Page 79 - Contrast2009

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According to the corporate headquarters of'Staples,
Incorporated, Nilesh Parekh.-is a dedicated a\ld irrunensely
talented Lnd i v i dua I whose work ethic, should be emulated'
by Staples emp'loyees:To the ,cashiers he is nothing but

a pretentious pervert.~Not surprisingly, the middle aged
Indian man has 'made,few friends in his four years at the
Office supp Ly Superstore.

My first encounter with Nilesh was by no means pleasan~.
The thick, hairs spilling out of his nostrils and the eyebr0w

hairs that seem 'to run rampant over his face paired with a

stench of body odor and bad breath to create a four foot

radius of misery. around him. As if that were not,enough,

Nilesh's handshake was \a lingeri,ng one, his fir~t words to

.me, in a breathy voice and 'heavy accent: "Your hands: So

soft. So graceful. I would hold them forever." ' )
I
, It soon becomes apparent to new employees that Nilesh
,lacks -respect; for, or -pe rhaps 'knowledge of, sooial limits. j
He will stand at the service desk and lecture about the
benefits of being uncircumcised to any' associate who is .."
" around to hear it, 'or argue Loud Ly with his wif~ in Hindi,

at the register telephon~. Cashiers bear the brunt of his

inappropriateness, being SUbj~cte~ to ~ slew of sexual

innuendos ·and'criticisms. Nilesh has often made clear his

longing to nibbl~ 6~ their earlobes and lick b9tween their
toes, .aIL: the .whi.I.ewooing t hem with his ,voca'l be Ld e f in the
inferiori ty of women. "He estab'lishes a hierarchy ,cif'sorts

between the women, 'listing ·which of them he would, most like

to see in'biki>nis. '. All of.this . is excused in his mind since
he tells 'his wife about this, "innocent flirting."

Any effort for :the cashiers to, put a stop to this~
harassment is fruitless,' however, for Nilesh is the "
,;~/Und'erkindor the store. H'e has sold more 'warrantees' on

technology than any associate in the'eritire corpor~tion,

blinding Corporate to the fact that he also has the highest

number of complaints. Nilesh does not sell these warrantees
bygently,persuading'his customers that b1,lyinga service
plan is. .i'ntheir bestint'erest. Rather, he pursues 'the weak
.minded and pe'st ers them un t il. they give Lrr..A f ra'z zLe d

mother of two toddlers once came into the store intending

to buy a simple printer. Nilesh followed her through the

~isles, repeatedly telling h~r/'''While we are here, why
'00 we not take a look at these cameras, on sale, sale,

sale. This service plan, ma'am,· it will save your life.