Corporate chronicles-deals and ideals !

It was during peak of monsoons at a seaside town in western coast of India ,my friend was driving his dream car which he had purchased just a week ago from used car showroom after selling his ESOP’s. His colleague was seated in the front. In the rear seat, were my friend’s wife and their eight months young son who had dozed off quickly on getting inside the car.

They were returning after paying obeisance at nearby famous pilgrimage shrine. Being on the highway in rain , the car‘s wipers were at high speed, cutting visibility and speed of car. My friend and his colleague quite naturally got into chat. Just then, his cell phone rang and his colleague on noticing it, indicated it was DGM’s call! My friend asked him to put the cell phone to speaker mode, while slowing down the car and switching on the parking lights. 

Before he could answer the call on 4th ring, he heard DGM saying “where are you?” He replied he was on the way home after visiting the shrine and in reply the voice quite louder and insistent said “where exactly are you?” By this time, he could pull over the car to the side of the road and replied he was in the car and parked by the side of the highway. With the same intensity he got a reply “how far is the sea from you?” My friend replied “boss, may be around 2-3 km and sea is visible”. The DGM just screamed “Just go to sea, drown and die! Good for you and for company “! And line got disconnected!

Now the noise from rain droplets on car roof was so clearly audible and so was scratching sound from the dancing wipers on windshield! As if mocking and making fun of my friend! He drove the car to his colleague’s house, dropped him and returned home. He just collapsed in the verandah with the sound of raindrops still in the ears and lines on his forehead. His wife was dumbstruck and just said “God be with us”!

Reason for DGM’s “motivational speech” over the phone, the company had lost an order to the competition from a KEY customer. The customer whose manpower and departments increased over period of time, wanted to scale-up or expand the existing System. The existing system had no further feasibility to expand or scale-up and was a world class product and functioning to its optimum. My friend had suggested buy-back offer with prior intimation to RSM / DGM and country head, as it was a case of KEY customer! He did appraise threats from competition and asked for “pricing clearance” as well.

My friend wasn’t satisfied with the pricing from his bosses. The latest product was too new and chances to evaluate the actual price or worth of new system and genuineness of buyback price were very minute. My friend could manage to get the price of existing old system and learnt that buy-back offer wasn’t genuine at all. After much probing and investigation he realized that prices of new systems were jacked up! He expressed his displeasure at the offer, as it was pretty dangerous and may lose customer once and for all!

DGM was so angry and gave nice gyan, sorry motivational speech to my friend saying “you pure vegetable, No point in hard working like …ey from morning to evening. Businesses are done in day and deals are struck at dinner over a drink! You neither drink nor allow others to drink! The rapport with customer should be such that customer should show you competitor’s quote and see through the order, you made an entire company work for you ( just getting so called price clearance) Now you are acting like son of Sathya Harishchandra. Are you working for Customer or for Company?” Strangely my friend’s designation was Manager- Customer Support?

His DGM was too sharp as laser and had “wealth” of experience (quite literally too) and had gone up in corporate ladder on sheer hard work and exceptional managerial and political wizardry. Also he was gifted with amazing memory skills and used to analyze the customer in the very first meeting, if he /she were the right person to give PO or not. In fact, my friend had such a profound respect for this DGM that he idealized him and not until above episode!

Quite reluctantly, my friend did submit formal Buyback offer and the bargaining exercise went on for 3 months. This particular KEY customer used to show every quote to every other competitor and bargain or rather squeeze for better pricing! displaying the “highest standards of ethics” which customer is known far and often kept repeating during negotiations !

And finally the order was placed on competitor who was also into some sophisticated medical equipment which was very much needed for customer who owned a Hospital too. The System in question was replaced almost free by the competitor as “compliment” along with their medical equipment and for breaking the Account! 

Meanwhile, my friend was transferred to Regional HO and asked to report in a couple of days! Now the reason for paying obeisance was; my friend had literally come out of a deathbed. Yes, he was hospitalized for 18 days in ICU at one of the super specialty hospitals. He was diagnosed for Leptospirosis and lung infection. Doctors after a week’s treatment, had declared only a miracle could save him and would do everything humanly possible from their end. His immediate bosses and colleagues had come to hospital with bouquet and garland as well. He miraculously survived life but then he couldn't live in corporate !

His company is famous for its rich foundation and CSR activities! Wish his Corporate had some “CSR” internally too! in training the trainers (bosses) and building bridges between employees as strong as its “Foundation” !

Reminds me fine print statement with * mark in an automobile manual or catalog: it says mileage under Ideal conditions only ! There may be no ideal person or ideal organisation. Yet its worth striving for ideals !