Meet Chennai's Anna Durai, Auto Rickshaw Driver Who Wins Every Commuter's Heart

Anna Durai, 37, believes ‘Customer is the king' and offers them a variety of services on his auto rickshaw.

Chennai auto driver Anna Durai. (Image: Twitter)

New Delhi: A ride in Anna Durai's auto rickshaw is almost a five-star experience, and his customers will vouch for it. The Chennai man's auto rickshaw offers a range of services, from wi-fi to refrigerated water, to commuers during the ride to their destination.

Anna Durai, fondly known as auto anna (brother), believes "customer is the king".

In a report on The Better India, the 37-year-old said he did not plan to become an auto rickshaw driver, but the profession just happened to him.

While his ride fares are similar to any other auto rickshaw in the city, Anna Durai earns brownie points by offering his customers a variety of services — magazines to read, an iPad pro to surf net, a mini TV, some chocolates to munch on, wi-fi, and not to miss hand sanitiser, among other things.

The Better India reported that Anna Durai became an overnight celebrity in 2013 after he was invited to give a public talk on his entrepreneurial vision for his auto rickshaw, owing to the detailed attention and care he provides to his commuters.

Anna Durai calls the job to be an accidental one. "The original plan was to become a businessman and earn enough to solve our financial crisis. But the very same crisis forced me to drop out of Class 12 and start working," the 37-year-old was quoted as saying. "I chose not to complain, and instead bring my passion into what I was already doing. I began with placing newspapers in the backseat and gradually introduced new services."

He added: "One may think an auto ride is just about transporting a passenger from one area to another, but it can be so much more. Traffic jams in the IT corridor are frequent, so passengers tend to feel irritated while waiting. The WiFi keeps them engaged."

Auto Retail Conclave Glimpses

An auto driver from Chennai is a much sought-after speaker on ‘Building Customer Loyalty’.
G Annadurai a.k.a. Auto Annadurai, a Class 12 dropout, whose passion for his profession and the desire to give the best amenities for his customers. pic.twitter.com/qRKcwQjlpH

— FADA (@FADA_India) October 30, 2018

Anna Durai told The Better India how he felt bad when a customer urgently needed a laptop and he could not help him. "The next day, I had a laptop and tablet. These gadgets led to social media selfies which in turn increased my customers.” 

Noticing that the office-going crowd often skipped breakfast and complained about it during the ride, he came up with the idea of having a snacks section with fruits, wafers, chocolates and more. The vehicle also has a tiny refrigerator with fresh drinking water and coconut water bottle.

This 'Auto Anna' follows a few tricks and tactics to maintain customer relationships. He conducts contests and announces a lucky winner, who gets Rs 1,000 prize money. Additionally, he also gives tokens to customers if they take more than 20 rides. They can redeem the coupons for Rs 250. More than 30 and 40 rides will fetch them Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, respectively, The Better India report said.

So, next time watch out for TN 07CT 5058 if you want to take an auto ride in Chennai. Also, Anna Durai offers free rides to teachers, doctors and nurses.

Sharing the Better India story on Twitter, Intensivist at Mayo Clinic Devang Sanghavi posted: "Meet Anna Durai, an Auto Driver with a big heart from Chennai, strong customer focus with his auto being most tech enabling. He also wants to give back to the society by providing free rides to front line health workers and teachers.  

Industrialist Anand Mahindra called him a "Professor of Management". "If MBA students spent a day with him it would be a compressed course in Customer Experience Management. This man’s not only an auto driver…" he posted on Twitter.