Nothing more to comment Pras but to doff our hats to the innumerable women and perhaps a few men too (?) who pack "tiffin" for their spouses and children day after day ... The kind of advance planning and execution for cooking and packing tiffin on time day after day is no less admirable than the dabbawala .. May God bless all of them !
A very thoughtful topic. Apart from all that is mentioned the dabbawallas are also very commonly mentioned in Six Sigma case studies. They have been very closely tracked as a project and have achieved an error rate equivalent to six signa ie their accuracy is 99.99966%. Come to think of it this is a phenomenal achievement! Imagine a pure vegetarian waiting for his wife's dhoklas but gets mutton kheema balls instead!! This pin point accuracy rate is what has made the dabbawallas so popular and left Six Sigma practicioners in awe.
Thank you for this very information. My own research showed that short of getting a 6-sigma certificate, the Dabbawallas had everyone mesmerised by their logistics,
The word tiffin box unfailingly reminds me of the little stainless steel tiffin carrier ( with the handle) that we used to carry when we were in school. So much joy sitting on a parapet wall with friends & sharing the delicacies!
Things change - eating habits, cooking habits, other new logistic methods etc. So while the Dabbawallas will always be part of our glorious evolution, reality is that their time has passed.
They should have their own decentralized kitchens and cater to customers in a "hub spoke" model. This could be to home or office.
Could dabbawalas also be earning much less these days because of the variety of food available via Zomato, Swiggy and others, or is it that the homemaker is no longer available to prepare the dabba any longer, or is it the microwave lunchboxes out in the market make them unnecessary.
Nothing more to comment Pras but to doff our hats to the innumerable women and perhaps a few men too (?) who pack "tiffin" for their spouses and children day after day ... The kind of advance planning and execution for cooking and packing tiffin on time day after day is no less admirable than the dabbawala .. May God bless all of them !
I second that sentiment
A very thoughtful topic. Apart from all that is mentioned the dabbawallas are also very commonly mentioned in Six Sigma case studies. They have been very closely tracked as a project and have achieved an error rate equivalent to six signa ie their accuracy is 99.99966%. Come to think of it this is a phenomenal achievement! Imagine a pure vegetarian waiting for his wife's dhoklas but gets mutton kheema balls instead!! This pin point accuracy rate is what has made the dabbawallas so popular and left Six Sigma practicioners in awe.
Thank you for this very information. My own research showed that short of getting a 6-sigma certificate, the Dabbawallas had everyone mesmerised by their logistics,
The word tiffin box unfailingly reminds me of the little stainless steel tiffin carrier ( with the handle) that we used to carry when we were in school. So much joy sitting on a parapet wall with friends & sharing the delicacies!
Very true Prabha. When we went to school we used to eat at 9.30 and then nothing until evening. We used to envy those who carried a tiffin box.
Things change - eating habits, cooking habits, other new logistic methods etc. So while the Dabbawallas will always be part of our glorious evolution, reality is that their time has passed.
They should have their own decentralized kitchens and cater to customers in a "hub spoke" model. This could be to home or office.
Very thought provoking comments TK.
Thank you!
Could dabbawalas also be earning much less these days because of the variety of food available via Zomato, Swiggy and others, or is it that the homemaker is no longer available to prepare the dabba any longer, or is it the microwave lunchboxes out in the market make them unnecessary.
Very different perspective! Hadn't thought of the alternatives. Thank you!