I was
running errands for my sister, and I had a list of things I needed to get her.
One of the things on my list - 3 dozen aluminium hangers. I was quite confident
of finding them easily enough.
It was only
after I started hunting for them that I realised that they were not easy to
find at all.
I was told that
it would be available at Rathna Stores, in T Nagar, Chennai and so I booked a
Dunzo pick up. The delivery person Inbaraj who picked the order went to the
store only to find that it was not available.
I felt
guilty about wasting his time, apologized and cancelled the order. I didn’t
identify myself because I feel my identity is a double-edged sword at times.
Some people are compelled to hide their displeasure once they know my identity
and I don’t think it is fair to them or to how they are feeling. Despite that,
Inbaraj was courteous and said “no problem ma’am”
Not a hint
of displeasure in his voice and I thought that was incredibly professional of
him.
After
randomly calling about 20 stores, I finally got through New Saravana Stores in
Panagal park. The girl who picked up the phone assured me that they had
aluminium hangars. I asked her twice and twice she confirmed that it was
available. So, I booked Dunzo again and as luck would have it, who was my
delivery executive? Inbaraj again!!
This time I
called him directly and told him that I had spoken to the store, and they had
said it was available. He replied” Ok ma’am I’ll go see” I heard a hint of
skepticism in his tone, and I thought “oh no, I hope I don’t have to cancel
again.”
Few minutes
later I get a call and it is Inbaraj. My heart sinks as I hear that he is there
at Saravana Stores and that they are saying they do not have metal hangers. I
ask him to wait a minute and call back the girl I had spoken to.
By this
time, she recognizes me from my previous calls (she doesn’t know who I am) and
her voice takes on an irritated note. I rein in my own irritation and tell her
that the Dunzo guy is there, and that he is being told that there is no metal hanger.
She replied in a couldn’t care less tone “It is here.” I said no, the guy is at
your store, and he is being told that there is none. Can you call him and tell
him where to go?”
Her next
response “You can come here and see for yourself if you like, I cannot call
him”
I gritted
my teeth and said, “Ok can you give me your supervisor’s number?”
She rattled
it off in a tone that made it clear that she either knew there was no
consequence for poor customer service and bad attitude, or she simply couldn’t be bothered if
there were.
I asked her
to repeat the last digit as the signal was poor and she upped her irritated
tone and snapped the numbers out at me. That sent the control on my irritation
for a six.
In my usual
low snarl, I said “There is really no need to take that kind of an attitude. As
a customer I have a reasonable request. If this is not something you can help
with, you can tell me that politely”
I then called
Inbaraj, put him on conference with the supervisor and told the supervisor about
my hunt for aluminium hangars.
To his
credit, even though I was just another customer, he quickly located the right
person and came back with the answer “No we do not have aluminium hangers” I
apologized to Inbaraj (again) and after he got off the phone, I gave the
manager the whole background and added “Look I have actually done TV
commercials for your store. Now after this experience, I feel I should not even
shop there! This is not the right attitude for customer service”
He realised
who I was and again to his credit, his demeanour didn’t change. He said “I am
sorry Ma’am – This shouldn’t have happened” I loved it that he added “A customer
is a customer. And to me everyone is important and even if it were not you, I
would say this”
My sense of
humour made a slow reappearance and I said “yes. And there really is nothing I
can do. Inbaraj will be cursing me, and I will simply pass it on to you”
We both
went “heh heh” in a shared moment of humourous discomfort.
I started
to tell him to give Inbaraj any item at all, so that it would not be a wasted
trip for him, but the line got cut. For a second, I wondered if it was deliberate,
and then I decided to let it go. The signal was poor, and considering the
manager’s behaviour up to that point, it was unlikely he would do something
like that.
But I felt
really bad that I had done this to Inbaraj twice. Both times he was not paid
for his effort. Considering Dunzo delivery executives operate on such thin margins,
it was quite commendable he had not lost his cool or expressed his frustration.
And then I
had a brainwave. Gpay Zindabad!!
I sent him
some money on Gpay along with an apology. I immediately felt better. He responded
with a thanks and to me that closed the matter.
I am so
glad that it was not just the girl that I interacted with but with Inbaraj and the
manager as well.
It is the Inbarajs
and the managers of the world that reassure you that dignity and professional customer
service exist.
But I was
glad for yet another reason.
If it had
been just the girl I had interacted with, then my guilt would have been not
just about Inbaraj’s lost commission but also about the TV commercial I had
been paid to do all those years ago, endorsing Saravana Stores 😊
I heaved a
sigh of relief - Doubled edged sword this!