We are again the same class in a leading management institute.
A guest walks inside the class wearing a suit.
He says, "I will tell you the story of the suit as this was the second best I wanted to buy".
"There was a marriage in my house, and as the custom in India is to buy new clothes on the occasion, I decided to buy a nice suit for myself.
In the small town where I come from, there are only a few shops that sell suits. These are all readymade, and as you might be aware, getting a suit tailored is not the fashion in India.
So I and one of my more stylish friends went from one shop to another to buy a nice suit. We found a really nice piece, withing our modest budget at a shop and were pretty sure that we should buy it.
But as we had one more shops left to see, we asked the young shopkeeper, who looked like owners son, to keep it for us till tomorrow and we shall be back. He agreed.
We covered other shop and did not find anything at par with the one selected.
Next day, we went to buy the selected suit and we asked the young guy for it. He said that he has sold it to someone. His manner suggested otherwise.
As a customer, I had a feeling that he hasn't and for some reason is keeping it from me. One could be price.
As you may know, in India the retailer are free to decide the prices and if they find that something can be sold to next customer at a higher price they would like to retain the product.
That's what I thought was happening.
I offered him higher price, but he insisted he has sold. Again, the manner suggested otherwise."
The guest : "Now, I would like to ask you what would be your response in this situation."
A girl stands and says 'I would have yelled at him and he would have remembered it for his life'.
A guy stands and says 'I would have politely explained to him the importance of not loosing a customer and asked him to get me the suit'
Another student says, 'I would have asked the retailer to get another piece from the company.'
Another student , 'I would offer him higher price for the same piece.'
The guest, "All those who would like to teach the retailer a lesson in business or life, please raise your hand"
All hands go up.
The guest, "As it was marriage time at my house, I was carrying a few toffees in my pocket. I asked the young guy across the counter, do you like toffees, he said yes, so I gave him two and quietly walked out of the store."
The guest, "Some time later, I realized, I should have no interest in teaching him a lesson, I should learn my own and move on".
He turns to the board and writes
"Don't let the child in you, run your business."
Gurubhai.
