Anna Durai AKA ‘Auto Anna' is an inspirational TEDx speaker and keynote speaker who provides safety and satisfaction to his customers through his autorickshaw services. He strongly believes in "AtithiDevoBavah" means "Guest is God". He treats every customer as his guest and gives them the best hospitality no autorickshaw in entire India can provide. He is an inspiration to many entrepreneurs, students, youth and many other auto drivers in the country.



“Get closer to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves”- Steve Jobs

Anna Durai, a high-tech auto driver





Anna Durai is a native of Peravurani, Thanjavur district and is currently living in Injambakkam, Chennai. His family moved to Chennai when he was four years old. He has 2 brothers and a sister. His mother works in a hotel and his father along with his brothers drives auto for their livelihood.





“Passengers give me my daily bread. They are God and I have to satisfy their needs” - Anna Durai

It was 2 years after he started his career as an auto driver on the roads of Old Mahabalipuram, he got an idea that changed his entire lifestyle, gained him fame and name in and around the country and from that day he never looked back. From that day he started stocking 20 newspapers daily for his customers to read while traveling.





After a few days, he started installing not less than 35 magazines on current topics. He then introduced a portable TV which was pre-installed almost programs of 8 languages. All his efforts paid off and his daily income doubled from Rs.700-Rs.1400.













Adding feathers to his hat, In 2013 he bought Samsung Galaxy Tab on loan for providing browsing facility to his customers. Provided Wi-Fi facility to his customers. Started using swiping machines for card transactions and PaisaPay for Mobile transactions. In 2016, he upgraded to 12.9 inch Apple iPad Pro which costs around Rs.80,000 with his savings. He started conducting contests for his customers rewarding them with exciting prizes. He provided discounts on 10-Days of the year like Father's Day, Mother's Day, Children's day and on the birthdays of some famous persons.





Anna’s monthly income and expenditure on his services





Anna spends almost Rs.9500 out of Rs.45,000 he earns for providing the best quality riding experience for his customers every month. Though Anna spends a lot of money in satisfying the customers he still costs a basic fair of only Rs.10-25 per ride. When asked by an interviewer this, he said, "Money may come and go, but the feeling you get when your customer chooses to travel only in your auto is unmatched." He says that job satisfaction is the only thing that kept him moving.





Promoting his services in his own way





In 2014, he launched a website which describes all about Anna Durai, and the services every passenger will get riding in his auto. He also launched an App for his customers that would provide the information regarding his availability, current status, booking rides, and payments. He is planning to tie up with the auto-rickshaws of Chennai for providing food delivery services. After from his profession, he is helping the children by providing scholarships.













Conclusion





Everyone should change the way they look at things, and the things you look at will change. No matter what the difficulties you face, the only thing that matters is your hard work coupled with innovation and the impact you are creating through the things you do.