The honest shopkeepers

I was in a daze for a good amount of time today evening. I met another honest shopkeeper!!

It wasn't the first time it happened during my stay here, but it hit me the hardest. I'd purchased a screw driver set to fix my bathroom door at this roadside "Big Store". Basically a giant tent under which they sold pretty much everything from mops to sneakers. I got mine for Rs. 35 and even got a bill for that. When I went home, the teeth at the base connecting the stem to the grip of the screwdriver came loose and when I checked it, the teeth had broken. I was pissed off at this. I knew that when I purchased something from a store that doesn't have walls, I should just be happy that it didn't decapitate me as soon as I touched it. But I was pissed nevertheless and I wanted to atleast go yell at the shopkeeper. I found the bill - normally I just throw away these bills since I don't expect these stores to honor any returns anyway.

I got to the "store" and almost right off the bat I am being hostile. I show the guy the damaged screwdriver and angrily ask why it's damaged. I have a whole speech memorized about how this is unethical and so on. The guy smiles and says, "Sir, I can replace that for you." Just like that. No questions asked, no bill asked for. Since they were out of the type of box I purchased, he showed me a bigger box which I liked. He fixed up the new screwdriver and just like that my confidence in mankind was restored.

Like I said, this was the first time it happened. On atleast two other occasions earlier where I expected the seller to deny he sold me a product or just in general push some limits to see what he could get away with, they came through and gave me what I wanted. It was quite remarkable.