My Short Sales Stint

Dusty roads teeming with traffic,

Sleeves rolled up, seated on a scooter that’s rustic,

Ferrying across the route to market,

Through a puddle of dust and dirt.

Shopkeepers smoking beedi give orders and Haryanwe Hindi dose,

Short breaks in between that keep me away from doze,

I come back to hear them say ‘Zyada chahiye margin’,

The haggling continues, I think with a grin.

SKUs in the form of packets, bottles, sachets and cases,

We fill them in all the available shelf spaces.

Malls, star outlets, shops large and small,

Irrespective of size, we visit ‘em all.

Soups, Noodles, Dhooth and Dahi,

With pride we say, ‘Taste bhi, Health bhi’.

BarOne, KitKat, MilkyBar and Munch,

We sell them even in times of financial crunch.

Cycleboys, Salesmen, Officers and Managers,

They all have their respective monthly targets.

Those who meet them are all merry and gay,

FMCG is SALES is what they all say.. :)

Happy to Help

During our management trainee induction program, all of us were asked to comment on our company ads. We didn’t give them a good rating. We were later asked which companies’ ads we like. The answer was unanimous – Vodafone, where a puppy always follows its master and is happy to offer help in all possible ways. That’s the beauty of an ad. They help imprint a brand’s image in the minds of the customer. It’s a passport that will make a customer reach the door of the company. However, loyalty of the customer hinges on factors like the first experience and the customer service he continues to get.

After coming to Delhi, I thought that I would continue my Bombay number thinking that I wouldn’t be connected with people that much and hence wouldn’t be using my phone to a great extend. Getting settled in a city brings with it, its own set of challenges and I had mine too. My phone bills were surging and I had to tighten my purse strings. I decided to take a new connection and this time for a change, Vodafone. Rather than heading straight towards a gallery, I found a dealer on the way and gave him all the required documents thinking that he would be my lucky mascot who would get my sim activated in a day’s time.

Things always don’t happen as you want them too. Thanks to the terrorists, service providers have become finicky. Along with address proof and identity proof, to get a connection, one would need to give a landline number and a couple of mobile numbers as reference. Forget my case, but how on earth can someone expect a migrant laborer from UP to furnish such details? All this has done nothing but just increased the average time for sim activation. A visit to the Vodafone office becomes a part of your daily agenda. You get there and you will get assurance from the executive that your sim will get activated in half an hour, a duration you wouldn’t want to sit in the gallery and sulk. Instead, you trust the executive and head towards home. You wait for 4 hrs, 12 hrs, 24 hrs but nothing happens. You call up customer care and you would have a ball of a time conversing with Vijender Singh, Santosh or Beena and listening to “Shudh Hindi”. You get pooped providing the same details every time. I realize that the next visit to the Vodafone gallery is due.

Quite contrary to what I normally do, I decide to give the executive a piece of my mind. But once I reach the gallery, I am my normal self and I ask why the sim hasn’t got activated. I get the same response; “Sir, this will ready in 15 min. If you want, you may go home”. This time I decide to stay back till I get activation done. I go and get myself seated in the plush sofa and take a good view of the office. Suddenly, a lady storms into the office and slams the door behind her back. She heads straight towards an executive and asks a question which to me appears as old as the hills; “Why hasn’t my sim got activated?” But she was quite different from me. She had applied for a connection for her son about six days back and still she hadn’t got it. In fact she was a Vodafone customer whose monthly bills are a meaty Rs.15000. Forget the differential treatment that she ought to have got. In my mind, I thought that I was lucky to get a connection in 2 days. She slammed the executive and all attempts made by the executive to mollify the lady were in vain. Oh! How beautifully she spoke. I was all merry listening to the lady giving her incisive comments on the customer service. I loved her chutzpah. She was doing something which many customers like me couldn’t do. She was the voice of the customer who trusted the executive; got betrayed and had a strong sense of indignation and a feeling of being cheated and she literally mortified them and reinforced to people like me that customer is still the king.

