Desi Retail-1

I love going to kitchen-ware, steel-ware shops. Now I'm not the fancy kind of housewife who has the latest nonstick, Teflon, yeflon and what-have-you coated saucepans and skillets, I have very basic and fully functional two-three of each kind of utensil- but boy, do I love going to the kitchen section of any big department store!
Just the other day, I noticed that the handle of my favorite saucepan (everyone has a favourite utensil- mine happens to be a sleek black one cute enough to hold only about two and a half cups of tea) was sadly dangling on to dear life. Presto! I swung into action and marched off to my friendly neighborhood steel kitchen man. Now he has a shop in the middle of a bustling (may I add, slightly uppity) market but does that bother him from rolling up his greasy sleeves and fix pots and pans? Not at all- he has a shop about two hundred square feet, give or take a few- with exemplary retail acumen- his display tactics can put even the best Big Bazar to shame- he has 100% conversion coz he stacks just about everything- from steel racks to the largest skillet/ pressure cooker and smallest spoon and colander- his basket size would be no less than half a thou- enviable- when you realise it's the same amount you spend on buying vegetables each week- and viola! you have your own version of Kishore Biyani- (maybe better- I bet Mr Biyani doesn't know the names and history of his most frequent purchasers at each Big Bazar outlet)- a living case study amongst us!
It's fascinating to see that he never turns away any customer- however big or small- if he doesn't have it, he will politely arrange to have it home delivered the next day. Talk about convenience!
His store is a virtual wonderland- from the top most shelf carrying casseroles of every kind and brand to the oft- purchased steel glasses and plastic fridge bottles- he has it all!
But the icing on the cake is when he offers you a discount- completely unsolicited- his own loyalty program far more efficient than any customised CRM software!