Talk:Dabbawala

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WikiProject_India This article is within the scope of WikiProject India, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of India-related topics. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page.
??? This article has not yet received a rating on the quality scale.
More information about this article...
Peer review Dabbawala has had a peer review by Wikipedia editors which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article.

Who cares about the Six Sigma reference? I can see why you might want to link from Sigma Six here, but not the other way around. foson

Why can't the husbands carry their own lunches to work? RickK 21:28, Jun 2, 2004 (UTC)

Typically because lunch wouldn't quite be ready by the time they leave in the morning. Ambarish | Talk 22:39, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Also, in India, people prefer food that is hot (temperature) and fresh.--ganesh 02:32, 3 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Please help me in making this a Featured article, by dontaing some images--ganesh 02:32, 3 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I submitted this page to peer review. That should in getting this article featured. [[User:MacGyverMagic|Mgm|(talk)]] 22:20, Oct 2, 2004 (UTC)

also, VERY importantly, a lot of the time, the dabba isn't coming from home. i.e., the dabbawalla makes it himself. this isn't just a tifin-carrying service but a tiffin-catering service as well. this helps a lot of people who don't have the facilities/time to cook.


It says they make 4000 rupees; is that per month? or per month per customer, or what?

Contents

[edit] Home-cooked

Someone added entries to indicate that Dabbawala food is not always, or usually, home cooked but supplied by specialist cooks. If that were the case then surely this system would be unnecessary and cooking near the office would be the norm. The references I have found all indicate that home-cooking is the norm. Anyone else? DJ Clayworth 20:59, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Dabawallas deliver "home cooked" food to middle class working people (working in banks, govt offices etc.). Their main customer base is not business people. I don't have a ready reference for this (though I have read this too), I have visited Mumbai several times and seen the dabawallas operate and talked to them. (User: Sandeep Suryavanshi, 27 Sept 06)

I agree too! I lived most of my life in Mumbai and am familiar with dabbawalas. The food is home-cooked. On some occasions, someone may ask the dabbawallas to pick up the food from someone who is running some small catering business from home, but thats pretty much it. dabbawallas specialize in delivery, not production. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.21.113.25 (talk) 19:11, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Photo?

Could anyone provide a photo please?--A Y Arktos\talk 11:06, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Added two photos from theirofficial site after getting their permission. Sanat 07:50, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This is actually a very good article

This is a very informative article!

How does it stand with the reviewers? I found it very informative.

Helenabucket 03:22, 10 October 2006 (UTC)helenabucket

It's very interesting. However, I'd be interested in learning a little more about how the system works.
Septegram 15:09, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Routing?

How do they do routing? If most carriers are illiterate, and the dabbas are only marked with colors, that seems inadequate to give addressing of the whole city. Since the pickup and delivery carrier are different, it can't be just memory. Don't they also use some sort of hub-and-spoke system? —Dgiest c 21:45, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah. Do the picker carries the dabba to a neighbourhood centre, from where it is taken to a business area centre from where it is delivered? How many regroupings or steps are there? --84.20.17.84 10:14, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Map

Map needed
 It is requested that a map or maps be included in this article to improve its quality.
Wikipedians in India may be able to help!

Something as simple as a sketch of Mumbai with a big dot for a typical neighbourhood of worker homes, another for a typical business area and dots for the wala relay stations with a sketched route joining them. --84.20.17.84 10:17, 30 January 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Six Sigma

Is there any evidence for the six sigma claim? The cited reference isn't much of a reference at all...just an article from a consultant's site. Untill someone can back up the claim I'm deleting the reference. Also Forbes is just a magazine...I'm not aware that they have any role in the six sigma process/systemFarsnickle 17:25, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Also did a search of Forbes since 1983 in Ebsco MasterFile--No results. It's claimed all over the web that Forbes did the six sigma rating...but I can't find any evidence to verify the claim. Farsnickle 17:56, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Confusion

I am confused: Do the Dabbawalas themselves make the food, or is it food directly from the recipient's home? Please respond on my talk page, if you can. BashmentBoy 15:03, 2 March 2007 (UTC)BashmentBoy

[edit] Neutral point of view

  • "The success of the system depends on teamwork and time management that would be the envy of a modern manager."
  • "Such is the dedication and commitment of the barely literate and barefoot delivery men..."

Phrases like these don't seem very neutral. Should we change these? Sushi Tax 19:19, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

No because every article on the Dabbawala shares the same sentiment as what these lines say. Every modern manager would really hope to achieve the rate of error of the Dabbawala. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.204.147.46 (talk) 04:07, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How does it actually work?

Fascinating article, but a brief summary of how the system works would be good. The article as it stands leaves me wanting to know more! 217.155.138.250 18:41, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

There used to be one, but it got deleted somehow. I went back over a year to find one and pasted it in. 199.71.183.2 18:41, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV

I think we have NPOV here- the sentences deemed offensive have been removed.RSido (talk) 02:58, 19 December 2007 (UTC)