As the story goes, waffle cones were invented at a world’s fair when an ice-cream seller ran out of sugar cones and, thinking quickly, started rolling waffles which he turned into makeshift cones. Newly elected President Barack Obama’s campaign slogan was ‘Yes, We Can.’ What do these two stories have in common?
Neither would ever happen in India. You see, I was just eating at a restaurant which sells a tasty snack called a dosa. The type that I (and many other Indians) like is called a masala dosa. Of course, the restaurant had stopped making the masala filling earlier and had, predictably run out of it. If it were the world’s fair, the enterprising restaurateur might have made a substitution and created a new product that would endure for generations, not to mention boost his immediate sales. But, no, it is India, so they are just out, as they probably run out every day. It is India, so given another chance, they reconfirm my long-held theory that India’s motto is ‘not possible’ or, translated to American English, ‘No, We Can’t.’
3 comments:
why do you think it is that India doesn't really have a very developed sense of capitalist driven customer service?
When I was in India, I saw a sign that was a perfect example of this: "Everything is possible... but not everything is available."
I have pondered Dustin's point while I was in India. There is a certain sense of service there, but it seems to be more 'yes, master' than 'the customer is always right.'
I attribute this to the longstanding system of servants- everyone is someone's servant, but much more so than in America, a household will have multiple servants. Traditionally, this is not a relationship of equals- the servants are mistrusted because they steal and take advantage of the master and the masters are constantly needing to keep the servants in check.
In America, we have a much more egalitarian sensitivity that makes the people who serve you- be it a maid or a clerk in a department store- as an equal. In the case of domestic help, the helpers frequently take on almost a family member relationship. There is no such loyalty in India on either side of the equation, I think.
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