Sir, how many passengers?

I had just booked an Uber in Chandigarh when I received a call from the driver Surjeet.

I told him I was alone but wanted to know the reason for asking this question.

Surjeet said he was teaching certain aspects of navigation to his father in law (FIL) who was in the co-driver seat.

He arrived with a 60+ gentleman in the co-driver seat.

Surjeet introduced me to his FIL as I took the seat. His FIL until recently used to drive trucks for a construction company in Lucknow and was staying alone there after the demise of his wife.

Surjeet/ wife had to cajole his/ her FIL/ father really hard to join them in Mohali.

He came here with one condition – he would not be sitting idle in the house.

They thus decided to buy a new taxi. He wasn’t tech savvy and was taking lessons on navigation and tech usage.

Woooow, FIL tusi great ho!!

I asked Surjeet about his background. He had worked in corporate for nearly 15 years and had his house in a good locality in Mohali.

Why a taxi?

He smiled and said he was starting a travel/ tourism company (even showed me his soon to be launched website as we stopped at a red light).

He had worked hard over the last few months to earn the Diamond Pro status and was now among the highest rated Uber drivers in Chandigarh/ Mohali.

This ensured he got the best paying rides including a few from the airport everyday, enabling him to connect with HNIs who may be his potential customers in future.

He said this would yield better results than spending money on digital ads.

It was time for a second Woooow – Surjeet had a complete strategy in place, and was executing it to perfection!!

We reached our destination. I thanked Surjeet for the ride and complimented him for his business acumen.

He didn’t share his number – either forgot to do so or had realised I was not an HNI 🙂

My sincere prayers for Surjeet – May God be with him as he establishes a flourishing tour and travel business.

The winning roadmap – Strategy to Execution!!

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