Knocking at the door

After a near decade, it was a different experience when I decided to do an early renewal of my visa. Last time, it was my official travel desk that did all the odd job of running around, filling forms and making payments. Since there is no office desk now, the onus came down on me helped admirably by the younger guns at home.

All the activities of filling up forms electronically, making payments and downloading of account statements without a bank visit etc., were done sitting from home, thanks to the Internet era. The websites galore offer tonnes of suggestions and sermons some of which could be grabbed for guidance and others trashed.

The whole process consisted of two parts of collecting your personal identification inputs and a tete-a-tete to round up. To be fair, the official website has done a reasonably good job in guiding the aspirants and that could be safely considered the single source of reference. In addition, any query raised through social networking site is also responded with appreciable speed.

It is to distressing to observe some applicants despite reading all the instructions act opposite and carry exactly those items that are prohibited- be it a mobile phone or a pen drive or a back pack. The security is professional in firmly showing the door to such educated morons.

The activities at the personal id collection center are professional in that there is good guidance, firm adherence to rules and expectations with least wastage of time. If the aspirant understands, complies and co-operates, he could finish this in a matter of ten minutes.

The personal appearance understandably starts with more security driven exercises and after a complete body and baggage search, your are led to the visa consultation room. The rotating support staff are seen everywhere guiding the visitors, expediting interviews for the old and people with infants and are a source of comfort to the tense visa seekers. The pace at which the interviews are conducted is praiseworthy in that the official is extremely polite, gives an impression that he is more inclined to facilitate your visit to their country and at the same time deftly extracts the information that is required.

It is the well oiled process machinery that runs the show with almost near perfection and a honest aspirant need not have any apprehension. People need to adhere to the basic rules of presenting only the truthful information, avoid hidden agenda and more importantly understand their line of questioning. If one could anticipate and briefly live in their shoes, the entire process will be a breeze. It is a question of anticipation and preparedness, which many lack, is turning to be their Achilles' heel. If one is clear about their intentions, aspirations and stay away from incorrect and suspicious statements with all the documents available to support the claim, one could consider the whole exercise as a valuable experience with such understanding and supporting official machinery of the country you are aspiring to visit.

As for me , more than the activities around I was tense about the pregnant cloud hovering over threatening to deliver at any time. While over the years there has been appreciable improvements in the process facilitating the visitors, the authorities could do well to protect them from rain and shine and perhaps borrow the Indian tradition of entertaining the guests of honor with some basic comforts. After all, it is only those who have asked for your appointment,  are at your doorsteps at the mutually agreed time to interact with you. As the visitors prepare to adapt themselves to the culture and practice of the country they plan to visit, the authorities could also play a better host in adhering to the culture of our country which accords highest importance to honor any visitor with such courtesies.

While a majority of the visitors ultimately emerge  happy with their visa obtained, they could be spared of the initial tension of being exposed to the vagaries of weather and a slight discomfort of waiting at the gates, by providing a cover over the head and more preferably a wait that is away from the public glare. With such wonderful improvements seen, one is confident that this minor but self impacting hurdle is removed so that the whole exercise is made more pleasurable and done with honor.

Retire, before you tire?

During a chat at a marriage reception few hours back, a close friend of my wife was saying "who has time for health checkups. When the health protests, we will look into that". Though my wife put up a worried face as the friend was in her early fifties that demands regular attention, she did agree that it requires multiple visits to the hospital and consultation , which should really be challenging when you are still at work.

On a recent tour, there were occasions to climb some small hills with steep and irregular steps to reach out to some prominent places of visit. An accompanying friend said had it been some years earlier, he would have done it with ease and rued his decision to wait for his official chores to complete before turning this way!

My relative couple who were both in a mad man's working world until recently, eased out to focus on their only daughter's marriage and also performed it with all grandeur. The lady haunted by the daughter's separation after her marriage was wondering whether she should have quit her job early and spent more time with her daughter. It was pathetic to hear her lamenting "when she was here, we didn't have time and when we are free, she is not around"and the regret was palpable.

During our periodic meet, my friend who is in a very senior position in a flourishing industry said he was ready to hang the boot but was only wondering what to do with the time, as he felt that there is 'enough steam left in him to chug along' for a couple of more years !

Last of the above words seemed to suggest a solution to the dilemma of 'when to hang the boot' !

It is when you are 'still left with energy' to chug along.

When one is officially expected to work putting in his best foot forward and with full energy until the stipulated age, it is well known that care is taken to maintain these resources well for optimum usage  at least until that milestone.

