Abhishek Shukla

Mart-yr

Word Count: 2,622

“Never be late. Be honest. Take care of customers. That’s all!”, Suresh Gowda served his usual induction address to Govind and Prakash. “You do these, and I’ll take care of you”, and handed them the product catalogue and aprons having ‘SG Mart’ inscribed on them. “There are 21 sections. There’s nothing that I don’t sell. You guys don’t know how much you’ll get to learn from me”, Suresh Gowda proudly added.

They wore their aprons and moved to the assigned sections. They spent the next few days becoming acquainted with the place, people, and products. The mart was huge. Each section offered hundreds of products. Their duties included arranging the racks, restocking the supplies, putting up offers, memorizing the catalog, assisting customers, and selling Mart-made products.

Sections such as Skincare, Beauty, and Prepared Foods demanded only basic customer assistance during the day, as the billing for them was done at the main counter. It was the lackluster attitude of the staff that often led to situations where people crowded near the racks to find what they needed.

It was only the Grocery section that kept the operator’s nose to the grindstone, as each item had to be weighed in order to generate the barcode label for billing. Suresh Gowda had passed strict instructions, “It is the variety and discount I give on Grocery that gets people to drag their assess here. I want only Shafiq at the grocery section. No one else!” And why wouldn’t he? Before Shafiq, the section used to have long queues every day.

Suresh Gowda visited the mart only thrice a day, and then too, he monitored the activities from the main billing counter itself. In his presence, the staff worked their fingers to the bone. But once he was gone, they kept finding ways of passing the buck to each other. So, every time he visited, he obviously found the store operating smoothly. On rare occasions, when he saw the racks crowded, he took them for indications of high demand.

“It’s my strategies of keeping the demand growing that gets me to hire all of you here at once and still think of expanding the count further”, he often told the staff. Resultingly, he now had 18 members in his staff when he needed only two-thirds of them. Whenever someone suggested to let go of the extra staff and instead buy proper billing machines for the Grocery section, Suresh Gowda dismissed the suggestions by blaming the ‘occasional’ rush on either the incompetency of the staff or the increasing demand and justified the strength by counting the number of sections. Goes without saying, no one dared to point the contradiction.

The Grocery section wouldn’t have had a single day without hell breaking loose if Shafiq wouldn’t have been there. The section had more than a hundred items with multiple varieties. Each variety had its unique code. The codes changed as the price changed. The weighing machine demanded the unique code of each item to generate the barcode slip and displayed the name of the item only when the code was punched. It took someone with an elephant’s memory to manage the counter at peak hours. Shafiq was the only one who could hold his ground when posted there—thanks to his impeccable memory.

Govind possessed the same gift. He was a short, soft-spoken, reticent boy with the tone of a computer-generated voice-over. In the first few days, he memorized the entire Food Grain catalogue, and in the next few, the Utensil catalogue. Whenever anyone asked him a query, he delivered the entire list of varieties and the exact rack at which the item was placed. His delivery felt automated, as if a robot read the information from a teleprompter.

On the other hand, Prakash had a hard time memorizing the varieties of Maggi Noodles. He found himself grasping at straws whenever asked about a product that isn’t the most famous choice. His appearance—lean frame, prominent jawline, lustrous brown hair—and his gift of the gab proved to be his saviors. They didn’t just help in buying more time but also lead to people generally talking to him longer than required. Whenever stuck with a query, he engaged the person in chatter and called someone to his rescue.

Since they both joined together, they often kept a tab on each other. Govind came to Prakash’s rescue each time he faced a customer with specific questions and complicated queries, and in turn, Prakash introduced and kept him in touch with other folks with whom he might not have been able to strike a conversation by himself.

Initially, Prakash used to be worried that once Govind would become comfortable with everyone in the mart, he might not help him as often as he does. But to his benefit, Govind’s gift proved to be his Achilles heel. His abilities made him resolve matters swiftly and effectively and posed threat to those who were in the habit of loafing around. They regarded him as a show-off, as each time he sighted a crowded spot, he pounced in, and irrespective of the complexity of the matter, he came out smelling of roses.

