Asked to Leave

by Krishna D Bhatt

  “I think she had a fight with her boyfriend.” Gurav Kakar and Gurav Sharma murmured, which gave some of the listeners a reason to laugh.

  “What was the joke? Are we here to laugh or learn something?” Those guys had added petrol to burning fire. She was unstoppable. We were quiet; her anger made Jai Singh extremely scared.

  “I am sorry for getting late ma’am; it is all because of me. I will take my break for 30 minutes instead of 1 hour today.”

  “You should.” She said and went to the whiteboard, wrote targets for the day for Collections, all of us had a choice to accept that challenge and try to achieve it.

  “Okay guys, the meeting is over. You may go back to your seats on the floor and login. Is there anything left to talk about?” Sanya asked and called for trouble.

  “Yes, I have to say something.” A commanding voice of Gurav Kakar was indicating that he was not interested in working there anymore.

  “What?” She was shocked and looked at him.

  “It is something related to employee engagement.” He paused to see her reaction.

  “Please elaborate.” Her voice had become soft suddenly. We could hear a more polite Sanya.

  “It is about you, your way of handling the team, initially, during the training you were very good, we were as friends, we never felt that we are with our team leader, now you have a team of 25 people, who are hardworking, focused, easy to handle, like friends, but still you have issues with us. I ask why? Where is the pressure coming from? Is it that you have lost faith in us? I have resigned; because I don’t feel that this place is the best place to work, not even better. If you keep on talking to people like this, everyone will leave; we have a lot of offers available in the market, because we believe in putting 100% efforts and delivering the best.” He stopped as she looked at him with her sad face.

  “Anything else?” She asked.

  “Look at that guy, Jai Singh; his fault was to join a company which is 40 miles away from his rented accommodation. It was not the HR’s fault; who didn’t think about it before hiring him, neither is it the Transport department’s fault, which doesn’t care what is happening on the road, nor is the traffic management’s fault, but our poor guy Jai Singh is at fault, and he has to keep his mouth shut because he needs this job to survive, else he would have to go back home which is in a tiny village in Rajasthan and live with the curse of not being able to survive in front of his old and ill parents. It’s our fault, if an elevator doesn’t work. It’s our fault, if customers are not happy with the third party services. It’s our fault, if it rains and we can’t make it in time. I think it is our fault that we are here. That’s why, I resigned from my services.” He had to stop because Sanya had started crying.

  “Yaar, it was too much. Now this entire process is all set to flow with her tears.” Gurav Sharma said.

  “It’s high time. And I have done this for you guys, now you see how she changes her approach.” Gurav Kakar said. He was still aggressive.

  I was listening to all of that which was happening along with 24 other team mates, whatever he said was right, but it was not good to comment on someone’s emotions. The entire meeting was spoiled and we were back to the floor one more time.

  “Jai Singh, why didn’t you tell her that your trouser was torn, and you were not able to come in the office in time?” I asked him.

  “I felt ashamed.” He said and smiled at me.

  Customer service vs. Collection

  “Good afternoon, I am Ahmad calling from Air Telecom, India, am I speaking with Mr. John Smith?” Shamim Ahmad had started his day.

  “Yes, what is this regarding?” Mr. Smith sounded rude early in the morning.

  “Sir, this call is in regards to the outstanding bill of Rs.9000 with the due date of September 1st 2010, which has passed, so may I know when will you be able to make the payment?” Shamim had gone through the script. Because framing your own sentences were not allowed, as per the company policy.

  “What you said your name is?” Customer was loud enough to be heard and Shamim had to put the volume down. I and Jai Singh were listening to that call very carefully, as we were sitting with him as a part of the training process.

  “My name is Ahmad sir.” Shamim answered.

  “Please call your supervisor; I want to appreciate your work. I am very happy with you guys.”

  “Good morning Mr. John, I am Kishore Malgotra, Ahmad’s supervisor, thank you for the appreciation, you may share the feedback with me.” A supervisor came and took the call. It was yet to be identified whether it was an Appreciation-call or a Supervisor-call.

