Customer Relation is really the prime relation.

Happiness is what the ultimate goal is for both the customer and seller. This was evident from my visit at the small shops nearby our campus. These Kiryana shops located in the rural area of Pattikadu and Annapuram showcase their ability to gauge customer needs and store all essential products.

The Kiryana shops might have a board with a name but generally are popular by the owner’s name like Suresh Anna’s Kada (shop). The rural Life starts early and even the shops open up at 6 AM, as they have to collect the milk packets form the milkman who delivers the milk early in the morning. The shops have the newspaper, both English and Tamil, on display. The shop is generally the discussion table of all the community around. The daily needs of milk; biscuit and even fresh snacks like tea and bhajji are the regular items of sale. The shopkeepers are very attentive about the customer needs as even television sets are seen inside the shops to attract more customers. More the people hang around more is the sale.

All the products like shampoo sachets, chips, namkeen packets are showcased as hanging on a string just above the cash counter, and thus customer can take the packets on their own after making the payment at the counter. All the products that have the frequent buyers are placed in the racks which are easily accessible by the owner from his seats. Apart from providing general and Kiryana stuff, they also serve drinking water containers, as there is an issue with the supply of drinking water in the locality. These shopkeepers make money by selling these water containers.

Some shop keepers have diversified with a little fast-food counters and they serve the tourists. Even same is the case with the Kiryana shop near by our campus whose owner cooks non-vegetarian food so that people can come and enjoy the non- vegetarian food as non- vegetarian food is not available in the campus canteen.

By fulfilling the needs of the customer the shops have a regular customer base to run the shop in profit mode. It is true as observed that customer relation is the primary of them all.

Preeti

FT13442