Management Lessons at Bike Washing Station

I went to Hero’s service center to get my bike washed. I spent around 10-15 minutes over there near the washing station. Some of the things I observed there provided interesting management lessons. 

1. Having Fun at Work: There were four or five young boys (may be 18; looked like 15) who were washing the bikes. They were educated, as they were filling up the forms too and making the entries as needed. Initially I was annoyed at their way of working. They were running, chatting, telling jokes, laughing, giggling, as if the boys were in a soccer ground! All this, while actually they were doing their job of washing and drying motorbikes! After spending some time to see the actual work, I felt empathy and my outlook changed. There was nothing wrong if the boys made their work fun – that is something which the best of organizations aspire to achieve too… Their personal lives may have many hardships and they might have started to work quite early in their life. For the joys of childhood and carelessness of a financially secure family, which they could have missed, it was in fact a good way to put up with all by developing a fun way of work. I stopped seeing their fun with envy, if any :)

2. Utilization of resources: The boys appeared a bit careless – they shifted, pushed and brought motorbikes too dangerously close to people. But I noticed that they had good skills and there was no harm happening. It was only my overcautious self which was seeing their acts as dangerous. In fact they were highly skilled and very smart at their work. If they had to park a bike at a packed space, instead of struggling to do so, they would put the bike on stand first, and then simply push the bike into the gap. It harmed no one. But it made them utilize the space very well. Good to see their lean principle in action. 

3. 80:20 Principle in action: When they brought a motorcycle after washing, I noticed that they dried only some parts of the bike well, like seats, handle, mirrors, etc, and left much of other parts unattended. Their idea was to dry it only where it matters. The rest would automatically dry within minutes when one rode the bike on the road. That fits a management principle too – also 80:20 rule – 80% of customer expectations can be served by focusing on 20% of the offerings. I liked the way they saved their time and some electricity (and hence money) by not drying “whole” of the motorbike.

I could not spend much time as their service was quick. They were courteous and friendly and minded their business very well. I liked the way they “managed” their jobs and their attitude at the workplace… 

- Rahul Tiwary