With the transforming urban landscapes, lifestyles and on-line modes of buying almost all kinds of goods and services that we’ve witnessed in the last two decades, there’s been slow meltdown of businesses of dealers in electrical appliances, photography, clocks & watches, book-shops etc. These are almost replaced by mushrooming of mobile marts, car accessories & auto repair shops, beauty parlours & street food stalls in every nook & corner apart from the towering ‘Get All Under One Roof’ Mega-Marts & Shopping Malls.
However, while we all try to keep pace with the changes, seniors like us have an uncanny attachment to old relics of our time like clothes, irons, toasters & augio/video tapes. I’ve always kept a ‘time-piece’ on my table to regulate my daily routine (notwithstanding clocks, watches, cell phones we possess) & it suddenly stopped working one morning. Concerned with this rude setback to one of my favourite material possessions, I went about trying to find a ‘Watch-shop’. After some efforts, I located one in my locality that had a disconcerting lock hanging & no one could predict when it would open, if at all.
Finally I was able to find a small, functional watchmaker who examined my time piece & like a family doctor, advised that nothing could be done, it had conked off. This came as a shock & I asked how it happened ? ‘Like people, machines too have an expiry date’ he said philosophically and added ‘I can change the machine (like a heart transplant?) but better to buy a new one that’ll cost almost the same. ‘Let Go’ was his sensible idea to me.
Taking a leaf out of my Wife’s notebook I decided to bargain on the price. My usual pitch is “I’m a senior citizen over 70 & I deserve a discount’. The watch-wala looked offended ‘I’m 72 & I believe in fixed pricing’. This veteran was a tough one to negotiate. Finally my ‘emotional appeal’ worked on him and he agreed to give a new one, 10% discounted. Suddenly he started checking the new piece & asked if I could hear the alarm? I’m a bit doubtful about my hearing but he said ‘This I cannot give, alarm is too soft.” He tried a few other pieces & settled on one that had alarm loud enough to even wake up my Wife ! He then meticulously proceeded to write the date on the piece for ‘warranty’ purposes !
Here was a fairly aged man of 72 still working and running a small business, conscious of his duties of giving the right product and service to the customer. He also made sure that if I ever needed a Watch-Maker I would go to him only. I recall my days in the Bank when as Trainers we’d take sessions on good ‘Customer Service’. But that was years ago and may be those principles are now old-school !
Working on Living 