Out of stock saar!

Have you ever visited the Crossword at Inorbit Malad? I go there atleast twice a month to stock up on books and movies. The store used to be huge atleast till 3 years ago, in recent times though it has been eaten into by the larger cousin Shopper's Stop. Try asking any of the sales assistants in there about a book or a CD and the standard answer will be out of stock saar! Archie Comics - out of stock, The Broker by Grisham - out of stock, Bipasha Health CD - out of stock ( don't ask why I wanted this one!).

On each occasion I spent the next half hour searching for the book and found it! And several copies of the same. When confronted, these guys do not even try to put up a semblance of interest. One of them muttered something under his breath and walked away. The supervisor is even better, he said it is not the job of the sales guy to find things for a customer but to assist in sales! Ah ok I said and paid and went away.

Regal shoes sold a pair of sandals and when the soles came off within a week, they refused to do anything about it till we raised our voices. After 4 months they gave a replacement. Their reason - once sold the good are the responsibility of the customer. The sales guy was more suited for extortion than serving the customer.

Almost two years ago I had been traveling with my then two year old and needed some warm milk. The Ginger Hotel in Baroda did not have a kitchen and the only option was to ask the onsite Cafe Coffee Day to give me some for which I was willing to pay. The barista at the counter refused to give me the milk saying it is against company rules. I explained to him why I wanted and presto a large takeaway cup of steaming milk was produced. He refused to accept payment saying he cannot take money for milk for a baby. I forgive all the barista's across all the CCDs combined for all their nastiness for that one act of kindness.

As a rule we in India do not expect any sort of service from anyone. We know when we spend money that we are on our own. Whether it is the cell phone service, the delivery boy or the society we live in we know that we can rant and scream and the effect is like that of water on a duck's back.

The fault must lie within us.

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I normally do not get shaken by suggestions of friends on how I can improve myself. Last week I was told gently that I should be less arrogant!!! Any suggestions on where I can start? Will plastic surgery work?