Serving with Smile: The ICH Way

Ramagundam: During his last visit to Ramagundam while reviewing the performance and progress of NTPC-Ramagundam and Telangana project, Gurdeep Singh, CMD-NTPC, spoke on the significance of job satisfaction, punctuality and commitment. He added that many reputed institutions across the globe have elaborated on the attributes in detail and the same has been exemplified by many organisations irrespective of their size and scale of operations.

One such cooperative society that has underscored such a level of unflinching commitment from the time they have commenced operations is Indian Coffee House or ICH.

ICH has been managing the catering and hospitality across NTPC stations for the past four decades. The ICH staff in white uniform and turban is a familiar sight across every NTPC site. Their cordial behavior and the service with a smile has been the hallmark of their pursuit towards excellence on service. Besides serving to different organisations, at present ICH is serving across 58 plant & office canteens and 78 Guest Houses, Field Hostels and ET Hostels across NTPC operations with a strength of 3,455 people.

At Ramagundam, ICH has been associated for past three decades and there has been no looking back since then. Today, ICH with 139 staff is providing services at Plant Canteen, Administrative Building canteen, Telangana Project Canteen, Field Hostel, ET Hostel, Guest House and one eatery point in township – Satbahan Restaurant. Over the years, they have created a niche in the segment and is a popular choice for the nearby people for catering.

Such is the long and mutual relationship that ICH is always ready to go the extra mile to serve NTPC better. "For us, it does not matter whether it is normal time or critical times like disaster or pandemic. Work matters most," says PS Karthikeyan, AGM, ICH-Ramagundam. While associating with NTPC, ICH becomes an integral part of the company's culture. He further added, "We understand the dynamics of business where NTPC operates its business and the demand of 24x7 service. Today, we feel privileged and proud to be associated with the leading power sector player of the nation."

Ever since Covid-19 started spreading in India, ICH stood firmly behind. Being in the service sector, where their staffs are exposed to thousands of employees and contract workers, ICH understands the significance of safety in these trying times.

It has introduced a slew of safety protocols for its employees so that they can remain protected from getting infected.

The commitment towards personal hygiene and work ethics has again proved their mettle. "Our continuous focus on hygiene, use of PPE kits and regular supervision from the management helped us to remain fit for work. Further, owing our work, we are supposed to move across places within a boundary by different means to serve food, so it is imperative for us to remain physically fit," said MI Benny, DGM, ICH-Ramagundam.

Support from their top management coupled with long fruitful association with NTPC boosted the morale of the ICH staff. Not only are the senior ICH officials, even the staffs, who are involved in catering are in good spirit amidst the situation. KK Sajimon, Senior Chief Supervisor at NTPC-Ramagundam ICH with over 33 years of experience in ICH and having served at NTPC-Korba and Ramagundam exclaimed that he never felt far from his home (Kerala). "I got all required services and support both from ICH and NTPC. I feel at home. I cannot run away from the problem. I want to serve even during this critical period, while taking all precautions," Sajimon added.

Echoing similar view, D Sunil Kumar, Cook at NTPC-Ramagundam, ICH with more than 22 years of experience at ICH said, he lives happily with his family (spouse and two daughters) and always feels at home. He further said, "I get all medical supports from ICH and NTPC and have a very good relationship with all the concerned. I am sure, in case of any difficulties, ICH and NTPC will come forward to help me."

Despite the Covid disruption, if NTPC continues its service 24x7, how ICH people can keep away themselves, asks Karthikeyan. With such strong supports from allies like ICH, even Covid-19 cannot stop NTPC to serve the nation.