Review A Tale of 2 Rupees

[prabs]

Today I took a short trip and the amount was the minimum fare of Rs.18/-

A common trick that the Mumbai Rickshawallahs have adopted is claiming they don't have 2 Rs or 1 Rupee change. Generally to counter this I give them 8 Rupees if they make that claim but thanks to that I ran out of all the change I had.

So when this Rickshawallah said the same line I told him to give me my 20 Rupees note back and gave him a 10 Rupee note and told him I don't have 8 Rupees. He said fine give me 5 Rupees then and I told him I didn't have that either. He said that is unacceptable. I said not getting 2 Rupees is unacceptable to me. Told him to give me the 10 Rupees note back and when he did I gave him the 20 Rupees note back and jumped back in the seat and told him to get me my 2 Rupees change. He said "Arre kisi se chai wai lena padega."

I said fine do it. He got in and started driving thinking I would get off but I didn't I told him that now that he is driving might as well take it to the nearest police station. He got off and came back in a few minutes with a pack of Bidis and my 2 Rupees. I took that and I got off.

While he went off to get his Bidi I took a pic of his number plate and meter.





There was another incident a few years ago when a stupid Rickshawallah with a faulty meter decided to challenge me and I was in a horrible mood. To make matters worse the police station was only a left turn away. After dealing with the police and with a xerox copy of all his documents in hand I started to leave. He stood outside and offered me a ride to where I was going initially and told me it is free I told him I will pay what the average fare to the location is. The police had asked me to make a complaint at the RTO with a copy of his documents. He started apologizing and asked for his documents back when he got to the destination. I promised him that I won't report him but in return he should get the meter fixed but would keep a copy of his documents as a guarantee. He promised me that and went away.

At times I do get into a tussle over cold drinks as well when I refuse to pay the refridgeration charges. Of course it is not like the movie Dombivili fast. I simply choose to walk away and get it from a shop that agrees not to charge me. Sometimes I am left without a cold drink or at times I relent when I can't find any shop discounting me that charge. When I give in it feels like choose to get fleeced like the others. May be I can do without that cold drink and the shop keeper can do without selling that cola and let it rot in his fridge.

 

[yashvisent]

It is sad but that's how life is here in India and It will not improve sooner.

 

[vivek.krishnan]

There is a better solution to this problem - why not make the increments in slabs of 5 and 10? The railways have done it. Additionally, they should ramp up accepting Paytm - have only seen 1 rickshaw accepting it since they announced they will start.

 

[Kilroyquasar]

usually dont face this in Thane/Mumbai (other than an occasional genuine reason, accepted both ways; infact most of my coins come from the ricks! ), seldom or rarely, but in Pune, faced twice or thrice in a row. the driver would either sit there stone-faced while you await your change like seeking alms, or would simply say has no change. the expression is a telltale sign whether the excuse is genuine or not. the last time it happened i simply replied that by constantly excusing you guys i have now myself run out of change, and that you Pune drivers have quite a few things to learn from your Mumbai counterparts; that got me a sheepish giggle and some rough change in return.

 

[technofast]

God...atleast in Mumbai/Pune the Rickshawallahs flag down their meter, but in Chennai......no chance and Rs.18 as minimum fare is only a dream in Chennai.

 

[RakaKaKaka]

good thing we in gurgaon have no metered autos so we always pay rounded off charges that start from 40 minimum.

just remember the change u din take and next time adjust it when you buy unless you go to a diff. shop everyday

 

[prabs]

Details of the Rickshawallah with tampered meter who challenged the wrong person (me), at the wrong place (a few meters away) and at the wrong time (I had enough time to screw around on that day and was in a very bad mood).

Spoiler

After creating the thread I did post it on the TE Whatsapp group as well and some appeared to have a submissive attitude towards the cold drink part citing that the profit margins are slim on it. I am not sure how that justifies charging more than the MRP.

The responses that I have seen is if you stand up for it -

1. You win the argument and don't loose money. They don't gain anything but neither do they loose.
2. They don't relent and you don't buy from them. You don't gain anything but they definitely loose.

 

[Ankur.]

I've seen small shops on highways near Delhi that charge refrigeration charges for cold drinks even in Winters. Imagine.. almost like highway robbery!!

Of course if you argue with them they more than often relent with the extra charges.

 

[prabs]

I've seen small shops on highways near Delhi that charge refrigeration charges for cold drinks even in Winters. Imagine.. almost like highway robbery!!

Of course if you argue with them they more than often relent with the extra charges.

That is my point - Argue for what is rightfully your's and let them step back.

 

[Lord Nemesis]

After creating the thread I did post it on the TE Whatsapp group as well and some appeared to have a submissive attitude towards the cold drink part citing that the profit margins are slim on it. I am not sure how that justifies charging more than the MRP.

As per my knowledge, the MRP of a soft drink does not include refrigeration charges and the vendors/restaurants are allowed to charge that on top which some do and some don't.

For the MRP, you are however entitled to get a bottle that is not chilled. Earlier, there also used to be a indication on the bottles about the amount of cooling charge though I am not sure if this is the case lately.

[DOUBLEPOST=1485714539][/DOUBLEPOST]http://www.indiaconsumerforum.org/can-hotels-restaurants-charge-more-than-mrp/

The issues in the above cases were (i) whether it was permissible for the hotel to charge the customer more than the MRP printed on the mineral water bottle and (ii) whether it was permissible to charge more than the price printed on soft drink pack. The court had held that charging more than MRP in the above cases did not constitute any violation of the provisions of Standards of Weights & Measures Act.

We also often receive complaints with regard to shopkeepers charging more than mrp while selling cold drinks. The extra charge, shopkeepers say, is for cooling. Is this permissible?

