It is said that we should never underestimate the power of the common man. If he wants, there is a lot that a common man can do! On a recent trip to Mumbai, I was amazed to see this ‘common man’ who demonstrated exceptional and very diverse entrepreneurship capabilities with a clear focus on delighting his customers. I stayed at Hotel ITC Maratha near the airport. Had a morning free so thought of stepping out to see a friend. Tried calling an Uber cab to take me to the destination however, appeared it was a crazy day and 4 drivers canceled the booking after confirming first. I thought of taking a cab from outside the hotel and as I came out of the hotel gate, saw an auto-rickshaw driver who waved at me and greeted me. I walked over to him and checked on the destination I planned to go. After slight bargaining, we agreed on the fare for a return trip and he said he will wait for me while I see my friend and at the shopping mall where I needed to pick up something.

The auto-rickshaw driver, Mr. Sanjay Dubey hailed from a village in Prayagraj in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was a pleasant person to talk to. Google maps showed at least 30 minutes of the ride. So I had a choice to either scroll up on social media reels or to engage into a conversation with Sanjay while we moved towards our destination. I generally prefer trying to know people I come in contact with and started asking him questions about where he was from and how long had he been working in Mumbai. As we started speaking, the conversation became extremely interesting when I realized how intelligent and smart this gentleman was. For more than 20 years, he has been driving an auto rickshaw and has supported his family back home in his village. Over the years, his brothers had joined him and all of them together had strengthened their family’s financial situation over the period. His base location has been outside Hotel ITC Maratha and Hyatt Regency for many years. He spoke about how the business saw a decline during the recent COVID times and even resulted in Hotel Hyatt Regency shutting down operations.

What was also impressive to note is that Sanjay was aware of which airline crew came and stayed at which hotels in Mumbai and he could name the various airlines whose staff had become his regular customers because of his exceptional customer service to them. He had picked up reasonable conversational English from the airline crew which had significantly helped him improve his interaction abilities with his customers. He also impressed me with tracking of daily exchange rate movements for the US dollar, British pound, Singapore dollar, and UAE Dirhams to name a few. He told me that his customers, looking out for the best exchange rates reached out to his expertise as he was proud of getting them the best exchange rate conversions better than the hotels and the banks. He acknowledged that he could make some significant extra income every month and this worked as a win-win for him and his customers.

He was aware of the best dining options, ranging from various international cuisines to Mumbai street food or the best five-star restaurant options, and mentioned that his customers had wonderful feedback about the places he had taken them to. He informed that he catered to various diverse segments of customers right from bachelors to families to Indian and international business visitors and was proud to guide them on various fun and entertainment options catering to each of the respective customer segments.

He narrated how he had seen an improvement in the road challenges with various procedures getting online with limited need to visit police stations and road transport offices. He also impressed me with his awareness and knowledge about the governmental policies to attract foreign investments, social policies, and even his state government’s policies to control crime and attract investments. He said he used to watch various political awareness and other educational videos on YouTube in his spare time which has helped improve his knowledge and analytical abilities.

The ride of 30 minutes each way just passed so quickly and he dropped me back at the hotel. I conveniently forgot the bargained fare and happily gave him what he had originally asked for and a handsome tip over and above. He mentioned that this has been the case with him almost every time with each of his customers who have been so happy riding with him that while leaving have never haggled on the fare.

I salute the enthusiasm and customer-centric attitude of Sanjay and I wish him all the best.