One thing you can’t miss about the SPecialist Shopper… The graSP!

SPecialist Shoppers...you may feel overwhelmed or ignored by them, but there’s no getting away.

“It’s 7 pm already! I have some shopping to complete. I should leave before it gets too late” says Shyam, bright techie and dad to two girls

“But dad! The FIFA final starts in thirty minutes! And you decide to go shopping NOW?”
“Oh, it’s on today? Whatever! I don’t watch football anyway. You girls enjoy! Rope in your Mom if you want. I’ll also pick up some chips for you!”

“Thanks, bye dad!!”

Shyam enters the Super Market... “Hmm, the kids’ stuff first … I wonder which brand of chips I should pick up for the girls… let me read the ingredient and nutrition labels first...”

A sales promo is on and a salesperson dressed up as a potato walks up to him.

“Sir, are you looking for potato chips? You should try this sample first! You’ll love it”

“Sure! But before I do, can you tell me more about the product?”

“Sure Sir, what would you like to know?”

“Can you tell me what is the percentage distribution of saturated and unsaturated fats in the chips? What’s oil used to make them? What is the sodium content? Does it contain Acrylamide? Any MSG present? I’ve read about chips which supposedly contain it and that can be quite hazardous to kids’ health!”

“Ummmm, I… Sir …eh… I really don’t know Sir. I’ve only been told about its flavours… I don’t have any more knowledge about this..”

“Oh, that’s not a problem! Let me just Google it! Ah, here it is!”
The salesperson gets a 15-minute-deep dive session on the ingredients of Crunchies potato chips. With it, a short talk on healthy children’s snacks.

The Salesperson is dazed. He is drowned under the depth of detail

Now another salesperson dressed as a green chilli, walks up to Shyam

“Sir, would you like to try out our new Chilli Sauce?”
 “Sorry, no. No time”
Shyam walks away, leaving the Green Chilly Salesperson feeling completely ignored.

 “Sir!” calls out the Potato Salesperson … "Here is the latest from our Shimla Factory... We call it HiP Chips. Would you like to try?"

“Sure” says Shyam “Did you say Shimla of Himachal Pradesh in India?”

“Yes Sir”

“That must be great! Shimla houses the Indian Institute for Potato Research. They also call it the CPRI. The Central Potato Research Institute. Give me four packs”. He drops the packs in his basket and picking it up, walks away to the billing desk, completely oblivious to the rest of the items on his shopping list. Salesperson Green Chilly gives his Potato colleague a puzzled look

“How come he finds the time for potato conversations only, while sauces are ignored?!”

Mr Potato smiles in relief 

“I think this man is a potato specialist. Looked like a geek though... I have learnt more about potatoes and chips today than I did in a year of being here. And thank God he didn’t get into green chilly sauces. By the time he got through you, the place would be closed and both of us wouldn’t have sold anything”
“You’re right I guess. One thing is sure, if he is fine with all the details, he will go out and endorse our stuff”

Specialists are deeply interested in their chosen subjects or fields, however narrow or niche they may be. The God for them is in the depth of detail. Nothing else matters to them. If that makes others feel ignored or overwhelmed, they are free to stew in their own sauce.

How much of a specialist do you have in you?