|
| DOUBLESPEAK |
| Friday, May 25, 2007 |
The entry of the private sector into retail meant small shops had to lose business. A trite paradigm that has been doing the rounds ever since Walmart announced its plans to tap the Indian market. Political parties like the Pattali Makkal Katchi had been crying foul and demanding that the government not permit the private players. Members of the PMK had been protesting in front of RelianceFresh outlets in several parts of Chennai. It seemed to have little impact on the state government and Reliance and only goes to prove that the PMK's act is nothing but a mere eyewash.
It should be mentioned that the acts of the PMK are mere publicity stunts. How else could one explain their turning a blind eye to the mushrooming of the Pazhamudhir Nilayams and Pazhamudhir Cholais in the city? Two Pazhamudhir shops in Thiruvanmiyur have thrown a small vendor out of business. The two outlets located themselves strategically on either side of the small shop. During the past six months the small shop, which had, for long, been a favourite of the residents of that locality, began witnessing a drop in number of customers. Now the shop is no more but Annachi (as how the owner of the shop is known) is not giving up. He says he has shifted his shop to Tambaram and hopes to start his business on a new note.
The Pazhamudhirs in Thiruvanmiyur may satisfy their customers but are a nuisance for passing by motorists. Most of the customers to these shops come in cars and park right in front of the shop causing build up of traffic on one side of the road. Pazhamudhir Cholai is located near the Adyar Depot traffic signal and at times, when the signal is green, cars block the path of motorists and by the time the motorists could cross the signal, it turns red, resulting in another agonising 70-minute wait. The opposite side of this shop is where the Adyar Depot bus stop is situated and it doubles as parking space. It so happened, once, that a bus driver shouted angrily at a car driver who had stopped his car shamelessly in the middle of the road and the store personnel came to the support of the car driver. One of the personnel tried to slap the bus driver but in vain. Instead he rammed hard on the body of the bus. Following this incident bus drivers tend to be cautious when passing that way. I learnt from one of the drivers that the staff at Pazhamudhir Cholai were offering a hefty amount to the traffic policemen every month. Call it high-handedness! |
Property of Sheks @ 7:43 pm   |
|
| 13 Comments: |
-
Similar problem exists in Cbe,da.There's nothing worthwhile in these pazhamudhir cholais and nilayams.
-
But you seem to overlook the fact that you get fresh fruits and vegs there.
-
First time here.Nice post.good job
-
How did they ever get the guts to slap a bus driver?
-
Dai,I think that part about the bus driver getting slapped is made up.Never knew you would cook stories.
-
Negative effect of globalisation,eh?
-
sarvesh,
I'm surprised it's you who's saying such a comment.A couple of years ago,I remember,you were talking highly about these shops
gayathri,
That's what I mentioned in the post.Customer satisfaction = common man's dissatisfaction
-
sangili,
Thanks da.
archanaa,
That's what even I'm wondering.
Amrita,
It's real and not made up.
-
prasanna,
I dont understand how globalisation comes into the picture!
-
Actually, I was not satisfied by the quality in the Pazhamudhir cholais... the maintanence isnt all that great.. and the hygeiene sucks... atleast the one near my place in mandeveli... juice a kudikave manasu varala... i think we are making a grand mistake by sidelining the small vendor...On top of that, all these corrupt practices and high handedness...
-
imo the pazhamudir incident may be an exception as if feel the indian customer's psyche is such that no matter how many walmarts turn up we will still have our mom and pop shops.this has been very well explained by kishor biyani in "it happened in india".try reading that some time.
-
The PMK has always been one for cheap publicity. Remember the 'Baba' and 'Movie names in Tamil only' controversies? And yeah, the Pazhamudhir Cholai s suck.
-
such,
I once noticed the guy in the juice counter putting his finger into a glass of juice.
paurna,
We need mom and pop shops if we want to buy only one or two items.It saves time.
vekram,
Call it constrained freedom of expression!
|
| |
| << Home |
| |
|
|
|
| About Me |
|
![]()
Name: Sheks
Home: Madras, TamilNadu, India
About Me:
Complete profile
|
| Previous Posts |
|
| Archives |
|
| Powered by |
 |
|
Similar problem exists in Cbe,da.There's nothing worthwhile in these pazhamudhir cholais and nilayams.