Researchgate.net vaisyas’ wife, Antakiya, says that such work can take a toll on a person’s health. “This way, it can cause a person to fall sick. The work can be physically demanding, too. I can understand a person has to look for work.
But people selling mobiles should not take away jobs from permanent workers,” she says. Ganesha Kumar (23), who is married and has a six-month-old son, claims to have worked at a stationery shop in Thane for eight years. He, too, started hawking mobile phones six months ago.
working
“I am taking care of my son and wife by working here,” he says. Kumar makes about Rs 2,000 a month. He works from 6 am to 6 pm, his only break being for lunch. “Most people stay back to take orders from others who call them, they don’t come back,” he says.
Over at the Thane stationery store, Kumar’s wife has also started working. “Now, the shopkeeper brings her to his place, which is now her workplace,” he says.
Vaisya says he earns about Rs a month by doing the rounds at Elate mall. The money is spent on his son, who is going to be a Class 1 student.
Shopkeeper
“The shopkeeper pays me Rs 500 a month for working in the shop,” he says. Vaisya says he doesn’t have any interest in improving his skills as a salesman. “I just want to take care of my family,” he says science.org.au
A salesman, who goes by the name Manga, says that the home-makers and students often approach him for buying high-end mobile phones. “The phone has to be ordered first. If they want to book it now, I don’t mind waiting, as customers order them in advance.”
Customers
At the Kandivli-Malad stationery shop, Kumar often chats with the customers, asking them to book the mobile phone they want for their kids. “I don’t know what to reply when they say that the phone is for their children. I tell them to take it,” he says.
Problems arise when customers want to make calls to Vaisyas’ mobiles. “I ask them to come to the store to check if it is a working phone before making the order,” says the salesman. Kumar adds, “We use the same shops as others. We are not responsible for the wrong calls. Roan a Gatekeeper resident, was in a rush to book a phone for his nephew. “I got him a phone and went to a shop on Western Express Highway.
The New Year’s
The shopkeeper told me to return the next day to get it. After a lot of thought, I decided to work from his shop to avoid the rush. All agree that the season has been good so far. “The New Year’s Eve was good,” says Anklet Pastil, who runs a stationery shop in Thane. “Over of our customers came during that time.”
About of the calls come during lunch. “We have to go to a neighboring shop to eat, as we are not allowed to go back to the shop. If we didn’t, we would not get time to make a quick meal,” says Kumar.
