Over time, they've become delivery boys for all kinds of things, besides the packed lunch. Mobile phones forgotten in the morning rush is one of the most common things they carry at mid-day, followed by files, suddenly demanded by the office.
Sometimes, dabbawalas are even agents of blossoming love - with some people sending love notes, scented cards and a tiny something with lunch boxes.
"We often have requests from housewives to carry several things like cell phones, money or wallets, some confidential corporate documents," said Kiran Gawande, secretary of Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Association. "We don't encourage it as one dabba changes four to five hands, but we don't even refuse a request because we realize that the home and the office are really far away in most cases."
It's the credence that the tiffinwala has earned over time, neither has someone else's lunch landed up on somebody else's table, nor has there been any police case against them. Explained Gawande, "Most people have seen their drivers or maids or cooks leave. But in our case, they have seen the same man going to the same home for years together."
This 120-year-old institution has close to 5,000 semi-literate men on its rolls. They are tested on their capacity to carry approximately 70 kilos before they are initiated. Dabbawalas deliver lunch, and now even more, to close to 2 lakh Mumbaiites daily. In fact, the Harvard Business School has produced a case study on their error-free, six sigma record.
The business school prods its students to learn from the dabbawalas' unique, simple and efficient logistics system, which relies entirely on human endeavour and doesn't employ any technology.
Thanks to this combination of trust and efficiency, several housewives have not thought twice before handing over wads of notes to Shahi Raikar, a dabbawala who works in the Ghatkopar area. "I often carry important papers, thousands of rupees, fancy gadgets and cell phones. But most of us carry them with us, we don't squeeze all those things in the tiffin bag," added Raikar, who has been a dabbawala for nine years and earns Rs 9,000 per month.
In fact, realizing that their evening hours are relatively free, they now also supply organic vegetables to several homes, a service that comes at an additional cost.
But the rest- the love notes, the tiny surprise gift - can be enjoyed free with lunch.
BOX:
Error Rate: 1 in 16 million transactions
Six Sigma performance (99.999999)
Technological Backup: Nil.
Cost of service - Rs. 300/month ($ 6.00/month)
Standard price for all, irrespective of the weight and the distance
Annual turnover: Rs. 36 crore
Never gone on strike
Each dabbawalla is a shareholder
Earnings 5000 to 6000 p.m.
Diwali bonus: one month's cost of service from customers
No consuming alcohol during business hours
No comments:
Post a Comment