Disclaimer: The following is a fictionalised account of a customer’s story. For the sake of keeping anonymity, names and other select details have been changed.
Random date, Bangalore: Somewhere in the city, a poor techie groaned in desperation. Let’s call him Frodo for now. His painfully bad day was finally coming to an end. And now he’ll have to wait for his share cab to pick him up. He proceeds with his usual work-day conclusion routine – Shut down the system, collect his bearings, polite goodbyes and see-yous, step out.
The cab is on time and there’s nobody else in it. Yet. The twenty minute ride home is frankly his best bet at peace. Air conditioned car, reasonably comfy seat and no work-related matters to hound his head. In comparison with the economy share cab, his house was a messy do. He barely had any furniture in the 2 BHK he shared with someone he found across a Facebook flatsharing group. He had no bed or mattress. The only furniture they had were a few chairs and a shoddy plastic table. Oh well, between his education loans and responsibilities towards home, his income was left dangerously thin. So he’ll have to make do with whatever he had, or didn’t have.
As soon as he steps inside his rented home, gloominess sets in once again. He would die for a peaceful sleep in a decent bed but thoughts of his disease ridden dad and the money needed for it quickly deters him. Cold water? Nope, no fridge for that chilled drink. Oh and there’s that chair with all the dirty clothes he’ll have to handwash after dinner. Right. Moving on. He freshens up and fixes some rice and dal.
Amidst a very dull meal, in walks the roommate (let’s call him Bilbo) grinning like he found the holy grail. After the usual pleasantries and offering a bit of the rice-dal meal, the roommate tells him that he finally found a way to liven up their home. Frodo immediately puts up his guard, his roommate may have a better income and healthy parents and therefore the extra money to buy luxuries, he doesn’t have that kind of choice. And even if he did arrange the cash to get everything he needed, it would still be a liability each time he relocated. Given that he was just starting out with his career, this would be a bad move. Afterall, who knew where his future would take him?
*Frodo is instantly smacked on the head by his roomie interrupting his train of thoughts*
Well, he should have not jumped into conclusions. Bilbo launches into a full fledged speech describing what he heard from a co-worker about furniture and appliance rentals and a genie website called Guarented.com.
Our dear Frodo is sceptical because renting is hocus-pocus in his opinion and he believes that only discarded and damaged goods are rented out. Some may even come attached with spirits of previous owners. Nope. Frodo is not going to even try.
*Another smack on the head*
“Can you just look at the website with me? It’s not like you have more important things to do like solve global warming!” Fair point. And then, Frodo sits with Bilbo and browses that genie website.
*Twenty minutes later, Frodo’s life is changed*
10 days later, Bangalore: Frodo was shutting down his laptop. Outside, he appears dull. Inside, he’s grinning with anticipation. His friends were coming home today to celebrate him completing one year in his first job. His fridge held drinks for them all and a tiny celebratory cake!
Few hours later, with the celebrations done and the guests crashing on their couch and bed, Frodo is content. His problems are not all gone away, but at least he has a happy home and decent facilities. No more spending several hours washing soiled clothes and most importantly no more curling up on the floor to sleep. Frodo’s house was finally a home.
A Note To Our Customers
While this account may seem silly to some, there’s something that made us share this to you. The sheer fact that somebody felt that we improved their life is in itself a big achievement for us. Frodo symbolizes today’s average millennials, the people who want more but are constrained by some form of financial limitation. Yes, we did not solve global warming, neither did we end terrorism. But we helped someone feel that their home is comfortable that too without upsetting their budget too much.
There are many such youngsters in our country, especially in Bangalore who spend hours cramped up in an office cubicle, exhausting themselves out only to return to a home that is simply four walls and no more. Then there are others who do not (for whatever reasons) dislike the idea of buying anything lest it tie them down. For all such people – the financially cramped, the commitment phobic, wanderlust bitten, highly ambitious people who are just spreading their wings, Guarented.com offers them what they need.
So that’s what it means to us. To someone who found a bed and mattress expensive, we’re able to provide a good night’s rest and at the end of the day, that is what makes power on.