Apni Tapri

Marathi Mansa Jaga Ho!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:35:00 +0000

With all the uproar after MNIK and the agitation against the non-marathi manoos, I was intrigued to see the MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) website having only 2 language options. No, it’s not English & Marathi. No, its not even English & Hindi. Its English & Japanese!

Visit the MTDC Website

Whats the whole deal with creating a fuss about the whole ‘promote marathi’ and getting more and more opportunities for Maharashtrians? They cant even control their own state’s tourism website to have a Marathi language option. Sena, are you listening?

Whose Mumbai is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:46:00 +0000

Well, I have been in Mumbai for over 10 years now, coming from an Army background, life was always on the move. Been to some 10 schools across the country, places like Tezpur, Dimapur etc are not new to me. I can proudly say that I belong to India!

But what's the deal with all the ruckus that the Shiv Sena is creating? Why do they really think that they are the only ones who care about their State or its people? I have been here for a while now, after finishing my 12th from Lucknow, I came to Bombay for my graduation. Studied at Vivekanand College Chembur and finished my BMM (Bachleor's in Mass Media) and moved to Pune for 2 years to finish my MBA.

But, I came back to Bombay, to start my career! And I have been welcomed by one and all. But at this point, I would also like to add that the people who welcomed me were non-Maharashtrians! I have some friends who are from this land. Yes, they are the natives (Maharashtrians) who truly also believe in the cause of the Sena! It's shocking, it's bizzare.

I like SRK's stand on the whole issue, just because he is a celebrity, doesnt mean he can be targeted! Doesnt really mean that he has to bend down to the whims and fancies! I really liked what he said in an interview with Rajdeep Sardeasi, "I belong to this city, the city doesnt belong to me".

I want to pose a question to the so called custodians and guardians of this city, if you care so much about Maharashtra and take so much pride in being the 'owners' of this city, why the F**K don't you do anything about the dismal state of infrastructure and amenities of this city? The roads, the traffic, the civic services. There are way to many examples of bad planning and unfinished development work in this city, i can go on and on and on about it, but i shall save it for another day.

I guess claiming stake on something doesnt make it rightfully yours, you need to understand it. If you actually want to claim this city to be yours, then you get up and do something for this city.

I belong to India first and anywhere else later, This feeling comes only when you have stayed in other parts of the country. The frogs of the well will remain as they are, its the bigger fish who will come and conquer!

Law Guru

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:30:00 +0000

There are many occasions when we battle companies and individuals (I am battling 3 companies right now).

We always want to get a legal perspective and understand how we can take a legal standpoint on the issue and charge damages to this entities.

Well, here is the solution - Law Guru

They provide FREE legal advise on the issues that concern you. It's simple. Go to https://www.lawguru.com/answers/ask and fill in the question, put you country, email address and pin code and submit it.

There are quite a few lawyers who will answer your query (sometimes in the span of a couple of hours).

Go ahead and try it. It's a very good website.

Letters to the 3 Musketeers!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:25:00 +0000

Inspired by Karthik's blog post Social media lessons from a 70+ year old man! I have understood the need of sending personalised communication in addition to the Social Media ranting.

So, taking a cue from the blog, I managed to find the contact details of the Station Head of Red FM in Mumbai, The Managing Director & Head of Marketing at Travelocity and Zonal Office of Amul India.

In addition to explaining my situation, I have also sent Travelocity an invoice, charging them for harassment and misinformation.

If anyone wants to read those letters, do let me know, I shall share them else, will keep you updated on the responses.

Let's see what these letters do, considering these brands and companies have show complete lack of ownership.

Aman Ki Asha, an Indo-Pak Peace Project

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:54:00 +0000

After a long time, I came across a nice campaign! Worth a watch!

Red FM Bajate Raho! Kiski Baji? (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:48:00 +0000

After almost a week of all the RED FM madness, someone from the RED FM team decided to reply on the Facebook Fan Page saying something like "hi everyone...we understand your grievances ...but you need to know the fact that der are hundreds of callers in the boardline at the same time.Its your luck if we pick your call as we cant figure out who is it actually calling. @ Leena...at the end of the day its not about sending 100 messages but about gettng any one message selected for a pass.. Sorry about that but all we can say is that keep msging and I am sure you will b a winner soon...."

To which i replied "Its not about not winning on the contest, its about the process you guys follow to select winners. You call someone and shortlist them even though there is no other round of questions, why shortlist someone at all? Call me only when I Have won the prize or else don't call at all!"

Well, they replied back to my comment saying "Hi sahil , I hope you had received a call from my team and it was clarified to you why that call was made and why you ditn receive the prize. Shortlisting of listeners doesnt mean he or she is a confirmed winner. Nevertheless we appreciate that you voiced your concern and we are there to take care of allthese.thnks for choosing red fm"

And after this, I was removed as a fan of their Fan Page and my previous comment was deleted! And now i am not allowed to comment on any message on the Red FM Wall!

