The Chauffeur

The erstwhile Chairman of a company I worked for landed in Mumbai airport to attend a board meeting. His favourite hotel was the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Colaba, and it didn’t matter that it was located quite far away from the office, there was always a suite reserved for him there. At the arrival area, he did not find the Taj chauffeur and after some calls, it became obvious that they had messed up. The chauffeur from the Four Seasons Hotel noticed him prancing around in frustration. It was very late in the night, and the Four Seasons chauffeur, leaving aside protocol, very kindly offered to drop him to the Taj Mahal hotel.

On the eve of the next board meeting, the MD’s secretary received a message that the Chairman would like to stay at the Four Seasons hotel from hereon. Taj had lost an important patron due to the ingenuity of a chauffeur.

It would easily take 30 mins if not more, from Four Seasons to Taj Mahal Palace and therefore the chauffeur’s decision would cost an additional hour of travel. While we all applaud the chauffeur’s presence of mind and a delightful outcome, one must also consider the work environment he must be in – where he is given the space to try out something new, albeit at the risk of some extra cost.