In our view, taking cue from the above judgements, shopkeepers can charge a nominal amount as cooling charges for cold drinks while the same product, but not cold, should be available at the printed price. However, this cannot apply for ice cream products are meant to be sold in solid condition which is possible only if the product is kept in cold storage.

 

[superczar]

paucity of change is a genuine problem... am sure there would have been times when say a chai vendor would have taken 5 in lieu of 6 because you have two 5ers and he doesn't have change...
It then becomes an issue of rounding it off to the closest multiple.. (which in your case of 18 becomes 20)

Having said that, even in the tea vendor example, i'd rather round it off to the multiple in his favour because of the simple fact that your disposable income in all likelihood is significantly higher than his/her.. and those couple of Rs won't make an iota of a difference to your personal finances

Its a different story altogether when someone tries to fleece you.. like asking for an unmeterd fare 2 or 3x the regular ..but am sorry to say that in the story you related, the auto driver seems to be the one on the receiving end

 

[nRiTeCh]

A commons sense when selling aerated drinks or commonly called as cold drinks is that the name itself says its suppose to be a Cold drink then why the hell the idiots charge Rs 3 extra for cooling???
A recent circular in newspaper (2nd week jan 2017) says that anybody charging anything over MRP is bound for legal action and in extreme cases or based on no of complaints might lead to permanent suspension of license.

But the shops are over India seem to be all bindaas and they say no such thing ever happens as this is going on since decades.[DOUBLEPOST=1485715241][/DOUBLEPOST]As for auto wallahs its more pathetic in pune. For short distance they charge as big as 30 bucks and then only upon insulting thy agree to 20.
And if ever they see your id card they see as some rbi money churners or swiss bankers and start charging 200% more.
Sometimes employees feel cursed as to why they work in IT cos.

 

[kippu]

amazing prabs! 2 rupees

 

[Lord Nemesis]

Back when I was in college, a mate of mine went into a Bata shoe store argued for half hour about getting 5 Paisa back after paying Rs 500 for Shoes that cost Rs 499.95. The people at the store got fed up and finally asked him to pay the amount in exact change and refused to sell him the shoes otherwise even if he is willing to pay Rs 500.

 

[NotMyRealName]

And if ever they see your id card they see as some rbi money churners or swiss bankers and start charging 200% more.
Sometimes employees feel cursed as to why they work in IT cos.

I've often wondered why people keep wearing their company IDs outside their campuses. I mean if you lose it inside there's a good chance you'll get it back, but outside who knows...

 

[bssunilreddy]

Here in Hyderabad Rickshaws are replaced by Uber/Ola as such. Finally India rising....

 

[vivek.krishnan]

God...atleast in Mumbai/Pune the Rickshawallahs flag down their meter, but in Chennai......no chance and Rs.18 as minimum fare is only a dream in Chennai.

Yes. I was given a fare of 200 for Hosur (TN) for a distance of 5-6 kms. Booked Ola, paid 150. But the driver in the end asked for tip, even though I paid via Ola money.

 

[prabs]

Its a different story altogether when someone tries to fleece you.. like asking for an unmeterd fare 2 or 3x the regular ..but am sorry to say that in the story you related, the auto driver seems to be the one on the receiving end

Had I relented I would have been at the receiving end and generally that is the case. The passenger is at the receiving end. Fleecing customers for 1 or 2 Rupees is now a growing trend here. I mentioned the cold drinks example because it was only 1 or 2 shops that would charge you that amount around a decade back. Before that it almost didn't exist here in Mumbai but soon it caught up with other folks selling cold drinks and is now rampant. I don't remember Rickshawallahs doing this till about a year or so back and now it is a regular thing. They know one thing - The Passenger might not have the time to argue his case so might as well fleece him/her. Also how am I supposed to know that the 2 Rupees he gave me was from the shop keeper he purchased stuff from or was 2 Rupees that was lying around in his pocket all along.

I would say no one was at the receiving end, in fact wrong doing was avoided.

2 Rupees might not seem like much but I remember how important every Rupee had suddenly become post 8th November 2016.

 

[uber]

At times I do get into a tussle over cold drinks as well when I refuse to pay the refridgeration charges..

Only the railway station shops charge the exact amount. Rest all charge more.

 

[superczar]

Had I relented I would have been at the receiving end and generally that is the case. The passenger is at the receiving end. Fleecing customers for 1 or 2 Rupees is now a growing trend here. I mentioned the cold drinks example because it was only 1 or 2 shops that would charge you that amount around a decade back. Before that it almost didn't exist here in Mumbai but soon it caught up with other folks selling cold drinks and is now rampant. I don't remember Rickshawallahs doing this till about a year or so back and now it is a regular thing. They know one thing - The Passenger might not have the time to argue his case so might as well fleece him/her. Also how am I supposed to know that the 2 Rupees he gave me was from the shop keeper he purchased stuff from or was 2 Rupees that was lying around in his pocket all along.

I would say no one was at the receiving end, in fact wrong doing was avoided.

2 Rupees might not seem like much but I remember how important every Rupee had suddenly become post 8th November 2016.

He was at the receiving end because :
a) While he did not have exact change, neither did you so both parties are at par
b) Considering he was OK with accepting 15 Rs as well thereby taking a hit of 3 Rs at his end vs the 2 on yours implies that he was indifferent to the delta either way
b) In order to adhere to your ask for the 2 INR, he ended up spending his time and fuel that would have easily amounted to more than the amount in question

PS:
I don't why we forget the instrinsic value of the time we waste on small savings is far more than what is saved
You lost so much of your own time in this whole episode.. Now am not sure what you earn but even a 2L p.a. wage earner earns 100 Rs an hour