a jealous person and believed they would be together forever one day, which made the year bearable. In addition, they communicated on the phone and Skype. “Trust is the most important factor,” she said.

During the temporary separation, she stayed with her parents and helped run the store to make the time pass faster.

When asked about her initial thoughts when she knew she would be leaving her hometown and heading to a new country (Canada), she responded, “Scared!”

“Life in the Philippines is very different for me,” she explains. She has her own job and her own income, which, she says, makes life easy for a girl.

“It’s hard to come to Canada without family, not to mention it costs more here,” she explains, “especially for things women need like manicures and pedicures.” However, when asked what she misses most about her homeland, she responds bluntly: “My family!”

When asked if she had ever considered returning to the Philippines after retirement, she responded with a resounding, “No! Absolutely No!“I would only go back to visit family,” she continued. “My children were born in Canada and I’m sure they would enjoy going there for holidays but they wouldn’t live there.”

Then she smiled, with a twinkle in her eye, and said, “I grew up there (in the Philippines), but now I consider myself Canadian.”

When asked why she chose Manila Grill as her job of choice, she said: “Although I knew nothing about the remittance business, I came from a retail background, having lived and worked in my parents’ small grocery store in the Philippines.” “Remittances,” she said, “are not easy to handle because you need to tell the client what they are going to get, whether it’s good or bad.” “Remittances are about trust,” she continued, “and it’s not easy to convince the client.”

“It’s easy to start this kind of business in the Philippines,” she commented, “as long as you meet the government requirements.” “It’s much easier to meet the government requirements in Canada,” she said.

She has been taking over Manila Grill for four years now, and “I’m still learning every day,” she tells me. “There are different people, different problems every day, and it’s a lot of work running a remittance and grocery store.” She continues, “But I never thought of giving up.”

“The downside is that you can’t leave your business behind at the end of the day,” she explains. “But the upside is that you can be your own boss.”

When asked if she would have taken over Manila Grill again if she knew what she was doing now, she responded, “I worked at ICBC for three (3) years and then stayed at home for a year (1) with only walls and my children to talk to. Manila Grill gave me the opportunity to be with my children while also allowing me to interact with adults, so my response was, Yes!“Every day”, she continues, “is fun, with new challenges and daily interaction with returning customers, which is something I was missing from my previous career in sales and have always wanted”.

Since she loves talking to people, she said she would love to work on a cruise ship again, but since she is now married with children, this is no longer an option. “If it weren’t for Manila Grill,” she commented, “I would love to work at Canada Place, greeting cruise ship guests at the airline boarding/departure terminal.” When asked why, she immediately responded, “I love talking to people.”

When asked how she markets Manila BBQ, she answers without hesitation: “Word of mouth!” “Ninety percent of my customer base is Filipino,” she continues, “and the rest are from other countries, mainly for the food.” “I do have a website, but word of mouth is still the best for me,” she says. “More importantly, New Westminster has a large community of working-class Filipinos who not only want affordable living spaces, but also convenient shopping and a local transportation system that makes getting around easy,” she tells me. “However,” she says, “my customer base is not limited to New Westminster, I also have customers from South Burnaby, Coquitlam and even some from Vancouver, which keeps me very busy.”

During the interview, I noticed that one of her customers was helping to manage the store and Connie always patiently guided her when she had questions. She (Connie) told me that this assistant was a long-time customer who was temporarily laid off, so she (Connie) hired her just to help her until she was able to return to her regular job. I also noticed that whenever a customer came into the store with a child, Connie would pay full attention to the customer and the child and would communicate with them by name.

I have known Connie for two years through my wife, who is also Filipino and whom I now call Kapatid (which means sister in Tagalog) because she made me feel like family when I was there. Despite this, I never really knew much about her personal life until now.

In conclusion, I have a greater respect for Connie not only as a businesswoman, but also as a person. Because she has truly created a business that takes your shopping experience and money transfer needs to the next level. Connie, once she knows your name and your face, even if she doesn’t know you and your name yet, she greets you with a cheerful greeting and a smile, and I think to myself, she is welcoming you home.