I do appreciate the fact that there is a need for service providers to be more vigilant especially in the wake of our country being under the radar of terrorist attacks but the trade off cannot be customer service. Processes no doubt need to be robust so that atrocities like these don’t happen but at the same time service providers need to beef up their resources and ensure maximum customer satisfaction. Possible solutions are many. Either you increase the staff to do the additional processing or make the processes leaner so that the customer doesn’t have to wait for long. The most important thing is not to give false hopes of the sim getting activated in x hours but to be more realistic and sticking to the deadline given.

It takes a couple of days to start a business in Singapore and it takes more than that for a sim to get activated in India…

Pushkar - Seeking Salvation !!!

A little away from Ajmer, where vegetation begins to get sparse and cactus begins to emerge from jutting rocks, narrow roads cut in the mountain lead to a place called Pushkar. It’s the only place in India that has a temple of Lord Brahma (creator as per Hindu Mythology). Little do we guess en-route that once we get to the other side of the hill, we reach a small town that houses almost 51 temples and a lake that is considered sacrosanct.

Men with colorful turbans on bus tops

Women draped in bright colored traditional sarees

Bus is packed with people all and sundry

To head to a place that appears to be all but dry

A dip in the holy waters,

A 3 km walk to the sacred altar,

To catch a glimpse of the creator

In all his glory in this sole altar.

Camels and Cows get traded at the fair,

For prices that are considered fair.

People of all colors, dark and fair,

Come here to witness what is known as Pushkar Fair.

Beads, bangles, bells and bags,

Handicrafts, artworks and other skunk works,

Men and Women with blue, green and brown eyes,

It’s a color riot of sorts.

Sweets of different tastes and kinds are in the making,

Falafel, Pita, Pizza and Pasta are in the offering,

Bedi, Cigarette, Chai and Pan,

It just seemed like there was no ban.

Ghats, lights and placid waters of the lake

Am at another world where peace with everything is what I make…

For VSP...my first piece of poetry

He comes in a red car,

Clad in a white shirt with no scar,

With a face that is beaming,

Wisdom in his grey cells gleaming.

He enters the class with a smile,

And takes us through that extra mile,

Conflict and clashes happen

He teaches us to manage them.

Stand up for something,

You can negotiate anything,

Don’t get nervous, be staid

All of you will do well, he said.

He made us meet the Golden Swan,

Gave us a memorable sundown

Oh you roaring lion of AP,

We all love you VSP....

Doctor Hunter

Well, almost a year back, I was doing my summers in a Pharma company. As part of my project, I had to meet the marketing managers and collect information from them. That's when I met him for the first time.

Me: Hi, I want some information from you..

Abhi: Come tomorrow and get some stuff for me..

Me: What is this stuff?

Abhi: Grass (with a grin on his face)

Well, the following day he agreed to spent some time with me without the stuff. Boy, what a meeting it was. He asked very pertinent questions as to why this project was being done and he said that until he was satisfied, he wouldnt help me out. Thankfully, he got convinced.

From then on, he was one of the persons I got closely associated in the organization. Primarily, because, he wasnt satisfied with the way the organization was growing and I liked that..his sense of positive dissatisfaction. I knew that this guy was different but never to this extend that he had such an entrepreneurial blood running in his veins..... Well, I am referring to Dr.Abhilash Tirupathy, the maverick behind HealthcareMagic.com who has been currently selected as one of the top eight finalists for the Tie (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Cannan Entrepreneurial Challenge.

