White Horse

My dad majored in Shakespearean literature and got some minor subjects in journalism. He went to college at a ripe age of 45, although he caught the writer’s itch quite early in his life. He is a stickler to good grammar and one of his pre-occupations is reading the dailies from the front page to the last, including the boxed ads.

And so it came to pass that the company which carried the “White Horse” whiskey brand came up with an ad that turned out to be an ungrammatical copy. And true to his pre-occupation, my dad dutifully wrote the company about the error and his suggested correction. If I remember right, it all revolved around the use of the word “everyday” instead of “every day”. The first means “ordinary or commonplace” while the second means “each day”.

My dad left it at that, content that he has made his point. However, the company apparently took notice and wrote him back to thank him about his comment and suggestion and assured him that the ad will be stricken out of the papers in the meantime that the ad agency is putting things in order.

A day after he received the reply, a company service vehicle came. The company representative thanked him profusely and gifted him with a “White Horse” clock which my dad has kept for posterity in his watch repair shop. He is the “original” relojero in the family while my elder brothers and I are mere apprentices.

I have had my own brush with companies whose products or services I have commented on. For instance, I have received a check for $3 USD from Kraft USA because I complained about the salty taste of the CheezeWhiz that I bought from a local grocery. I have also received some snack items and a packet of coffee creamer from Robina, the producer of SwissMiss, the non-dairy creamer that turned out to be too unwieldy to tear open.

Honda Motor Philippines has improved its vehicle check-up and maintenance package after I gave them a feedback that although I am “satisfied” with their service, I was not really “delighted”. The next time I brought my car for servicing, the Honda guys made sure that I left with some measure of delight.

Many things are still well in the world!