Different People!

Hi Guys,

It’s already 10.40 pm and I’m in a very energetic state, thanks to the powerful nap in the afternoon. In this post I’m going to write about two interesting conversations I had in the recent weeks.

Customer Satisfaction

2-3 weeks back, I went to a nearby Hair Salon to trim my hair. The barber is a friendly person and since I had become one of his regular customers he used to speak with me now and then. Last time, I noticed that there were some 5-6 newspapers in the waiting bench. I asked him whether they were old papers and he said that all were the current day’s newspapers.

Regularly people used to keep just 1 paper and I was surprised. I asked him the same question and his answer was interesting. He said that on a busy day, when lot of customers wait, if there is only one paper, then few customers might be feeling frustrated and they will leave the salon and it will result in losing of customers.

So, he regularly buys 3 English and 3 Tamil Dailies. So even if there are six customers they will wait patiently. It also boosts the value for the Salon, as customers feel happy that there will be lot of dailies and the barber feels proud. He said all the six dailies might cost around Rs. 15 or 20 and even if it results in one extra customer it is profit for him.

We speak about Customer Satisfaction for big value products and here a small salon owner has implemented it. His motive is simple – Spend some money on satisfying customers and you will get more money in return.

A Rare act of Honesty

A few days back, when I was going to a nearby industry for my project work I used to catch a bus around 7.15 am. The crowd will be very less in the morning, that too in this winter season. So, most of the seats will be empty. The first bus journey will take around 20 minutes.

I will meet by friends at a bus terminus and from there we need to travel another 25 km in bus. So, I will take a Rs. 50 pass using which you can travel within the city any number of times for that particular day. Generally conductors ask for an ID card.

On that particular day, I just showed my ID card and the conductor said it was not necessary to show it during the first time. As usual the bus was empty and he started to converse with me. He said that per day around 25-50% of the users misuse the pass. They take the daily pass and just pass it on to someone else. So, that is why the conductors ask for ID cards.

Next he asked who I am and what I’m doing. He was so interested in speaking about education. He has chosen a vocational group in his higher secondary schooling and hence Maths is tough for him. As he had studied in Tamil Medium, understanding English is also tough.

After that, he has studied all the computer languages and he said that he is well versed in C, C++, Java, VB and Oracle. He has taught students in a school for around 9 years. He has finished BCA in correspondence.

Then somehow he has come into the conductor line (might have joined as it’s a permanent job). In an effort to join Government school as teacher, he has registered for doing MCA in correspondence. He said that he went into the Exam Hall and he was not able to attend questions in Operations Research, Computer Graphics and some other paper. He said that he was not even able to interpret the question. Not knowing English and Maths has made it tough for him.

These days people say about giving money and getting pass marks in correspondence exams. I thought of asking the same and then left the idea. After a while he said that, 'I can give money and pass the exam, but what is the use? I am not even able to understand the questions. I’m in such a poor state and what is the use of clearing the paper by giving money?'

It was just refreshing to hear this type of words from people. A few days later I was saying this to mom and she said that just 10% of people are like him and others think of doing anything for themselves with the help of money and power. True, but people like them do exist.

Meeting people like the above two creates a new perception and makes us understand life better.

Life is Beautiful!

Happy Reading!!!