By hanging the boots a couple of years early, one could not only use those officially available energy but also use that to recoup the lost energy to extend the fitness levels for some years ahead ! When you are in the zone of 'expected working of around ten hours a day', tasks such as long travel or climbing small hillocks should not be a big ask. The renewed energy could enable one to focus more on the forgotten priorities like more family time, planning for family events and travel round the country which would have so far remained only as desires. And more importantly to concentrate on your own health-  which so far is the most sacrificed item on one's agenda and is always a candidate for the place at the sacrificial altar for any other priorities. This is a serious neglect as one could pay with a fat purse and more nerves, should the tiring body choose to revolt at the sunset of your life, when you are planning to put your feet up and enjoy life.

As for post retiral activities, believe me there are any number and yours truly is reasonably qualified to dwell on the same. Given the demands of the prevailing challenges of industries, it is not unfair to expect any person to slow down at least, if not stop working, by his mid-50s. So, it is imperative to start the planning exercise around by forties and a very small monthly savings through your occupational years could see one through these rainy days of early retirement !

Before you choose to retire do remember to list down the things you have been wanting to do or get involved but could not as your work was felt to be the stumbling block. It could be more quality time with family, periodic family outings, places to visit, small treks, music, reading or exploring any other hidden talent in you that could be easily converted as hobby, in the later years.

One can afford and allowed to enjoy unplanned hours in the early days of retirement, but not for long. Plan your day, if not on the same rigorous lines of official days but on a reasonable measure, as an extended unplanned period could easily invite ennui to set in , which is not the purpose of early retirement. If one desires, it is within everyone's reach to wake up some of  the sleeping talents within you, that will be your companion towards the retired sector of your life circle.

The catch is planning, timing and enjoying, when you are still left with the steam and things are on your side ! Its more important to hang the gloves, before a gentle reminder is given, so that you could enjoy an unrestricted field before you, to kick around .

 " There are many breeds of dog that just needs to be working, and useful or have a job of some kind, in order to be happy. Otherwise, they are neurotically barking, scratching or tearing up the sofa".

Its no wonder , everyone's wish is not to end up with a dog's life !!

Fraud out of Greed !

Today's THE HINDU has reported an incident as 'Vishing' wherein a woman has been defrauded by promising to send an expensive gift, as her phone number was selected in a lucky draw.  After she  sent   Rs 2000/- as courier charges, the 'gift'  received contained  not an iPhone but just few hundred rupees worth of cheap cosmetic items. The cyber crime police investigating this has said  ' there are many such complaints 

 received with similar modus operandi'  !

This is an age old trick and despite the communication and media channels available, its a pity that people are still falling for it.

Though it certainly falls under the category of a fraud, can we do anything to refrain from becoming a 'Victim'? The answer is certainly a big 'Yes'.

Has one not heard about the Nigerian and other scams promising jobs and luring the potential victims to send only the postal charges?

Realistically, can you think of any organisation awarding you with a very expensive gift, for nothing? 

If the org was going to give such an expensive gift, won't they also bear the accompanying courier charges? 

There are many such instances of Emails, short messages and phone calls luring people to part with their personal details such as address, phone numbers and IDs, only to make money out of them rather than parting with any gift. 

In my opinion, such frauds are happening only with the involuntary connivance of the victim! Yes, though the victim has not directly contributed, his/her greed has made the victim also an accomplice.

Let us remember that all those blinking advertisements in the websites you visit, 'click here for a pot of gold' like messages are all meant to lure the gullible.

Understand that not only the innocents are targeted but also the tech-savvy, who in a momentary lapse of mind and act of foolery or more out of persistent annoyance of emails or advertisement, could press that fatal link. 

I am reminded of a huge hoarding outside an erstwhile finance company in Royapettah (Chennai) which proclaimed " Nothing in this world is for free;  the worm at the end of the rod is, after all, a bait and not food for the fish" !!

That the said company also went bust with depositors' money is of course a different story !!

Resist the Unknown

In those days, most of the parents used to advise their kids 'not to venture into unknown areas' when they go on a school / college excursions. This singular advice appears to stand true despite the passing of decades.

Gone are the days, when people had to experiment and innovate always, even despite the criticism that curiosity may kill the cat.  These days in the current scenario, the cyber jungle though fraught with myriads of lurking dangers, often lures one to experiment and venture in to the newer areas in the cyberspace.

