Dabawallas

Yesterday, I learned about dabawallas, and their most amazing system.

A dabawalla is a person in the Indian city of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) whose job is to carry and deliver freshly made (often: homemade) food in lunch boxes to office workers.

So far, so simple. So why is it that some of the dabbawallas are invited to give guest lectures in top business schools although the trade involves no modern high technology? Because of their precise work! More than 175,000 or 200,000 lunches get moved every day by an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 dabbawalas, all with an extremely small nominal fee and with utmost punctuality. According to a recent survey, there is only one mistake in every 6,000,000 deliveries! Can you believe this? The American business magazine Forbes gave a Six Sigma performance rating for the precision of dabbawalas.

Their work ethics must be very strong - when Prince Charles visited India and wanted to meet the dabawallas,he had to fit in with their schedule, because of their precise timing.

It is assumed that the main reason for the dabawallas' popularity could be the Indian people's aversion to fast food.

From what can be seen in the streets over here, Europe is not yet ripe for the dabawallas. Way too much fast food.