At Cyient, we believe in going the extra mile to ensure the best-in-class service to our customers, even during challenging circumstances like COVID-19. The recent incident is a case in point when it took almost two action-packed days to find innovative ways to collect the delivery of my laptop so that there is no disruption in our work and customer service. I am confident that it is unlike anybody’s regular day at work.
Like most of Cyient’s associates, I have been working from home for the last one month in compliance with the lockdown declared by the Indian Government to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, the start of my work-from-home journey turned out to be truly adventurous and is sure to make for a good dinner time story for years to come.
I was to receive my company laptop delivered to my home on April 20, in Jogulamba Gadwal, about 200 km from Hyderabad, where Cyient is headquartered. However, my residential area was declared a red zone and a hotspot in April, which meant that travel or delivery was prohibited.
I was in regular contact with my seniors and team members to ensure that the laptop was safely delivered. It was decided that the next best option after Jogulamba Gadwal is Sugur village, about 35 km from my home. At Cyient, we are known to come up with innovative solutions to resolve tough problems. The team decided to leverage Cyient’s vast network in the region to ensure that my laptop got to me quickly. The brother of a colleague collected it from Sugur on April 20 and delivered to another colleague, Imtiyaz, at Amarchinta (about 40 km) on the same day’s afternoon.
The journey continues with Imtiyaz traveling to Jurala Dam (about 12 km from Amarchinta) and handing over the laptop to one of his friends on the evening of April 20. However, the gates of the Jurala dam were shut, so I was unable to collect it in the evening.
The next day was as eventful as the previous one. The policy prevented me from traveling to collect my laptop despite having the necessary credentials. But where there is a will, there is a way. I decided to use the river route to reach the dam to collect my laptop.
The biggest hurdle was finding a fisherman willing to undertake the journey during a stringent lockdown. It took immense convincing and coaxing to persuade one to finally pick up the laptop from my friend from the other side of the Krishna River. I was in continuous touch with the fisherman and my friend during the journey, and I finally got possession of the laptop on April 21.
The River Route
The laptop ended up making four stops before reaching its final destination, and it had to travel by land and water before I got my hands on it. This wouldn’t have been possible without my colleagues’ immense teamwork and the initiative and trust HR placed in me.
Who would have thought that collecting a laptop delivery would involve going through a string of thrilling, action-packed events with a happy ending!