The best and worst companies I have worked in (Part 1)

Why talk about it?
1. Because it's my blog and
2. No one is paying me anymore to shut up and live that 9 am to 5 pm life regardless of what I believe and feel.

I will begin in order of the companies I have work for after my Masters.

Year 2008
N N Daya Design and Print, Birmingham, UK
Worked for them for 15 months (longest ever in any company)
Staff strength: 10-15

My life's first ever job and it WAS special, definitely special. Young people who have been living on a limited budget (read pocket money) for their initial 24 years of life would feel utterly extraordinary receiving that first paycheck. With me, it was same, and I was paid in pounds. Every week. On Fridays. Oh Yes.

NN Daya is the oldest (40+ years) family run printing company in Birmingham city, managed by two brothers of Indian origin. To keep the history short, it meant I had to keep not one, but two bosses happy.

With no prior industry experience, this young buoy initial job excitement bubble busted within first 2 days. Because the company was a hardcore printing press, even slightest rearrangement of the letters in a word could mean disaster in the final copies of a printing job. It didn't take long to print "Free cock with a cheeseburger" instead of "Free coke with a cheeseburger" in a hand-out menu of a local restaurant, printed with 100,000 copies. Thank god this astronomical fault wasn't mine but I was told that the previous designer before me did just that.

I guess the "cock" error is very common (pic credit: the web)

Of course, I also had my sweaty hand moments in the company few times as a fresher.

I don't remember exactly but I guess I didn't proofread a wedding card after designing it and the dates were printed totally wrong. Some finished 200 cards were already on the dispatch counter for the customer. 200 seems like a small number but dude, wedding cards in the UK are shit expensive. If I am not wrong, I cost the company some 1000 pounds (= INR 72,000 in 2007) in printing re-runs. I could have been fired easily. I still don't know why I wasn't. Definitely not proud of that moment.

Despite few, heart in mouth moment as an employee, it was nice to work for this small but highly sophisticated company where everything was done to perfection and there was no room for errors in my work department. From conceptualization, designing and printing the final job to the swift customer support, everything was taken care beautifully by this small but extremely efficient team.

Job satisfaction rating: 9 out of 10
High points:
1. Got paid on time, even for overtime.
2. Ample guidance and support for employees.
3. Good infrastructure and office space.
4. Regulated work hours (reach office by sharp 10 am and MUST leave by 6 pm)

Low points:
Wasn't paid as par to UK industry standard for a Masters level designer (but ironically I never felt low about this. The experience couldn't have been more great and valuable if my first job had not been in NN Daya's)

Verdict:
NN Daya Print & Design, by far, is my most favourite company out of 5 others where I worked as a designer.

Funny Incident at work: So one day I was invited by my two generous bosses to come with them for a badminton match in a leisure centre nearby after work which they go to every Friday evening. Being a sport, I agreed to join them. We all played for few hours and after games, we headed to men's dressing room for a shower and clean up. I entered the room and I was not sure where I have come because it was just a big room. No private showers, no separate compartments. Exactly like what they show on HBO. And before I could figure out the vastu of that place, everyone started undressing and getting ready for a shower and when I say ready, I was witnessing full frontal and back nudity of middle age men. I never felt so embarrassed ever in my life. Not because it was a group shower, but because of the fact that it all happened so quickly that I couldn't just react appropriately. Taking down my pants in front of my office colleagues including my bosses was an enormously helpless act which I can't put down in words. They all laughed watching me playing it cool and yet trying to hide my Area 51, a place which got de-restricted forever in public, for the public.

Every time I recall that moment I chuckle. and ya, I never played badminton again after that in the UK.

Funny Incident at work number 2: They say everyone on this earth has at least 7 other people who resemble that person remarkably close in terms of looks. Definitely, my carbon copy was walking around somewhere close to my workplace in Birmingham for sure. It was just another day at the office and I was busy on my desk, when my colleague told me, that an Asian man in 40s asking for the "designer" at the office reception. I went downstairs to the reception expecting a customer with a feedback on my work. But this is what I hear him saying in his broken English.

Man -  "You... You the one misbehaved with my wife yesterday on streets".
Me - "Sorry?".
He again shouts the same line "You the one misbehaved with my wife, sister yesterday on streets".
This time, he had a finger pointing at me.
I said, "Sir, there is definitely some misunderstanding and I am sure I am not the guy you are looking for"
Man - "No.. it was you.. *some Arabic words in between*.. definitely you. I remember. Next time I see you near my place, I will call the police" and he turned away and left before I could say anything else.

A dead silent at the reception for a moment. Me with one of my female colleague standing next to me witnessing all that looked puzzled. She said nothing but gave me a look and I just burst to laugh. I went upstairs to my boss and asked him to rewind the CCTV footage of the reception. I had never seen that man before and after that incident in my life. Hope he found his guy and beat the shit out of him for scaring his wife.

My usual 9 am to 5 pm life.

Coming up next: My experience working for another British company and later, my first job back in my home country, India.

I am just getting warmed up :D