Friday, August 19, 2016

A pro is a pro is a pro....

Yesterday our jet pump motor got burnt and we were in no mood to get it repaired.

We were one among the leading motor repairers in Chennai and on several occasions we have
rewound pump motors and delivered back to customers within 24 hours. But then those were the days
when people lived in independent houses and if the motor was not working water could always be drawn
from the open well. People could afford to wait a few days even to get a motor repaired...who cares? Water was available at any time!

Also if a new motor was to be purchased one would invariably refer to the Yellow Pages. Or one could go along with the electrician/plumber to the market in an auto and buy a new motor. Life moved in a fairly leisurely pace.

The city having grown beyond imagination going to the market to source a motor will be time consuming, tiring effort with a substantial amount spent in transportation.

Now to buy a motor one should know the exact specification of the motor. The name plate in our motor was obliterated. Think, think, think.  I knew that adjoining apartments built by the same builder had similar motors. I walked to the next apartment complex and took a photo of the name plate. I now knew what I wanted. Suguna jet pump, 1 HP, 2850 rpm pump size: 32x25x25 and Model No.SMSJ/LV-1(OT).

Armed with this information I went online in search of sellers of Suguna motors. I sent whatsapp image to one guy in Aminjikarai. But even after seeing the name plate, he says, come with the motor to our place.
Similarly another guy in T.Nagar had a similar request: Come with the motor.

Next I contacted the manufacturer in George Town. The moment I give the details, he says, the pump is available. He sends an image of a new pump. He says that though the model number is slightly different from the one which we have, it will suit to a T. Before you could say "Jack Robinson", he tells me that the cost is Rs.8,500. Give me your address and I shall send the motor to your house.

I had earlier checked the price on-line. The price quoted by him was a throw-away price. (Thanks to business competition and on-line onslaught). I gave him the delivery address and he said the motor would arrive around 2.30 pm. I never followed them. The driver rang me up around 1 pm and asked me for the directions. He promptly came around that time thanking me for giving precise directions and landmarks en-route which brought him straight to my home.

The local electrician, an experienced guy again, fixed the pump without any hitch within an hour.

So now we know who a PRO is and how he can be of immense help to anyone.

Meanwhile, I patted myself on the back, on proving myself to be a professional buyer, having passed
the two-year Materials Management diploma from Indian Institute of Materials Management in 1985!!!


Thursday, August 4, 2016

Laurel

A restaurant customer of mine recently got mentioned as one among the top ten
eateries for breakfast in Chennai by NDTV.

I sent a message of congratulations and was pleasantly surprised to received
a kind note that our support was integral to the laurel.

These are the moments that make life and work interesting!