Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 15....

Dedicated to Kalyan and Haran....

Chennai again but this time as RM South....

After convincing DR not to split South which he felt made lots of sense, I come back to Chennai as RM South. KG Santhosh was the ARM.

But after reaching Chennai I got a serious shock as I was told that I have to stay at KPT's flat in Santhome. I came to know that was the deal with KPT to make him to accept his new position which was the GM of McD Chertala distillery. For KPT it was out of blue as he has been all along in sales...shifting him to manufacturing and to McD unit-a place plagued with labor issues--somehow DR has managed to swing it....but the compromise was that I have to stay in KPTs flat...it was in good location but huge water problem---we shifted to honor DRs word but we didnt like it one bit...we were absolutely uncomfortable in that place...Deepak Desai from finance came down to Chennai for a meeting and as he is a good friend, I invited him to our place for a meal, briefed him on the issues in that place and requested him to convince DR about our unhappiness with this flat....he also felt that apartment is not that good and the message was conveyed to DR and he asked me to look for another one within the budget....a major relief for me but Tomy didnt like it one bit...he took it up on me and asked me how dare I could say his flat was not good...I have to keep my cool and bow my head as he has been my boss and well wisher always....we got a very good apartment on Haddow's Road, brand new building....2 bedroom but very spacious and great lay out....Vandana Towers...we moved in there and Babloo got admission in pre KG at a close by nursery...I got Tomy's car initially but with in few months got a brand new Maruti 800....felt really good...office was in Rosy tower, same place but the cabin was huge (Tomy's)....

The TN team had some new faces and one amongst was Aditya Gupta a Management graduate based at Coimbatore as ASM...first time in HL TN...very nice guy and well grounded too....The team was almost the same...Haran was in Chennai...Raghavan was the ASM...Dwarak was shifted to Vijayawada as ASE....KGR in Hyderabad...Kandan at Hyderabad managing AP...Narasimhan at Bangalore, PJ Thomas at Cochin as ASM for Kerala....Santosh was the ARM based at Chennai but he didnt like one bit reporting to me as he was senior in terms of his experience.

The TN business was safe but we had issues in Kerala in terms of getting our supplies....so I have to go and meet KPT to get our share of supplies but he didnt hold the 'apartment' issue and was very helpful. We also had supplies from Seven Seas, a unit in the outskirts of Trichur...under Balaji...Unni who was the GM there, a very nice professional guy but Seven Seas had its own issues...but we managed that well. EJT was the ASM and a very nice, and honest guy. A very warm person with a big smile. During this time my wife's brother Padmanabhan was with BPC and was based at Cochin. So, the stay was always with them. Very hospitable guy and his wife Chitra too...But they have to put up with my timings as it used to be always beyond 11 pm to return home after the market visits. We had a promoter for Kerala...CeeCee brothers which was owned by Wilfred but was run by his brother Stanley...a typical character. I still remember during my fist visit, KGS wanted to take me to Stanleys home for dinner and while on the way, he stopped the car and got a bottle of JW Black from some bootlegger. When I asked him why he is buying the alcohol and that too JW, he said Stanley likes only scotch and its customary that we buy the bottle. I really lost myself. I told him very clearly that we will not waste companies money on such expensive brands (UB had nothing to do with JW in 1993) and told him to give back that bottle and get the money back. He was totally perplexed and I insisted that he should do that as we are going there for business discussion and if we have to drink we would drink Indian brands only...I am quoting this incident not to lower the image of KGS but the deep rooted subservient culture of the organisation to please the promoter as he was close to the chairman. We had a good team in Kerala but they were all 'type cast'. During our sales meetings, when a question is directed at any of the sales guy, they look at KGS and answer....I had to ask these guys to look at the person in the eyes and answer instead of looking at their boss...even EJT had this problem. I had to do lots of counselling to make these guys to understand that they work for VJM and not for any other individuals and the others are just line managers and that would keep changing...in Kerala the issue was that KGS was kept as branch head for more than a decade and that became the root cause of such behaviour. There was always Bevco to put the blame on for not achieving the objectives...and more than that, CeeCee was all powerful a la Allappat and Johar....all these promoters were close to HO and hence were to be handled with caution...and the retail was under private and it was fun working the market...KSBC was only in WS....

