It was early morning, the streets still half-asleep, and I was feeling confident I would get across town in time for my meeting. Coffee in hand, I got into my car, turned the key, and the engine groaned like it had already decided to take the day off.
I tried again. Nothing.
With the clock ticking, I pulled out my phone and opened the ride-hailing app. That is when I saw it. Surge pricing. Double the usual fare. The kind of number that makes you pause and wonder if the driver will show up in a tuxedo.
I was seconds away from confirming when a yellow taxi slowed to a stop beside me. The driver leaned out with a grin that made it feel like we had met before.
“Where to?” he asked.
I told him, expecting the standard meter fare. Instead, he offered a flat rate, more than his usual, but still comfortably less than the app.
As we pulled away, I could not resist asking.
“Why are you not at the main taxi stand? Isn’t that where the best fares are?”
He chuckled. “That is where most drivers are. They fight for the big fares, but spend half the morning sitting in traffic or waiting in line. I stay in areas like this. I get more trips done, waste less time, and people like you get a better deal than surge pricing.”
It clicked instantly. The busiest spots are not always the smartest spots.
In business, it is easy to chase the biggest market or the most hyped trend. But if everyone is chasing it, you are just one more player in a crowded, slow-moving race. Sometimes the real wins are in the places no one is looking.
That driver could have matched the surge price, and I would have paid it. Instead, he gave me a fair deal and got me there faster.
That one choice built more trust than any loyalty program could. In e-commerce, the same rule applies. When you make a customer feel looked after when they expect to be taken advantage of, you do not just earn their purchase. You earn their loyalty.
By skipping the main stand, he was not competing with dozens of drivers for the same passengers. He had created his own lane and found customers the others missed.
Businesses can do the same. Do not just try to be better in the same fight. Find a different fight, one where your odds of winning are far greater.
When I stepped out of the cab, I realised we had both won. He earned more than his normal fare. I paid less than surge pricing. We both got where we needed to be, faster and happier.
That short ride reminded me that winning in business is rarely about having the biggest share of the market or running the fastest race. It is about making smart choices, treating people well when you do not have to, and finding a route others have overlooked.
Because in the end, customers will remember two things: how you made them feel, and whether you got them where they needed to go. Everything else is just traffic.
Regards,
Rupesh