When one opens the personal email, at times there are many more emails in the spam folder than the Inbox! It could be a claimed ‘official looking’ email from the highest bank of the country announcing your selection for receiving some unclaimed balances in a non-operative bank account! There could be an email from an African country announcing that you have won a million dollar lottery! There could be one just with the single word 'Congratulation' as the subject. There may be others which could warn you that a virus has been detected in your laptop and to click to rectify the same, 'absolutely free of cost'! These are absolute bombs waiting to electronically explode, invade and make away with your data, on a momentary madness of a click on an innocuous looking link.

When one chooses to run away from the email threats into the waiting arms of his friends through social networking sites, there are multitudes of blinking invites awaiting attention on both sides of your operative areas offering more information on the cheapest flight to a destination you were looking for last week. There will be any number of groups , which will be suggested to befriend, courtesy the analytical potential of your own social networking site, which has voluntarily undertaken to (mis)use your data to make an analysis and offer you suggestions. There will be dozens of alternates to a mobile phone you have 'like'ed and at a comparatively cheaper cost than the one, you propose to buy.

Looking to get some peace by closing the laptop, there are any number of phone calls offering you unsolicited advice on a potential purchase for the approaching festival season and requesting you to share your credit/debit card details for further processing of higher loans and incentives.

The unsolicited intrusions into one’s personal life is on the increase and days are not far off when your personal doctor could advise you to stay away from your electronic gadgets for a day of your weekend to regain acceptable levels of your pressure and vitals.

In all the above, there are baits thrown, for the unsuspected, ignorant, greedy and morons. As Mark Twain says “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” 

If one could not sight the twirling worm at the end of the rod, it is not far off before he himself hangs there as a bait at the end of the pole. Nothing in this world comes free. The worm at the end of the rod is not for your appetite but to lure you off information.

One is forced to have a day of upavas and to practice the focus of the legendary character Arjuna sighting only the target, so that one is not distracted, one is not tempted and one does not fall a prey, only to rue shortly thereafter.

Please be informed and educate your near and dear ones - not to click on unconfirmed or unknown links and not share information on callers claiming to be from your bank and air your requirements in the Net.   

For, there lies a jungle with deadlier snakes and man-eaters, waiting to pounce on your purse and personal information, devour everything and strip you naked, before you log out and close your system.

Remember “The problem with temptation is that you may not get another chance"

NOTE: Above is my contribution as Editorial, for the eZine of Cyber Society of  India , an abridged version of which has been published in the ezine released today through the website www.cysi.in

Women- Truly Liberated?

Come March every year, people across the world, the high and mighty, from schools to board rooms clamor and vie with one another in eulogizing the values of women, their strength, their contribution to the world and how far they have come. As the International Day of women wanes, so does the thoughts seem to as they were not from the heart but from the shallow grounds!

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella could have found fixing of the myriads of bugs in their software releases easier than trying to extricate his foot so firmly inserted by him into his mouth.  

His utterances of 'quite frankly, women who don't ask for a raise have…It's good karma. It will come back."...' came almost true. But its only that the 'karma' came back to haunt not the intended women employees but himself, when the pressure generated forced him to apologize in a memo to the women employees of the Microsoft, as reported in www.inc.com

The normally mellifluous voice for once sounded jarring when the popular singer Yesudas, wandered out of his comfort zone to comment on the practice of women wearing jeans.  The backlash was so forceful that there were appeals from some of his ardent fans in popular newspapers to spare the singer for his faux pas!

I feel, and it is apparent that , despite the lip services paid on such 'celebrated' days, the male dominated society is yet to come to terms and accept the fact of the distaff side clawing its way up the ladder and trying to taking over the reins, demanding their legitimate place in the society ! They are refusing to accept the fact that women assuming positions are on the rise and it appears their minds are clouded with confusion, unable to distinguish between uplift and authority.

 A 2008 Harvard Business Review research report says, "... 41 percent of the young people in science, engineering and technology are women.... " but goes on to add that ".... 63 percent of women in these industries have experienced some degree of sexual harassment..." So the Hippocratic while accepting the ascendancy due to the societal pressure, also seem to make their survival difficult by constant pressures and pin pricks. 

We have been ushered into an era in which woman have started traversing into outer space, drive auto rickshaws and locomotives, manage the financial world , perform complex surgeries as life savers and even adorn  gubernatorial positions. To be frank they have pervaded and are all over with stunning results. Whether one likes it or not, they are here and have come to stay, at times with even better performances than their distractors.

When the world is fast forwarding into a different arena, it is distressing to hear such discerning voices. One may well understand such non-acceptances from morons and minions, but to hear such discordant notes from the high and mighty, one is reminded of the adage "an Athenian blockhead is the worst of all blockheads"and be sensitive to the developments.

It is time women liberation is not confused just with populist rhetoric and lip level support but understood as extending beyond with whole hearted support in all their reasonable deeds.