When they first contacted me, I was nice enough to remove any brand names in the previous post! But now, the previous post is back as it was initially published!

Sorry guys! You asked for it!

The Recliner Hunt!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:10:00 +0000

A few months ago I and my wife had this brainwave that we need to get 2 recliners for our living room! Then began the hunt for finding a cheap yet comfortable recliner in Mumbai!

The obvious choice was a search on Google, and the results weren’t very helpful as most of the results were for trade websites which had organizations that import recliners from China or other parts of the world.

My wife is hugely influenced by the TV Series Friends. So then began the hunt for a LA-Z Boy! The hunt for a La-Z Boy took us on a web journey to Gurgaon. But then again it was a post on a classifieds website. No luck here too. We read a lot of articles online about La-Z Boy’s being available in India via Stanley Boutique. So then began a journey to Andheri East to the Stanley Boutique.

They sure have La-Z Boys. Starting at Rs. 30,000/- for a fabric upholstered one, going to Rs. 1.4 Lakhs for leather upholstered recliner! Way beyond the league. We were looking at something in the range of 18k-23k. The hunt continued to all other furniture shops on the Western Suburbs of Mumbai. Home Stop (Shoppers Stop’s home accessory store) had some on sale for Rs. 28,000 but composite material and a little rickety (meaning it was stock clearance piece). Next stop, Home Centre (Lifestyle’s Home accessory division). They had more variety in terms of specifications and colours but starting at Rs. 28,000 they too were a beyond the budget.

Then someone told us about Star & Style Furniture Pvt. Ltd. In Goregaon and we headed there to find that this guy manufactures them! Wow! Well he told us about the various models available. He has manual ones in single seater, 2 seater and 3 seater with a rocker and non rocker mechanism. Then there were the Automatic (motorized) ones which were predominantly single seater. The manual ones were priced between 19k-23k for a single one and the motorized ones were priced at Rs. 32k onwards. But he made us an offer of Rs. 28k for a leather upholstered model (He said he had made a consignment of 100 of them and there was a reduction in the order so he has a few pieces spare). The best part about this guy was that you can get them as per your requirement in terms of colours and materials.

We made our next stop at Hypercity and saw some manual recliners with a rocker mechanism and micro fiber upholstery for Rs. 18k, just about perfect for our budget.

Well, the story doesn’t end here. Now we had the option of getting a motorized leather recliner! Hmmm, a little over budget, but more comfortable than any of the other ones we had seen! So after a week of contemplation over the extra 12k we would have to spend (considering we had previously decided to get the manual ones from Star & Style at 20k a piece) we decided to go for it.

But then we pushed a little further and we got him to give us a recliner for 26k and that made the deal even more tempting! We made the payment and asked the guy to deliver the recliners right away the same day!

Hurrrraaaaay!

PS – Anyone looking to get recliners for themselves can call Monish from Star & Style Furniture Pvt. Ltd on 9821013384. Their Address is A Wing 4th Floor Durian Estate

Goregaon Mulund Link Road, Goregaon E, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400063 | Website

Other places are

EBONY FURNITURE | 270- 2146/2147,Motilal Nagar No.1, New Link Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400104 | Ph: +91 22 2876 5391 | fax: +91 22 2876 5391 | alt: +91 22 264506869 | Website

Recliners India Ltd | Wasim Shaikh, Kishan Prasad & Co. Ltd. 3rd floor, Jiji house, 17, Damodardas Sukhadvala Marg, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. Cell: 93238 03216 Tel:022 - 2207 9341

My Amul Story!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:23:00 +0000

I bought a 6 pack of Amul Cool Cafe from Star Bazaar (A Tata Trent Enterprise) in Andheri West, Mumbai.

So, I proceeded to enjoy the coffee flavoured milk in the comfort of my living room last night. Everything was fine and going good, till I reached the end of the bottle. There were a couple of pieces of broken glass at the bottom! One big piece and some smaller granules. I was shocked!

The customer service bashing spree that I am on, did not stop me from logging on to the Amul website and get some contact details. I got an email id and a feedback form, so I rattled off an email to them saying that they need to improve the quality checks on their products.

Not surprisingly, I got a call from someone in the Amul office in Mumbai this afternoon, they asked me for details on the purchase, the place of purchase and my address, saying that someone from the survey office will call me today and will visit my home at my time of convenience and take details of the problem.

That’s a good start I must say! I guess the actual level of customer service will be known only after someone calls me and takes this forward.

Till Then!

