In Metros, I have experienced this great divide between the Northern and Southern parts of the cities. Northern part is always the older part or the suburbs where the middle class resides. It is generally treated as conventional. orthodox, downmarket and in terms of spending, the gentry a little hesitant and not so generous.
The Southern part, on the other hand, is posh, modern, upmarket, stylish, more up-to-date in latest trends and needless to say, more expensive where the who's who of the society reigns. In short, the south is the couture hub.
Why is it always the South bewilders me! I have seen the same phenomenon in Delhi as well as in Kolkata. I do not know about Mumbai though I have visited the city twice. Neither do I have any idea about Chennai or Bangalore.
Given this fact, whenever we have to do festive or celebratory purchases, we have a habit of running towards South of the city because obviously it has what we want - the trendiest markets, branded showrooms and ace outlets which one rarely happen to get in the Northern part.
Greenways is a well known label in the Capital, although, I, being a little less updated on the topic, came to know of the brand only when my elder sister went on a shopping spree during my nephew's marriage. It was the first marriage in the family which demanded the best of everything as the thought process goes in Indian society. She gifted me two sets which I liked very much. I also liked the ones she brought for herself and other members of the family.
So the next year, when I had an opportunity to shop on a special occasion, I headed towards this particular outlet. I was welcomed with smiling sales girls. They were friendly, made me comfortable, were eager to show me a range of fabrics irrespective of the price tag or my intended purchase. I was impressed and shopped to my heart's satisfaction, more so, because it also coincided with their discount season. In fact, my family was so appreciative of my purchases, they sent me once again to buy a few more. I gladly complied. The counter girls took my contact details for future reference which indicated that they were as happy with me as I was with them.
It was, therefore, no wonder that this year I received a telephone call from Greenways, South Extension, to inform me that the sales were on. I chose a weekend to visit the shop hoping it would not be too crowded. On the contrary, the shop was quite empty. There was one another family at the far end of the store who kept on demanding to be shown more and more. Since, they appeared to be high end purchasers the counter girl had to oblige.
Overall the shop bore a desolate look. Gone were the flock of pleasant faces. The payment counter was being manned by an elderly gentleman who seemed like the owner. A lady, most probably the owner's wife, limped around grumbling about some odd incident. A middle aged man managed another counter(who by his attitude) seemed to be the scion of the family.
The girls asked me the range I was looking for. My preference robbed them of their enthusiasm to display the number they would have to a customer with pricier choice. They gave me a general idea of what was lying where so that I could look around myself. I was shocked to find that the materials were those which were readily found in our local markets. The designs belonged to last year. In fact, they exhibited one exact set which I had bought the previous year from their shop at the same price. In brief, materials were outdated but being sold at current rate. When I remarked about it they, of course, denied and lost a little more enthue to entertain me.
I helped myself around. On reaching the counter being handled by the disgruntled son, he had the audacity to order the girls to put away the sets as, according to him, I did not have the adequate knowledge or expertise to understand or appreciate their collection. He said, "Samajh to aata nahin. Uthaake rakh do. Failaake kaam badhaayenge." I stared at him. He looked back at me belligerently as though ready to pick up a fight. I left the shop.
It was about to rain when I had arrived. Now it was darker and a downpour seemed imminent. On the spur of the moment I decided to visit the label's outlet near my house at the extreme end of the city. On the way, it started raining heavily. Never mind! I had this inner urge - an intuitive pull that I should go visit and look.
And thank God I listened to my instincts. The outlet was smaller. The collection was not so wider - as though most were sold out. But what stunning class! What exquisite designs! What out of the ordinary collection! I was floored. Above all, extremely courteous and polite counter boys. Though the outlet flaunted more of partywares and less casuals yet I could make out the marked difference between where I had been and where I was presently - from behaviour, marketing skills to quality of products being sold.
I asked whether they offered any discount. They told me that they did twice a year and very well manneredly registered my name and contact details so that they could inform me when the sale would be on(though I had not bought a single stuff from them). On entering the shop I had asked them whether they were one of the branches of the Southern Shop. They emphatically said no and informed that they only had authentic branches in my locality, Karolbagh, Vasant Kunj, Noida and Gurgaon. Later I did check their website and found the information to be correct. The salesman further informed that though the label was still being used by the family but the brothers had parted ways and the South Extension Shop no longer was theirs. This little bit of clue was enough to discern the real reason of what I had experienced earlier.
Its human nature to identify and judge a person by the way they look, dress, talk and behave which may or may not be a true yardstick of measuring human worth. People residing in a particular area do get stamped. Its simply ill manner and a reflection of one's own self to be vocal about one's idea about what a particular class or area denotes.
Doing business is not easy irrespective of classes and masses. You have to be so pleasing as to win the heart of the most reluctant of buyers. All do not have that capability. More so if you consider yourself a caterer to only the high and mighty section of society, you are setting limits to your own boundaries and making yourself unfit to deal with a cross section of population who may prove to be your prospective and dedicated clientele.
India is known for its large market in the world and purchasing power of its people. If a businessman(retailer or wholesaler) is unable to take advantage of that fact then he is downright a poor performer who will soon have to make way for a more competitive player.
I had met such shopkeepers in Kolkata who would get very irritated and took it as wastage of time and energy if the buyer failed to buy the items displayed by them. He would take it as a personal affront. On the contrary, there were shop owners who would go all out of their way to exhibit all the products they had knowing very well that out of ten one might buy only one or two. Yet he took it as his job to do it hundred percent. That is what is called true business spirit.
In the instant case however, the rude behaviour of the man seemed to be generating out of personal frustration and he was ready to take it out on any and sundry. At the end of the day we can only sum up as Rahiman iss sansaar mein bhanti bhanti ke log(Rahiman this world is made up of a variety of people).
This review is not a rant but just to make people aware that in today's consumer society there is as such no divide in the market. All markets are the same consisting of the latest in vogue. The seller should know what and how to sell and the buyer should buy as per his or her affordability. Both should be aware of this basic fact. Whatever happens in between is just super callousness on the part of the seller or the buyer as the case may be.
PS: The ratings are for the outlet where I was berated as a buyer. Since I have not purchased anything from my local outlet I refrain from commenting though I highly recommend them.