  “Well, is this the Platinum centre or my call has landed somewhere else? Please listen to the call and see what your executive has said. I know today is October 10th 2010, so he doesn’t have to tell me it has crossed the due date which was September 1st, 2010; the other thing is you have no rights to question on my ability to make the payment by saying ‘when will you be able to make the payment?”. Customer was supposed to be educated from our end, but here the customer was educating Air telecomm.

  “I sincerely apologise sir,” Kishore was interrupted by John.

  “Don’t just apologise, change the script of that collection call.” He advised.

  “I would request you to email your feedback to 111@air-telecom.in.” Kishore said.

  “I am sorry for attempting to correct you guys; I have made an online payment right now, and I have decided to port-out.” Customer said and disconnected the call.

  We were surprised to see Kishore smiling.

  “See, he has made the payment.” Kishore said handing over the headset back to Shamim.

  “But he was very upset and threatened to port-out.” I said and tried to question the way Air telecomm was running its business.

  “At the end of the day, what will matter for you is the payment from the customer as you are a part of the collections team, so don’t think from the customer care perspective, he will come to the retention team once he applies to port-out and I will talk to him and retain him. I know how to play with words while talking to such inconstant customers.” He said and had walked about 8-10 steps towards his workstation.

  I still had doubt on that customer’s innocence and kishore’s KYC analysis.

  “Good afternoon, I am Ahmad calling from Air telecom India, am I speaking with Mr. Rohit Gandhi?” Shamim Ahmad had to take back to back calls for the entire day.

  “Yes, what is it regarding?” Mr. Smith was better than Mr. Gandhi, his bill was also better than Mr. Gandhi.

  “Sir, this call is in regards to the outstanding bill of Rs.4500 with the due date of September 1st 2010, which has passed the due date, so may I know when will you be able to make the payment?” Shamim had gone through the script. Mr. Smith’s feedback regarding the script modification by removing the ability to pay the bill was put into the Recycle Bin, but it was not deleted yet as we remembered that.

  “I will make the payment today.” Mr. Gandhi was sounding as he was doing a favour by making the payment for his outstanding bill.

  “Sir, may I know if you are making the complete payment of Rs.4500/-?” Shamim asked him to probe further.

  “Yes. I will.” Mr. Gandhi confirmed.

  “Sir, may I know the mode of the payment please? Shamim asked this question and was scared of the reply or response from the customer.

  “Listen, I will take 50 coins of Re.1, 50 coins of Rs.2, 50 coins of Rs.5 and 50 coins of Rs.10 (which is Rs.900 in total) and 50 notes of Rs.20, 50 notes of Rs.50, including coins and notes it is Rs.4400/- at 1:00 PM at GF-24, Sahara Mall outlet, MG Road, Gurgaon-12202, I will be wearing yellow trouser, green shirt, pink shoes, purple socks and black hat. Rest amount is Rs.100 and please get it adjusted as last month, I had paid bill within the due date, but you guys updated it 4 days later after following up, calling your customer
care service team 5 times a day, and raising 6 complaints. Is that information sufficient for your company?” Customer was extremely sarcastic and irate. Shamim was glad that he was not abusive at least.

  “We will give you waiver of Rs.100, which will reflect in your next month’s bill.”

  “What was that?” Customer wanted to confirm the ‘waiver’ word.

  “Sir, we will give you a waiver…..” Shamim stopped as customer starting yelling.

  “Who said that this is a waiver? You are not doing a favour to me; it’s an adjustment, ADJUSTMENT. Did you understand that?” Neither the customer nor the agent was bad, but it was the script and the choice of words mentioned on the script.

  “I am sorry for the inconvenience caused sir, please don’t feel bad.” Shamim tried to calm him down, which worked.

  “That’s Ok. It’s your company; don’t take it personal.” Customer said.

  Shamim was the top collector for the day; Amritah Baruah from the Quality team came to the floor and appreciated him with a surprise gift post circulating an appreciation email.

  ***

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Tough Chapter Of Fate

  And Justice Of God

  Final Destination Of The Soulmates

  Jai Singh’s Residence, Shakurpur, New Delhi

  “I am not well today, please take a leave and stay with me today.” Jai Singh’s newly-wed wife requested Jai Singh to stay at home.

