Case Study: Profile of an Effective Communicator
It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it—because personality always wins the day.
–Arthur Miller
[Sunday, 11:40 a.m. The showroom of Devox Sports Shoes & Sportswear in a posh market
of a metro. Mr and Mrs Oberoi walk towards the showroom from the parking lot holding a
box of Devox shoes. Mr Oberoi is an HR executive with a multinational company. He is
dressed in a red t-shirt, a pair of long khaki shorts, and sandals. Mrs Oberoi is wearing a
plain, light blue salwar kameez. She is holding a shopping bag and a small purse. Mr Oberoi
enters the shop first as Mrs Oberoi decides to linger outside to look at the display windows.
On entering the shop, he is greeted by Rahul, a young sales executive trainee who is on a
visit to the showroom from the company’s headquarters.]
Rahul: Good morning, sir! May I help you?
Mr Oh, yes. Well, I bought this pair of shoes from this shop last Sunday. I have just
Oberoi: worn them twice. I have a feeling that they are from a seconds lot. (Tries to hand
over the box, but Rahul has his hands behind his back.)
Rahul: Sir, we don’t stock seconds in this showroom.
Mr (Opening the box of shoes) It did strike me while I was buying the shoes but I
Oberoi: was more keen on the colour; maybe that’s why I overlooked it. (He points to the
toes of the shoes.) There is a difference between the two shoes here. The
stripes are not aligned the same way. It seems to be a manufacturing defect.
Rahul: (Looking at the shoes but with his hands still behind his back) Sir, this is the way
they are designed. It is not a manufacturing defect.
Mr (Getting closer to Rahul and trying to hand over the shoes so he could take a
Oberoi: look) This can’t be the design. It is an alignment defect and it looks like a
seconds pair.
Rahul: (Still not taking the shoes) Sir, I can show you other pairs. They are all made the
same way. (He asks one of the shop assistants to get a couple of pairs of the
same shoes, and moves on to attend to other customers. When he returns after
about six minutes, he finds Mr Oberoi trying on a different pair.) See, I said that
they were all made the same way. It is the design, not a manufacturing defect.
Mr Then I have a feeling that this showroom is selling defective pieces. They are
Oberoi: not from fresh stock.
Rahul: Sir, as I have informed you, we do not keep any seconds in this showroom as a
policy. In fact, we don’t have much seconds stock because our production line is
most modern.
Mr (Picking up his pair of shoes) Anyway, I want to return them. I don’t want to wear
Oberoi: a defective pair.
Rahul: I am sorry, sir. We can’t take these back. Our policy is not to take back goods
that have been sold.
Mr What! (Raising his voice) First you do not accept that this is a defective pair.
Oberoi: And then you tell me that I can’t return it. What kind of shop is this?
Rahul: (Looking grim but speaking steadily) Sir, they are not defective. Secondly, you
have already used them. How can I take them back?
[At this moment, Mr Sharma, the manager of the showroom, comes out from his
office, notices them, and walks up to Mr Oberoi.]
Mr May I help you, sir?
Sharma:
Rahul: This is Mr… (trying to introduce Mr Oberoi)
Mr (Interrupting Rahul) I’m Sunil Oberoi. I bought this pair of shoes (showing him
Oberoi: the shoes) last week from your showroom. I find that there is something wrong
with the design (points to the toes). In fact, a couple of my friends pointed it out.
Mr Did you notice this when you made the purchase?
Sharma:
Mr I noticed it but didn’t bother about it then.
Oberoi:
Mr May I know why?
Sharma:
Mr Perhaps because I was concentrating on the colour.
Oberoi:
Mr Well, Mr Oberoi, this is no design or manufacturing defect. On the contrary, this
Sharma: is the way these shoes are made to look. You can see that all of them (pointing
at the pairs lying on the floor) have the same pattern.
Mr But they look old. And I don’t want to wear something that looks like seconds.
Oberoi:
Mr Mr Oberoi, the company doesn’t have a policy of…
Sharma:
Mr (Interrupting him) Then I am leaving them here (drops the pair on the floor).
Oberoi: Please do whatever you want to do with them.
Mr (Looking down at the shoes for a while) Do you have a receipt?
Sharma:
Mr (Searches for a while in his wallet and checks the box of shoes) Let me check
Oberoi: with my wife. (He turns to look for her; she is coming towards them.) Do you
have the receipt for these shoes?
Mrs No, I don’t think you gave it to me. (She checks her purse.) No, I don’t have it.
Oberoi:
Mr I don’t know. I may have left it at home.
Oberoi:
Mr Please give us a moment. (He asks Rahul to accompany him to his office.)
Sharma:
Mrs What did they say?
Oberoi:
Mr They don’t have a policy of taking back sold goods.
Oberoi:
Mrs I told you; they won’t take them back.
Oberoi:
Mr Is that so? They will have to take them back; you wait and see.
Oberoi:
[In the meanwhile, Rahul emerges from Mr Sharmas office and approaches Mr
Oberoi.]
Rahul: Sir, we will have to refer the matter to our head office. You can check back with
us after two days.
Mr I can’t come back on a weekday.
Oberoi:
Rahul: Next Sunday, then?
Mr But I have other things to do on Sunday.
Oberoi:
Rahul: Then you can find out over the phone. (Rahul gets him a card with the
showroom’s phone number.)
Mr (Instead of taking the card, he takes out his own business card from his wallet
Oberoi: and gives it to Rahul.) Why don’t you call and inform me?
Rahul: (Taking the card) Sure, we will do that. But in case we are not able to get
through to you, you could also try calling us.
Mr (Reluctantly) Okay (takes the card and turns to exit).
Oberoi:
Rahul: (Picking up the pair from the floor) You may keep the shoes with you in the
meanwhile.
Mr (Moving back towards him) What will I do with them?
Oberoi:
Rahul: Sir, until I have heard from our head office, I can’t keep them here. Secondly, in
the absence of a receipt, they might get misplaced.
Mr (Looking hard at Rahul and thinking for a while) Okay.
Oberoi:
But do let me know soon.
Rahul: (Packing the shoes back in the box and handing it over to him) Sure.
[On the advice of Mr Sharma, the next day Rahul speaks to Mr Khare, the
general manager of sales at the company headquarters. Mr Khare asks him to
fax the details. Rahul sends him the following communication:]
Dear Mr Khare, 12 June 2009
A customer, Mr Sunil Oberoi, wants to return a pair of shoes he bought from this showroom
a week ago. He claims that there is a manufacturing defect in the design. In fact, he is
accusing us of selling seconds from this shop. Mr Sharma and I tried to convince him about
our policies, but all in vain. Finally, to prevent him from creating a scene, we promised that
we would let him know our decision after consulting the head office. I have also been
successful in convincing him to take the shoes back with him. But he will certainly want an
answer from us within a couple of days.
Please advise us as to what course of action we should take.
Regards,
Rahul
[The following day (Tuesday), Rahul leaves town on an official tour. On Wednesday
morning, Mr Sharma finds the following message from Mr Khare on the fax machine]:
“If he is a 4,500 customer, don’t ask any questions, take the shoes back, give him a new
pair, and salute him. But if he is a 1,250 customer, then tell him clearly that it is not
possible. Please remember that the customer is king, but kings are also big and small and
rich and poor.”
Analyse the case and answer the following questions:
1. Who is the most effective communicator in this situation, and why?
2. Describe the important characteristics of a successful communicator with examples.
3. Discuss the importance of tone in oral communication.
4. Discuss what you have perceived about the characters in the case through their non-
verbal mode of communication.
