Staying in a Five Star Hotel

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.