Today's Special: SIMSite Surprise(Serves 2)

What a day!

With the mindset of a CEO and no money, we headed out to prove our capabilities, earn some cash and also conquer Pune in the bargain.

The task given to us was to try and use as many resources as we could to find employment for a day, earn some money and not spend a single rupee . I was partnered with Vivek and both of us, utterly clueless about Pune, set out on our mission.

The first task was of course,finding a method of transportation. Our first Good Samaritan was a Mr Lalit, a civil engineer with a construction development firm in Pune. He was extremely excited when he heard of our task and gave us dozens of suggestions of how to go about it.

I’m amazed at the friendliness of the Pune citizens. So many people stopped their cars to give us a ride. Most likely they were curious about what these young formally dressed professionals were upto asking for a lift. SIMS Hitchhikers United ki jai ho!

We were allotted the Deccan area and we focused on two major hotspots, Fergusson College Road and JM Road. Unfortunately for us, Pune’s popular hangouts turned out to be far too snazzy and one-day employees just did not fit into their ‘company policy’ or agendas. The excuses were predictable and very discouraging. We tried all options ranging from hotels to educational training institutes to retailers to book exhibitions.

Vivek and I alternated on the introductory speech. However, we realized (also in case of prospective supporters of SIMS Hitchhikers United), a feminine touch with a bit of fluttering of eyelashes and a sweet smile goes a long way. I say if you have skills, you better use it!!

Our toughest job interview was with Pizza Hut, where we were grilled by a)the shift manager who reverted us to b) admin guy, who finally asked us to call c) marketing guy who mainly spewed excuses galore. Another one bites the dust!

Finally, we received a positive response from a restaurant named ‘Savera’. We were greeted by the owner, a Mr. Chetan Shetty who was very encouraging and introduced to Mr.Shyam, who is his right hand man.

Shyam turned out to be a wonderful educator! We had an excellent discussion on supply-distribution and also the shifts and working hours of the employees. He gave us a detailed tour of the kitchen and its workings, explained the menu card clearly and topped it off with great gyaan about the restaurant business.

For the entire day, we walked around the restaurant ensuring each customer had a menu card, picking up and sending it to the kitchen and also, payment of bills. One interesting experience I had was with two foreign tourists who asked me to recommend my favourite food and which would obviously be non-spicy. I suggested dosas but the accompanying sambhar turned out to be much too spicy for our guests. Also, in their halting English, a cheese sandwich= paneer paratha! Well, consider me educated! We also chatted a lot about cuisine and Pune and me!!

I have a newfound respect for people in the service industry, especially servers and captains in restaurants. Their energy and enthusiasm is unbelievable. They are probably the most the thankless and unappreciated workers in an industry where customers are only interested in ‘paisa vasooli’.

Yes, there exists such a thing as a free lunch! I had one today and it tasted good! Yummy! Mostly, when you are in extreme hunger and danger of brain damage, any food just tastes so fantastic!

By around 4, my feet were aching. Desperately. Vivek and I took turns at working because that hour hardly sees any customers. By 5, we were ready to push off. After gleefully collecting our cash, we walked on, tired yet extremely satisfied. On our way back, we got lost. And to add to the confusion, it started to rain. Luckily enough, Good Samaritan II in the form of a tourist cab took us to our destination. Good Samaritans III, IV and V helped us get back to campus.

To call today interesting would be an understatement, it was unforgettable!