Sabaash, Ramalingam Saar!

Ramesh Kumar

 Meet Sankara Ramalingam. Why? What's so special about him warranting some space here?

First things, first. Who is he? He is an Indian Oil dealer, operating on one of the busiest National Highways (NH7) linking Kanyakumari with the Madurai, near Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli district in Tamilnadu.

No way, you can miss his pump... unless you decide to shut your eyes to the surroundings. I did  not as a co-passenger with Indian  Oil Assistant Manager Srinivasa Rao recently as we motored down this NH towards our destination:  Trichy, approx. 400 km away from the southern most tip of Republic of India.

Considering the fact that fuel sold at any pump is like a commodity - be it IOC or BPCL or HPCL or Essar or Reliance or anyone - the dealer has to innovate to lure or entice potential customers into his pump. Decorating the pump into an eye-catching  fashion - like what my friend Parakh, another IOC dealer operating on NH37 near Siliguri connecting Kolkota with Guwahati, did. No way, you can miss his pump day or night adjacent to the gurudwara nestling  against few more outlets.

Ramalingam, a fleet owner-turned-oil dealer, has hit upon  the novel idea of attracting customers almost 24 kilometres away from his pump. Really? Of course. His  modus operandi is simple. The fact that there were hardly any visible mandated milestones on this stretch once you cross Tirunelveli, Chandru Fuel bossman pitched signage of IOC right from 24th km before you reach his fuel station. At every kilometre, it is there until you  steer into his outlet. As of today, there is no other outlet in this 24 km stretch, but  soon another rival will be pitching tent.

Cleverly, Ramalingam has used these signage to propagate road safety message as well in each one of them. Yes, there are repeats. That's understandable given the key road safety messages are less than a dozen. 

Road safety is a major concern as India has the dubious distinction of 500,000 accidents and 150,000 fatalities over the past three years on an average year after year. Bad and sad. Precious human lives are extinguished. This has to be stemmed.

Another noteworthy aspect of his business development acumen is to make it known to the potential customer of his unique service offerings: such as Free RO water, Cleaning of front glass of vehicles, Free Toilet etc.

The IOC dealer at Gangaikondan Ramalingam deserves a pat on his back and a loud 'Hip, Hip, Hurray' for his clever strategy of cocktailing business objective with solid social messaging.

Ramalingam saar, sabaash! Chumma sollakoodathu, neenga dhool kalaperenge! (Must tell you, you are doing a wonderful job!)

Disclosure: The 700 km Kanyakumari2Chennai Road Trip was sponsored by Indian Oil Corporation, conducted over two days (17-18 May 2017). The trip was done for DRIVERS DUNIYA, India's FIRST English Quarterly focused on long haul truck drivers, to study the condition of this national highway, toll gate practices, accident spots if any in this route and the kind of wayside amenities at selective IOC outlets and big companies situated on this stretch have created for truck drivers servicing them directly or via contractors.