In the initial few weeks, even when everyone tried avoiding him, Prakash’s insistence kept him to be a part of the staff lunchtime meets. But later, Govind himself stopped joining them as he started to fill their places in their absence. Even though they felt irritated, and at times, envious, they couldn’t express either. He helped everyone regardless of their behavior with him; he remained a rose with more petals than thorns for them. And though their opinion didn’t matter much, there was someone whose opinion did.

“People matter the most to me; not the sales”, Suresh Gowda often said, “They can buy from anywhere—there are two other marts at this street, then why should they visit my mart? They should visit here for a great experience. Suppose a guy drops in the middle of the night to buy a pack of condoms, he should feel compelled to spend some more time; to buy something more, maybe some ice cream. And you should be the ones compelling him, giving him great deals, delivering a good presentation”.

So, contrary to his reputation among the staff, Suresh Gowda assessed Govind to be a torpid creature. For him, when other sections remained thronged with a crowd, Govind’s section witnessed rapid movements. When others engaged customers for minutes, Govind made them move away within a minute. And on top of that, instead of working on increasing the visibility of his section, he kept moving to other sections and disengaged people there too.

The general word of mouth also worked against him. Suresh Gowda soon learned that he never joins others for lunch, and the staff perceives him to be arrogant. As a result, he didn’t just get reprimanded while receiving the second month’s salary, he was also advised to be more like Prakash, who learned the ‘ways of working’ in a short span of time and whom ‘everyone admired’.

Even after being dressed down, Govind couldn’t change his ways. After all, old habits die hard. And so, the consequences remained at odds with his desires. He was taken aback when Suresh Gowda announced, “Shafiq is going out for a month. I want someone who knows how to handle matters. Imran, you take over Grocery”. Govind knew he was the best fit for the role. He was the only one who already knew the catalogue by heart even without working at the section ever. He decided that this time, he’ll not intervene until specifically asked by Suresh Gowda.

The next few weeks at the Grocery remained tumultuous. Imran ended up mixing the codes so badly that the queue grew till the main counter. He asked to be relieved from the duty after the first week itself. Even though Suresh Gowda believed the duty to be a window of opportunity—“The one who rules Grocery rules the entire mart”, he said—the staff repelled at the mention of it. None of them wished to get their fingers burnt.

The next to be assigned was Sudha, followed by Nanjappa, and then Murthy. Each survived almost a week. When Murthy was assigned for the last week of the month, others took a sigh of relief. But just before the end of the month, Suresh Gowda dropped a bombshell, “Shafiq won’t be coming back to work, ever”. The discussions of speculations regarding the next assignee became taboo for some and a gateway to betting for others. Some prayed for another peaceful week while others left the decision to their fate.

Until now, Govind and Prakash remained untouched by this development, as Suresh Gowda considered only the senior staff for the responsibility. But at the start of the second month, he decided to prepare ‘one of the new guys’ to take over the role permanently. And as expected, Prakash got assigned with the duty. Suresh Gowda handed him the revised catalogue and said, “All the items are the same; the codes have changed a bit due to price increment”, and added, “Remember, customers don’t like the person at counter referring to sheets. And what customers don’t like, I don’t like”.

Prakash got the cue and tried his best to deliver a winning smile, but couldn’t. He was totally unacquainted with the catalogue. He spent that night mugging the entire list, but the next morning, he had nothing but vague recollections of jumbled alphanumerics. As he reached the mart, he dragged himself to the counter and awaited the storm to hit. As people started to rush in, his hands begin to tremble.

It didn’t take more than a few customers to bring his struggle to display. Initially, he tried recalling, but eventually, decided to hit-and-try. “Excuse me” and “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting” became his pet phrases. Within half an hour, the queue crossed a dozen people awaiting their turn. As Suresh Gowda’s time of arrival came closer, the thought of losing all his goodwill sent a chill down his spine.

Along with fear, the pressure from the customers sent him in dire straits. For a moment, he thought of running away, but the next moment he got reminded of his pending salary. He decided to put up an elaborate act. He planned to act as if something caused him immense pain in the forehead and decided to faint the moment Suresh Gowda entered the store. He started the act right away.