Doctors under scanner

Ever since the talk show on the Doctors, their investigations, their advices and their motives were put under a public microscope and rubbished, rather uncharitably,  few weeks back in a popular TV channel, the social networking community is abuzz with claims and counter claims. There are those in public who identified with the counter-examples given and the Doctors seething with the general verdict given on their integrity without fully hearing them- the sole aim of the talk show was achieved resoundingly - its TRP (Television Rating Point)  sky rocketed and the talk show has become the talk of the town! As for the channel is concerned , the objective has been reached and its time to look for and move after another 'raw nerve'. After all such shows are openly described as between 'you and me' and it will be a free for all for some time until the identified 'experts' could deliver 'their' verdict.

Enough exchanges were made amongst 'friends' in social networking websites and it is a revelation that our people have so much to say - its only a pity they don't express themselves in a tone that could be heard by all.

Even while attempting to digest these exchanges, I was also shared with two recorded versions of senior practicing doctors, from YouTube.

The first one was from Dr. Praveen Raj of Coimbatore (http://youtu.be/HCCOKKWfGpM ) True to his profession, the doctor without going overboard and in a calculated tone, which was maintained throughout the session , goes on to decimate the claims made in the talk-show. Wondering on the motive of a programme that started off with an accusation rather than a debatable point, he explains that medicine is not maths to follow a set of formulae and how every decision goes not only with the investigations but also based on the experience of the attending Doctor. He further adds that Master Check ups are not prescribed by Doctors and out-rightly rubbishes the statement "Medicines are given to keep the disease alive". Without caring to conceal the hurt and anger he counters it saying that " If medicines are not given the patient will not be alive". He has no hesitation to trash the 'well sounding " report quoted by another participant and easily points out as to how it is irrelevant to use that report which is more applicable to countries like US and European states.

The second one was from a Padma Shree awardee Dr Bhaktha Vatsalam( http://youtu.be/Z7k6RzMD0pc ), again from Coimbatore- well, this town seems to have its antenna up and focused while their fraternity in other cities did not bother to respond ! He goes on to say that no Doctor enters the profession to make money and pleads to the people to appreciate and praise them. While his claims of only the Doctors working on holidays and weekends to save lives and that they are demi-Gods could evoke another talk show, his points on most of the ailments are man made and invited by ourselves are interesting.

There are substance in both the learned  Doctors' appeals - No doubt- when we are in great pain, when our kin has met with an accident, when our heart takes a breather - we look upon these as Manna from heaven to deliver and relieve ourselves from pain. They do play God in instantly relieving us of the pain and suffering and goes on to even define our lifestyle for the rest of our life for a trouble free run. The struggling baby and the hopeless mother with excruciating pain is many a time saved by the deft hands of an obstetrician, through a timely Cesarean section and the whole effort is forgotten by all concerned on seeing the mother and the kid, without even bating an eyelid for the efforts and timely decision of the Gynec.

But, to claim that the Doctors also approach this without monetary consideration, as claimed by one of the doctors  is also hard to accept. Perhaps what the learned medico would have meant was 'no doctor comes to this profession only for money'.

Every profession has some black sheep and these sheep invariably drive the decision making , more because of the wrongs caused by them on the innocent public.

We describe a bank as the best in service based on one employee who always attend to you with a smile, but this impression will change the moment he is replaced by another with a shorter fuse.

We decide on the quality of service in a hotel by the solitary waiter who always attends on you.

We give verdict on a school /college by the teacher you get !

Similarly, people decide based on the type of services they receive. After all, one also cannot brush aside the confession of a participant from the supporting profession in the show, that indeed there are pressures from some medical  practitioners to misdirect the patients into incorrect and unnecessary tests and investigations. But then it will be uncharitable to paint all with the same brush, too.

Unfortunately, since all the eggs are stacked  in the same basket, the rotten eggs have started polluting the good ones. It is for the true professionals to work with the regulators, stakeholders and others 'who cry foul now trying to hold the flag aloft for this noble profession' , to sift the wheat from the chaff , identify the black sheep  and weed them out.

Doctors, by the services rendered are very unique in nature and need to be appreciated, encouraged and nurtured with. I agree the world will become more painful in the absence of this rare and valuable professionals.

But then to equate them with the Almighty, say there are no blemishes and spare them the 'at times' deserving rod could also spoil these practitioners !!

This will be as unreasonable as the talk-show's attempt to paint  all medical practitioners black with the same brush !!

