The other day when I was in a market at Mumbai VT, I was attracted by the varieties of sweets and the scent of a cluster of shops which were as decorative as they were attractive to look at. I was utterly at a loss to decide as to what way to move and which shop to land in. I found a sweet shop way ahead in attractiveness than the others, though the rates displayed on the menu chart were slightly higher.
I was not bothered about the cost-factor. What prompted me to go to that shop was the show case where some samples of food-stuff were displayed. The owner was well-mannered wearing a winning smile across his lips with a pair of specs with gold lining.
I asked for the Menu and soon the chart came with a saluting waiter. I ordered for a few sweet dishes and some snacks. Within 15 minutes all items of my order found the table. I finished all that I ordered in grand fashion and with great satisfaction. Then the waiter came with the bill which was not only higher than 10% over and above others, but water and waiter were also charged. The overall expenditure for me was 20% more than what normally should have been.
The real situation was that the shop I was in was not a sweet shop, but it had catering license for which it took 10% service tax. Again, he was taking 10% cost over and above other sweet vendors because he had to purchase the sweets at the catalogued rate from the nearby shops just after orders were placed with the waiters. His arguments were persuasive as he claimed that as he had to purchase at a higher rate, he had to pass on the cost burden on the customers. But I was bemused.
