Treat Them Like Kings

A week ago I returned home after visiting another town. I reached early by 6 at Kochu Veli station. Luckily, I got a bus to drop me at home. When I reached home, the front gate was locked and my phone was dead. I had no way of calling her to open the gate. One option was to wait outside till someone opens the gate.

At that time I saw the security man of the wellness clinic in his small cabin. I went to him and luckily he could make me even though I was wearing the mask. He was a man in his 50’s, smart and healthy who goes around actively helping customers to park their cars.

He them showed me the point to charge. The outside cubicle was small, with a space only for a small iron bed. and a table. There was a fan. One thing I noticed was that his bed had flattened cardboard boxes. There was no mattress, not even a simple cotton one to give a basic comfort while resting.

Why do big cash rich business fail to do these basic things for their front line staff like security staff, waiters! Is it b’cos they are easily indispensable and giving any thing extra is not worth their money.

I remember similar thing when I went to a fast moving sea food restaurant in Goa. After, having two beer I was feeling a bit high. To relieve, I went to the urinal and there was two of them. One for the customers and another for the staff. As the someone occupied the loo meant for customers, I went to the other loo. And aaargh., yuck!.

The closet was dirty so was the surrounding space. There was just one wall separating the two loo and it was totally different in the way it was cleaned and maintained. in one look, it was clear that management was least interested in spending an extra penny to keep their employee’s space tidy. Why! Is it that they don’t have value? Why, only cash paying customers mattered?

While this restaurant sported all the foodie awards in all corner of the shop, the attitude they had toward their own workforce speaks about them.

I wonder when will Indian businesses open their eyes to treat their employees more important than their customers? Aren’t they bothered about attrition or they have a feeling that no matter what they do, they don’t have any loyalty? Is this the reason or something else? I think I need to speak to few employers and find out the truth of the matter!