Social Media and Subway Surprises

Nothing makes up an evening post a tiring work day better than a healthy subway sandwich. It is something whose marginal utility takes a while to swerve down after reaching the cliff. So I entered the subway outlet on my way home the other day, my gaze fixed on the giant menu board above the counter. The lady on the other side of the counter smiled and interrupted, “Hi”.

I looked down to smile at her remembering Tim Harford’s view of smiling waitresses. I realized it was part of her job to smile at weary customers and that she was remunerated for the same. Nothing unusual about that.

Concentrating on the mouth-watering picture of the sandwich, I ran my eyes over all of them displayed and mused over my choice until I heard another voice from across the order counter.

“Hi Jalnidh”

Now that wasn’t written in The Undercover Economist. Did Subway start paying them for guessing names too? I looked down to find a neatly dressed guy in black with a matching black turban, smiling gallantly. I was kinda befuddled. Let me confess I am not accustomed to people bumping into me at random places to say “Hi Jalnidh”

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you”, I said trying hard to recollect any scintilla of familiarity with the figure.

He introduced himself, stating his name. “So how is your project going?”

The first shock was too much to face the second one now. “Which project?” – the word project reminded me only of the depository participants and derivatives I had been working on in the stock exchange during the course of my internship these days.

“Your project – the one you are working on for quite some time…”

“Oh! Éclair* - Ah! That is going good!”

The guy turned out to be my senior at school who was working part time at the outlet. I had never met him at school and never had the faintest trace of him apart from the fact that I had accepted his friend request on facebook out of sheer courtesy and second that I had seen his comments on some on my éclair photos with the kids.

And then the perfunctory stuff I am asked, continued – “Where is it working? Can I éclair? How can I help? I really wanna contribute…” More than the sandwich, a genuine outpouring of someone’s passion for volunteering made up my day.

The sandwich was done and packed, the bill paid and receipt handed over. I realized that social media had penetrated into our lives so deeply and subtly that I should be prepared for little surprises like those around the corner. Inspiration and enthusiasm spread in fountains through social media. Today éclair owes much of its success to Mr. Zuckerburg more than anyone else.

*Éclair is a street school chain being run by the author and some of her friends that aims to get street kids, especially kids of migrant laborers enrolled in regular schools through an informal rudimentary class taught in open parks.