Daily Tactics Upen Roy’s habit of setting aside small changes helps him realize his dream
Daily Tactics Upen Roy’s habit of setting aside small changes helps him realize his dream
Some people buy two wheelers in cash. Upen Roy, a daily wager, decided to preserve his coins for almost a decade.
The executives were at their wit’s end at a two-wheeler showroom on the outskirts of Guwahati when Mr. Roy arrived with his wife and a bundle of coins a few days ago. He was keen to buy a scooter.
The manager of the outlet thought of turning it away after consulting the bank, which refused to accept payment for the scooter – over ₹89,000 – to be deposited in coins. But he decided to make his long-cherished dream of having the man a two-wheeler come true after asking his friends, acquaintances and employees to exchange coins with currency notes.
‘Time taken three times’
“It takes us more than three times as much time as it usually takes for a customer to sell the latest model to this guy. This was mainly because we had to count the coins in denominations of ₹1, ₹2, ₹5 and ₹10 ,” said Shyam Gurung, an executive at the outlet.
Mr. Roy’s bill came to a little over ₹92,000, which includes insurance and the cost of some goods.
“We have customers pay in coins, but for small amounts – like ₹50 or ₹100 – as part of the down payment,” Mr. Gurung said.
Mr Roy, a resident of Guwahati’s West Borgaon area, said he has made a habit of saving small change from his daily expenses since 2014. A few days earlier a random count of his “treasury” revealed that he had collected ₹1.5 coins. lakh. “When I thought of buying a scooter, I dreamed of making sure that my wife did not have to move around in public transport,” he said.
This was the second such case in Assam. A man in Barpeta in western Assam had bought a motorcycle with coins in February.