Even a ten rupee bill can guard you September 24, 2011
Posted by aglakadam in Jara hut ke, Life and all.4 comments
I never preserved purchase bills till this incident happened with me. A few years back I was in Mumbai and moving from Bandra to Borivali in a taxi. Somewhere on the way, mid afternoon, our taxi was subjected to police checking. Probably there was some crime suspect likely to pass the way and as such each one commuting on that particular road was stopped at the check post. Everyone was asked to produce a proof of identity and whereabouts. It was a tough interrogation. I was asked about the reason why I was in Mumbai and from where I was coming and where I intended to go. Fortunately I had saved the prepaid taxi bill procured early morning and also the hotel bill where I had my meals. These two slips helped me to prove my innocence and we were allowed to go ahead on our way. Many of us who were not able to prove themselves were asked to stay back! (what happened next to them is not known to me, anyway).
I learned a very important lesson to preserve the bill till we reach home. Most of us when we go to a mall or railway station or a hospital, invariably we park the vehicle in the designated parking yard. I have seen people throwing away the parking bill, the moment they cross across the parking barrier. To all such people I suggest “pl do not consider the ten rupees parking bill as scrap, this can be of great help someday for you.” Yet another phenomenon I have come across is that the bill collector at the parking yard is keen to collect back the parking bill from us at the exit gate. The only intention is to reuse and misappropriate. Friends please beware of such miscreants, never give away your bill to potential misuser’s. This is like mineral water bottle, please crush after use and ensure no misuse in future.
Though bills are ephemeral still they provide a lot of education to us. Recently I had breakfast on a highway motel. After the breakfast I was given a memo kind of a shabby sheet with the bill amount scribbled on it. When I asked the billing counter in-charge to give me a proper bill he immediately replied “Sir, what amount of bill do you need?. Surprised and unhappy at this comment, I quizzed him : “What do you mean by what amount?” Whatever amount I am supposed to pay, please provide me a bill for the same amount. The person across the counter apologized, “Sir, rarely I come across people like you, mostly I am asked for a pukka (proper) bill only when someone has to misappropriate and make a claim somewhere!”
Friends I think people in general need to be more alert and better sensitive about bills. A friend shared with me that in a big town when he went to a restaurant to have meals with his family he learned a new lesson. While ordering the food he was cautious about the figures mentioned on the right hand side in front of the dishes in the menu card. However after the meals when the waiter served the bill there was at least 20% deviation in the amount charged vis-à-vis the price mentioned in the menu card! When queried about this to the hotel management they informed that the new menu card was under print and in some fine print somewhere on the menu card it was mentioned about the pro rata changes in the item rates. Not confirming your bills with the services / goods received can be injurious to your budget.
I sometimes see people extremely careless about their purchases. A laundry owner cry’s his woes, “Most of the affluent customers tend to miss out on their bills when they come to collect their belongings!” We have created a special indemnity clause for all such forgetful customers. After the burglary one gentleman was not able to get insurance benefit only because he did not have sufficient documentation required to support his claim. Raja, an employee with an insurance company, bought a computer from a local vendor but did not preserve the invoice. After a few months when he approached the service center for after sales service, he was refused by the service company because he could not produce the proof of purchase!
I share an anecdote here. “Two friends from Delhi once went to London for an excursion. They were moving around in a rented car on city roads. While at the air station they paid their bill for the fuel and got the ‘money paid slip’ in return. As they moved out of the fuel pump the bill was thrown out of the window by one of them. To their surprise they were immediately followed & intercepted by the traffic police and fined for loitering the streets! (Something we can never imagine in our part of the country!). What happens next was a sure setback for the London police. The car riders paid their fine to the police and in return the police exchanged a bill for the fine amount. As they say old habits die hard, they moved ahead and the penalty bill was tossed out of the window again!
Lessons for Excellence :
- Big lessons are hidden in small incidents; we should have an eye to grab those.
- Bills are important, not just from registering your expenditure in the profit and loss statements but also to make your life easy.
