Like a bunch of other people, I saw the Bill Gate’s video where he orders a chai from Dolly Chaiwala, and Dolly prepares and serves it. In the video’s caption, Bill wrote:

In India, you can find innovation everywhere you turn—even in the preparation of a simple cup of tea!

I had seen his other videos in passing, but watching this one intrigued me enough to find him on instagram, and watch his other videos.

Dolly with Bill Gates

And damn, is this guy good or what? He oozes confidence, keeps you hooked, and makes your chai time memorable!

In a way, he is like the Turkish ice cream pranksters, except he is selling chai.

By performing tricks, like teasing customers or using sleight of hand to withhold the cone, ice cream sellers create an engaging and memorable experience. This not only adds to the experience of buying ice cream but also draws attention to their shop, attracting more customers.

Dolly makes making chai a spectacle with a different way of pouring milk, by shocking the customer with the way he accepts money, and also scaring the shit out of customers by making them think he is throwing hot tea on them.

Dolly with his tongue close to milk stream Dolly with his tongue close to milk stream, taken from Ejii Mendoza.

I am sure the chai would be great, but how much better can you really be with the taste of chai, versus other chai sellers?

He innovated on the other experience of chai. The waiting part, where you wait for chai to be made. He innovated on the experience, versus on taste.

And that’s the lesson for me. You can innovate on any aspect of your work. You don’t necessarily need to innovate on the final product, you can innovate on the preparation, processes, delivery, pricing, or just vibes that you give out!