It is not possible for an Indian to avoid the influence of Aditya Birla Group in his or her lifetime! Right from tiffin wrappings in school days to cement in the infrastructural industry or fertilisers in agriculture, touching lives of millions in the process.
It was during the post CAT 2018, which is very vivid in my memories, when I purchased a Van Heusen suit for the Personal Interview and Group Discussion process for SPJIMR. I had walked into a Van Heusen store in Indore hastily as I had to take the bus to Mumbai within an hour. I explained my circumstances to the attendant and asked him to suggest me a formal suit within my budget. I did not initially expect to find a perfect suit for within that short span of time and was tensed that I may miss a golden opportunity to appear for the SPJIMR interview process. I thought that all my efforts into CAT preparation may go into vain. However, the store attendant being sympathetic of my situation, suggested me a number of excellent options. He reserved the changing room for me even when other people were waiting in the queue. After a lot of quick trials, I had finally chosen a suit with the best possible fit for me and appeared for the SPJIMR interview process the next day. After completing the billing, the store attendant even wished me luck for my SPJIMR interview process! And I never could have imagined that I would be pursuing my dream from the same institute. Thanks to Van Heusen for dressing me up!
When I was working with BPCL and posted in Ujjain, I had a petrol pump in my area, owned and operated by Grasim Industries in Nagda, Ujjain district. And to my awe in the first place, I had never imagined that a huge conglomerate like Aditya Birla group be so diverse that they can run a dealership of Bharat Petroleum!
It was during my first visit at the pump, I noticed that within a very small area of 60 square meters, the pump had only one dispensing machine and that too an outdated one, selling only petrol and not diesel. The pump had earned the trust of the customers with their excellent cleanliness standards in an industrial area full of dust, the welcoming attitude of the staff and assurance of quality and quantity. The pump was an example of customer centric business attitude, even with limited resources. One unique feature of managing the pump was the system of cash collection where the customer had to get a coupon of the required amount from the counter and then wait in queue for his turn. Also, the machine being of an obsolete model, the rate of dispensing was quite slow and it increased the crowd at the pump. The manager was very concerned with these bottlenecks and requested me to upgrade the machine. I was impressed by their customer centricity and upgraded the pump immediately. Enthusiastic about the renewed infrastructure, the staff conducted customer awareness drives regarding benefits of the modern dispensing machine. They also did away with their old fashioned billing methodology and started providing printed bills from the machine itself. They ensured that each and every customer receive their bill but not having to wait in a separate queue. This reflects the highest value of customer satisfaction standards of Aditya Birla Group, even down to the business of fuel retailing!
My life of 26 years, has not been without its challenges! But the best part of these experiences is not the successes or failures of overcoming them but the deep lessons that I had learnt is the most overwhelming part. Once defeated, coming up with renewed vigour to face more challenges in life, learning the importance of proper planning to approach both hard and smart work in the process is what I will cherish throughout my life.
Every human being faces some or the other difficulties in life and the same happened with me also when I was in the final year in my graduation college where I was pursuing Mechanical Engineering. As we all know, placements are an important aspect in an Engineering course. During the initial placement season, I was placed in a core engineering company which was one of the most joyous moments of my life! But little did I know what was about to unfold in the future.
Two months passed by, when the company suddenly communicated to me that they did not have vacancy to induct me into their system and my offer stood withdrawn!
I was completely heartbroken and dejected. I felt that all my hard work would go to vain. Since the placement season was also on the verge of completion, there was not much opportunity there also. I did sit for the last few placement drives but was not selected. I tried hard to crack GATE examination to the best of my abilities. Even that also was not as per my expectations.
I did not give up. I started trying for off campus placement drives and with the help of my friends, kept preparing for interviews. I did regular group discussions since I recognised that it was my weakest area when it came to placement. Along with that, kept improving my technical knowledge so that whenever it came to engineering, I could ensure that it was cracked-be it an interview or an examination.
And then fortunes turned! It was BPCL who visited our college for on campus placement drive and it was the last company to visit that year. I gave my best by preparing with even more vigour and confidence. I tried to forget everything that happened with me and focused on only that one last placement drive.
On the day of the drive, my performance went well and eventually I was selected by BPCL. Being a PSU, it is still a dream company for many Indians even today and felt that my hard work did pay off! It strengthened my belief that determination, dedication and self-confidence do pay off. It was a learning of my life and it made me more optimistic that nothing is impossible in life!