Business had just started picking up when the pandemic hit, and like many other small business, had a bitter impact on Deepak’s too. The peak summer season for his business was just round the corner, in March 2020, but one could not step out, shops remained closed, and people were becoming hesitant about calling service personnel home.

Deepak: Consumers were very concerned about the pandemic and it was my responsibility as well to keep them safe, while getting on with my work

Deepak recalls it was a very difficult time for his family.

“I could barely pay the medical bills of my father and we completely exhausted our savings,” he said.

But when he looks back at that time now, he feels it was an opportunity in disguise. And he grabbed it, with both hands.

He shut down the shop he had and decided to operate from home, waiting for calls for home visits. He realized people were hesitant because of the spread of Covid at the time, but also required help with their refrigeration products – AC and refrigerator.

After a while, he did get a call from an existing customer to repair his AC, and when he did, he was prepared. He bought PPE kits and went fully geared up to the customer’s home.

“I knew I had one chance to make a good impression. Consumers were very concerned about the pandemic and it was my responsibility as well to keep them safe, while getting on with my work,” said Deepak.

That visit went well, and finding Deepak riding his bicycle adorned in a full PPE kit became a regular sight in Gurugram.

“At Samsung Technical School, our mentors always taught us to focus on relationship building and customer satisfaction. Using them as the main tools, I started contacting my clients to persuade them to allow me to support them while obeying safety guidelines issued by the government,” he said.

In 2019, Deepak completed his Refrigeration, AC and Handheld (RACHA) course from Samsung Technical School, a CSR initiative by Samsung India. The program aims to support the Government’s vision to Make in India and Make for World by addressing the need for skilled manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience.

Over the months, he has been able to rebuild his client base, and word of mouth has definitely helped build trust.

Deepak is finally stable now and is looking forward to expanding his business more parts of Gurugram.

Find more here:  http://csr.samsung.com/en-in/localMain.do

A Samsung sales branch goes dark for the ‘Turn Off Your Light’ campaign

On March 21, Samsung Electronics’ Digital City in Suwon, Korea and 51 global sales branches joined in the company’s ‘Turn Off Your Light’ campaign, which encourages switching off the lights for one hour to address issues surrounding climate change and electricity inequality.

The campaign was organized to precede the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s Earth Hour, which will be held on March 25. This year marks the 11th anniversary of the WWF campaign, which takes place for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of March, and also raises climate change awareness.

Samsung Electronics’ Digital City headquarters in Suwon, Korea goes dark for the ‘Turn Off Your Light’ campaign

Unlike the WWF event, Samsung elected to kick off its campaign on a weekday evening – to reduce office CO2 emissions – and encouraged employees to raise the issue of climate change at home with their families.

Held under the theme “Electricity I saved and donated to those suffering from electricity shortages,” Samsung’s campaign began at a sales branch in New Zealand, which was followed by branches in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Central and South America, and North America respectively. The amount of electric charge saved at these branches will be delivered, along with social welfare donations from Samsung Electronics, to regions in Indonesia that are suffering from electricity shortages.

Samsung’s lights-out campaign led to a reduction of approximately 8,000kg of CO2 emissions and saw the company donate 1,400 LED lanterns to the residents of Tiom, a rural village in Indonesia’s Papua province. Now, Tiom’s residents may feel safer and freer at night without worrying about electricity shortages.

Soon-Sun Shim, Head of Samsung’s Global Customer Satisfaction Center, described the ‘Turn Off Your Light’ campaign as “a meaningful activity that emphasized the fact that we care about the environment and wish to help our neighbors around the world who suffer from electricity shortages.”

“We were able to make a difference with the help of our employees,” Mr. Shim continued. “We will continue to serve as a socially responsible corporate citizen by organizing activities that protect the Earth and help others.”