Well, during the first week of stay in an alian country every human being will think about their home country. And then they will start comparing the country with their own country. Am a normal human being, so I should do the
comparision too. Here I go...
The company has quite big shopping malls in its campus which closes around 6 pm everyday. I was standing near one of the malls. It was about 6.05 pm. I saw a person rushing from one corner of the campus towards this mall. When he came near the mall, I noticed that he was none other than the CEO of the company. He rushed towards the mall and asked for something. The receptionist politely replied 'I'm sorry. We are closed!'. He immediately smiled and replied, 'Oh It's alright. I will pick it tomorrow.' I was spellbound.
If this had happened back in India the store operator/receptionist would have led the CEO inside the mall and let him pick the things. But, will this response be the same if it was a normal employee? Probably it could be their way or showing their respect towards the big shot or could it be that they cannot say NO? Or it could be the fear that 'oh my will this big shot do something if I reject him?'
Probably, It is so because over here (abroad) people are more time oriented. If the receptist says YES and allows the person to pick the things, then probably these might happen:
- Might miss her bus/train back home
- Might be late for her evening appointments
- Might exceed her shift
- Might be that her KRA says so ;-P
So they clearly send out a message, we are closed after 6. If you want to pick up something, you can come in before six. It is not that they are being harsh (as people think). They are being oriented.
I understand and am aware that there are many people who are strong enough to say NO to what they thing is wrong or whatever! But this post is for the one's, who are reluctant to say NO. Yes, that includes me too :)
Just like how these people have to learn a lot from us, let's also agree that we have to learn a lot from them.
