I had earlier written about Dell here.

Exactly a year later, it stopped working a couple of days back 4th May 2010 to be precise. Since my wife has been using it for basic surfing, chatting, skype, I thought it strange; however the problem was diagnosed as the adapter not charging the battery correctly; the plug being lose; some issue with the motherboard on the 5th May 2010.

She lodged a complaint on 6th May 2010 at around 2 pm. They verified everything and assured her that it would be sorted out in the next 24 - 48 hours.

They walked in at 2.30 pm on 7th May 2010 and replaced the motherboard once again; changed the socket in the computer and gave a new adapter & walked away at 3.30 pm

I know, I know some people told me that with some brands you would not have this problem etc. etc. however my reasoning is simple:

1) For an additional 4000/- I got an onsite warranty in which the total changes would have ordinarily cost me 40,000/-
2) The time saving & customer service commitment which leads to peace of mind is worth it.
3) Having used other brands in the past & even currently, I still think DELL is VFM for product & service particularly for hard usage.

AND hence I see no reason to say that I would have no hesitation to recommend it all over again.

I had been hearing about Startup Saturday from Netra for a while, when one fine day in October, whilst cruising past on the Rajeev Gandhi Sea Link or #bwsl as made popular by b50 I received a call from Annkur asking me if I could attend the interactive session the following week.

In my enthusiasm, I said Yes, and had second thoughts when I received his email “Referring your talk at Startup Saturday, it would be great if you can share your experience with the psyche of Indian consumer in creating international brands out of what has always been a commodity.”

But it was too late, because by then Jeev Daya Netra Prabha had swung into action.

I reached there on the designated Date & Time, entered the room & saw some 35-40 people sitting there listening raptly to the previous speaker. I was hurriedly introduced to the Originator of the idea Aditya Mishra and waited for my turn. (Felt just like waiting before an exam)

Soon enough it was my turn & we started it off. Quite an interactive session it turned out to be, with a lot of questions flying back & forth, before it ended.

I managed to acquit myself reasonably well, I think & for those of you who had asked for a copy of the presentation startupsat10thoct09.

I have been a staunch Nokia loyalist from the advent of cell phones in India.

This has more to do with simplicity, choice, upsell, trade in value & their constant WOW service factor.

For my daughter’s birthday in February 2009 we got her a 5800 Xpress phone, which she loved & used it regularly & thoroughly over the past 10 months.

A couple of weeks ago, the screen display went off (a common complaint, I believe). Promptly like the kid’s of today she came with a proposal (albeit with her mother’s approval) that she should trade in this phone etc. etc.

Having complete faith in Nokia, I asked why was it not shown to Nokia care since it was still under warranty. She said they said it would cost 4,500, which is when I realized it is the Priority dealer; so giving her the address sent her to Nokia care in Andheri.

She came back happy that it would be done free of cost. Promptly 2 weeks later, yesterday she has got the phone back with complete panel changed, looking better than before.

Now you know why I still opt for a Nokia (though iPhone & Blackberry do come a close second).

Some months ago, I had encashed my I-mint points for a Phillips home theatre system; not because I like phillips (on the contrary) but was afraid of points lapsing.

It was delivered, installed, worked fine; till one day last week just stopped! Fair enough, I do not have a climate controlled house etc. etc. & phillips is finicky but?

Found the hotline number & my wife called them up on 5th November, received a promise that someone would come in 24 hours. Nope NO sign at all, called up at 5 pm, was assured that “Our engineers work till 8pm, so you can expect him to come” & they left closing the office at 6 pm

The next day it took 11 calls to the service center/hotline/engineer himself before he turned up at 8.30 pm thereby wasting the entire day, since we could not step out also. This was Day 3 - 7th November. Came & gave a cursory glance & Einstein said, will tell the service centre, because some part would have to be changed, they will give you a call back.

No news till 10th November when they called, said it would have to be taken to the service centre, sent a person who carried it away & that’s the last we have seen of it.

Today is the 14th November & they are still investigating what is wrong with it, no calls, nothing. BTW approximate cost if part is available would be 4000/- if it is out of warranty!

