The new Indian Currency!

The new Indian Currency is not new as such. It has been around for quite a while. I am not mentioning about the new rupee symbol. It is about something else.

Whenever we go to market, buy something and don't have enough change, the shopkeepers give us something else in return. Depending on the shop, most of the times it is a toffee or two. We don't mind, take it back and return to our destinations.

So what is new in this? Well, there is nothing new. But, during my stay at Udaipur, I have seen that shopkeepers intentionally keep loads of toffees (read change) to return to their customers. It is common not only in mom-n-pop stores (our day-to-day retailer), but also in big retail chains.

Our experience with Reliance Fresh was an awkward one. The person sitting on the cash counter seem to be having a target. How many toffees can you sell in a week or month? @#$@!#. On every bill, they don't have enough change, so they give away toffees. This habit scaled higher further when he tried to give a Rs. 5 chocolate instead of cash. We argued but accepted it at the end.

The same day, for a change, we went to a restaurant. The same thing happened there as well. After paying the bill, the cashier came back with Rs. 7 in change - one Five Star and two one rupee coins. Well this was too much for a day. I told the waiter and the manager - will you accept this back, the next time I return? They grinned and nodded to say - yes, we would. I am not sure if I was the first one to ask that question to them.

Next week I happened to visit the same restaurant again. Deepika told me that she still had that chocolate. We paid back in cash and chocolate. They grinned again but accepted the payment without uttering a single word. I wish we had some toffees too.

We all know that this type of exchange has been there for so long that we might not even recall when it all started. Shopkeepers give toffees or pen or eraser, etc. instead of cash. Customers accept it. Some argue, but others accept it anyways. Shopkeepers should follow this practice only when they are ready to accept the same mode of payment. If someday a shopkeeper pays me two toffees, he/she should accept a toffee or two (or may be even more...umm how about an entire packet of toffees?) instead of cash.

We cannot force, but we can at least ask shopkeepers to accept the new Indian Currency. Either they do not pay us with that, if they do they should accept it back as well.

Jaago grahak jaago! - O dear customer, wake up!

- Vivek