Lessons from a Tree Climber!

I came across this interesting gentleman today. I have a coconut tree in my house. Coconuts needed to be cut from the tree. Just when we were searching for a person to help us in plucking, this gentleman showed from nowhere. He is Mr Muthukrishnan, aged 65 and hail from a village about 80 kms from Chennai.

He has no qualms about travelling that long every day. He has a definite SOP, reach Tambaram by 7.30 in the morning, visit his clients, whether he has work with them or not, round up everything by afternoon and by 2pm catch the return bus from Tambaram to reach back home by about 4 to 4.30 pm.

I learnt few lessons from him:

a) Go that extra mile in serving the customer.

He not only plucked the coconuts but also shaved them four of them for us to enjoy the tender water.

b) Strong domain knowledge.

From the very sight of coconut, he could segregate tender ones and ripe ones.

c) Be prepared.

He was fully prepared for the job, had the necessary tools, neatly sharpened. He has a cycle that he parks in a client’s house every day afternoon before he takes the bus back home.

d) Be Contented

I asked how much money he makes every day. He said it varies from 200 to Rs.1500, but he spends about Rs.140 on transport from his village to the city. He could narrate this with no trace of worry in his face.

e) Customer relationship

He has developed clientele over a period of 30 years. He says his secret is to maintain relationship at all costs. He never enters in to argument with any one so that he gives space for the other to interact with him again and call him for job.

f) Happy family

His is a family 2 sons, a daughter all married and have children of their own.

Finally, the most important lesson is that life can be happy even when one has the bare necessities.