Hello! I do not have a bill, since it is a so called gift - No problem sir, we will check in our records!

This is the 2nd time in my life I have allowed my wife to coerce me into a stupid useless Brand called Phillips! AND it is the last.

I have been a Samsung user for the past 8-9 years. AC; Fridge;  TV and have always loved their VFM & superior customer service.

In the recent past, not really recent, but in February 2009 changed the TV. Last month watching DVD the screen suddenly went blank.

A call was made to the hotline & pronto the next day 12 noon technician turned up to inspect, made a couple of calls & said that we would need to replace the panel. With my heart in my mouth, I asked the cost & was told “Sir, it is in the warranty period so no cost but please have a copy of  the bill ready & we shall come tomorrow”.

The next day a call was received at 4 pm & question asked ” Is it OK if we come at 7pm or do you want us to come the next day morning”

They came in the evening, changed it, collected a copy of the bill & went. All of this was always followed up by a courtesy call/sms to confirm action taken.

In my books, it wins hands down! They have a lifelong customer in me.

Sometime in February/March 2009 after MTNL had finally connected my WiFi, in an attempt to curtail costs, I went on a lookout for a dongle which would connect my daughter’s desktop in the adjoining room.

Croma, Vijay Sales; etc. were checked out & prices were not exciting enough. Visiting Hypercity for something else found a good deal nearly 15% cheaper than others on Linksys.

The installation was a breeze, worked fine for the next couple of months, when one fine day, just stopped.

Called Hypercity & got the details, logged in created an account, complained online, called the number in Tardeo & were told to bring it the day after.

Being away, the wife went with the old modem & printout. Unfortunately, there was a mistake in the number, asked her to rectify it on the spot, replaced the dongle with a new upgraded one, wished her all the best & that’s it.

Smooth, minimal people interaction but WOW service. I like it very much!

Traveling back from Parel today (Visa on arrival) flickering through Twitter, saw a couple of RT (retweet) on what is now being termed The Kiruba incident by ClearTrip itself; The ClearTrip episode: my experience Part I by Kiruba Shankar and as ClearTrip resolution of a neo-influencer complaint is a case-study by Rajesh Lalwani of Blogworks; besides other comments being tweeted so on & forth.

At the outset let me clarify the following:

• I do not know Kiruba Shankar personally, except having exchanged some tweets & mail some time ago
• I do not know Rajesh Lalwani in any capacity - never having met him, hired him or been hired by him.
• I do not know ClearTrip as an Organization, except Matthew Spacie - One of their founders with whom I worked in the distant past.
• I have not bothered to read/book anything on ClearTrip except Domestic Hotels long ago but found my personal direct rates were superior. Read the rest of this entry »
  

A couple of days ago, sunday to be precise, my daughter & I decided to order a Domino’s pizza for dinner at around 9 pm.

She called up, order taken promptly (we do order regularly:)) and delivered under 30 minutes. Whilst taking the box, she noticed that the coke & jalapeno dip ordered was not there. The young man said deduct the amount & pay.

By the time, hungry I had come out & asked my daughter to call up Domino’s which we did. The nice english speaking gentleman at the other end, said the same thing, when I insisted that I wanted the complete order asked to speak to his delivery person. After which he said that the coke would be got from downstairs & delivered. It was here I had to firmly ask him:

• Could I not have ordered it if that was the case (remember this is Lokhandwala where delivery is done till 12 midnight even for <50 Rs)
• We had spent 10 minutes arguing, the pizza was getting colder and how was one supposed to eat the bread without the dip.
• Why could the order not be replaced?

I think the message went through & he agreed after confirming that time is not the issue. Having had a variety of experiences with others earlier, I did not pay & kept the pizza till the new one was delivered; which it was within 20 minutes - the complete order this time.

After demolishing our dinner, I called up domino’s again with an intention of commending for the customer service, however to my surprise a lady picked up but had no clue about the problem faced, though she sounded happy to receive the compliment.

The next day, I lodged the compliment on the website also, receiving a vague templated reply.

It is indeed surprising that in spite of the software being used to identify customers, remember orders, it does not capture preferences, problems of customers or is it that the gentleman did not enter the problem. This is something Domino’s would have to look for internally.