Karnataka no one bothered, as the volumes were too small due to certain local dynamics....HL never went in to that 'dynamics' and hence remained a small player. McD was big but in the books the volumes were relatively smaller.

After taking over went to Hyderabad and nothing had changed there...same set up with MSR group in the helm as our distributors...EKS was the zonal manager. Dwarak, as mentioned earlier was based at Vijayawada...I still remember during my visit to Vijaywada when I asked Dwarak how one arrives at the MRP, he really struggled to answer that. The issue was people were just pushed in to their roles without a proper induction especially on the RTM and the cost cards...so they did what they were good at...market visits and managing the numbers and team...they were not given an opportunity to think differently.

VK Arora was the head of sales and he knew only Punjab and Delhi and his visits were more of a formality than of any substance as TN and Kerala were government controlled, KTK was insignificant and AP was MSR controlled....

Ashok Capoor was a great boss to work with...very soft, understanding and a great listener...the reporting was more to AC than to VKA...We had issues with Balaji in terms of getting our supplies and DRs visits were primarily to sort them out....

So my job was to ensure that the forecasts were delivered and the team was kept motivated to deliver....TN team was still the stalwarts followed by AP as AP was another major contributor for BPW....BPG in TN was doing very well but the issue as always was HBB....whereas in Kerala HBB was keeping the volumes ticking...

My first visit to Mahe was an eye opener...Mahe is part of the UT of Puducherry and HL was not getting that kind of volumes from there but Mahe somehow was better than Pondy and Karaikkal. We had a good distributor in Mahe in Surulivelu a Tamil from Cumbam....he had an able manager in Krishnan and they knew the pulse of the market but sadly HL never done anything to convert those opportunities. The supplies were from Seven Seas. Surulivelu, as I had mentioned, a very shrewd operator gave me a proposal to take HBB to 5000 cases in two months...he just wanted some additional amount and guaranteed supplies from Seven Seas....Seven Seas was managed by Unni, a very nice gentleman but had his own issues in terms of getting the raw material on time and also labor...but a couple of meetings with him and also with his boss in Chennai, could get the supplies as committed and Surulivelu delivered....

The exciting thing during my one year stint was our presentation in the sales conference in 93 September. VJM's was gracious enough to agree to the managements proposal to host the conference in Nairobi followed by a 3 days trip to London....As always every region was to make a presentation...and mostly its on performance and balance of the year....we decided to change the format....in 93 there was a programme in DD called Super hit Muqabla....it was a program on Bollywood chart bursters and was quite popular...So title of our presentation was Super Hit Muqabla....and the content was all about glorifying the sales guys contribution in making things happen in the very competitive environment. We sought the inputs from our agency (I think it was redifusion) and every single slide was interspersed with a Bollywood song...a la super hit muqabla....BR Haran was the presenter and he did a fabulous job...we also highlighted the meteoric rise of DR with few slides to showcase how HL rewards its people and we chose the popular number that time 'papa kehate hai bada naam karega' song. The climax was all about a day in HL sales guys life in the market....we dubbed the 'Romeo Naam Mera' song from Mr. India with our own lyrics....it went something like this....'Herbertsons Naam mera...selling hai kaam mera...mein Bagpiper Bechun, honey bee bechun'...and our versatile Kalyan played the role of the salesman....with his typical style and dance....as I mentioned it was the climax and when he finished his part, the entire auditorium was on its feet with a thunderous ovation....VK Arora came running to me, hugged me and was all praise...Gill, my counterpart from North told me that it was like watching a movie....DR was spell bound....Tomy was all smiles....my team was on Cloud 9....euphoric is the word....Haran and Kalyan were the celebrities...and VJM thoroughly enjoyed it and was seen commenting, clapping and laughing....but SSG was so upset that we portrayed DR as a hero in our presentation and overruled others and awarded the first prize to North....there was pin drop silence when the award was announced....VJM was not present when the award was announced and even PS Gill and his team could not believe....we were in tears....Haran was unconsolable....SS Gandhi, the tormentor didnt say a word...but as I realised later, after reaching London...DR called me for a walk and confided to me that he had quit and would be joining a Liquor MNC who is setting up their operations in India....he also told me to be ready to join him...Didnt tell me anything more....so SSG apart from his dislike for DR also knew his leaving HL and our portrayal of DR as an icon of HL rubbed him on the wrong side....

