Certified!

Dhanapal looked at Somnath in awe. "What a stubborn man he is! And how straight forward, always! No wonder he is the quality manager here!", he thought. He was a driver in that private van making company. One of his duties involved driving the vans for test ride before they were stabilized and released to the market.

Somnath was fifty five, six feet tall and leaner. He was totally bald, but somehow that too added to his stature. As he entered the new van [an advanced version of their existing best seller] for the test ride. There had been rumours that he had never budged even once and also had a sadistic mindset. For the past year, he had been on leave however, due to personal reasons and came back only the previous day.

He asked Dhanapal to start the engine, as he sat next to him. Looking at the new super-smooth tar road, Dhanapal was happier as he started and soon was asked to speed up. That vehicle model already had a few test runs and after each scathing remark given by Somnath earlier, its release had been delayed. Now, after a year, Somnath sat in and glanced the specifications and responses for his comments. A thin smile came to his lips, as he heard a slight jarring note in the van. Dhanapal did not get it at first. Soon, it was evident. Somnath saw the speedometer. It dangled a bit quickly back and forth whenever it crossed 50.

"Surely this vehicle will fail one more time!", thought Dhanapal, knowing Somnath's bull like stance for quality, while slowing it a bit. He felt sad about it for, one of his dear friends worked in the brake unit that operated in that vehicle. As he sped one more time, the jarring was more and the vehicle slowed down and stopped abrubtly. He tried to start it again, frustrated. It did not. Somnath's smile grew bigger, as he scribbled something fast in his notebook. "Sadist!", Dhanapal thought. Then Somnath asked him to press a switch below the driver console and start the engine. He did and it started.

As they were back, Somnath handed over the report and left. Five days later, to his utter disbelief, Dhanapal saw the advertisement in leading dailies about the launch of that model. "But I am sure, it failed!", he thought and asked his friend. He said that the vehicle had, indeed passed quality test successfully. "How can it be? Did Somnath accept any bribe?", he was so confused and went to Somnath faster. "How could you give such a result?", he asked.

Somnath smiled and said, "I tested the new feature - the Speed Control Unit, as all others have already been ok!".

 

Thanks Saras, for your quick appreciation. -rgs

 

Thanks Sabari, for your appreciation. -rgs

 

Thanks a lot Sreema, for your continuous support and appreciative feedback. -rgs

 

Thanks a lot for your appreciation Shanti. -rgs