playing advertisements or have bland-idiotic talk-shows on them. Infact most of the talk
shows on FM are dumb - God, how I miss Suchi & the "Hello Chennai" morning program
which she used to host on Radio Mirchi long time ago.
I stop at a channel where an auto-driver is being interviewed by the Radio Jockey (RJ).
Now, for anyone who has spent only a few days in Chennai, one of the most hated facets
of this city are the auto-drivers. I am here for 2 decades and still can't stand them & avoid contact with them to the maximum extent possible by using personal transportation or by taking the bus or even a taxi.
They are hated mainly because they charge atrocious rates which usually would be 2-3
times what is mandated by law. Also hated for unruly driving, loud illegal exhaust notes,
for being rude/uncouth etc etc. - the list is long. Given all this, I wonder what is the point
of having an auto-driver on a talk-show ?
Anyway, looks like this is no ordinary auto-driver and neither is his tuk-tuk (term used
for auto-rickshaws in other countries) just another auto ? In the brick 'n mortar world,
he can be usually seen in front of the Taj Coromandel Hotel in Chennai, waiting for patrons.
But what separates him from other auto-drivers is that he is available online too. Yep, he
has a website of his own (http://www.tuktastic.com/), which is kinda interesting, with tidbits about Chennai, its touristy spots, watering holes, shopping centres, customer-testimonials etc.
And it also gives you the option to email him or call him on his mobile phone to reserve the service of his tuk-tuk when you are next coming to Chennai. He says he checks email once
a week, which is good because if he were to follow our example of checking emails every
other minute, he would not be able to get any work done. No wonder the only thing that
gets done at most offices is checking emails.
Anyway, here is a snapshot of his home-page.
Nice effort, Samson dude. Now how about using that ornamental-appliance (fare-meter)
fitted on your auto, which I am yet to see any auto-driver in Chennai use ? I guess your
customers would appreciate that much more than you putting up a website.
P.S. : In the Customer testimonials section, a customer "Sarah' says that this guy is great
and is "worth his weight in rupees". Which though is not saying much because what would
Rs.80 get you today ? "Worth in dollars/pounds" would have been something though.
