I have observed that most of the people who join as medical
representatives come from middle class backgrounds. When I joined Pfizer, India
had yet to reap the benefits of liberalization because of a time lapse of just
above two years. People of my generation were not exposed to things; like cable
television. Internet was still in the realms of science fiction. As I come from
a small town so even looking at a photograph of a good hotel was a thing of
luxury to me.
Before joining Pfizer, I had been working with Cadila so had
been to a three star hotel at Patna to attend some sales meeting. But staying
in a five-star hotel was still beyond my wildest imagination. After clearing
the written test and several rounds of interview at Bombay, we were told to go
to a doctor for a round of medical checkup. After about a couple of days we
were told to check in at the Ramada Hotel. I hired an auto-rickshaw and loaded
my luggage on that to go to the above-mentioned hotel. Before starting my journey,
I showed the address of the hotel to the auto driver. After a half an hour
drive, the auto-driver stopped near a nice looking hotel and said, “Hey Sahib,
here is your hotel. Pay my bill and get down here.”
I craned my neck to see an imposing structure in front of
me. I was simply mesmerized at that imposing and glistening façade of the
hotel. My first thought was that the auto-driver must have done some mistake by
stopping near such a grand hotel. I meekly asked the auto-driver, “Are you
sure, we have reached the right hotel.”
He said, “Yeah, you can check the address from your envelope.”
I once again checked the address, which was written on the
envelope. To make myself sure, I tallied each letter of the hotel’s name on the
envelope with what was written on the huge neon sign atop the hotel. I got down
from the auto and placed my luggage on the sidewalk. Still being unsure, I was
trying to peep through the glass door which was behind a burly mustachioed gatekeeper.
The sight of the tall and well built gatekeeper further frayed my nerves. While
my mind was going through all the turmoil, I could get a glimpse of many
detailing bags (the typical leather bags of medical representatives) kept like
a huge pile near the reception desk.
The sight of the stack of detailing bags gave me enough
courage and then only I could enter the gate of Ramada Hotel; where our
training was to begin from the next day.
