The king had them use expensive cars as garbage trucks:
Has a super-rich individual ever been treated so badly in a
store that they bought the business and fired the employee? Much better!
This man was one of
about 230 Maharajas in India before the First World War. Most were
outrageously wealthy, which resulted in there being around 2,000 Rolls-Royces
in India.
In 1920, the King was
in London, in the Mayfair district. He
was a big Rolls-Royce fan and decided to visit a shopkeeper there. He was dressed casually. This, combined with the fact that he was
Indian, earned him the shopkeeper's contempt.
He simply ignored him.
The Maharaja returned to his hotel and had the dealer called. His servant, who made the call, explained that Maharaja Jai Singh of Alwar intended to run one or two round trips. The gentleman was well-known, and when he appeared in the showroom, dressed in his regal attire (as in the picture), the salesmen lined up, and the red carpet was rolled out. The king and his entourage inspected the vehicles, six in total.
It is unknown whether
the salesman in question recognized the king, but presumably not. If he did, he must have been breaking out in
a cold sweat of fear at that moment.
All six vehicles were
eventually purchased by the Maharaja. He paid the full price, plus the freight
costs to India.
And there?
The king had them use
expensive cars as garbage trucks: they served as sweepers and garbage
transporters.
The story spread
quickly, and Rolls-Royce was in shock.
It suffered enormous reputational and financial losses. Finally, RR saw
no other option than to gift the Maharaja six more cars. The Maharaja graciously accepted the gift and
the apology, and released the other six vehicles from their role as garbage
trucks.
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