Bengaluru-based coffee chain to launch outlets totally run & managed by senior citizens.
The smile on Mathew Lourd’s face never fades. As he greets customers at Hatti Kaapi’s Koramangala outlet, the septuagenarian hardly has a dull moment. After a long career at multinational seed company Advanta, Lourd retired 12 years ago. As his pension was insufficient and he has no children, returning to work was his only option.
“I work for eight hours a day, handle the cash register and even help serve in case there is a staff shortage. This job keeps me happy and I want to earn money as long as I remain healthy,” he says.
Lourd is one of the40 ‘Seniors’ appointed by Hatti Kappi. The six-year-old company with 35 outlets across the city – besides those in-side the campuses of Infosys, TCS, Flipkart, Deloitte and Cognizant – is all set to open outlets that will be run and managed entirely by senior citizens like Lourd.
“Their energy and dedication is fascinating. Many of them are neglected, financially unstable and want to be self-reliant.Plus it is a challenge for us to get quality manpower given that there are cafes and restaurants opening every day. Their experience will be valuable to us,” says US Mahendar, founder, Hatti Kaapi.
Apart from 40 seniors already working across existing outlets, two more outlets dedicated to them are in the pipeline. The upcoming outlets in the metro stations of Mahalakshmi Layout and Rajajinagar will be run and managed by seniors. The first outlet will be open in the next 20 days.
Each outlet will have eight staff, at INR 10,000/- salary per month plus INR 3,000/- for medical expenses. There is also a corpus set up for emergencies in addition to accommodation for select employees.
“I travel 15 km to work by bus. This is a good way to keep myself occupied and meet new people.” says Narashima Rao, 70.
With a turnover of INR 15 crore, the company plans to go pan-India by 2017 and every outlet plans to em-ploy at least one senior citizen. “They are game changers for us. Their sincerity and integrity is more than that of the millennials and my pilferage has become zero,” says Mahendar.
In the next fortnight, he will also launch an NGO for senior citizens, which will also provide accommodation to homeless senior employees.