  “Yesterday, I asked my manager to grant me a leave, but she was not happy with me and said that I had already taken a leave, and I can’t be granted any more leave.” Jai Singh said.

  “What’s happening?” Jai Singh asked Prachi, finding her silent and disappointed.

  “Nothing, I am feeling low. You said you can’t stay back, go then.” She was asking him to go, but in other words she wanted him to stay back.

  “Let me talk to her one more time.” Jai Singh said and called Sanya.

  “The mobile you are trying to call is switched off or out of coverage area. Please try after some time.” Jai Singh heard the IVR. He didn’t have enough time. So, they mutually decided to separate for the day.

  Jai went out and took a taxi from Netaji Subhash Place Chowk to Shankar Chowk. The driver got angry as he did not have change and Jai Singh only had Rs.500 with him, as he had withdrawn money from the VIP business hub, where Rs.100 was not available in the ATM machine and he was not carrying change either. Jai kept quiet and the worst was yet to come.

  Jai reached to the office somehow and logged in after putting his cell phone in the locker. He knew that something really bad was going to happen, so he kept taking a bio-break at regular intervals and called his wife to ask about her health.

  “Don’t worry, I am better. Don’t think too much. Everything will be fine.” First half of the day had passed, and she was feeling better. So, she asked Jai not to take stress himself and concentrate on his work.

  Jai had called her so many times in the first half and since she had said that she was feeling better, he didn’t call her unless things went extremely wrong.

  “Hello Prachi!” Jai called her.

  “We brought her in the Fortis hospital; she suddenly fell down and became unconscious.” A female voice was heard, Jai Singh didn’t care about his computer where he was logged in and taking collection calls. He called Kanishk and let him know the situation; asked him to log him out from his computer. He took an auto-rickshaw to the Fortis hospital.

  “Hello;” Stuck in traffic, Jai answered the call.

  “Jai Singh, How soon can you come? She is repeatedly taking your name.” She was their neighbour and Prachi’s friend as well.

  “Bhai Ji, drive fast please.” Jai requested the auto-rickshaw driver.

  “I have kids at home…..I can’t drive faster than this…. Hire someone else….it’s an auto-rickshaw and not a fire brigade.” Jai Singh’s day couldn’t have been worse than that.

  “Ok, do your best, my wife is in the hospital.” Jai tried to make his point at least.

  “You don’t need to rush.” After some time, Jai got a call again from the neighbour lady.

  “How is she now?” Jai asked.

  “You please come here.” She started crying, and disconnected the call.

  When Jai reached the hospital, his better half had already taken her last breath. The wait was already over; Jai reached out to her and pulled the red cotton cloth off her face. He couldn’t ignore but noticed tears along with straight line, which were drawn on her face from her eyes to her cheek finally reaching her neck, Jai understood that she had cried longing to see him, she must have had wished earnestly to see him while her heart was pounding for the last time and say ‘Final Goodbye’ to him, but both of them were unfortunate that Jai’s mobile was switched off and kept in the locker provided by D*ksh call center, and the auto rickshaw was not a fire brigade. Snatching mobile phones is the worst rule in BPO and call centers.

  Jai sat on a bench outside the ward and started crying uncontrollably. He had nothing much to share with her. His soul mate had already started her journey to the final destination leaving her mortal body with him to cry upon, and complete the last rites. Jai was left alone.

  “I don’t want to live anymore. I feel like she is calling me. She will be alone there; I play with her in my dreams, which becomes a nightmare for me after I wake up.” Jai said and started crying, when Shamim and I visited him.

  “Time is the best healer, and Srimad Bhagwat Gita is the best medicine my dear friend. We know where you are coming from. In this tough time, we are just a call away. Please feel free to share anything, anytime that bothers you. Talk to us, let us be with you in this tough time” we said.

  “Our Maulana says: ‘All of us are beautiful children of Allah. We don’t know for how long we have been on this earth. All that time which we have, should be spent in helping, loving and caring for others. Love and friendship is alive forever, hate invites the demise.’ So, I am also there with you in any tough situation.” Shamim promised.

  “Friends; not friends, in fact you are my brothers.” He said and hugged us. We could not stop his tears.

