This story is about a dishonest entrepreneur whom I once met when shopping for fruits.
Several years ago, every day on the way to work, I used to pass by a fruit stand which was run by the old man and his wife who were in their 60s. They both work at that fruit stand selling fruits in the morning while their adult son takes over in the afternoons and evenings.
They seemed like a sole trader kind of business.
The fruit stand has some of the most appetizing fruits in the area at reasonable prices: sweet-looking mangos, juicy grapefruits, large walnuts with high-quality kernels, etc. All in all, almost all of the products seem to be value for money, and the choice is robust. There were almost 50 different kinds of fruits, nuts and seeds – heaven for all of us who love eating healthier.
Everything seemed perfect when you look at the fruit stand from the outside.
The only problem I had with that place was that the old man was not always honest when dealing with his customers.
One morning, I stopped by to buy some bananas as a morning snack. That day the seller had a bunch of ripe bananas displayed on the shelves. I pointed my finger indicating the exact ones I wanted to buy. Then, I turned around and started looking for the wallet in my backpack. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the seller reaching out to a different place to give me another bunch of bananas. Instead of giving me those ones that I had chosen earlier, he picked up the overripe bananas from one of the boxes on the ground and started packing it into the plastic bag. Then, he asked for payment.
I told him that the bananas he is giving me are not that fresh and that I wanted different ones in the first place. He replied that it is not a big deal.
I then decided to leave the fruit stand with empty hands (…) and empty stomach. The entrepreneur was dishonest.
(…)
After a few days, I came back to the fruit stand because I wanted to see whether the old man reflected anyhow on his unethical behavior.
I tried to buy a half kilo of walnuts, but this time I decided to pick up the walnuts by myself. I picked up several walnuts and gave the bag to the man, so he could weigh them. I paid and waited for the small change.
The man gave back to me a few notes that were rolled so tightly that I could not see whether there are any broken notes or poor-quality ones. I took my time and unfolded the notes one after another just to find out that one note was broken into two pieces. I immediately told the man to change that broken note.
He again said that it is not a big deal, but in the end decided to give me a good note after I insisted several times. The entrepreneur was dishonest again.
And, he just lost a customer, forever.
Despite having the most delicious-looking fruits in reasonable prices, he did not treat other people with honesty. Therefore, he will end up not having many loyal customers left in the near future.
And later, he may not even have any clients at all.