Dress code

A  hue and cry has been raised about denying entry to a judge into a club in Chennai, reportedly because he was wearing a Dhothi, the traditional dress of South India. 

Of late the 'dress code' is more in the news due to its insistence and also when it involves some high profiles. 

An instance of an invited guest speaker being turned away from a city college was also reported sometime back, when he was found not complying with the dress code of the College. At that time , the invitee raised a question whether such codes are applicable to the guest too!

When my friend visited a city college where his ward was studying, he was denied entry as his attire was not in conformity with dress code of the college! Here, the anguished parent quipped whether the dress code is meant for students or visitors too.

Every place has a right to be bound by the rules of the land and the owner of the particular piece of real estate cannot be blamed for insisting on his expectations at his place. But then, its also in line with the expected discipline and etiquette that the hosts apprise the guest on the expectations upfront, to avoid untoward embarrassments and avoidable blushes.

This particular incident, analysed on the following  lines, could provide more clarity on the intent :  

1. Was any dress code prescribed in the invitation extended for the occasion? 

2. Did the invitee choose to ignore the code despite the same being advised sufficiently in advance ?

 I feel a case is being made out that ' Dhothi, the traditional dress of the state is being disrespected'. It needs to be probed whether he was denied entry due to the wearing of a Dhothi as is made out to be or not adhering to the prescribed dress code. I feel there is room for mischief here, which could be exploited for sensationalism. 

I find nothing wrong or unusual in prescribing a dress code and also the invitee deciding on complying with it.

In Amritsar, when I visited the Golden temple, I was asked to cover my head with a piece of cloth given and I had to yield.

In Guruvayur temple no one is allowed with a shirt on and when a serving President of India was reluctant,  he politely refrained from a visit, thus skirting an avoidable embarrassment.

A Chennai city popular club also denied entry to a guest of the member, when the guest was wearing a collar less tee shirt, which was prohibited there!

It is for the host to make it abundantly clear sans ambiguity the rules of the event, premises and occasion so that there is no confusion and last minute sensation of a  'denial of admission'. The guest may choose to adhere to the norms or skip the invitation.

I cannot escape nursing a thought  whether the same hue and cry would have been raised, if the person involved was an ordinary citizen without a high profile!

Tryst with Seva !

After my visit to the passport office at Sastri Bhavan , Chennai few years back, I was weary of  a re-visit, but I had little choice , as my passport is due for renewal. But, the experiences this time around, proved to be entirely different and pleasant.

For the first time, I applied online and the process was fairly simple. I wonder why only the Internet Banking of the State Bank of India is provided and for using non-SBI account a fee was also charged - avoidable. At least all the Nationalised banks could have been listed.

The process tested the nerves of the applicant as it logged out with some errors repeatedly , after accepting the payment terms and after multiple trials, it was done. Also, there was no choice of date or time and when the system allocates them , the applicant 'shall' accept them.

I opted for the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) at Saligramam and it was fairly decent, with good paid parking facilities. The always crowded waiting hall badly requires air-conditioning, as the symbolic fans installed were serving little in this sweltering Chennai summer. Some boards or directions on the subsequent stages of activities could help the applicants as people were seen standing at the wrong line only to realize it after lapse of considerable time. Fortunately, when once you are admitted in to the PSK from the waiting hall, the whole place has AC and it was a relief.

First stage was the initial screening of your application and it took me a while to figure out what to do with the file folder thrust into my hands, at the end of that interaction.. After a two second body-search , I was led into a more spacious hall, seating about 300 people where I was  asked to wait for the issue of a token. Though the hall was cool, work wise it was in a mess. A lone guy sitting at the farthest corner of the huge hall kept calling names and people have to run to him to collect the token. The hall was so noisy with the children playing around and the coffee vending machine trying always to raise itself above the voice of that official. They could use a Mic for better reach.

Not sure as to why old people, mothers with babe-in-arms and small kids could not be prioritized and given preference. At least for me, just few tokens behind me , a kid kept wailing inconsolably and it was a pity to see that mother struggling to manage the kid. Since, it was behind me , I was kept this company through out my entire sojourn at PSK for the day !

It was then things started moving more smoothly though the typical 'anarchy' still persisted wherever possible. The three step process of moving through counters was fairly well managed though not all the entrants could get seats. Either they could provide seats for all admitted inside or regulate the entry according to the seats available. Otherwise, people were seen everywhere obstructing even the view of the TV Monitors which one has to follow closely to track one's token. It was a relief to come out after collecting the acknowledgement from the loquacious security who delivered unsolicited advice on why one should not approach the touts and agents !

