Manufactures increased number of franchise to six and
gradually increased number of technician to 24 (in our franchise) or per person
for per pin code to give customer immediate response .it means per pin code
area per person, thus reducing call attending time and reducing our No’s of
service calls .our manufacture appointed five more franchise. Manufacture says
sell accessories and makes extra money for the lost service calls .all the
accessories were over prized. They supplied chines or Delhi made items, some of
the items are even sold by footpath sellers! Selling was tough. Since
most of accessories were sold along with appliance by the dealers at the time
of selling appliances. Company offered us some incentives like, if we sell
these items we get a consolation amount of 50 peanuts .the highest being 100
peanuts.
Per person per pin code area, it means number of
reduced service calls (cards). Per day per person gets average four or five
calls. However, distance and petrol expanse remains same. At the end of the day
when you calculate petrol, maintenance and other expenses, the struggle we
family men make out a living was not worth it. With no other job other than
franchise system available we just continue to work, lucky guys are those young
bachelors .At the end of the month they make out about RS 2000 or RS 2500 p.m.
family men find it difficult to meet both ends. Most of the young and energetic
people made fast money. Some of them disappeared with fridge or A/C. some
technicians arranged to collect repairing charges from different customer in
one particular day, took the entire amount about Rs12000 or Rs15000, and
vanished. The intelligent one canvassed service contract from the costumes and
settled down with their own shop. With “inside people”, they can all ways get
their work done in double quick. In my five and half years of service, more
than 250 young and energetic technicians were kicked out of service. Hiring and
firing was the order of the day.
After the globalization, manufactures localized their
work. Manufacture goods, spare parts, put cash in their bank and attend
consumer case at the court. Period. They now run their own office with skeleton
staff. . Franchise technician’s work includes not only servicing their
equipment but also to generate as much as money for the manufactures. A
Technician becomes all in all. He must be a sales person, capable to selling
products, getting annual maintenance contract, sell spare parts, collection
agent and PRO for the manufactures. It is also duty of every technician to see
that the customers are not going to consumer court at any cost. We were asked
to settle the dispute immediately. How you do it is none of the manufactures business!
Their argument is that if it is not a manufacturing defect then the fault lies
with the technician! How convenient for them to blame on technician. Company
executives come and preach company policy now and then. Like Indian weather
their policies keeps changing every time.
Preaching comes naturally to company executives. How many examples read
cock and bull stories they tell us to motivate. Ask any of the company or
franchise boss to be in our shoes, they get pissed off. We were forced to obey
their orders for peanuts (per calls). Rest is assured when you got home... God
blesses those poor souls!
I am a victim of globalization .you may not believe
me. My own life/story will tell you how globalization can ruin a family life of
an ordinary person. Working mode of the service sector in white goods changed
the fate of senior service technician. With time, we aged service technician
became an invalid person.
On fourth month I brought my little princess and wife
from my native place. Sony was very friendly with all our neighbor's .who ever
stretched their arms at her she will lean on them and traveled around the place
on their hip. My wife complained to me that she could not have enough of her
daughter.
My daughter was
almost ten-month-old and we tried our best to walk her. She was little bit
plumy and was not able to balance herself. Our neighbor an old woman told us
how to make her walk .we tried it on her. I placed my daughter four inches away
from the compound wall. She leaned on back and supported her back shoulder on
the compound wall and stood there for some time. We were eagerly waited for her
first walk. After some time the magic began. Like a crab she placed her small
steps sideways and started moving! First she walked towards left side then
stopped then towards right. . It was funny watching her walk sideways, all the
while supporting her back shoulder by leaning back on the compound wall. She
learned to walk very quickly. Our life revolved around our daughter. Wife started spending more and more time with
our daughter. Our house routine had
changed. My mother and wife started
quarreling over silly things. There was
always tension at home. I do not know
whether to support my mother or my wife.
They started accusing at each other. One thing I was sure both of them
tell me nothing but lies only. It was
only the beginning.
After 3 years
The company were I worked was running at loss. One day our boss called for a meeting and
announced, “I am losing one lakhs fifty thousand Rupees per month. I cannot run the business any longer. Please you all look for another job. I am going to close down my business.” I tried disparately for a job for the
survival of my family. I sent my Bio -
data for job. Apply. Apply.... NO reply! Rejected! Date of birth 14/02/1957. They concluded this
man is too old. I had also attended walk in interviews.
Interviewer:
“You must have a vehicle and mobile phone; you have to pay for petrol
and mobile bill. You see. You are a too old; we are looking for young
and energetic person, who is capable of working 10 to 12 hours, that too for
Rs. 2500 p.m. Will you be able to work
for that amount”?
I…” I need minim Rs. 3500 p.m. to run my house”.
I thanked them
for not calling me...I went home with empty handed.
I started pledging gold for provisions and rent. My wife is too good when it comes to
sarcastic way of talking. She also thinks I am an incompetent man to get a
job. She can only find fault with me.
Not realizing that nobody wanted to employ a 48-years-old man nor willing to
pay more than 2500 p.m. She started
taking me for granted. Instead of realizing that with my meager amount of
salary I am unable to run the house. She had no intentions of finding a job to
save our family. I had spent about four thousand rupees for her computer
course; she had completed her Hindi teaching course. She also knows tailoring
work. Because I pledge her gold for house expenses she hated me .her problem
with my mother also became unbearable.
My house became a living hell.
I asked her to apply for some kind of job sale girl,
typist, or Data entry and make some Rs.1500 p.m. balance amount I will be able
manage. She does not want to share the
responsibility of our family. One day she called her brother and left for her
native home with my daughter. Poor
little princes. . She was hardly two years and three months old when she was
taken away to wife's house.