I was waiting for one of my friends, Chirag Bhatia at Pali Naka in Bandra, Bombay, for a meeting in Party Hunters regarding our greeting cards.

I am from Rajasthan and shifted 21Fools’ base to Mumbai 6-7 months back. Had heard a lot about the “Bombay Monsoon” but I think I bought all the heat and dry monsoon luck for the city.

The day was hot and humid. Waiting for the friend to arrive, I went to a fruit shop to quench my thirst with a juicy fruit. I asked for an Apricot and the kid sitting behind the stall with all the amazing fruits kept, replied that the Apricot was not good enough to be eaten so I could choose something else.

I asked him to check the Apricots again if he could find a good one for me. He said they were all rotten and inedible. I asked for Plums (Aalu-Bukhara). He smiled at me saying he would find me some mangoes or oranges because the plums were rotten too. I was amazed. I laughed and asked him how he sold fruits if he told people to not buy them? He replied back saying, ‘Customer ko Kharab maal thodi khilaunga!’ (Should I ask my customer to eat the rotten fruit?).

The kid was just 14 years old but he taught me one of the most amazing lessons about business. Honesty. Business Ethics. Soon this course will be added in our very own prestigious Business schools. But what we need to ask ourselves is that “Will we be honest with our customers even if it hurts our company’s profit (Short term and long term)? What will be your answer?

P.S  Apart from making people smile through our articles we also make some really beautiful paper greeting cards. Do check our collection on www.21fools.com/store Would love to have your feedback.

The write up was written for www.21fools.com/magazine