24 Apr 2008, 0348 hrs IST
,Lakshmy Ramanathan,TNN
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CHENNAI: If you thought your neighbourhood plumber rode his bicycle to work with a bag of tools slung over his shoulder, then think again. G K Shankar, owner of Thiruvanmayur-based GK Electricals, drives a Ford Ikon to work and lets his boys drive a Mahindra van to clients' homes whenever work takes more than just an hour.
"All that you see now is the result of 30 years of hard work," says the man who studied till Std VI and made the education of his children a priority. His son and two daughters have done their engineering and BBA and BCA respectively.
Starting out as a helper to a motor pump company, Shankar soon picked up the nuances of the profession to set up his own shop in 1979. Soon enough, success, a low-end bike, a bullet, an Armada jeep and a Ford Ikon followed. Today, he is an authorised dealer of pump sets.
"I owe my success to my clients. It's only due to their references and goodwill that I have grown," says the unassuming 52-year-old who still prefers to ride his bike to work.
The road to success, however, has not been without its share of bumps. "The biggest problem that we (employers) face is the dearth of knowledge-based plumbers and electricians. Some time ago, we got a call from a Neelankarai-based NRI. The faucets that he had imported for Rs 40 lakh had been partially damaged due to faulty installment. This is because plumbers and electricians no longer want to invest time in learning the finer aspects of this profession," he says.
Making a beeline to software companies which require in-house handymen is a trend that he is not pleased with either. "Nobody wants to put in hard work these days. This is why the lure of recruitment in companies is irresistible. Once a part of such firms, you are expected to put in only a set number of hours. Call on your services is occasional. You also get food, uniform and pick and drop services along with a 6K salary. Life is easy," muses Shankar.
It's a trend that has left him exasperated. "Our employees get more benefits. Apart from the opportunity to earn more than Rs 8,000 per month from our 500-odd clients, we provide them with one lakh insurance cover," he says.
From the customers' point of view, Shankar's method of working is a huge relief, especially for single women or those who have moved in to the city recently. "People find it very difficult to trust handymen both in terms of safety and the quality of work. But we take complete responsibility for our employees. If anything untoward happens (which it rarely does) the onus is on us. That apart, we maintain two copies of logsheet –one for the customer and one for us that records the work that a handyman has put in, the spare parts that he has bought etc," he explains.
The level of conscientiousness that he brings to every aspect of his work is probably what has made Shankar one among the select 40 pump set maintenance contractors in the city to be approved by the district collector. But there is still one thing that this treasurer of electrical contractors and wiremen association aspires for.
"I hope that the government starts issuing licenses to all practicing plumbers and electricians and other handymen. Tomorrow, customers will be able to identify those who know their job from those who don't," he concludes.
lakshmy.ramanathan@timesgroup.com
"All that you see now is the result of 30 years of hard work," says the man who studied till Std VI and made the education of his children a priority. His son and two daughters have done their engineering and BBA and BCA respectively.
Starting out as a helper to a motor pump company, Shankar soon picked up the nuances of the profession to set up his own shop in 1979. Soon enough, success, a low-end bike, a bullet, an Armada jeep and a Ford Ikon followed. Today, he is an authorised dealer of pump sets.
"I owe my success to my clients. It's only due to their references and goodwill that I have grown," says the unassuming 52-year-old who still prefers to ride his bike to work.
The road to success, however, has not been without its share of bumps. "The biggest problem that we (employers) face is the dearth of knowledge-based plumbers and electricians. Some time ago, we got a call from a Neelankarai-based NRI. The faucets that he had imported for Rs 40 lakh had been partially damaged due to faulty installment. This is because plumbers and electricians no longer want to invest time in learning the finer aspects of this profession," he says.
Making a beeline to software companies which require in-house handymen is a trend that he is not pleased with either. "Nobody wants to put in hard work these days. This is why the lure of recruitment in companies is irresistible. Once a part of such firms, you are expected to put in only a set number of hours. Call on your services is occasional. You also get food, uniform and pick and drop services along with a 6K salary. Life is easy," muses Shankar.
It's a trend that has left him exasperated. "Our employees get more benefits. Apart from the opportunity to earn more than Rs 8,000 per month from our 500-odd clients, we provide them with one lakh insurance cover," he says.
From the customers' point of view, Shankar's method of working is a huge relief, especially for single women or those who have moved in to the city recently. "People find it very difficult to trust handymen both in terms of safety and the quality of work. But we take complete responsibility for our employees. If anything untoward happens (which it rarely does) the onus is on us. That apart, we maintain two copies of logsheet –one for the customer and one for us that records the work that a handyman has put in, the spare parts that he has bought etc," he explains.
The level of conscientiousness that he brings to every aspect of his work is probably what has made Shankar one among the select 40 pump set maintenance contractors in the city to be approved by the district collector. But there is still one thing that this treasurer of electrical contractors and wiremen association aspires for.
"I hope that the government starts issuing licenses to all practicing plumbers and electricians and other handymen. Tomorrow, customers will be able to identify those who know their job from those who don't," he concludes.
lakshmy.ramanathan@timesgroup.com