Nairobi, we were all taken for a safari and the conference dinner was something enshrined in our heart....VJM is a great host and the spread and booze was awesome....we thoroughly enjoyed the settings and the booze and food and completely sloshed...we boarded the flight for Heathrow with a heavy heart and fully drunk....but London made us to forget the episode in Nairobi and we thoroughly enjoyed our outing there...Kalyans brother Dorai was based at London with a bank and he invited us to his home for a meal....all bachelors outing in his place....

Upon coming back to Chennai, I get a call from SSG one evening asking me to come down to Bangalore next day as VJM has called for a meeting....he even told me about what flight I have to take...SSG was such a micro manager...Next day I reach Blr and McD's office at Richmond road....it was a Saturday and no one in the office....After I reached, Ashok Capoor, VK Arora, PS Gill and Pradeep Arora, Sanjit Padhi from marketing....we were all there sharp 1000......Waited and waited and waited for the call....went out for lunch and came back but still no call....Ashok got bored and climbed up on the table in the conference room and slept off....around 930 in the night we got the call to come to UB office to meet up with Chairman....we rush there and the moment we reach there, were ushered in to his chamber where Rekhi, SSG and other seniors were all seated. VJM asked us to pick up our drinks and snacks and spent just few minutes telling us all not to get perturbed by MNCs and stay focussed and committed...UB would take care of us...hardly 15 minutes....I immediately rushed to the railway station with the help of Rajendra and somehow got in to the mail for Chennai. 

It was work as usual and one day when in Cochin on my trade visit, I got a call from Rekhi's office and his secretary wanted my address...and she whispered in my ears that I got promoted as Controller-South....in terms of job content, no difference but got in to the next level....

UB organised a big meeting of all the exec and the distributors of the entire country in Blr and in the evening VJM addressed us all....his speech was electrifying and everyone was motivated....this was organised to keep his flock together and send a message that UB is very proactive.

In the month of January 94, DR called me and offered a job as Controller-Sales South based at Blr with IDV, the company he set up in India....IDV, International Distillers and Vintners, known for Smirnoff, Bailey's, J&B, Malibu, Archers et al....the first liquor MNC to set up their operations in India...I didnt negotiate and took the offer.

I called Ashok Capoor and told him and he came down to Chennai next day...we sat in his room in Park Sheraton and he did his best to convince me to stay back. He told me that I am one of the blue eyed boys and has a great future with UB...over a few drinks....he finally said, it was left to me but he would expect me to stay back....he left for Bombay next day...It was a tough call for me but decided to go with DR and called AC next day and told him that I cant go back from my commitment and hence requested him to relieve me asap. The moment it became official I was asked not to come to the office...KGS was all smiles as he was made the RM for TN and Kerala and EKS for AP and KTK....I was persona non grata at HL office....

And UB decided that anyone leaving UB would never be taken back....

Finally my HL days came to an end....1979 to 1993.......14 years...what a journey....and what an experience....learning and wisdom....the number of friends I had gained and also the progress in my professional and personal life....and moving to an unknown, supposedly green pastures.....

I cant thank enough all my HL colleagues, trade partners and my family for all the support I got during this stint of mine....and the almighty for such a wonderful 14 years.....

Its bye bye HL and Chennai....hallo Bangalore....and IDV.......