Passport delivery was a breeze. On the same night of my personal appearance at the PSK, I received an email about the Police verification details. The next day I was informed that my passport has been couriered along with all details and within 48 hours of my tryst with PSK , I did receive the passport , hand delivered at home by Speed Post !!

Compared to my previous experience where there was no chair to sit, no proper directions and the chaos around, the experience this time was far more improved and pleasant. Tracking system, guidance  and the use of technology has brought considerable relief to the public. There is room for improvement, but I am not complaining as they are towards betterment. Things appear to be promising and I am confident we are in for better Seva  at these Kendras!

Here are my one rupee worth tips:

• Online booking is straight forward and simple. No need to go through any agents.
• It is enough if you are at the PSK 15 minutes before your reporting time. Otherwise, you will unnecessarily be undergoing the torture of waiting in undesirable environment.
• Go through the instructions and carry all the documents required. Though there is a photo copying machine placed, its not worth standing in that long line. Better carry everything in advance.
• The security check at PSK is a joke and I was cursing myself for not carrying my iPad. Some reading material is a must considering the waiting time at every stage!
• Total time inside the PSK though specified as two hours, could go up to three. Be armed with water/juice and some snacks. These are also available inside but could cost you a small fortune. 
• Be vigilant as many seem to drop their passport or vital documents in their anxiety and excitement.
• Remember to collect the acknowledgment, before you leave the Kendra.

Women to the fore !

It was a cold December evening and the officials at that software development organization were waiting with bated breath for the development team to release their latest code to clients.  The software testing team of around 30 mostly comprised of new recruits and a mix of men and women were also anxious.  The whole crowd was anxious for different reasons - some for quality of deliverable, some for the timeline to be maintained and amongst them were also some ladies who were tense watching the clock. Though not regular clock watchers, they were anxious about those at home- some waiting for their food, some waiting to be relieved by their daughters in law to take care of the child and some children themselves waiting for their moms, whom they have not seen for the past 12 hours.

This is a common scenario developing in the IT industry, fortunately more accepted by the women themselves, a hallmark of the current day ladies having shown the inclination to play also equal not resting with just their claims of equality. On occasions, where I could, I had relieved the women folk due to late hours and the look in their eyes were full of gratefulness, for they were already torn between the dilemma of work and family.

I have often wondered, rather sympathised with the ladies working in such industry, which demanded uncertain working hours. While I drove home to have my dinner and retire to bed with mind still full of official thoughts, I used to think as to how these ladies could relax. The moment they hit the door bell, there will be more issues at home than at office- children not doing home work, some dishes to be made for dinner, to look after the ailing in law, in addition to their own health issues. Are they really the stronger sex, managing both at home and at work, while the men folk tend to relax the moment they are out of the office and also take on at home, what they could not manage at office!

If this is the life of junior executives, for those who have aspirations and climb the ladders, getting out of the office is no relief. For they have to cope up with the innumerable issues from the team which is still working, escalations from the clients, conference calls at odd hours, which are not odd for the callers will be from different geographical locations….. the list is endless. While wondering at their zeal to handle these issues stemming from their ambitions, one cannot but appreciate the management of their energy in doing this day after day.

It’s not just confined to the IT industry alone. I have seen female nurses sporting enthusiastic smiles even at odd hours at night attending to terminally ill patients at ICUs. 

Young girls (wo) manning counters at malls, knocking at the doors selling encyclopaedias, filling petrol at petrol bunks and even deftly threading through the narrow bi-lanes and traffic in gleaming auto rickshaws, which were for so long the vehicles of men!

Compare it with the late 1970s, when the young boys surreptitiously sneaked into that department which was rumoured to have got a new entrant transferred from Gujarat and the girl was sporting a salwar kameez, a rarity in those days of saree everywhere!

At the job interviews too, one could notice the trend of as many female candidates as males, the counters at the Railway and other organizations more crowded with them- braking the myth of the women being considered suitable only for the nursing profession !  Come on, the emancipation of women, if not complete but is truly on its course.  It is also to their credit, they have announced that they are no pushovers despite some shortcomings but more importantly, it appears they have come to stay, at these places where it matter.

One cannot be but happy at the emergence of these Bharat mathas and it is for the guys to support the distaff part of their family, to make their life complete.

Enjoy your day, dear friends!

Training- not Technology

Experiences at different places with different service providers and customer-oriented professionals over the week prompted me to dwell on this subject.

I was hunting for an electronic goods over the past few days and when I entered a fancied showroom, the sales person just heard me for a moment and said “I have only this model and if you are OK you can take this”. His own reply made me realize that there are other options available in the market but not in this showroom and helped me make a hasty exit.

