Costly hair-dresser

I couldn't resist adding a short, companion piece to Mr G.S. Edwin's letter on Cameron, the hair-dresser, in The Jakarta Post, July 3, 1995.

Some years ago, a friend of mine went to New Delhi from Madras (South India) on a business visit. He was the purchase manager of a large automobile undertaking. In Delhi, he stayed at a five- star hotel. His mission was to meet prospective vendors of automotive components, from Delhi and the surrounding states, for sourcing purposes. He had given appointments, spread over two days, to various suppliers to call on him at his hotel suite.

On the morning after reaching Delhi, a fine-looking gentleman, attired in full suit, knocked on his door. Thinking that the caller was surely one of the suppliers to whom he had given an appointment, he invited the stranger in, offered him a seat and ordered him coffee. The guest coolly finished his coffee. My friend then asked him casually which vendor company he was representing.

The person was clearly confused. He said that he wasn't from any company but from the hotel itself--he was the hotel's hair- dresser! My friend, just then, remembered his previous day's instructions at the front desk for the services of a barber that morning.

However, my friend's surprise were not yet over. The bill for the barber's work was such a hefty sum that he vowed never ever to avail such services in five-star rated hotels.

Surely, he should have known that the "overheads" at five-star hotels could indeed be daunting!

D. CHANDRAMOULI

Jakarta