- Never temper with your bills, preserve them for some time period at least.
- Always ask for a bill even against a small purchase, you deserve it.
- Always check your bills for authenticity.
Ajit Varwandkar
Email : md@fsindia.in
How can I win from here? September 10, 2011
Posted by aglakadam in Inspirational Story.Tags: aglakadam, game, inspiration, lesson, Management, quote, win-win, winner, winning
2 comments
I met two school students recently. In spite of there being certain stark similarities between both, they were performing differently in their examinations. Both belonged to similar socio-economic family background and were from the same village. Incidentally both went down with a long drawn viral fever just before the examination. It took time for them to get well and only a few days before the examinations they could get back to studies.
I happened to ask both the students about how they plan to prepare for the test. Here are their replies: The first student said “Not a problem, I shall somehow try to get passing marks”. This student had never been the topper and had never tasted success. He did not have any aspirations to be the best in his class. He was satisfied with bare minimum numbers and never targeted high. His plan was just to maintain his status quo. On the other hand the second student replied “It would be tough, but I shall work hard to keep up my place in the top three”! This student was a topper all through and always aspired to be on the merit list. Just to pass, anyhow could not be his aspiration even in the toughest situation.
It matters where your thoughts extrapolate from! While one student was targeting just to manage and somehow pass in the examination the other was targeting to be at the top. It is the quality of target that you maintain at every stage in the process of your journey which matters. The result should not surprise you: the student who had the target to just pass actually failed while the other student topped in the examination.
Many of us start the year with very high targets and rich ambitions. However with the passing months most of us tend to miss on our targets. The natural reaction is to lose will and feel hopeless. It’s easy to feel hopeless but difficult to keep up the hope against pressure. It’s not tough to surrender but it is an arduous task to keep the spirits high when under struggle. As they say it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog which makes it win. If you are not up to the mark today never should you do this mistake to assume that you will not be so tomorrow. Tomorrow is always a new day and it comes with new promises. Let not the shadows of past failures darken your future. Keep up the mental demeanor. Redirect your adrenalin to recharge your will power and not the blood pressure.
Everything in life has a beautiful end, if it’s not beautiful enough it’s not yet the end! Once you have started off with your mission, its utmost important how you finish. Thomas Alwa Edison, while he was inventing the bulb, could have very easily surrendered when he failed in his second or in the ninety ninth attempts. However he had the lamp of hope glowing till he succeeded in achieving his goal. On the way we might fall occasionally and this is but natural. In such low moments winners count the number of times they get up and get going while the losers would count the number of times they stumbled.
It’s must to continue giving your best performance till the end. Falling down should be considered as recharge coupon and the “will power balance” should get the necessary top-up with every setback. A battle is lost not when the enemy wins but when the other side gives-up and thinks he cannot fight any more. Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warn have been typically known for their never lose approach while playing on the field. Whatever may be the statistics on the scoreboard and irrespective of the field equations in the game, they prefer to ask their colleagues “How can we win from here”. Situations when the other team felt complacent about their victory these leaders were actually determined to turnaround the game. This approach has made their team win many games which they would have otherwise lost. Especially in the game of football and hockey you learn to keep up the winning will till the last-minute in the game. Many a match winning goals in international tournaments were shot just while the referee would have blown the finish whistle! It’s vital to be in the game till you finish strong.
Lessons for Excellence :
- Past is a history and future is a mystery. It’s mandatory to execute in the present moment, that’s the real asset.
- Hope is the only dependable weapon for a warrior who desires to win. Keeping the ultimate will to win will surely show you the well deserved victory in life.
- In the journey of life defeat should only be taken as a mini stoppage and not as the destination.
- At the end of the day it’s ones attitude, while facing adversity which defines the fate. It pays to manage and keep on the winning attitude.
- “How can I win from here” could be used as a sure formula for success. Whenever you are under challenging situations, ask yourself ( at least once) : How can I win from here? I am sure you will get your answer.
Ajit Varwandkar
Email : md@fsindia.in
