Generosity Makes the World Go Around

Every now and then, I run into a Ola auto driver who leaves me inspired. Mine is a short 10 minute ride to office, so I’m typically aiming to just hop in and out. The driver today however decided to engage me in a conversation — surprising because I don’t have the most welcoming face. I’m also not a great fan of small talk. But he opened my eyes to something simple yet beautiful. He was sharing how Ola had made his life (and that of his family) so much better with a steady and sizeable income with reasonable hours.

His complaint was that some passengers would haggle with him if there was a discrepancy in price even if it was less than 10 rupees. Ola would also wash their hands off saying that collecting the money was the driver’s responsibility. But then he added that there was also a group of people who would tip him to round off the bill without being asked. This helped offset his losses and continue to provide his services.

I realized that the generosity of a few was balancing the narrow minded behaviour of others. It is this generosity that is keeping the good drivers on the road. I’m sure most people who tip regularly do not think of it as anything beyond a simple thank you for that particular transaction. But what I realized today was that they tend to leave a longer impact on the recipient and influence their future behaviour. They end up imitating and passing on that generosity and today, I was fortunate to be at the receiving end!

PS: Yes, I did tip him!