Achilles’’ Heel A person is yet to be born without a weakness. In mythology, there are the stories of Lord Krishna’s foot and Duryodhana’s groin etc. which led to their demise. I thought I was immune to presents from sales people. The sales Director of Escher Wyss Propellers Germany, Dr. Neuberger finally spotted mine! He was a regular visitor to my office when I was working in MDL. He would bring small and attractive presents like fountain pens, calculators etc. I would hand them over to my stenographer and staff in his presence, clearly indicating that I was not vulnerable. This went on for about a year. I then visited their plant at Ravensburg in Germany. After the plant visit and discussions, I had a little free time. They sent a sales rep with me to show me round the city. I stopped by to buy a small perfume for the wife, toys for the kids and spent some time in a record shop. I bought a couple of LPs: Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony (no 41), his 39th symphony, the delightful Clarinet concerto and the well-known Clarinet quintet. I returned to the Plant, thanked the people and left. The next occasion Neuberger came to my office, he handed me a small present which he said that I could not refuse. It was a wonderful Deutsche Gramaphon recording of Haydn’s 104th London Symphony conducted by Richard Von Karajan, a collector’s item. The sales rep who took me round the city must have told Neuberger about my visit to the record shop. I thanked him and took the LP record. We all have our Achilles’ heels.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 07:49:16 +0000
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