Simplified Laws Guide to Taxation and Legal Concern
The red coral in my mother’s ear ring fell and she wanted me to get a new coral fixed on the ring. So, I went to Jayanagar this Sunday. You may be aware that Jayanagar has over 100 jewelry shops, ranging from 200 sft to 40000 sft! I preferred to go to a medium sized shop.
Response from a New Generation shop – A neatly dressed young boy welcomed me and checked the ring. He said ‘the work can be done, but it will take 4 days’
Small traditional jewelry shop – After that, I went to a small traditional shop. The owner himself was sitting on the counter. He saw the ring and immediately called ‘Ashok, take this ring and coral (he pulled one from the box), fix it” within 1 minute the job was done and he charged me Rs.150
Second Instance –
Two years back, I had been to Madikeri (250 Kms from Bangalore) for a wedding. During the night, rats cut the petrol pipe (tube) of my car. When I took the car out next day, I realized the problem. Then I called the toll-free number which was written on the windshield screen of the car. (This is good – you call that number and press 1, press 2, press 9 and finally you get to talk to a junior most person (say, just born) After this call, I got a call from the nearest service centre at Mysore (100 kms from Madikeri).
Response from a New Generation shop – He said, either I have to leave the car there or they will tow it down to Mysore. The particular spare part is not available either at Mysore or at Bangalore. He has to place on order to Chennai factory and it will take 3 days to get it.
Small traditional Mechanic – Then I went to a small mechanic (a roadside workshop). A middle aged person, (an experienced but not qualified) saw the problem. He stuck M-Seal and got the problem fixed in 10 minutes. But he warned me to change the tube/pipe once I reached Bangalore. Later, I changed the tube after a month!
Old Vs New –
The above two references are sufficient to show the change in service styles. The old generation was always skill oriented and had an inclination to fix the problems by repairing and servicing. The new generation is tuned and trained for ‘use and throw’ model. Though the old people were not well qualified, they had great common sense and skill sets.
I am not debating about which is good or bad. I am trying to say the change in service models! Many problems were fixed at fraction of the cost and at a fraction of the time in the past. The same thing is seen as a big problem and projected as if it requires big solutions! The same logic holds good in every field including medicine.
Hope many of you agree with me!
Thought for the day –
A man asked a lady the secret of long married life – “how did you manage to stay together for so long?”
The lady replied “It’s simple. We are from a time where if something is broken, we fix it. Not throw it away”