As far as I go, yes I was satisfied with the service & shall definitely order again.

Soon after moving, studying, working across the country, we relocated back to Bombay as I remembered it and continue calling it.

Having settled down in our Palace (that could fit into our bath or kitchen back in Calcutta, Baroda) my wife went on finding spree, which being a Bombayite fluent in Marathi posed no problems, not that it gave her problems in Calcutta also.

Finding a dhobi, vegetable vendor (honest, good but important would give her the kind of vegetables she wanted) and finally the milkman. Our requirement was minimal on this front, nuclear family and all that jazz.

Found one at 4 bungalows - Sharma Dairy Farm - tied up & the delivery started. He grew his business, obviously not because of us, though thru references & neighbours did help.

A couple of years down the line, our nuclear family exploded, parents shifted to stay with us, we shifted houses yada, yada….the milk man followed…..

Some 5-7 years ago, one fine day, after the advent of mobiles, got a call from my wife to pickup some extra milk since some unexpected guests had landed. Asked the driver to take the road past the Dairy & park.

For the love of God I could not locate the dairy, but dreading the “kuch kaam ke nahi” tag if I called my wife up; braved the stupid looks people were giving me in my suit avataar marched up to an restaurant & enquired with a young pleasant looking gentleman on the counter.

Prompt came the answer ” You are standing in Sharma Dairy!” Then the man we knew came out, insisting that I have something kyon ki aap kabhi aaye hi nahi; bhabhiji knows & wished us etc. etc. Upon further enquiries, turned that his eldest son had completed his studies & so “thoda sa expansion kar liya”. Promising to visit them sometime again went away.

Over the years, found myself passing by, with a smile on my face whenever I passed the location. The delivery boys changed, older ones started sitting on the counters, became managers at the dairy. My wife also said his younger son was studying.

Today morning, on receiving a notice,

Milk Management Notice

I concluded that his younger son has completed his studies even MBA since I could see PPP implementation (Price, Productivity, Penalty) implementation happening at my old Sharma Dairy Farm….that was surely turning into a conglomerate, maybe a small one but still!

And this generation is bound to give headaches to the New Organized Retailers! They have everything going for them:

• Location
• Operation Capabilities
• Loyal & Trained Staff
• Structured Finance
• Ownership
• Focus to grow

Do let me know in case I have missed out something

The big R word bandied about everywhere still, with different people saying “Mandi hai boss”; “Economy down hai”; “Recession” hai.

After a couple of drinks over the weekend, mostly everyone ends up saying that “thoda situation tight hai, magar sudhar jayega”.

Cribbing about the government, employers, friends, society, BMC, BEST, weather, god is ongoing. This is ably supported by the MEDIA, with their stupid Questions to fill paper or soundbytes

• How much has this recession affected you?
• What sacrifices have you had to do in the current economic scenario?
• How long do you think this shall last?
• What should be the new PM’s approach to end this?

All of these questions appear with the ring leaders in print - Mumbai Mirror & Mid-day - in Bombay. The questions are asked to college students at CCD, Barista or college canteen; housewives shopping at malls, kiran store, kitty parties & some business men rushing to catch the churchgate or borivali local.

Majority of them have no clue, except for the fact that they would get their 30 seconds of fame. Bus Mein Star bangaya.

In such a scenario, I fail to understand:

• Restaurants mostly all, except maybe the 5* are always full.
• The same traffic, cars are seen on roads.
• Car Sales has not gone down.
• Fuel consumption has not gone down
• Restobars still do roaring business serving alcohol to underage also.
• Mobile phones sales continue to rock

YES, some large ticket items do get delayed in purchase, whilst consumers scout around for better deals. Jewellery does not get sold, but there is no wedding season currently.

People from upcountry, rural do not come to spend their vacations to Mumbai, since it is expensive, similar brands are now available there, maybe at better prices also.

Private Labels seem to be the mantra these days, which is good for the economy.

I see Value Correction happening that surely is benefitting consumers & more so in the times to come.

Read more about Recession, Is India going thru one, The shine is still here, Reducing Manpower & Correction.