Excerpt: Why I'm Crazy about Japan by Ashutosh V Rawal

 

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Why I am Crazy about japan here

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Cracking the Papad Code

It all started with a dinner at an Indian restaurant in downtown Tokyo. The dinner was very expensive and the typical Indian business mind began working overtime so as to save money on food. So, I personally did not see or meet this businessman, but learnt about his business sense and my guess was that he may have been either a Gujarati or a Marwari.

This story of an Indian businessman was shared by my friend. The gentleman would visit Japan for business often. Indians are usually frugal and thrifty and back then, foreign trips were considered a luxury. He was visiting Japan to attend a trade show and to meet his customers. It was his first visit and he was going to stay for a week and meet people in Tokyo and Osaka.

The gentleman checked into a hotel near the Indian restaurant, which would make it convenient for him to have Indian food. However, unlike most Indian restaurants, this one was managed by some Japanese, familiar with Indian cuisine. Like you read in the previous chapter, Indian cuisine in Japan is considered a fine dining experience and hence is an expensive affair.

He went to the Indian restaurant for dinner on the first evening and was taken by surprise when he saw the dish prices on the menu. A basic Indian meal would cost around 10,000 yen per person in a downtown restaurant which when converted would be 3,500 rupees per person per meal in 1992. In case you may want to compare with the price in India at the time, a meal would cost around 300 rupees per person.

While he was going through the menu, it seems a bright idea struck him. He figured that one papad was priced at 300 yen. He had two packets of 1 kg papad each and thought of selling those packets to the restaurant manager. Each pack had about 80 pieces.

Being a businessman, he calculated the cost mentally. If the restaurant was selling the papad at 300 yen per piece, their cost price was surely less. He thought of selling it at 100 yen a piece, which could be a good deal for both. He would make 16,000 yen for two packets of papad and it would look after about five of his dinners.

The next day, he called the waiter and requested to speak to the restaurant manager. He put forth his proposal but owing to language barrier, the manager couldn't understand anything of what he was saying. The manager understood very little English and our friend did not understand a single word in Japanese. The business deal, therefore, looked unlikely. The businessman tried explaining through body language but in vain. He decided to bring the papad packets the next day.

 

Next evening was quite amusing. He showed the packet to the restaurant manager and gestured he wanted to offer it to him. The manager understood this bit but the challenge next was to negotiate the price.

It was a struggle since language was a barrier. In fact, the manager initially understood our friend was wanting to gift these packets to him but he managed to explain. The communication' lasted for a while...the businessman even raised his volume to be understood not realizing that it was the language where they were on different platforms. The two did not understand each other. It was like Doraemon trying to talk to Chhota Bheem. What started with confusion ended in astonishment, disbelief and surprise.

The restaurant manager was surely baffled but not wanting to disappoint the man, heard him out without interrupting. Perhaps no one had ever made such an offer to them. They were baffled but did not want to disappoint our friend. The entire exercise of understanding each other went on for about 45 minutes post dinner. It seems they finally understood the business proposal. The manager took both the papad packets and asked him to come back the next day and settle the matter. It was a big relief for both sides.

The businessman went back to his hotel. It was a victory for him to explain, convince and close the deal as expected. The 'never give up' attitude worked and he congratulated himself for the mission accomplished.

The next evening had a surprise in store. As soon as he reached the restaurant, the entire team was waiting for him. They welcomed him and within minutes, began getting plates full of papad to serve him. They had roasted both the packets and even presented him a bill at the rate of 100 yen per piece.

The Indian businessman almost fainted. He didn't know what to say, and in fact, had to borrow money from his business friends to pay for 160 pieces of papad, all of which were specially roasted for him.

The moral of this story is one must never negotiate with another in a foreign language. You will get to eat your papad and have to pay for it too!