There literally hundreds of doctors and dozens of hospitals in Bangalore, but if you’re new to India’s IT Capital, you’ll probably be lost if you need to judge the competence of your neighbourhood doctor or the specialty clinic some blocks away. “There is very little transparency on the data available for healthcare providers,” says Dr Abhilash Thirupathy, a dentist by training who co-founded HealthcareMagic.com with Kunal Sinha a second-time entrepreneur. The portal, according to Thirupathy, is India’s first portal and call centre to provide medical advice and referral in real time. Doctors chat with patients online and provide initial medical advice. The patients are also referred to a specialist if needed. (Courtesy: Business Today, July 13)

A few useful links:

http://healthcaremagic.com/hcm/home.jsp

http://healthcaremagic.com/blog/

So, the next time, you need a medical advice, you know where you need to go....

Kudos Abyaby..

PS: Preethi, this site might be of use for you and your org..Check this out..

GLASSMATES

Often, for a person residing outside Goa, Goa is a place of 3 B’s; beer, beach and babes. The third option is a bit elusive, the second one requires a lot of efforts in traveling but the first one doesn’t require anything. In Goa, getting drinking water might be a problem but not the ubiquitous beer.
Drinking alone is a pain; especially if you have had some great glass mates in the past. So this post is a toast to some of my favorite glass mates with whom I have had some of the best times along with beer.

The first name is always a bit difficult to choose; hence I would go the alphabetical way.

Anuj - I cannot stop laughing when I think about this incident. I think we were in a bar in Chennai when this happened. The bearer came to our table to ask for the last orders as it was time for the bar to close. As usual Anuj, though he had guzzled down a good 5-6 pegs, was still normal and wasn’t quite amused by the fact that the bar was about to close. In his quintessential manner, he replied, “ oru 15 peg rum poratte..”. I still remember the bewildered look on the bearer’s face. There was a roar of laughter when the bearer left and the banter continued…
Enjoyable moments – When he laughs at the silliest jokes you feel like laughing when you see him….

Bijoy – You never know what will happen when you are with him. At times he would be the only person who would be perfectly alright even after downing 7-8 pegs. At times, he can be the only person who really gets knocked out and then god knows what will happen.
Whenever I get back home, he would be the first person whom I call. In his usual manner, he would say, “Namukonnu koodende….vaikunneram vaa Indrapuriyilekku..”
Don’t know whether he has changed his hang out place now.
Memorable moments – Most of the times…(though I have landed in trouble at times also).

Motta – Sporting a cap, this bearded man has always been fun to be with during such sessions.
Most memorable moment – When he sings Andhikadappurathu…..

Murali – From school days, I knew that he had interest in music but never knew he sings really well. Murali has been a revelation in that aspect. The last few drinking sessions that I have had with him have been memorable. His rendition of Venugopal songs is fantastic. I am sure, even now, he would be learning some song for his next session which would definitely elicit an encore from his audience.
Most memorable moment – When he sings Mayamanjalil….

Musthafa – There was a time, when we used to have daily quota of beers. Tired of this, one day we decided that we would stop. He suggested that we should kick this habit by having a can of beer. So both of us went to Amrapali to have a can of beer together but ended up having 4 beers each. With that, we put an end to our dream of quitting drinking.
Most memorable moment – When we had Red Label in Helen Villa at 3 am in the morning while it was raining outside. The yellow lights that stood tall in the streets, against which the rain drops felt gently lighted the room that was otherwise dark. It was beautiful….

Rahul – Discussions of all sorts happen with this guy. Music, movies, work, girls..the list is endless. He has this unique thing. He will obliterate all our thought processes in a single moment with his ideas and make us think over it again. Creates a sense of positive dissatisfaction by asking, “dey, ingane irunna mathiya…rekshapedednde….cinema edukkende.. Days spent in Sai Vihar bar will always be memorable primarily because of the above mentioned reasons and also because of Fish Pulimoonji..
Most memorable moment – When he scripts a story on the spot, especially murder mysteries…

Reghu – He drank with me for the first time at our house in Bombay. He started off by saying that he has drunk only once before. The way, he guzzled down the pegs didn’t quite seem to tell the same tale. Instead it appeared that he was more of a seasoned drinker.
Most memorable moment - When he said after drinking, “Dey, fan karangana pole thonnunnu….”

