Employees in your startup and customer loyalty.....

Nonveg, extra spicy, gravy!?” my friend  shirish the epitome of brevity, explained our wants while simultaneously  questioning the waiter on the dishes that fit the profile. The waiter  suggested some, shirish selected some and the waiter left.

Frankly, I was bracing myself for severe  disappointment. The restaurant was dark at 12 in the noon, empty with us  as the only patrons and the one waiter. Earlier while entering the  restaurant I had noticed the same waiter walking two people out past us.  Considering the escorting they got I wrote them off as some bigshots,  we both had pulled our own chairs.  Mumbaikars tend to make themselves   at home, wherever they are. We were in Aurangabad by the way.

So the waiter came with our order served us  the gravy and then very carefully lifted the rotis and placed them  delicately at our plates. I can’t tell you why this caught my attention,  the gesture, the very action was done with a grace I cannot describe. I  looked at him for the first time, curly hair, semi-formal clothes and a  smile. I would have been cheered up by his demeanor but I was yet to  taste the dish, which I already knew would be less than appetizing. The  first bite of the chicken however made me remember my English teacher,  who was a vegetarian herself but loved to tell me how I was wrong all  the time. And I was, this time. The food was fantastic, infact the best  nonveg gravy I ever had. I began wolfing it down like it was the last meal I would ever had, only to be brought back  to civilization by someone politely clearing his throat standing by my  elbow. “ Ahem...sir is it spicy enough? we could make it more if you want.” No way any  mortal was going to take this food away from me, no one! I opened my  mouth to voice my denial but shirish beat me to it, he said “yes, spice  it up a bit please.” You moronic bast%&*, you!!!!

I kept looking at him shell shocked as the  waiter removed the gravy boat, shirish was completely engrossed in  eating oblivious that I was planning ways to murder him. The only reason  I hadn’t attacked already was because I couldn’t choose what to hit him  with. The water carafe or the glasses. Glasses had the projectile  advantage but carafe had the handle, it was heavy, it would hurt more  and importantly I could remain connected with him throughout the impact,  taking in all the satisfaction. I moved towards the carafe but was  stopped by the waiter replacing our gravy boat. That was fast! I was  pretty sure he had just added a dash of chilli powder ruining the taste,  but surprise surprise, somehow the dish was more delicious, he did  everything properly.
[Result: customer satisfaction] [Customer loyalty: 50%]

After our lunch I asked our waiter if I  could get some tea, the waiter regretfully informed, that they don’t  serve hot beverages but he could try asking the cook (No chef please). I  could have really used a cup then, but asked him not to bother and  instead questioned him about the hotel rooms just above the restaurant.  He called one of the staffs from the adjoining hotel lobby and urged us  to go have a look ourselves, he said he will keep the bill ready till  then. We checked out the rooms and returned to our table. As promised he  had kept the bill ready but my eyes were firmly placed on the steaming  hot cup of tea besides our bill. Now, this was more than even Shirish  had ever done for me, I seriously considered his position as my best  friend, really what use was this guy? He answered by picking up our tab and the matter was  settled for then. The waiter must have obviously noticed that I looked a bit  let down back when he said they don't serve tea and so he had arranged for the it clearly deducing that it would  cheer me up. whaddaya know.....Decision making ability.
[Result: customer delight] [Customer loyalty: 80%]

While we were about to leave shirish told  him about our ten day stay next month in Aurangabad and asked him if he  knew where we could get rent a bike. He said he doesn’t know of any such  dealer but he asked us if we see the black fiero by the door. We said  yes, he told us “that’s my bike, I come in the morning and leave by  night. You could take it whenever you want while you are staying here.”  We just smiled at him, tipped him and left. The guy had literally blown  my mind with his response. Then he came to escort us out the door, so  basically those guys I notice earlier weren't big shots, he just made  everyone feel that way. I was now overwhelmed,which was apparently the  exact way shirish felt because I am pretty sure I heard him mumble “some  guy” as we tried to hail an auto.
[Result: customer overwhelmed] [Customer loyalty: 95%]

I don't know the hotel owner or manager, but I will visit it again. The  taste helps for sure but the awesome hospitality takes the cake.

My amateur analysis for regarding employees: (Experienced experts may skip this part.)

