Value added service - revisited

I remember being so elated with the auto driver's approach.

Unfortunately, I have had to reconsider that opinion. You see, last Friday (Feb 22nd), this guy asked me for an advance of Rs.500. I made the mistake of giving him the amount, simply to avoid the "sillarai" (petty cash) issue in the morning, while settling the Rs.80.

Since I had set a precedent, last Thursday (Feb 28th), the guy coolly asked for an advance of Rs.2000! I gave him Rs.500 and said that I would think about the balance. He has assured me that he would "oattee kazhichiduvaen" the whole amount.

Simple arithmetic will tell you that he has to make 25 trips for me, to finish off the advance. What the heck? That translates to 5 weeks of continuous morning trips. If I take a day off or even take my car, then I am looking at a further extension in the repayment, which in effect means that I would have to retain his account till mid-April or thereabouts.

So, on Friday, when he enquired about why I looked tired (I was really looking a bit tired since I am yet to get over my cold-cough situation, even as I am blogging this now), I saw a window open and told him that it was all due to the pollution and the early morning mist that is still going around in Chennai's outskirts. I told him that I was so affected by it that I was planning to return to my car just to avoid all this.

I thought he got the message, but when I got off at the station, he brought up the money topic in a subtle way, saying that we could settle it on Monday. I was in a hurry to catch the train and simply told him that I would consider it on Monday.

Now, all that is left is for me to finish off the 7-8 more days that he owes me and probably start looking at alternate options of commuting to the station.