A man walks down a well-paved path,
Looking over his shoulder, looking at his past
A man of virtue, a man of gold
No guilt, no regrets does he hold
Proud of his character, proud of his beliefs,
Proud he feels of all that he has achieved
Honest in his words, honest in his deed
A loving husband, a friend in need
A faithful fella he has always been
No lies to hide, no sins to be seen
As he passes, people pause
One can see nods of appreciation, hear sounds of applause
Suddenly he finds himself at the end of the road
There is nothing ahead, turn right he must
He finds himself on an unpaved path
The people look different, the air smells strange
He stands out in the crowd, everyone stares at him
He is dressed like in coat and ties
But others are not wearing any clothes
He speaks in a gentle and proper way
But all he hears are laughter and swears
He talks passionately about his family and friends
Only to be scorned at for his lack of character
People look down on his fidelity, are suspicious of his love
His earlier moral codes and ethics no longer hold
It is a different world where you cannot just love one
Where stories are immoral and poems don’t rhyme
Not one to give up, a strong man is he
He fights his way forward and learns new tricks
He struggles, stumbles, makes mistakes and falls
But each time he gets up and once again gives it his all
Soon you can see him run on that unpaved road
Slapping others back and letting go of a roar of a laugh
He abuses and cheats and kills for a living
He lusts for all but loves none
As he passes, women pause
One can see the flirtatious looks, hear the cat whistles
Who are we but what others want us to be
A man of character is but a man of habits
A man of morals is one living by the rules we have set
Is there something as one’s true self?
Or are we all pursuing an illusion of freedom that doesn’t really exist?
Salesmanship
November 9, 2009 by shekhchilli
I got my Aquaguard water filter serviced today. The agent whom I called to do it is one of the most interesting salesman I have met in a long time. I first called him to replace the filter of my Aquaguard six months back. While he was doing that, he told me all kind of stories about different water filters – which ones are worth their price, difference between brands, etc. He measured the purity of my water using a hand-held device and told me it is perfectly fine for drinking and I don’t need to think of changing my device. He advised me to get my filter cleaned every six months to ensure longevity and purity of water. Then he noted my contact details in a little telephone book of his and insisted that I too note his mobile number in my address book (‘”so you can remember that I am calling and it is not an anonymous call”). After that, I completely forgot about him.
A week back, exactly six months to the day, I got a call from him – his name flashing on my mobile phone and I having no clue of who he was. When he introduced himself, I remembered him. He had called to check if I wanted to get my filter cleaned. I didn’t feel any particular need to get it done but just to reward him for his diligence, I agreed and asked him to come today. He came right on time, cleaned the filter and also made sure that he cleaned the kitchen area around the Aquaguard both before and after his own work. Once again, he measured the purity of my water and re-affirmed its good for drinking. He also told me not to go for an RO device (“as it is becoming fashionable these days”) since I don’t need it. Once again, he updated my entry in the little book of his telling me that “the next time I will call you is in April, six months from now. You will not hear from me before that unless you call me for some problem in your device”.
In these days of increased information availability on the internet, ability to compare prices and features, the convenience of going into a mall and flipping through the stuff on sale yourself, we don’t often come across high quality salesman. In fact even for some of the expensive purchases I have done recently, the salesmen have not played a major role in influencing my buying decision except ensuring that they are courteous and well-mannered enough not to put me off (because many salesman today are very good at putting you off with their pushy or snobbish behavior). So it was refreshing to meet this Aquaguard agent who is a very good salesman indeed. He knows his product well, is able to judge the customer and adapts his conversation accordingly, has lots of opinions and suggestions to give but is never pushy and is very professional in his behavior. Even more impressive is his customer database management – no fancy gadgets, just a little book and a pen but so very effective. It does show that while modern technology with blackberry calendars, to-do lists, reminders and many other applications have made it easier to manage our circle of business associates and friends, what really matters is our own mindset and commitment. Even without these tools we can make sure we remember the people who matter and make it to every meeting on time. Just like people did for hundreds of years before the digital revolution. And vice-versa, even with all the technology at our service, most of never end up using them just because we don’t have the right mindset.
Posted in Commentary | Tagged Salesmanship, skills | 1 Comment »