  A Week Later,

  “Come home Jai, you will feel better here.” His father called him early in the morning in a loud voice; he had a habit of speak loudly, as mostly people from rural areas have, especially, when they talk over the phone.

  “Okay, I will come next week.” Jai said.

  “Why next week and not tomorrow? Any pending work?” His father asked.

  “Her death certificate needs to be collected from the municipal office.” Jai said.

  “I want to register my wife’s death.” After reaching the MCD office, he said thinking of the past events with his wife, wearing grief on his face.

  “Can’t you see; its tea time for us.” Showing a pack of cookies in hand, an officer asked him to wait for 30 minutes.

  Jai had no choice, he was mentally broken. It was no use arguing with them, and so he decided to waste his time watching television.

  “IN OUR COUNTRY, PEOPLE WHO CARE, LOVE, RESPECT AND ARE TOLERANT. IF THE ACTOR AND HIS FAMILY THINKS THAT THIS COUNTRY IS INTOLERANT, HE MAY AS WELL GO TO IRAQ, WE WILL GIVE HIM MONEY TO BUY THE FLIGHT TICKETS.” Invited by a reputed TV channel, one of the members of Parliament was saying this with confidence.

  “IF HIS WIFE FEELS INSECURE FOR HER CHILDREN, POST READING THE NEWSPAPER WHERE INCIDENTS OF RAPES, MURDERS, SHOOTOUTS, HONOUR KILLINGS, RIOTS, PRE-NATAL GENDER DETERMINATION SCANDALS, FEMALE FOETICIDE ACTIVITIES ARE HAPPENING, ARE NOT THEY ELIGIBLE TO STAY IN THIS COUNTRY?” Another public icon was favouring that actor’s family. Jai agreed with the second speaker, who was talking about facts and crimes happening in the country.

  “CAN A FATHER SIT BACK AND RELAX AT HOME, WHILE HIS DAUGHTER IS OUT FOR SHOPPING, IN THE SCHOOL OR IN THE MARKET?
”

  “CAN A HUSBAND HAVE A SOUND SLEEP, LEAVING HIS WIFE HOME ALONE?”

  “CAN SOMEONE; INCLUDING THOSE, WHO CLAIM TOLERANCE IN OUR SOCIETY GUARANTEE THAT NO RIOTS, WAR, CRIMES WOULD EVER HAPPEN FROM TODAY?”

  “CAN A SHOPKEEPER LEAVE HIS SHOP OPEN, WHILE BEING AWAY FOR A MINUTE IN THE BUSY MARKET?”

  “IS A CAR OR TWO WHEELER PARKED OUTSIDE A RESIDENCE SAFE?”

  “IS THERE A SINGLE PERSON, WHO HAS NOT BEEN A VICTIM OR AN EYE-WITNESS OF A ROAD RAGE OR HUMILIATION?”

  “THEN WHY DO WE CLAIM, THAT OUR SOCIETY IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD?”

  Those were THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS; all over the country by innocents and those who see scope for improvement in the society, while people were targeting the actor for his general statement and his wife feeling insecure.

  “What are you waiting for?” Someone sitting next to Jai and observing him for minutes asked.

  “I am waiting for them to finish their tea party and call me.” Jai said relating to his case with the programme broadcasting on TV.

  “You will die waiting here and they will not call you. Someone will have to call someone else to register your death here itself.” He was better than Jai in sarcasm.

  “Excuse me please! May I get my wife’s death registered?” Jai Singh was assertive with her; as it had been 40 minutes and the Govt. employees were still playing cards inside the office.

  “Show me your papers.” An officer, who was young, must have been recently posted asked.

  “What all documents I should give you sir?” Jai asked.

  “Application on a plain paper, affidavit stating date and time of death, proof of death, school leaving certificate, and ration card copy, attested by Gazetted Officer.” Jai understood partially as she had reeled off.

  “I am very sorry, I couldn’t understand. Please repeat those proofs.” Jai requested.

  “We don’t have an entire day for you. You seem to be educated. Go on the website and check them out by yourself.” Jai would not have to see her face again, had not there been the requirement of those document.