Drinking is a vice. I don’t really believe it. If you have such glass mates, then I think we need to meet them to create memories and part to preserve them.

Cheers……….

Writers and their films

While sipping Vodka with lime at Bijoy’s house, we were musing over which movie we need to see amongst the Vishu releases. After seeing the promos and a song we decided that it won’t be “Innathe Chinthavishayam”. But eventually, we gave in to the wishes of one of our comrades who wanted to see the same. Must say that, we (at least I) were disappointed but not surprised.
We knew that it would be something of this sort. If it is Sathyan Anthikkad, then it has to have certain elements, family being one of the most important and the protagonists being morally correct people who take on the onus of counseling the world around them. It’s no different in Innathe Chinthavishayam.

But I need to admit one thing. All writers in general have certain common elements in some of their scripts. We have already seen Sathyan. If it is Sreenivasan, then for sure there will be one or two references to the color of his skin and his height. The degree of this self-derision also doesn’t vary with movies. Having said that, Sreeni is one of the finest story tellers in Malayalam. One doesn’t have to go too far. Katha Parayumbol, as Rahul says was the saving grace among all the movies of 2007 as far as commercial films are concerned. Impeccable story telling along with some fine dialogues that had the tinge of sarcasm, a regular feature of Sreeni and a superb cameo (in its literal sense) after a long time by Mammootty were the highlights of Katha Parayumbol. The climax of the movie wherein Mammotty comes and delivers a speech in the school is excellent and is what is called a real cameo. Compare it with the climax (especially the dialogue part) wherein Mohanlal speaks about his own problematic childhood, its poles apart. Hats off Sreeni…

One of the reasons why I prefer to watch a Renjith movie is primarily because he is one writer who sells dreams. His protagonist, most often, a free spirited globe trotter will be a person with specialties. He will mouth philosophical dialogues with most of them as Jayasankar says having a touch of soft hindutva; he will be a connoisseur of arts and most of all, he will be a “know it all” types. But Renjith’s films also have certain common traits – character sketch of the main protagonist as we have just seen, a few friends of the hero who will be waiting for him in the native land and of course loads of nostalgia, which the protagonist, most often who comes back after a long time brings along with him. Though predictable, it’s enjoyable.

So there’s nothing to complain about Sathyan except for the fact that it would be good, if he can attempt to make something different next time which the other two writers do at times.
Well, for this Vishu season, my bet is on “Dey Ingottu Nokkiye” by Balachandra Menon who has taken the courage to put a junior actor Jayasuriya in the lead unlike others who are still dependant on the veterans...

Happy Vishu...

It’s all about an experience….

Two years at TISS have come to an end thereby marking the end of formal education. What has TISS given me? A brand name that has enabled me to reach the threshold of an organization. What next?
Well, in fact formal education can take you this far only. It can give you a brand and open doors. Further opening of doors and finding the way completely depends on you and your personal brand.

There are 2 things that come to my mind especially at this juncture when I am going to join an organization. First of all, there would be many like me who are eager to join their respective organizations where they have been placed. Personally, I have a lot of expectations and also hope to add value to the position that I am going to occupy. At this point there could be point of concern, i.e. to what effect can you bring about changes in an organization. Well, the fact is that ideally one should not hope or think too much about introducing an organizational change as early as joining.

Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in Stephen Covey’s 7 habits of which one is to widen your circle of influence (1). While joining the organization, we might belong to a particular department, say human resources. Ideally, the focus should be on improving the systems and processes that lie within the realm of HR and thereby slowly gaining the confidence of the people around you. Here is where your personal brand matters. Be it any sort of transaction that you are having with your people around, you need to create an experience for the other person (2).

