It's a Kool job!

Most people start business with hopes, dreams and some money in hand, either loaned or saved capital. Ashok Gupta, started his business with a debt.

Gupta worked under his brother-in-law who would assemble air conditioners and coolers in 1980’s, incurred a debt of Rs. 4 lakh. He decided to start his own business and hence separated ways and divided the debt. Thus on 5^th October 1986, “Kool Services” a company dealing in AC assembling and servicing started.

The initial capital that Gupta had in hand was Rs. 80 and a loan of Rs. 15 thousand. With this he rented a small gala in Flora Fountain and bought himself a telephone connection to stay in touch with clients.

While most dealers of ACs in Mumbai are assemblers or middlemen between the company and consumers, Gupta started AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) for all his customers as an added service. This has ensured that his customers are loyal to him and have returned to him for new orders or for referrals.

“The main secret of having a successful business is to have excellent customer relations. When I started shop, I had only two other people who worked with me. Together we assembled and completed an order of 13 ACs in a single day for a client and he still calls me when he has new orders,” says Gupta.

Ashok Gupta (sitting second from right in red shirt) in Kuala
Lampur with other dealers from India who had highest Mitsubishi
sales in 2007.

When he had no capital or advance to work on orders, he took loans from other dealers or money lenders and serviced clients, but repaid them on time as well.

“Business has mostly been good but it is the fluctuation in the kinds of compressors that come in the market 

that affects us the most. Before 1995, there were only Indian brands such as Sriram and Kirloskar that we would use to assemble the piece, later a lot of imported brands entered the market which the customers also excepted us to service them with,” explains Gupta.

Also with changing times, regulations were brought in to minimalise the damage that would be caused to the environment, meaning that assembled ACs did not have government certification that was mandatory.

Hence he shifted the focus of his to corporate orders. To do so, he tied up with several builders, who would then get Gupta to supply ACs to all their constructions. “The major change over the years has been changing according to the demand of the market. The move from window ACs to split ACs to moving into corporate orders for cassette ACs wasn’t easy but necessary,” signs off Gupta.