In my family, we haven't ever paid heed to numerology which the dictionary defines as 'the occult significance of numbers', though many people swear by this pseudo-science.
Many decades ago, when we moved house, one of the neighbours in the new place told us that the digits of the house number (116) added to eight which was considered lucky in his part of the country. Looking back, many good things happened in that house, but some many not so good events too. On balance, there was nothing too good or too bad which happened - but that is life, isn't it?
Many years after this, I came across the significance of number eight again but in a diametrically opposite way. I was a sales manager in a company manufacturing motor scooters and while sitting with my dealers in Tamil Nadu, discovered that no customer wanted to purchase a vehicle with the registration number totaling to eight e.g. 1412. The belief was that nobody would buy a vehicle, new or old, with digits adding to eight and hence, the disingenuous excuse that resale of such a vehicle would be difficult. Smart dealers found this to be a route to earn something extra. They persuaded customers that they would have to pay a 'fee' to the clerk at the registration office who assigned numbers to ensure this - and people paid willingly too. If a customer wanted the digits to add up to his lucky number, say 9. the ante went up! The funny part is that customers who would haggle over every extra rupee while negotiating price, would without batting an eyelid pay anything extra demanded for a lucky number or even to ward off an 'unlucky' number.
The ultimate example of such superstition was the customer who threw a tantrum at the time of taking delivery when he found that the total of the digits in the chassis number of his scooter added to eight, though the registration number didn't. He demanded a change in his vehicle which was impossible as the paperwork was already done. The sweet-talking dealer persuaded the customer by telling him that the alternative vehicle was not in the latter's lucky colour!
Just a small example to demonstrate that watching experienced people teaches much more than books can, especially in the areas of sales and customer psychology!
Many decades ago, when we moved house, one of the neighbours in the new place told us that the digits of the house number (116) added to eight which was considered lucky in his part of the country. Looking back, many good things happened in that house, but some many not so good events too. On balance, there was nothing too good or too bad which happened - but that is life, isn't it?
Many years after this, I came across the significance of number eight again but in a diametrically opposite way. I was a sales manager in a company manufacturing motor scooters and while sitting with my dealers in Tamil Nadu, discovered that no customer wanted to purchase a vehicle with the registration number totaling to eight e.g. 1412. The belief was that nobody would buy a vehicle, new or old, with digits adding to eight and hence, the disingenuous excuse that resale of such a vehicle would be difficult. Smart dealers found this to be a route to earn something extra. They persuaded customers that they would have to pay a 'fee' to the clerk at the registration office who assigned numbers to ensure this - and people paid willingly too. If a customer wanted the digits to add up to his lucky number, say 9. the ante went up! The funny part is that customers who would haggle over every extra rupee while negotiating price, would without batting an eyelid pay anything extra demanded for a lucky number or even to ward off an 'unlucky' number.
The ultimate example of such superstition was the customer who threw a tantrum at the time of taking delivery when he found that the total of the digits in the chassis number of his scooter added to eight, though the registration number didn't. He demanded a change in his vehicle which was impossible as the paperwork was already done. The sweet-talking dealer persuaded the customer by telling him that the alternative vehicle was not in the latter's lucky colour!
Just a small example to demonstrate that watching experienced people teaches much more than books can, especially in the areas of sales and customer psychology!
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