Rakhi
Rakhi Deepak walked into our office with a certain grace and charm, giving the friendliest smile. Introducing herself to John and self, “Sir, Thank you for your time, so wonderful meeting with you both. She flashed her million dollar sparkling smile yet again. There was something very striking about the lady, articulate, ability to easily switch topic discussions and the analytical business acumen. She kept the conversation flowing effortlessly. After sometime, she narrated the below story, as we started chatting about client retention or creating new customers.
Circa 2004
I had just started my Chennai based fire systems company named Sag Taur with all statutory compliances factored in, but I didn’t know where to start at getting in new customers. I would cold call many prospective clients. Then a streak of light appeared from the Taj group of hotels at Chennai. The chief engineer called. “Madam, we had purchased the fire detection system about 3 years ago, but unfortunately there is a malfunction. The panel is not getting switched on, and the company is demanding to change the entire panel!! They are however not responding to our repeated reminders to rectify the panel rather than replace. Sad state of affairs indeed. I promised him prompt action, promising that it’s my problem now. Of course I didn’t have the slightest idea how to get it solved, since there was no resource in my mind. But it was the first step to go ahead to commit. I knew instinctively that it can be solved if there is a will, a strong at that.
I began to diligently trace all my contacts of service engineers from this field with whom I had interacted. Took me few days till I hit upon the smarty boy’s name – Venkat.
I called him with any further ado. Explained the situation and asked him to help me fly out of this complicated fire wall.
“Ma’am, I can do it, but! “He said hesitantly, albeit a long pause. “Am not cheap nowadays, no longer a service engineer, I have graduated to a consultant level and my daily charges are Rs 1500, plus travel since I am based in Bangalore. OMG, such an expensive proposition I cried out, but instantly said, ok fine, come by the earliest train and sort out the mess. Here I was committed to this chap with a princely sum and I didn’t even have a work order from client. Any ways…
He arrived after three days, and got to work straight away. Amazing it may sound, in less than fifteen minutes, he got the sprinkler system functional. I was star struck at his efficiency. How in the world did you perform this my boy “, was my joyous query? “Ma’am, its nothing, one had to minutely look for the source of the problem, I determined that the relay was the actual culprit, so I quickly replaced it. Luckily I bought an extra relay with me, knowing well that it might come handy. It’s done, the cost of the relay is Rs 50. So my charges of 1500 per day, relay cost, plus the train fare are totaling up to Rs 1650. I paid him gratefully, though the hole in my pocket was searing!! Much like our Northern heat wave.
The chief engineer was invited next day to inspect the job done. He checks the system’s working and found it running efficiently; functioning as if nothing happened to its previous sickness. He exclaimed, “ma’am, what Malayalee masala magic have you done!!Unbelievable, my team was stuck for the past two weeks with their backs against the wall and the haughty OEM was not even bothered. Here you are, got it sprinting in a second, really hats off. Do present your bill and he left thanking me profusely, again.
I went with my invoice after two days, had to think hard on the amount, I didn’t want to scare him off, here’s my chance to do some meaningful work with the Taj group. He was really good at exclaiming, “Oh my Jesus, what are you charging?Rs1800 for this work!!
I gulped hard, feeling the flaming lump in my otherwise delicate throat. Was my own margin of Rs.200 as service charge backfired aka the famous Aussie boomerang? “My dear Rakhu Madam, you really have no business sense, charging a measly amount for the fab job done. Do you know the AMC is worth three lakhs, even if you had charged one lakh, we would have paid you happily with a question or a quirk!! Do you want to reconsider and repair this weakling bill of yours? He guffawed.
“No Sir, thank you so much for your kind consideration, but I am happy with this amount, hope you approve it please. All I wanted was your peace of mind” I said steadfastly.
“Atta Girl, way to go. Here I promise, all Taj work will come to you from now on” He said, lifting a hand appreciatively, much like a sadhu blessing his new found disciple.
Rakhi smiled at us and concluded, “Venu and John Sir, rest is history they say, I never looked back after that incident. I said, “Rakhi, your foresight along with the client pursuance goal has paid you in abundance, you are now a renowned and respectable OEM, having made an impact in the industry. Let us treat you with our specialty- Blue tea. Our beautiful Nepali Tea lady Monika infuses the brew so expertly; ala Darjeeling style.
Venu Rao
21/06/2024
