I ride the UV Express to work because I’m beginning to think that the stress that Manila traffic entails can be life shortening and may easily be quantified like a stick of cigarette (1 stick = -5mins of your life; 1hour stuck in traffic = losing half a day of sanity, something like that). Of course, driving in your own car is an insulation from all harm and comfort is what one primarily sacrifices when taking public transport. Especially if you choose to be crammed with 18 others in a tin can that can fit 14 comfortably. In the end, you are not paying for a fee just to get to your destination, you are paying for a leg room.
That was the theory, so I choose to ride in front of the van and pay for 2 seats. I sleep the rest of the way as the van crawls through the metro. It’s worth it. What’s not worth it is to subject yourself to contortions that you’ll pay for more soon with trips to the chiropractor. Then lately I observed that it has caught on. I’m not going to take credit for it but I like how the UV Express now secretly offers business class.
I guess that’s the wisdom behind the proliferation of premium services in the field of transportation. People appreciate the value of comfort now more than ever.This is why Uber is successful, to a point that it’s necessary. This is the reason why the metro and the outskirts have malls within a kilometer where you live so that you don’t have to think about the traffic when you want to watch a movie. I truly believe that we’ve only scratched the surface of this thing called premium service and the expanse of its potential.
Recently I went to Qatar; a 10 hour long haul enough to make you entertain existentialist questions 39,000 feet above ground. With all the improvements we’ve had with the flying experience, business class is still expensive, because it’s limited. It made me appreciate the propitiation our OFWs go through just to get to the other side of the globe for work. It also made me appreciate the experience I received at Qatar Airport’s VIP lounge.
The beauty about excellent service is that you can always add another layer to raise the experience further and “How can these translate as an option other services?” That’s what I was thinking about while downing baklava samplers with with a glass of Krugg. I thought “A massage would be perfect by now” (they do offer it, I just wasn’t gonna stay there long enough to avail it) as would a basic reflexology hand massage be perfect while stuck in traffic inside an Uber. Of course, we ask “How will this be possible?”. Logistically, home service spas transport their masseuses’ to your home; in this case the masseuse will be with you at your uber pick-up point. They’ll be picked up where you’ll be dropped off. I know, it sounds crazy, dangerous and far-fetched; much like riding in a stranger’s car for a much expensive fee using your credit card.
At this day and age when people start to realize the value treating themselves better on a daily basis, with otherwise, little things, make the daily grind worth it. Add a little premium to your everyday choices.
danDAman 