DARE - Because Entrepreneurs Do

Having a staff that itself is not well aware of the products and services that you offer can turn away customers

The best thing about the slowdown is that you can stroll leisurely inside a mall doing window shopping with little money in your pocket to support the temptation to buy anything. There is a voice inside you that keeps telling you "These are tough times. So save some money." This way you can avoid the guilt that comes soon after you have flashed your credit card to purchase something beyond your means.

Facing similar plight, I was strolling inside a large shopping mall in New Delhi yesterday only to land in a seemingly well-stocked and well-known bookstore. While the friend accompanying me parted ways soon after we entered, I decided to just roam around to check out the new releases. As a thick hardbound at my bedside is already waiting to be read so there was no question of buying a new one. However, I got reminded of V S Naipaul's "authorized" biography written by Patrick French. The World is What it is has been included by The New York Times in its list of The 10 Best Books of 2008. I quickly changed my mind and decided to buy a copy.

I searched it on the shelves but could not find one. So asked a salesperson who was standing idle just staring at the customers. Much to my surprise he wasn't even aware that there was a Biography section inside the bookstore. When I asked him about the 'biography of V S Naipaul' what only got registered to him was the name. He promptly sifted through the books and came out with one of Naipaul's novel that had his name in bold on the cover. It was surprising that despite working in the bookstore he wasn't aware that there was a computerized database that he could look into. It seemed me that he had been deployed on the shop floor without a proper briefing. I am sure many other customers must have felt equally disappointed.