In a leading Insurance corporation supporting life related policies, I was greeted with the words “The computer is down”. The person must have felt bad that he need not have revealed this, as the purpose of my visit was to hand over some physical documents which did not require a computer.

Few weeks back, I approached a Nationalised Bank to update my customer profile in their system, as I wanted a statement with the updated profile urgently. After a day, when I called up to confirm the completion, I was told that the Manager has gone to court to attend to some case and only after his return this could be done. I was also informed that even if he comes after few days only he could do it as the password is not shared with others!

I was at another bank today and while I was talking to the official, an agitated customer barged in to report that the bank’s ATM debited his account twice though he has withdrawn the money only once. The customer was obviously worried that his money was unduly debited and was also in urgent need of the amount wrongly debited. The official coolly told him first that it can be attended only by the Branch Manager who is on leave today and any action could be taken only on his return tomorrow (hopefully). He also asked him to write the whole incident in a letter and approach the bank after a week!!

As of my query as to why a cheque that was debited 3 days back is still not reflecting in my account, a junior official of the bank said that “For inter city branches it will take 5 days for a cheque to clear”. When I reminded him that it is NOT an inter city cheque as both the banks are separated only by few streets in the same Chennai city, he silenced me arrogantly and parroted the same reason! Realising that he does not have any other answer, I went to the senior official. The official, who was standing in his senior’s absence was clearly not cut up for the job; said initially that there is no staff and hence the delay. When I refused to accept this, he requested me to come later in the day and then virtually pleaded to help him!

All the above-mentioned front office people were doing more harm to the business, leave alone serving the customers. The hallmark of a front office person is to first understand the customer’s requirement and serve accordingly. Also, it requires some tact to ‘handle’ the situation to the customer’s satisfaction, without unnecessarily revealing information that are neither relevant nor for the customer interest. But, here are people who are trying to sell a Geyser when all the customer wanted was an electrical switch!

Even when a Branch Manager who is omnipotent but unfortunately not filling up his expectations of being omnipresent, is there any need for the staff to expose the process lapse to customer? When a customer comes in with a problem, he cannot be expected to hear yours!

The bankers would also do well not to cite the problems of staff shortage and computer software issues any more to cover for their deficiency in service. When the customers handover their money to the banks, they also expect them to put on the thinking caps and be prepared for exigencies. When few banks went down with the WTC in 2001, the banks rose back in lightening speed within days to resume services, due to the banks’ preparedness and this is precisely what differentiates the wheat from the chaff, in the present competitive market.

Instead of revealing the dependencies on individuals, the front office staff could have handled the customers better so that the internal fissures does not permeate to the public who are blissfully unaware of the shortcomings of the organization and continue to repose their faith. In a Bank, the Cashier and the Dispatch staff were considered to be the most important part of the bank as they interact directly with the customers and any deficiency on their part would impact the performance and image of the bank. The front office staff, who ‘IS’ the (mouth piece of the) organization should be better trained in handling customers under different scenarios, as their behaviour will decide on the customer continuity or otherwise.

The organisations while spending millions on technologies would do well to spend a small part on training their staff in soft skills to retain the existing clientele, when the Branch Manager is away - busy hunting for new clients!

Organizations have invested enough in technology and it's time they train their staff in optimally utilising them lest it will be like putting the cart ahead of the horse and expect miracles in customer satisfaction.

Training, not Technology seems to be the need of the hour.

Books - Fair and Fare

I thought a visit to the book fair will make me richer with my book collections, richer in knowledge with exposure to a variety of authors and topics, richer in enthusiasm with the added knowledge on the improvements over the year and the resulting opportunities. I had reasons to entertain these thoughts, as these have been happening since 1977 when I started visiting this annual event. But, the experiences seemed to be different this year for the Chennai Book Fair, 2013

In fact I started counting the chickens from way back in Oct'13, when the social networks opened up pages to dwell on book fair. I carefully chose a day and time when you are not likely to be hampered by the jostling crowd and they all fell into their places as planned. Being aware of the need to invest with prudence and also being reminded constantly by the books of previous years of fair visit, I had conservatively budgeted for the purchase of books. But, the book fair made me appear like a pauper.

The prices of almost all the books were sky high for a common man, except for few a handful of publications which kept them at moderate and affordable levels. Every book I touched bordered on a minimum of Rupees 200 and forced me to drop the book and the idea immediately. Even common Tamil fiction novels have been divided into multiple parts, each costing Rs 150 to 200 ! In my opinion, a normal reading enthusiast cannot but shell less than two thousand rupees, if he/she were to reasonably cover the ambitions carefully accumulated over a year !