Govind watched this from a distance. He knew he can clear the mess within 15 minutes if given a chance. He reminded himself of his decision to not intervene until specifically asked. He felt the aura of frustration that grew from the counter reaching him, calling him, almost compelling him to take over the counter, but he resisted the urge. He hated the system that allowed agents of chaos to exercise freedom and demanded restraint from agents of order.

He looked around and found others unstirred by the chaos. He knew he’ll have to pitch in, and his desire soon took the form of a plan. He picked a sheet and a marker from the Stationary section and started writing the entire Grocery price list. Within 5 minutes, he prepared a direct and precise sheet of all the items. By the time he finished the sheet, the queue had crossed the two-dozen mark.

He went to the counter and passed the sheet to Prakash. Prakash already had his plan running. He refused the sheet and instead overacted the part. Govind asked him to look around, observe the chaos, and take the sheet for customers’ sake. Though Prakash kept on denying it, the customer standing behind him saw the sheet and said, “That boy is offering you good help, take it. Why do you wish to make us suffer?” Soon a few more customers reiterated the same. Finally, Prakash had to take the sheet.

The chaos became manageable within the next half an hour. Suresh Gowda entered the mart and glanced at the Grocery section right away. “It takes years of experience like mine to make good decisions. I knew the boy will handle it; after all, I’ve hired him”, he smirked at the guy at the billing counter. Prakash found himself managing alright with the sheet and decided to give up the act. The day turned out to be hectic, but manageable for him. He left the mart wishing for Suresh Gowda to never get to know about the sheet.

The next morning, when Govind received a call asking to come early at the mart, he knew trouble awaited him. Unlike his usual routine, Suresh Gowda reached the mart even before the staff. Govind noticed him standing at a corner with Prakash and the accountant. The moment Govind entered, he began, “Last time, even when everyone spoke against you, I decided to give you another chance. What for? For this blunder!?”. Govind stood clueless waiting for someone to tell what happened.

Suresh Gowda, his face red with rage, continued, “Even when I told you to stay at your assigned place, you left your counter. Then you prepared a sheet and showed all my customers that my staff can’t even remember the catalogue. And to top it, you gave Prakash the underpriced codes for all the items. I lost thousands because of you yesterday”. In a sudden moment of realization, Govind understood it all. Since the situation was going out of hand at the counter, in his hurry, he didn’t consider that the grocery catalogue was updated with new codes due to increased prices. He forgot at that moment that the updated catalogue was given only to Prakash.

He tried explaining the situation, but Suresh Gowda paused him in between. “Fine, you didn’t know that the prices have increased. But who asked you to intervene? Did Prakash ask you? Did you ask him, Prakash?” Prakash shook his head in denial. “Then why did you?”, Suresh Gowda shouted. Govind explained the situation the Grocery counter had that day. He told if he wouldn’t have intervened, the rush would’ve gone out of control, and people would’ve left the store without making a purchase. He said he did it to help Prakash and to handle the situation.

Suresh Gowda didn’t find that to be a justified reason. “Even if that was the case, you should have told me. I make the decisions here. And why do you think Prakash needed your help? Wouldn’t he have been able to handle it till the time I arrived? Prakash, this is my last question. Basis this, I’ll deliver my judgement. You needed his help that day?”

Govind found momentary relief as the ball went in Prakash’s court. He looked expectantly at him and awaited his response. Prakash replied that he needed no help. It was his first day, so he was a bit stressed, but he would’ve managed anyhow. It was Govind’s sheet that confused him, else he would’ve easily managed on his own.

Prakash’s statements left Govind rooted to the spot. He knew the proceedings from here. Suresh Gowda commanded the accountant, “Prepare his balance”, and added, “Deduct the losses from it”. He looked at Govind with aversion, “Leave the apron before you leave. I am doing this business for decades now. Next time, wherever you work, follow your boss’s orders. You might be of some use then”. He instructed Prakash to follow him and left.

Govind collected his money and left SG Mart.

Notes by Author:

#corporate life