The Human Network Effect!!

Cisco’s ads are up and they are pretty powerful too! ‘The Human Network effect’ is the tagline. Please remember this, will come back to it later.
Last week, was trying to get in touch with the Facilities Manager or Admin manager of Cisco. And similar to the experience I had with companies earlier, these first calls usually went like this:

Me: Self intro, name, calling from… regarding.. etc., and ‘Can you pls put me on to the Facilities / Admin person pls?
Other person : Hello?
Me:.. repeat intro.. conversation continues…

My experience when I dialled Cisco office, Divyasree chambers, O’Shaughnessy Road, Bangalore:
Me: same as above…
Operator: Ma’am, I cannot put you through to the Facilities Manager unless you tell me the name of the person
Me: Ma’am, this is my first call….
O: Pls visit our website for getting details of who the FM is. It is not our policy to disclose person’s name.
HANG UP!

I call Cisco office Marathahalli, Bangalore…
Me: Same as above above
O: Same as above..
Me: (had done my search on the website but was unsuccessful, apart from local office addresses, no mention of names).. Ma’am, I cannot find the details on your website
O: I doubt it would be on the website
Me: Maybe I can come over to your office directly and try my luck!
HANG UP!
Yesterday, I had been to the SEZ, Marathahalli for some other meeting and noticed that Cisco office was located right in the very same complex. So decided to walk in, do the intros etc., and get the name of the FM/Admin person.
Me: (intros done).. Can I pls know the name of the person?
Receptionist: Sorry ma’am, without an appointment I cannot let you meet anyone.
Me: But ma’am, unless I know whom to fix an appt with, how can I?
R: (by now she’s beginning to get irritated): Ma’am, you submit your catalog on email directed to WPR_ Admin and they’ll get it. If they are interested and have a need, they will get back to you!
Me: And what if they do not?
R: It means they are not in need.
Me: But ma’am, what guarantee is there that ‘they’ would have received it / seen it etc.?
R: (clearly irritated) : Ma’am, am telling you, in Cisco the rules are like that. Without appointment, you cannot meet anyone.
Me: But ma’am, what’s with your human network effect if you do not let me meet / speak to a human on the other side of the door?
By now, I was getting wild too, but tried my level best to keep my voice low.
I saw someone with the Cisco badge walk in and so I approached him, introduced myself and asked if he could let me know the name of the Admin guy. Unfortunately turned out he was a Wipro employee on a contract assignment. By now, the receptionist calls the Security
R to Security: Security, why do you let people in without proper IDs or appointment?
R to me: ma’am, I have told you clearly what needs to be done. Send an email.
I thanked her and walked out.

And I could not help but think.. IS THIS THE HUMAN NETWORK EFFECT? ARE CISCO EMPLOYEES SO INACCESSIBLE TO THE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO NEED TO MAKE A FIRST LEVEL CONTACT FOR PURSUING BUSINESS? SO THE FORMULA IS : NO APPOINTMENT, NO ENTRY;AND AGAIN NO DISCLOSURE OF ANY EMPLOYEE NAMES TOO. So, what’s this equation and how does it get solved?

Ok, here’s what I did next. Dropped into Aricent Technologies, another large company located close by. I had now become curious, you see, how these first time interactions were done.
And mind you, Aricent I was doing a complete cold call, had not even contacted them on telephone earlier.
Me to Security : Intro.. same as said earlier
S: (calls a no., then connects me to the receptionist)
But, I think instead of the receptionist, the concerned person came on line, although even here the name was not disclosed.
Voice on other end, after hearing me out: Today we are busy, this is our board no., gives me the no., asks me to call up after Thursday and pls fix an appointment and come over and meet.
Security to me, after I am done on the phone : Ma’am, we cannot disclose name, so pls call up on Thursday… Lekha the receptionist will help you, give you the person’s name and connect you. These two days all are busy with meetings, though they are in the office.

MADE PERFECT SENSE.

It’s really simple yet so difficult and challenging to follow this: As companies grow and communication expands, the more appealing the conversation, the greater memory recall for the common man and somewhere, perceptions are formed that if a company speaks like this about itself, everything and everybody in it will be speaking the same language, or at least attempting to.
And then when it doesn’t happen or some incident happens which proves otherwise, alters the perception completely, right?