A Double Edged Sword

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!