It is no ordinary autorickshaw and Anna Durai of Chennai is no ordinary driver and that is evident as noted industrialist Anand Mahindra wrote about him and posted his video on social media. On his Twitter, Mahindra commented “Let’s learn from him…”
If MBA students spent a day with him it would be a compressed course in Customer Experience Management. This man’s not only an auto driver… he’s a Professor of Management. @sumanmishra_1 let’s learn from him… https://t.co/Dgu7LMSa9K
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) January 22, 2022
Run by tech-loving Durai aka Auto Anna this vehicle provides many facilities for the commuters including free Wifi, a small television, a laptop/iPad/tablet. That’s not all as the vehicle has an AWS deep lens video camera and an Amazon Echo allowing passenger to make hands-free call and messaging or play music.
In order to safeguard his passengers from Covid-19 there are face masks and sanitisers too.
For those wanting to grab a quick bite during their journey, Durai offers snacks and drinking water or juice, all of which are stored in a mini-fridge. There are chocolates too in the auto for the commuter to enjoy. They can also catch up with reading as there are an array of magazines and newspapers available.
What makes the whole experience of travelling this auto unique is the fact that all the services are free and Durai doesn’t charge a cent extra that the normal fare.
Displaying his selfless nature, Durai provides free rides to teachers, doctors, nurses and sanitation workers. When asked by Better India the reason for offering these free rides, he said: “Because my customer is my real god.”
On special days, like Mother’s Day, Children’s Day and Women’s Day he offers special discounts for commuters.
Durai, a Class XII school dropout, has his own website and app which helps commuters to book his auto in advance. This need to innovate came about as in the past he had to wait for passengers. “There used to be a time when I would wait for them. But today, they wait for me,” remarked Durai.
A public figure today, Durai has more than 20,000 followers on social media and has addressed TEDx talks and conducted seminars for global giants like Microsoft and Google.
Also read: Brave hearts who cheer Covid-19 patients and their families by delivering medicines and essentials
