Article - 33 Week 42 Professionalism is evolutionary & needs a kick-start:

Article - 33 Week 42 

Professionalism is evolutionary & needs a kick-start:

An American comes to Dubai for the first time on employment. The AC breaks down in his home, in the middle of an unbearable desert heat. The technician, along with two assistants, who incidentally happen to be Indians, comes in and repairs the set in 5 minutes and charges an exorbitant fee. And 2 hours later the machine breaks down again. The technician is called in, who lands up a couple of hours after the appointed time, to announce that the AC is working fine - except that it is not cool enough. The American has a hard time understanding the complexity of the situation, before being affronted by the technician for his visiting fees. There goes another usual story in Singapore. You call the technician to repair your ailing AC. The technician asks you a full set of questionnaire. Then asks your appointment to the precision of a minute. Gives you a scope of work with the estimated bill. Lands up precisely on the appointed time. Inspects the electrical ducts and switches first before looking at the AC. Completes the repair with a few spare parts he has brought with him. Puts the machine on and waits patiently on you, till you are happy with the functioning of the set. He cleans up your place of all the dirt & debris resulting from the mending work. Then he writes the  invoice. Calls up after two days to ask if the set is working fine and assures you that in case of any immediate problem, he would fix it for free.

Having closely seen & experienced both the technicians, you would surprisingly observe that the Indian is technically more sound & experienced than his Singaporean counterpart. But when it comes to his performance, he is far too shoddy, wasteful, and irksome. Professionalism is not all about knowledge & experience. It is more about application & a pride in the jobs we undertake.