A Story Of Life On Loosing Change (part 2)

Tales of Loose Change - Chapter 2

2011. Pre-Careem days in Dubai.

I was standing on the curbside outside a shopping mall on a Friday morning.

I was looking to go back home which was a few streets away but the sweltering heat eliminated "walking" as an option. So, I frantically started waving at taxis swooshing by.

I'm sure old Dubai residents would remember the time when the taxi chose the passenger and not the other way around. It was a driver's market back then.

After what seemed like an eternity, a taxi finally swerved in & came to a halt. The guy rolled down the window & asked me where I needed to go.

When I told him about the nearby location, he paused. The sweat on my forehead was down on its knees silently pleading for a positive response.

To my relief, he agreed. I hopped in with my bags & off we went.

The driver was conversant in Urdu so in 5 minutes, we had the standard driver-rider ice-breaking protocol.

"Where are you from? How long have you been in Dubai?"

I guided him to my place. The fare was AED 10.

I took out my wallet (& you know what's coming.)

I found a lonely AED 200 note cuddled in the wallet's sleeve taking a little nap.

Uh oh.

I presented the bill. He lost it. It was as if I had punctured his tires.

The exchange that followed was not pretty. It wasn't his fault though. The chap just started the day & it was unreasonable to ask him to cough up that much change.

Eventually, I got out & spotted a few stores on the street. Shop after shop, no one was willing to give me change.

Except one.

I hurried back to the taxi, gave him his dues, picked my bags up.

I was home & that is all that mattered.

Loose Change 2. Aatir 0.

—

Some lessons for me:

1- Notice Objections

After this incident, I would only get in a taxi after they confirmed they had change.

If you notice an odd objection during pre-sales demos, probe into it.

Perhaps the client had been burnt in the past by another vendor. And if there's one case like that, there may be others.

Consider addressing those issues proactively & even making it part of the marketing message to alleviate purchase anxiety. (Ex: "100% Refund - no questions asked").

2- Eliminating surprises

As a PM, there was massive pressure if I was in a demo call. I had to influence the sale but ALSO clarify what we can/cannot do. Because if the client gets any surprises later on, then sales will direct that heat to me.

This also holds true for product-led growth models. Upfront pricing needs to be transparent & clear. Don't brush things under the fine print.

3- Going the extra mile

We obsess about product bumpers, retention mechanisms & gamification controls to onboard/retain customers.

However, my time at vFairs has taught me that personalized, passionate customer service trumps all those product insets.

I remember a few rides where the drivers took the bill & got the change themselves from a nearby store. Awesome.

Win more deals by winning trust.