It may appear that I am complaining though the books are in the range of Rs 200. But, my plight was I had planned and desired for many books and am sure am not alone in this! Work out the cost please.

There was a discussion in popular TV channel that the sales in book fair is falling and that not many are inclined to buy books. This is no surprise after this year's price range. I am well aware of or at least read about the increasing cost of making a book but despite all these, I am afraid, the anxiety of the visitors will fizzle out in the years to come, unless the publishers think completely different to tackle the issue.

For instance, a 150 page book hard bound and colored beautifully was priced at Rs 300, while a soft bound copy of the autobiography of Gandhi was priced at Rs 54/- !! Where is the need to have attractive hard bound editions which could obviously involve more costs? Perhaps they will be preferred by libraries for longevity but other than them, who will prefer or preserve such hard bound editions. These are the days, when people have little time to read, leave alone a second read and so the question of preserving should not cloud the pricing vision.

I saw D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's lover at Rs 200+, whereas an advertisement in Internet offers it for a legal download FREE of cost !! Can you still spot a buyer for such books?

Most of Sujatha's books have also been priced above Rs 200/- where eBook of the the same is being sold officially for USD 3 which roughly works to Rs 180/-. I leave the advantages or otherwise of the eBook version over the hard copy to the readers !!

Sadly, the publishers are not aware of the happening around or not gauging the pulse and needs of the readers properly. I also happened to read some interesting links on the social networking sites:

http://danariely.com/2012/11/03/how-to-stop-illegal-downloads/  - says that the author found 20000 copies of his book being downloaded illegally as soft copies within days of his releasing the book and the sad part is his not getting a single paise out of this.

Yes, every book is made available on the web in no time after its official release and readers download them for different interesting reasons. One had the cheek to say that he used to "download soft copies just to find out whether it is worth spending the money on the hard copy" !!

Whatever be the reason, it has come to stay and it is difficult to ward it off. Everyone is well aware of the plunge the film industry has taken after the electronic invasion and the industry is still grappling for possible solutions. While all these efforts are on, the DVD of the latest movie is sold openly on main road of every place for a paltry forty rupees. I for one would never like to be in the shoes of that poor producer and I wish some solution satisfying every one's need is arrived at early, which seems to be a wishful thinking as of now.

The good or bad news is that more and more are taking to soft copy versions for various reasons such as mobility, portability, share-ability and other similar (dis)abilities.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremygreenfield/2014/01/16/more-americans-reading-ebooks-led-by-younger-and-wealthier/?utm_campaign=forbestwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social says more Americans have started resorting to reading ebooks ! Will the Indians lag behind?

So, what is the way out of this literary disaster waiting to happen? Its time for the stake holders to think differently and bring in some unimaginable but pleasant jolt to the readers. They have the unenviable task of satisfying the hard core book enthusiasts who will not be satisfied anything but a hard copy and those who would like to read somehow, but cannot afford this fancy price.

One idea will be to slash the price, say by 60%, and make it available only for the first two days. This will take care of the volume sales when people will hasten to beat the short deadline.

After it spends considerable time on the stands, bring the price to rock bottom and make the book available say for 20% of the original cost. I feel this is what is happening to the books like Gandhi's autobiography, which unfortunately is still looking for buyers at Rs 50 !!

Instead of the readers going in for illegal soft copies, the book makers can bring out their own version of eBooks - I guess they would soon be compelled to do this at least for the cash turnover.

Yesterday I happened to attend a lecture of a leading and respected cardiologist of Chennai. His book on taking care of your heart is very popular but unfortunately it was not easily available. At the end of the lecture, he announced that the eVersion of his book was available for Rs 100/- against the paper back price of Rs 180 and it is no wonder the DVDs too vanished in no time.

It does pay to move with the time. Authors and book publishers who will be focusing on bringing out books should entrust the market research and innovative methods to the identified professionals, so that you are not left behind, despite the release of a good book. I am reminded of the saying "Ships are safer in harbor but they are not built to be there". Modifying it a bit, "Books are supposed to be in the hands of book lovers and not in the publisher stands"

Unless some such drastic steps are taken to woe the book lovers, I am afraid, there will be foot falls at the book fairs but they will be more for window shopping. The ones who would do more business from such fairs will be the fringe players like parking licensees and food stalls. After all, there is still a joy in browsing through the books without buying it, as we used to do in the 70s, just to kill time.

I feel this book business is moving towards ICU and badly in need of emergency measures to resuscitate lest it will lose itself into a slumber accompanying Rip Van Winkle.