1. My First Job…Dr. Alok Bharadwaj, Senior VP, Canon South
Asia & South East Asia Singapore.
The date of 3rd June 1985 is engraved in my memory like a permanent marker. It was a
Monday. Place was Mumbai. I was joining my first job as a Management trainee with
Tata Group in Voltas, at their corporate HQ in Ballard Estate. It was my 2nd day in
Mumbai, a city I had never been to earlier. Spent previous day learning about local trains
and understanding what is ‘slow’ and what is ‘fast’ and what is ‘Ladies’ and how to
board and get out of train what looks impossible task to an outsider.
The previous night, the rain Gods struck with vengeance. In the morning while I got
ready with formal dressing, I was drenched before I could even reach the station. The
train I boarded, stopped on the tracks, I heard someone say, we have to walk in ankle
deep waters. The office was 15 Km away. I walked, took bus, walked again and reached
by noon full of embarrassment and nervousness only to be told that office has been
closed as ‘trains’ stopped. What a learning of work life in Mumbai.
Thereafter,every day, every encounter, every problem and every solution was a learning.
My first posting was in Chandigarh where I learnt the concept of ‘bouncing of cheques’. I
travelled to Patiala to recover 6 months old payment from a dealer. After 4 hours of
cajoling, convincing & negotiation, he finally gave me a cheque which I proudly
presented only to be told that date on the cheque was a year later. Another dealer gave me
a cheque where amount in words and figures didn’t match. All these are done
intentionally, I learnt
The first event I organized was in Ludhiana. It was a customer meet and we were to show
the technology of split airconditioners which was new. I selected the venue which was in
the outskirts as I got best rate & invited 100 customers. Only 2 turned up. Solid
embarrassment only to learn that convenience of invitees was not considered.
Foundation for a customer centricity in Marketing in my life was casted.
Then, in one of my travel to ‘Terai’ region in western UP, my car broke down as it rained
heavily. The water was so much that , I couldn’t even get out of the car. The sales
executive, next to me as I was driving, jumped out of the window and yelled at a tractor
which tied a rope and toed me to nearest village where we spent the night in a room
where peels of onions were kept for disposal. Next morning I had to pay Rs 35 for the
night but they served good food and narrated good village stories.
A salesman in me was born that day!
I also remembered this when I stayed in Jemshedji suite in Tajmahal Hotel at Gateway of
India, Mumbai, one night as a special guest as we signed with Sachin Tendulkar as an
ambassador. The room tariff was Rs 75,000 a day. I realized the contrast in life &
thanked GOD for making Day and night for all of us (mortals) to realize the experience in
life.