For instance, as HR people, one of our routine functions is recruitment. If we were to draw a parallel between a prospective customer and a prospective employee (synergies between HR and other functions can be another post in itself), the way we would go about interviewing a candidate would be different. This only means that the interview in itself should be an experience for the candidate. What would constitute an experience is completely up to you. Basic etiquettes like offering tea, snacks etc are to be followed and attempts to make the candidate at ease should be made. It would be great if the candidate upon rejection could be given some sort of feedback as to why he failed to make the cut. All this would prevent the candidate developing a negative feeling and instead would etch a positive impression in the mind of the candidate about the organization as a brand and he/she is most likely to join your organization in future given a chance.

This is just one example of what HR professional can do in terms of providing an experience. There are umpteen transactions that happen in an organization on a daily basis. Care should be taken to make them all meaningful and engaging experiences.

As poet Maya Angelon said, “People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did but they will never forget what you made them feel”.

It’s all about providing an experience and thereby enhancing your brand value and subsequently your organization’s brand value…

After a long time…

Well well…for those who visit my blog, I am writing after a long time..hence am having cramps in writing. Yet I will make an attempt to write something..There is no specific topic in this blog. Just a few random thoughts put together, that’s it.
The recent tussle between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Hogenekkal issue is surprising. The issue was resolved ten years before and has now surfaced again. The interesting aspect is the timing of the issue – just before the elections in Karnataka which in itself is a huge manifestation of vote bank politics that continues till date in India. This is not the first time that such a thing is happening. It’s sad because in this case, the issue was resolved previously and for no reason has been brought up. The intent in this case is pretty clear – to gain political mileage and garner more votes.

I was immediately reminded of a similar thing that happened in our TISS campus just before the union elections. A very sensitive issue was brought to the front by the constitution review committee which was whether there should be any affirmative action (read reservation) for certain communities in the executive body. Once again, it is the timing that created ripples. In a college like Tata institute where the majority of the students come for programs like social work, by virtue of what they learn and what they are forced to think, they always favor reservation without even understanding the larger purpose of the same. The institute clearly got divided along two lines with the people going against the concept of reservation being a minority (in terms of numbers). For sure, the aspirants who by virtue of their philosophy opposed the concept of reservations, lost because of sheer numbers.

The timing of an issue and the sensitivity can create a huge impact as people, I presume, generally vote on the basis of emotions and not rationale. I can bet on this, otherwise India for sure would have had better leaders. Secondly, the stakeholders never speak on the issue. For instance, I am not sure whether the people who are out on the streets of Karnataka and Tamilnadu destroying properties of each other are the actual representatives of the culture of the 2 states. Karnataka is generally known to be a peace loving state but the current status doesn’t quite reflect that. So was the case in TISS. The so called communities or people from communities never expressed desire that they wanted reservations. It was from some faculty corner or straight from the brains of a few intellectuals who wanted social justice to prevail in TISS as it represents a microcosm of the society.

Applying principles of position vs interest (courtesy: Conflict Management class of Patwardhan sir), the positions of both the states are clear. But it is the interest of Karnataka state that is appearing a bit murky. The issue is not water for sure. The interests lie somewhere in the upcoming elections.
Similarly upon probing a lot, the group that supported reservations in TISS were never quite able to provide satisfying theories. The communities are getting marginalized and hence they need representation or they need to be empowered and hence they need reservation; all these sound like mere rhetoric. If discrimination is the problem, use the cell that already exists for the communities in a more effective way. If empowerment is the real interest, then build the capacities/capabilities of the communities instead of fighting for a position in the union which would in the long run benefit the communities too.

Moving from position to interests in fact helps a lot in arriving at the root of the conflict. But whether it gets resolved or not truly depends to a certain extend on the skills of the parties involved and to a larger extend on the authority. In TISS, we were finally able to stall the process of amendment (of creating reservations for communities) by reaching out to a higher authority. In case of Karnataka and Tamilnadu what will happen is something that we need to wait and see..