1) The service at a fine dine or any starred restaurant always seems a bit unreal (make that fake). The  service is always forced out of them under the watchful gaze of one of  their superior. This guy had no one watching over him, not even a  cashier present at the restaurant, but what he did , he did from heart,  because he could and not because he should. His loyalty converted in my  loyalty for his employers.
Do your employees love working for  your company or they are forced to be helpful, client's could tell, you know. Do  you sweat to keep them motivated? Why not focus on keeping them happy  instead, let them motivate themselves, especially in start ups.

2) This guy was innately  helpful and very sensitive to patron's likes and dislikes and obviously  went out of his way to make their day better.
Degrees are fine, but an employee's  nature must be a fit with your company's culture. A job shouldn't be a  job, do they understand how important their tasks are even if they seem  menial? Have you ever explained them what an impact their job has in the big picture? A person who is naturally helpful may end up beating all the  guys trained to be helpful.

3) There are jerks all  over the world, no doubt he must have had his share yet he seemed  indomitable in his hospitality. He didn't seemed worn out to me or  bored, he seemed genuine.
Employees sometimes pour their  heart out for a task and expect acknowledgment if not praise from your  clients. Sometimes all they receive are complaints. its you  responsibility to make them understand, to work hard but expect nothing  from a client. Instead why don't you as a company celebrate their hard work and genuineness  besides targets for a change.

Epilogue: Imagine your  business development guys like him, customer support, client relations,  if you have but a handful of such employees interacting with your  customers current and prospective what would be your brand image like,  how loyal would be your customer base??

And those who do visit aurangabad, please  try out the only restaurant besides the collector office, meet the  waiter whose name I manage to forgot but whose hospitality I couldn't.  www.legalcounter.com

Startup?? Middle class mindset?? Oh boy!!

If you have ever watched any of Sunil Shetty movies, chances are you have watched him in a prison scene. The one where a scrumptious meal of one roti and some daal on a plate could be seen sliding across the horizontal length of your screen only to dash into the far wall and splatter its contents into a food graffiti. I used to find it very funny until my mother started doing that to me.

Hector from troy and Indian Middle class have one thing in common, they live by a code. In this case the code is simple “get settled” which entails;

1. Landing a decent paying job. (The more renowned the company the better bragging rights.)
2. Marrying some homely chick/guy from the same caste preferably. ( If any girl above 25 is still single then it becomes a matter of state level crisis with every neighbor and relatives suggesting grooms left and right.)
3. Buying your own house. ( A flat in a decent building is acceptable, the more posh the building the more boastful the parents.)

So after my MBA one fine day, when I announced my decision about a startup and my lack of interest in a good old job my parents received the news in silence, held it for a considerable time and then with an audible sigh continued with whatever they were doing. They always suspected I was a bit mentally challenged and I had confirmed their worst fears their son was an entrepreneur wannabe lunatic, raving about his startup refusing a real job and thus making him in middle class terms, “Useless”.

And so began a campaign for containing the losses. Social invitations were turned down, relatives weren’t entertained. All calls from family friends were avoided lest anyone would pose the damning question “So what does your son do now?” the answer to which according to me was “Minds his own business, you should try it sometime”.  Things got only more interesting, the conversations with my family always had an edge, opinions conspicuous by their very absence. There was always a proverbial elephant in the room visualized by me as the one from “Horton hears a who” with clover and all.

Soon I began to doubt myself and the path I had chosen. While I was struggling to land clients

my friends were earning handsomely, seemingly content with their choices and respected by everyone for their good sense. The silent pressure from my family was overwhelming, everything looked bleak when suddenly I got my first client and things changed. Your first client would give you a whole new level of confidence, in your idea and yourself. The income was negligible but it gives you the willingness to struggle and keep moving, somehow my parents had witnessed my persistence and finally relented in a manner as if to say, we have tolerated this uptil now, might as well see this farce to its end, but I suspect they are coming around slowly and surely.

So I have realized a few things which I would like to surmise here;

1. Your Parents desire the best for you and have mentally charted the route for your success, expect severe whiplash when you divert from that path.
2. There will be many who would try to discourage you citing true or fictional examples. The only thing to do is a gut check, do you feel strongly about your business idea? If the answer is yes, ask everyone to go take a hike.
3. Some people may surprise you by openly or covertly supporting you, my friend you have just turned real lucky, these are the people who would stick with you in high’s and low’s, make sure you do right by them.
4. When no one believes in your idea, You must.
5. I need to move out asap.