In this motivational Thursday Tale episode, Coach Haritosh Srivastav tells the story of Anna Durai, known as “Millionaire Auto Anna,” a high‑school dropout from a poor family in Chennai who redefined the auto‑rickshaw business by putting the customer first. Instead of a basic ride, Anna equipped his auto with a mini‑fridge, beverages, snacks, an iPad Pro, a laptop, and even an AWS DeepLens, offering amenities that rival luxury flights. This customer‑centric approach turned his daily earnings from ₹500‑₹900 to ₹4,500‑₹5,500, and shifted the dynamic so that customers now wait for his auto. His success attracted corporate attention (Microsoft, Vodafone), multiple TEDx talks, and a public endorsement from Anand Mahindra, who called a day with Anna a crash course in customer management. Anna also runs a website and app, provides free rides to teachers and women, and engages in CSR activities. He emphasizes a philosophy of creating one’s own circumstances and treating the customer as a “real God.” The episode ends with a call for viewers to share inspiring customer‑service stories.
Chapters
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they don't find it, they don't find them, make them. George Bernard Shaw. How many of you believe in this? Well, certainly today's story is all about someone who really believed in this. Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of Thursday Tale, and today's interesting story is of someone named Anna Durai. We also call him Millionaire Auto Anna. Now, Anna Durai was born in a poor family in Chennai, and due to his poor background, he couldn't study beyond high school. He is a high school dropout. At that time, his family thought he is crazy, he is insane, because he took up to ride an auto. But not any auto. When he started riding, he started making a difference, right? Unlike other auto drivers who are only hand-to-mouth, who's only looking for earning money, Anna Durai was always looking for providing more customer services, and this is where the difference started to happen. Now, if you go and travel in Anna's Auto, as they call it in Chennai, you're gonna find out there is a mini fridge where there are a lot of beverages and snacks for you. You can see there is a mason nest over there. There is an iPad Pro which you can use. You have a laptop, you have an AWS DeepLens, and so on so forth. Now some of these luxuries you won't even find in luxury flights as such, and that is what has made the difference. You know, Anna's customer service story has been published all over the world. In fact, He is 7 times TEDx speaker and has spoken on many more platforms. He's been invited to corporate, multiple of corporate like Microsoft, Vodafone, etc., etc., to share his secret of customer service. Now the guy who started with earning ₹500 to ₹900 per day is now earning ₹4,500 to ₹5,500 per day. And earlier, like other autos, he used to wait for customer. Now customers wait to ride in this vehicle, so on, so forth, that many of the CEOs of different corporate have chosen to ride in his auto. He has a website, he has an app, and he does, he does a lot of CSR work as well. He provides free writes to teachers and a lot of time on women, and that is what makes the difference. He was given a talk, and this is where he said that— I'm gonna quote— that I didn't willingly choose this job, but I tried to do the currently available job with willingness. My customer is my real God. I'm able to eat using the money I earn from my customer. So I provide the best. His fame has risen to the sunshine, and in fact, Anand Mahindra was so impressed, then he wrote a tweet saying that if MBA students spend a day with Anna, they are gonna get a crash course on customer management. He's not just an auto driver, He is a professor of management. So are you inspired by Millionaire Auto Anna? If yes, write in the comment "inspired." And what other story do you know of customer service where people have gone above and beyond to serve their customer? As I say every time, until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and keep going out of your comfort zone. This is Coach Haritosh Srivastav.
