Whenever I step out of the railway station and take my phone out to book a cab, a group of auto drivers barge towards me, fighting with each other, asking me to hire them. Once they realise I am booking a cab, they back off, frustration writ large on their faces. Some time back, one of the auto drivers chastised me for using an app to book my travel back home instead of taking one of the autos.
I wanted to say to the driver ‘if only you hadn’t fleeced passengers and refused to come where they asked, you wouldn’t be in this position’.
Before the advent of transport apps, most people depended solely on autos for inter-city travel. Realising that most passengers didn’t have an option, the auto drivers began to charge exorbitantly at will and basically became unruly people, the kind you wanted to avoid but couldn’t because there was no other recourse.
While transport apps didn’t necessarily make travel cheaper, the haggling and bargaining were removed from the equation.
People like me prefer using apps to hailing an auto for this very reason — the auto drivers dropped the ball. When they had the monopoly, the abused people’s trust and when a new option became available, no one thought twice before dropping them like hot cake.
I was recently speaking to a friend who told me they decided to set out on their own after a slew of terrible job and leadership experiences. My friend isn’t alone. This is happening, in part, because many organisations and leaders dropped the ball when it came to being stewards and mentors and treated their people like trash and created cultures and atmospheres that sent people rushing towards the nearest exit door.
It’s easy to put your hands up and complain about your customers or employees seeking out better alternatives. Before you chastise them, it may pay to pause and ask yourself if there is something you could be doing better.
