Around this time of the year, it’s humid during the day in Delhi so whenever I have to buy my daily essentials from the local grocery store I prefer going in the evenings. Day before yesterday, during my one such rounds to the grocery store, I purchased a packet of Haldiram Khatta Meetha namkeen. Coming back home I prepared a hot refreshing cup of tea to relish my namkeen with.

To my disappointment the namkeen turned out to be stale and smelly. I felt cheated out of my moment of happiness to enjoy my tea and also of my money thinking that I had been fooled into purchasing an old pack. Complaining about the Haldiram pack later at night to my husband Vikram, I ended up evaluating how the entire world is becoming bad day by day, how people only give importance to making money even if it is at the cost of others, relating it all to the present tough times of Covid-19 pandemic which probably is making people more shrewd when it came to earning money. After listening to my entire ranting beginning from Haldiram Khatta Meetha packet to political and medical problems that our country is facing to helplessness of the simple people being exploited, he calmly suggested, “Why don’t you go and speak to the shop keeper ? He might offer a solution.”

So the very next day determined to not let anyone take any undue monetary benefit out of me, on the way to his shop I was repeatedly revising in my mind the content of my complaint to him about the sub- standard namkeen packet, anticipating him to put the blame on the company and the high probability of me returning home empty handed. To my astonishment, he heard me out with a smile and suggested that I should contact the customer care number or send an email and I will get a replacement delivered to my doorstep. Looking at the disbelief on my face he further said that I could take a packet from his shop as an immediate solution and return the replacement packet to him whenever I would get one.

Concluding myself to be in a win-win situation I took a packet of Haldiram namkeen, this time carefully checking the date of packing and returned home feeling happy and victorious! At night, I wrote an email and addressed it to the email id mentioned at the back of the namkeen packet. I explained my concern and also attached a picture of the packet in question for their reference.

To my pleasant surprise today I received a call from one of Haldiram’s employees asking me about the problem I had and confirming that he would visit my residence today itself and replace it. True to his word he reached my place at about 2:00pm, wearing a mask and holding a replacement packet of Haldiram Khatta Meetha namkeen.

In the present gloomy and uncertain phase, when at times we wonder what the future holds, that whether the life will ever be normal and good, this Indian sweets and snacks manufacturing company ‘Haldiram’ through its employee took away my pessimistic mindset and reinforced my belief that the world is not all that bad after all. Even during these testing and difficult times of Pandemic so committed to consumer satisfaction is this company and its team of employees that a concern raised on email at night was settled the very next day effortlessly with a smile.. !