Book My Chotu: A Start-Up That Braves ATM Queues On Your Behalf

Book My Chotu’s latest venture is to provide ‘chotus’ who will stand in an ATM queue instead of you.

Book My Chotu is an online service that allows you to ‘rent’ helpers for soft services such as basic cleaning, grocery shopping, shifting, etc.

With the recent currency ban move by the Narendra Modi government, the founders of Book My Chotu saw an opportunity and grabbed it. In a Facebook post, the service announced that they would be providing ‘chotus’ to stand in queues for payment on an hourly basis.

While the term chotu can be misleading, the company specifies that all helpers are above the age of 18.

With “We are against black money. We want to help our government to fight this problem!!” written over a photo of people waiting in line outside an ATM, they add that a helper will stand in the queue until the customer’s turn comes.

The idea came to Satjit Bedi, CEO of BMC, when he requested his teammates to stand in ATM lines in his place as his mother was in the ICU, reports Hindustan Times.

How Does This Work?

For starters, a customer is hiring the chotu only to stand in ATM queues in their place. The help will not be withdrawing on the customer’s behalf.

The process to hire a ‘chotu’ is simple. Go to their website, choose the number of people required for the task and the number of hours you want them to put in. BMC will send you a confirmation and you’re good to go.

Starting at Rs 90 for an hour, the prices are the same for all services that a chotu offers. The hourly prices for the services seem to be quite reasonable.

After the demonetisation announcement on 8 November, banks have seen serpentine lines as people wait for their turn to exchange or withdraw money. The common man has been terribly inconvenienced.

Book My Chotu has capitalised on this and provided an alternative to people that seems to be appealing.

The Facebook post has received more than 1600 shares since the time it was published and while social media is still confused about its feelings, a lot of people have objected to the use of the word ‘chotu’, deeming it derogatory.

However, the company adds a disclaimer at the end of every page that emphasises on the usage of word chotu just for branding purposes. “We have no intentions to hurt anyone's sentiments. All Chotus/Helpers are above the age of 18 and they have no objection with this name.”

Speaking to The Quint, Satjit Bedi, CEO of Book My Chotu, said that they were happy to provide employment to people who needed it.

When asked about the decision to call the helpers chotu, Bedi said that chotu is a sweet and catchy nickname that is used across the country. It also acts as a “marketing boost” he said.

What About ‘Chotu’s’ Money?

BMC accepts payments online and in cash. The customer can even pay the due amount to the helper directly.

The chotus are not paid on a daily basis. They are in fact paid monthly salaries.

The salaries paid are as per the minimum wages prescribed by the government, Bedi told The Quint.

On reacting to the backlash on social media regarding their name, he said “I don’t see how it is a bad thing. We are providing employment to people, they get monthly salaries to take home. We are very proud to be able to create jobs.”