Tea Shop at Mahabalipuram

During all my visits to Mamallapuram en route to Chennai, a particular tea shop caught my attention. It is located bang opposite to the bus stand and is always flooded with customers who surround the counter. On a hot Sunday afternoon, hoping that the number of customers will be low, I decided to visit the shop and speak to the owner.

As expected, the number of customers wasless and I managed to get a sneak peek into the business of the shop. The shop-keeper, a shy lady who refused to take a picture with me, graciously accepted to speak to me about her product mix and her customers.

Customer Base-

A majority of the shop’s customers are bus drivers, bus conductors and travellers who visit Mamallapuram. The shop sells soft drinks, butter milk, cigarettes, chips, shampoo, toothbrushes, tooth paste, biscuits, supari etc. This is in-line with the demands of her typical customers. 

During peak timings when a lot of buses frequent the bus stand, bus drivers and conductors stop for a cup of tea, biscuits and smokes. The peak timings, reportedly, are between 6 am in the morning up until 8 am. The activity mellows down through the afternoon but once again picks up at around 4 pm. The shop is jam packed by around 6 pm in the evening till later in the night. This is primarily due to the snack items which are made in the tea stall. ( Bajji, Vada and Bonda)

The main attraction to this tea shop is because of the “Buttermilk” & “Snacks”. She supplies buttermilk in the afternoon timing and snacks in the Evening; the major profit she makes out of these two is from the buttermilk which she charges 8.00 Rupees per glass.

The feature about the shop which struck me the most was the way all the items were arranged in such a way that it was both visible to the customer and accessible to the shopkeeper. I also noticed a tray next to the tea counter which had jars containing unbranded biscuits. This is a subtle way of marketing the cheap biscuits.

When I asked her how much money she makes per month, she was unable to give me a number. She smirked and responded saying that she was confident that there was no way that her business was going to make a loss. Thus, it became clear to me that she didn’t maintain accounts in any form

In conclusion, the shop’s USP is its location. It is conveniently located for a lot of people to readily access it. The scorching sun drives a lot of travellers out of their seats in the bus stand to the tea shop for a cold drink & buttermilk. She admitted that due to her lack of discipline she loses track of her tabs. Thus, she ends up losing small amounts of money every month and can’t attach a number to her losses as well. An aspect of the shop that can be improved is its prominence. The shop does not have a name board which can lend it an identity.