Biz...

It was the usual shortened weekend with me working on Saturday, had lot of mundane work for Sunday (getting the bike serviced, laundry bla bla bla) Evening met up with Rakesh (aka rocky, he still is the good old rocky) and we went to CCD (Am tired of going to ccd and barista and that coffee shop in kormangla with all the board games, I keep forgetting the name) Caught up after a long time paid some two hundred odd for some 1 hour of sitting space, bad music and ok coffee) Neither me nor he bat an eyelid when giving out those 2 printouts of the Father of our Nation ( no puns or offence intended ) Now to cut all the bakad while coming back our bike's tyre went flat and with some luck we got hold of a roadside mechanic and got the tube replaced (no other choice our bike mistry was not in a mood to mend the tube) All said and done when he asked for 50 bucks as labor charge for his work we did not agree, haggled and paid him twenty)Some points to ponder over :
1)What is the exact net worth for his work? It was 10 in the night, he had to slog hard to procure the new tube (though I definitely feel that it is not original), had to leave his dinner in the middle.
2) Could he not have charged us more if his shop was little more polished, his manners more courteous and sophisticated.

We did not mind paying 200 bucks in coffee day but 50 to him was a strict no no. The difference that I see is of service. CCD served coffee but more than that it sold a service (comfortable sitting, music, smiling staff, fancy lights etc etc) an experience of enjoying that coffee. On the other hand our dear old Hamid (that’s the mechanic's name) did sell the tube to me but in terms of service he sold nothing (did not leverage on the fact that it was late in the night and I did not have too many options near by, always wore that rough look and that stiff upper lip would give any brit a run for his money, no smooth talk and the appearance of his shop did not give much confidence either). There is not much in terms of money that these roadside mechanics and pan shops need to invest but a lot more on the service front. Our dear old leaders of the left who spend much time shouting slogans against MNC's and globalization can maybe give a thought to this and impart the necessary lessons to the poor. This would help them survive and prosper something that no amount of subsidy can. Entrepreneurship is not just about iims and dotcoms; it’s about the common man. What i am afraid of is without the right skill set our dear Hamid will not be able to survive for long. Ten years from now that kind of shop will not be able to exist because some smart operator will come and start selling the service instead of just the tube and people will go all out and give him an extra buck just because he gives you a wide welcome smile, looks neat, looks respectable, genuine and is certified. Cynics may say that’s not possible, I just have one question for them how many of them would have predicted that we will not mind giving 100 bucks for a cup of coffee 10 years ago?