As a shorts-donning young boy, I used to ask my lungi-donning abba, 'If we ever go wearing this to Sonargaon hotel, will they let us in?'. Abba used to casually and confidently reply, 'If we go wearing a lungi, they might put us in a special cell and never let us in there. But with shorts, you might get in'. Same with cars and baby-taxis (CNGs!) I guess. I always used to think that if I ever end up at Hotel Sonargaon by a baby-taxi, the gatekeepers of the then posh hotel would not give me as warm a welcome as I would get if I would have got off a car. One day our pilot Shafiq (our chauffeur) was asked to carry out the week's grocery shopping from Nandan. As a preparation, he then decided to shed his lungi and put on trousers instead, he also insisted that he be allowed to take the car along with him. Upon asking why this ornamental preparation for merely doing a grocery shopping at Nandan, he replied 'Bhaiya oigula borolok er jayga, lungi poira ar haita gele dhukte dibo na' (Bro those are places where the well-off shop, they won't let me in if I walk in and that in a lungi'). Funny how even big retail malls such as Nandan might have a perception of being as posh and exclusive as five star hotels, barring entry to those who don't comply with unwritten dress codes or vehicle status quo (no car no entry...wearing lungi no entry).

I wish how nice it would be if Nandan or Agora could come up with their branded mini-buses to ferry customers from different locations of the city (or even from outskirts) straight at the doorstep of their respective retail fortresses. If they are wary of the fact that there are too many free-ride lovers in Dhaka city who might take them for a ride by travelling in the vehicle to go to other destinations or disappearing from the entrances, then they can atleast provide free transport (as free love from the brand) to those customers who have just finished shopping and are waiting frustratingly on the streets to convince a CNG or a stubborn yellow cabbie to take them back to their destinations loaded with a whole range of shopping bags. So say for example a bus could run from the Rifle's Square branch of Agora every 30 minutes to cover areas such as Dhanmondi and Mirpur and selected points en route. Similarly another bus can cover the Gulshan branch and areas such as Uttara or even Gazipur. Shoppers who have made a purchase of a minimum amount (say 100 Taka) míght qualify to get on the buses by showing their proof of purchase.

I think the feeling that the brand cares for the customer even after they are done with the shopping is of great importance. Customers without any private vehicles can shop happily and heavily without the anxiety of how to get back home through the horrifying traffic jams of Dhaka city, worse even if the weather is bad too. As their favorite retail shop has air-conditioned mini-buses stand by every half an hour to ferry them for free.

Ikea, the giant world famous retailer of house-hold products provides similar service all around the world to its customers for free and this act of free love from the brand is well appreciated by its customers. As we see branded mini-buses from leading telcos in the city ferrying their employees, we stare and try to see the faces through the tinted glasses of the priveleged employees and wonder how nice it must be to work in those companies. Similarly we will stare at Nandan or Agora branded mini-buses filled with happy customers and keep wondering how nice it must be to shop at those places. Even if the retail shops take you for a ride in terms of product prices, atleast they would offer you a free ride back home with all the shopping. Also, from outside, no one can figure out if the customers had a private car or not, or wearing a lungi or trouser. Provided they let us in in the first place in a lungi, rest can be a happy experience till the end.