Technically I am an Insurance and MF salesman. We salesmen meet our prospects from the position of weakness and not all people we meet treat us very well. Rejections, disappointments are part of our job and we are usually OK with it. But sometimes things go awfully wrong.
I met a dentist in his clinic yesterday. I had called him a day before for an appointment and he happily agreed to meet me. I again called him half an hour before appointment for confirmation. This time also he was well spoken and asked me to come to his clinic.
When I reached his clinic on time, the dentist was yet to reach. I called him and he said that he is on his way and would reach within 5 minutes. There were no patients in the clinic and I was the only person waiting for him. The dentist did not arrive for next 30 minutes and by the time he reached 2 patients had come. This man rushed past us to his cabin wearing a look of attitude and superiority. He did notice me on his way to his cabin.
Since I had reached before patients, his assistant let me go in. I opened the door of his cabin and asked for permission to come in. He angrily looked at me and rudely said “Bahar ruko (wait outside)”. He then called his assistant and asked her to send patients in. I did feel bad for the way he talked to me but then I thought being a doctor his first duty is towards his patients and he is doing the right thing. This was an evening appointment and since I had no other appointment after that I chose to wait outside.
He made me wait outside for another one hour attending his patients. Every time the patient would come out I would look at his assistant and she would ask another patient to go in. After more than an hour like this I was the only person left in the clinic with no other patient and finally his assistant allowed me to go in.
This time I opened the door and politely asked him permission to come in. I was responded with an arrogant nod of head. I settled in a chair in front of him. I introduced myself and started by asking whether he invests in MF (since I had specifically taken this appt. for MF).
He said “Mai faltu chijo me invest nahi karta (I don’t invest in useless things)”.
I said “No problem sir. Where do you invest?”
“I invest only in property and LIC” he replied.
I politely asked “how much investments go into LIC Sir?”
As I asked this, he looked at me with such a bad stare and facial expression as if very bad odor is coming out of my body and he is not being able to bear it.
He said “Ded do lakh dalta hu mai saalke(I put 1.5 L to 2 L every year)”
I said “Don’t you think sir, even LIC is a Mutual Fund if we keep aside insurance part of it?”
Very rudely he replied “Sab pata hai mereko. Tumhare MF me invest hi nahi karna mujhe. Dusra kuch hai to bolo (I know all of this. I don’t want to invest in your MF. If you have anything else to say then speak)”
Sensing that there is no point spending time with this man, I took out my visiting card and held it out to him saying “Here is my card Sir. If you feel like investing in MF in future, I would love to assist you.”
Again very rudely he said “Wo card wagaire mai nahi rakhta. Merepass number hai tumhara. Jarurat padi to call kar dunga (I don’t keep those cards. I have your number. If required I will call you)” And he gestured me to get out.I thanked him and left his cabin wondering what made this man behave like this to me. I took out my phone and put him a message thanking him for giving me time to meet him. Immediately his reply came asking me not to send any further messages.
I thought if he did not want to listen to anything I had to say, then why did he ask me to come to meet him? Why did he make me wait for more than one and half hour outside his cabin? Why did he give me appointment at all? Did he want to teach me a lesson? Did he want to show me my place? Or did he want to prove that he is smarter than all the salesmen and he knows how to treat them?Why don’t some people understand that salesman is also a human being. He also has emotions like everybody else. He also feels bad when rejected and ill-treated though it is part of his job. He does not like to disturb and irritate people either but it is part of his job and he has to do it to earn bread and butter for his family. –wrote Swapnil Kendhe
Category: Anecdotes
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Why India is going to the dogs
Once an eccentric rich old man explained to me why India is going to the dogs:
“In the golden olden days,people use to greet each other with “Jay Shri Ram” or “Jay Shri Krishna”.Now instead of greeting people with the Lord’s Name, they greet each other with “Hai Hai”.Agar tum itna hai hai karoge, to desh ka kya hoga?”
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What’s the point?
I last had lunch with Captain Nair (of Leela Hotels) at the Great Wall, the Chinese restaurant at the Bombay Leela, a few months ago. He was 93 years old and yet physically active and mentally as sharp as ever. We talked about the Delhi property and he conceded that it was his last grand throw of the dice. He accepted also that the Leela Group had debts in excess of Rs 4,000 crore. But he did not seem particularly worried. “You only worry about paying back your debts if you have no money in the bank,” he said. “I have told Vivek and Dinesh (his sons) not to worry too much. Just be patient. The economy will pick up in a year or so. Then, we will sell two, three hotels and the debt will be reduced to normal levels.” Wasn’t this easier said than done, I objected. “Oh no,” he responded. “In every business there are ups and downs. You can sit quietly and not take any risks. But then, what do you achieve? You have to look further and go faster than everybody else if you want to be remembered. Otherwise, what is the point in doing anything?” –wrote Vir Sanghvi
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The first Gujju
As Modi ascends the throne of Delhi on Monday,it is interesting to note that he is the third Gujarathi to do so.
Before him was Moraji Desai who became the Prime Minister of India in 1977.
But the first Gujju to sit on the throne of Delhi was in 1320.His name was Parmar alias Khusro Khan
Parmar was a native of the Bawariya region of Saurashtra in Gujarat, India.
In 1297, Alauddin Khilji sent an army under the command of Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to plunder Gujarat. They first captured Patan by defeating the last Hindu ruler Karan Vaghela, then reached the Somanath temple in Saurashtra. Parmar was captured, converted to Islam and enslaved. Known as ‘Hasan,’ he was subsequently given the title Khusro Khan by Mubarak. As a favorite of Mubarak, he led armies to the south. The historian Farishtah writes about Mubarak’s homosexual relations with Khusro Khan and also that Khusro Khan was a shemale.
In 1320 Khusro Khan managed to kill Alauddin Khilji’s son, Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah, ending the Khilji dynasty. He captured the throne of Delhi and held it for four months, after which he was defeated and killed by Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, who founded the Tughlaq dynasty in 1320 in Delhi.-from Wikipedia
India’s prestigious Tata Group invited Hinduja investment in its London, New York and Washington hotels. The Hindujas came in with $ 17.5 million. Then they demanded a seat not only on the board of the Tata subsidiary that ran the hotels but also on the board of the parent company in India. The Hindujas also began accusing Tata executives of incompetence. Participants at board meetings say that Srichand Hinduja frequently spiced his accusations with four-letter words. Finally, the Tatas had had enough. They bought out the Hindujas for a reported $ 25 million. From the Hindujas’ point of view, the termination arrangement was just great: They made perhaps $ 7.5 million in less than two years, plus such goodies as free rooms in Tata hotels.-from a 1987 Forbes article