Indian Oil Corporation recently reiterated its stand that it does not encourage tipping liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder delivery boys. It asked consumers to call in and complain if they were charged more than the retail selling price (RSP) mentioned in the cash memo.
“Not all gas delivery personnel demand money. But we want customers to discontinue the practice of giving tips, even voluntarily, since the RSP includes the delivery charges for reaching the cylinders to the customer’s kitchen,” explained an official source.
The complaint about delivery boys, as they are called, is an old one. On an average, 7-8% of the complaints that the company gets is about over-charging. “Sometime ago, a delivery boy asked for an additional amount and he told my wife that he will leave the cylinder downstairs and that she could carry it up. We live on the third floor and don’t have an elevator. We usually pay ₹50 as a tip since he carries it up three flights of stairs. The next time I was around and I told him I could prefer a complaint to the police. Then he was apologetic. I got the agency to shift that person,” said Krishnan, a consumer.
Though such tales are common, many consumers tip voluntarily. “The amount varies between ₹5 to ₹50 and sometimes goes up to even ₹100 if the family is affluent. Boys who have been in the profession for long know not to demand. They know long-time customers, who are grateful for the delivery. There are rare cases where the boys pick fights with the customers, these are usually greenhorns,” explained a distributor.
‘Fault on all sides’
CITU Tamil Nadu Petroleum Gas Workers Union General Secretary K. Vijayan said that the fault lies on all sides. “The boys don’t get enough as salary from the distributors, who in turn don’t get proper remuneration from the oil companies. In A-grade cities, the minimum wages for a non-skilled labourer is ₹600 per day, in a B-grade city it is ₹510 per day and in rural areas it is ₹450 per day. In addition to this, they should be provided fuel costs and loading and unloading charges,” he said.
A delivery boy said that carrying a full cylinder is hard work. “We have vehicles to transport the cylinders to the locality and even to the front of the house. But not inside the house. At the end of the day, the work is so tiring and the salary is not enough. We don’t blame distributors, because they pay what they can. We also get PF and ESI in most agencies. But with the present cost of living we need ₹17,000- ₹20,000 to run the family. The agency can at the most pay ₹10,000-₹12,000, which is not enough,” said Gopi, a delivery boy.
An oil industry source explained that distributors get ₹61.84 as commission per 14.2-kg cylinder, of which ₹27.60 is paid towards delivery charges. “This is to reach the refill from the distributor’s godown to the customer’s home. The remaining amount is to manage his establishment. On an average, a delivery boy in a city delivers 40-50 cylinders a day and the rate is enough to ensure a decent pay,” the source explained.
Under the delivery head, the salary and welfare expense of delivery men and drivers, fuel expenses on vehicles, maintenance and repairs of vehicles, bank charges, interest cost of defective cylinders and 50% of manager’s remuneration have to be borne. Under establishment costs, communication expenses, electricity, water, stationery expenses, depreciation on godown and other expenses have to be covered.
Grim reality
However, distributors said that their commission hardly came up to the amount suggested in the De-Novo Study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management. “The study recommended ₹124 per refill as distributor’s commission and it was whittled down to ₹93 per cylinder. But that was not implemented and we are yet to get the promised amount. The oil companies threaten us with action under the marketing discipline guidelines but without paying us money. Agencies cannot do much about the delivery boys. They can only ask them not to take money. These days, with acute labour shortage, the boys would rather go to other jobs that pay better. The only thing that makes them work is the tip. If that is stopped, delivery boys will not work,” said a former distributor.
Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said a case has been filed in the Madras High Court pertaining to the issue and, hopefully, something positive would come out of it. “The oil companies don’t talk about a salary for delivery personnel. They only provide a delivery component to the distributor. Though they talk about consumer satisfaction, they don’t seem to be bothered about the tail-end,” he said.
