Friday, July 06, 2007

mundane yet interesting.

after being holed up in one corner of the city, in a guest house which was comfortable, cozy and lonely, i found it refreshing to move back into the city with a friend a few days back. from then on, it has been one helluva ride.

first the tedious part. it amazes me that how often we can make simple things difficult so easily. take for example the money transfer i wanted to do from one bank to another. it took me around 2 hours and good amount of running around to accomplish a task which by end of it, felt like a feat. expectedly, i was very happy yesterday. but going that i am to a management school, to learn porter's five forces and the ubiquitous 4 P's, i am forced to wonder what happened to the dictum that customer is the king. i know i am painful because i compare, to a few places where i have seen things happen faster.

these experiences have a bright side as well. they force me to think if one can improve customer experience, and in turn grab a lot more customers. i know all companies try this, but how many really succeed. they win on the relative count(as in when they are better than another), but i wonder how they would rate on a absolute scale(if at all we can come up with one). bringing this change would be kinda grassroot work, and as i head to school, i wonder if i will have the courage to opt for something like this or will i get defeated by the seducing powers of thee goldman sachs and the kkrs and the mckinseys. i also wonder why i get philosophical at times.

back to reality, the resignation process at work has been relatively simple. i did chase a few people to get it started, but then on, it is just me making calls to a few people begging them for my various clearances, which aint any hard work at all. given that i am writing this post from my office pc, one can understand that there isnt much to be done outside of getting those last minutes sign offs.

the best part of my stay here is the fun i get to have when i am back home in the evening. i usually meet up with many of my old gang members, and it is great to hear so many stories which i missed out on because i was away. the change in my friends is also palpable, we all have moved on from our old days. some have become parents, some still struggling to find the right guy/girl, some braving the challenges at work, some just growing old and happy at being so. it all shows, and it is all very interesting.

the weekend is right by the corner, and i cant wait. there is some work do be done, some fun to be had, and some much needed sleep to be recovered. till next time - you guys be good.

9 comments:

Juggler said...

I had these horrible experiences with customer service too. From changing my watch strap to money matters it's been one pain after another :-(

Iday said...

Aah - i am gearing up for all that!!! My last few days in my company isnt gonna be too good i guess!

Already had a pretty bad experience :(

Zi said...

Forrest, I read ur&idays blog once in a while and this quotes comes to my mind before you embark on your mba..........

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
--Theodore Roosevelt

Hobbes said...

d0000d! Many many congratulations on your Chi admit! Really happy for u! :)

Dew said...

Hey first of all congrats for the admit!!!
after reading the details about u having fun with ur gang members i ve started feeling lonely :)..i ve lost touch with all my friends and as i am applying now it certainly isn't the best time to get in touch with long lost friends.. :)
good luck with ur MBA and will like to ask some ques as and when i am in doubt..will try to keep it short always :)

Caspar Milquetoast said...

Hey, archy, when are you going to learn to use the shift key on your keyboard? (If you're puzzled why I'm calling you "archy", see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archy_and_mehitabel)

ipoel said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! 29 JULY 2007

Duchess said...

Hey Forrest Gump,

Congratualtions for the admit.
Came across your blog while browsing MBA applicant blogs. Thanks for all the great advices and information that you have put here.

Cheers
Shil

MBAstarter said...

So, All geared up to join?