kuya lito

i was fearful that our computer was a-crashing last night. thankfully, i got some tips from my friend, aly, on how to unload the drives as overload may be the reason for it malfunctioning from time to time. the tips helped but i felt my pc really needed a pc doctor. it was also aly who referred my to a pc shop to have it diagnosed and treated by a certain "jun".

fortunately, the following day, today, was my off day from work. so i made sure i went to the shop early to bring the tower for a check-up. i was there before it opened. i was told they wouldn't repair any unit that was not bought from them. and that there was no jun working there. what?! i might be in the wrong shop. after some confusion which was cleared up by aly - bless her soul and her charm as she was able to go around their policy- my pc was checked out by a pc doctor named "kuya lito", the same guy whom aly thought was named "jun".

kuya lito spent several minutes tinkering around the hard disc, checking the mother board and the hardware. he even brushed the inside and took out about a centimeter high layer of dust which collected inside the tower. eowww! kuya lito was so nice and so patient, explaining to me what the problem was, that the problem was in the software and the pc just needs reformatting.

"can you do it? kahit sa bahay nalang kung hindi puwede dito?" i asked as i sensed his hesitation.

"ma'am kaya, pero bawal po," he said. " eto nalang po, yung kaibigan ko," he adds as he hands me a business card. he actually could have earned extra from the home service but he chose not to. he chose to follow the company rules.

"ok, thank you. sana kasing-husay mo ito," i said.

"opo, magaling at mabait po siya," he answered.

"so, doon na ako magbabayad?" i asked him, as i reached for cash to pay for his services.

"ay ok na po. wala pong bayad yon," he answers.

"huh? i was surprised that i didn't have to pay for all that he did, checking out my tower, diagnosing what the problem was and cleaning the inside even! "sige na, kahit pang-merienda lang," as i left the cash on his work table. i felt uneasy not compensating him for his kindness and time.

"huwag po, hindi po. bawal po sa amin yan," as he pointed to the sign on the wall which read "no tipping allowed" and ran after me to give back my cash.

i was amazed at him. i didn't have any choice but to take the money back. although i felt he deserved to be compensated for his work, i think if i didn't take the money back, i would have insulted him. the cash could have filled and satisfied his tummy but would have depreciated his character and worth.