Travelocity India - The Travel less preferred (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:45:00 +0000

The Travelocity battle continues (Part 1 here). It's been 20 odd days now since the battle began. The customer care refuses to accept their mistake. After some 8-10 mails exchanged between them and me & some 20 odd mails exchanged between them and my wife, we are back to square one!

As a last resort, I took the help of Social Networking. In an hope to be heard I scouted Facbook, Twitter & LinkedIn for some contact or a person higher up in the hierarchy. LinkedIn worked, I got in touch with the Head of Marketing for Travelocity India and sent him a message on 28th Dec, asking for help.

On 29th Dec 09, I got a reply from him asking me what the problem was and if I could share the details with him. The task of reciting my story all over again began with an email to Mr. Head of Marketing. As funny as it may seem, there was no response from him on this issue.

Then, on 2nd Jan 2010, I got a call from Mr. Amit from Travelocity telling me that that call is in regard to the call back I had requested. So I plainly asked him if he was aware of the issue and if he would help me resolve it. Well, he said yes he is fully aware and will help me out. He started rattling the same line (Sir, as you are aware, the terms and conditions clearly state that we have the right to cancel a ticket if 2 eVouchers are used) which I think has been repeated by their customer care department some 100 times now.

My reply was again the standard one, which I have repeated about 200 times (Please try and understand, it was a problem with your website and I DID NOT use 2 eVouchers!). Then ensued a conversation for 8 mins which as all about trying to convince me that it was my fault and Travelocity had all rights to cancel my ticket!

After battling Amit for 8 mins, he told me he would get his supervisor Mr. Avijit on the call who will be able to help me out better. So, then after a 4 min hold Mr. Avijit came on the line. After the exchange of pleasantries, I asked him if he was aware of the situation or would I have to repeat the story again? H said he was aware and would do all that it took to help me, but then he threw the same line at me the 101st time!

I was shocked! I told him the same story yet again! And also that I am really disgusted by the service Travelocity is offering and they have no right to call themselves 'Customer Care'. Then after another 5 mins of explaining to him the harassment that I underwent because of 2 wrong debits and the Rs. 1000/- they charged me for no fault of mine, I told him that if he cannot help me, then this conversation isn't heading anywhere!

He told me that he was sorry for the inconvenience and promised to get back to me by Monday (today, 04 Jan 2010) after getting in touch with his Senior Management and figuring a way out to resolve this issue.

But, Travelocity customer care are true to their word! They never get back and they never call back! I am still waiting in hope to hear from them!

I am irritated and frustrated with their attitude! This isn't customer care, it's more like customer harassment! I will also put the email conversation that we have been having with their customer care department! They seem to be a bunch of retarded people who neither know how to read English nor comprehend it!

Isn't there a way that I can send an invoice to them and charge them for the canceled ticket, 2 wrong debits & the mental harassment? I will wait for their call and this time I will record that conversation and put it up here for everyone to hear!

Social Media Works - There is Method to the madness!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:41:00 +0000

Well I am simply amazed on how social media works in getting your voice heard! My last post about the mad methods of a radio station in choosing winners of a contest has seen a lot of activity.

Yesterday I got a call from a friend who works with the same radio station saying that my blog post had created a big uproar internally and it’s causing a lot of trouble to a lot of people.

So he asked me to remove the post in good faith! I told him that I would think about it and do what I feel is right! I was in all mood to republish the post as is! But then since he was nice enough to call me and request me, I thought I will remove the brand name and the concerned person’s name from the post and publish it anyways.

It was amazing on how a simple blog post created havoc in a Brand’s daily life! The post on my blog got published to my Facebook account and someone read it and sent to the producer of the show from the Radio Station that triggered this whole situation.

I am happy, someone out there cares. Unlike some other brands that I have been battling with (Read the story about Travelocity here). I have given feedback to the producer who has personally responded to my feedback. I know this could mean that my number and name could be blocked from further contests etc. but I really don’t care, as long as it does some good.

Red FM Bajate Raho! Kiski Baji?

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:42:00 +0000

Was driving home from work today and was listening to the radio. The evening show RED FM was on. Like everyone, they too are having this New Year and Christmas contest where they are giving out shopping vouchers.

RJ Mantra and his side kick Cookie were hosting the show and Cookie had hidden some gift vouchers. The simple question was to guess where the vouchers were hidden basis the hints and you could win a voucher for yourself.

Since I was waiting at the signal, I whipped out my cell phone and sent them a message. In the next 5 minutes I got a call from someone from RED FM, and the following conversation took place

SJ: Hello?

RFM: Hey is that Sahil?

SJ: Yes it is!

RFM: Sahil, I am calling from the Radio Station, you just sent us a message about the question we asked on air right?

SJ: Yes I did!

RFM: Can I ask you where you work?

SJ: At a TV Channel

RFM: A TV Channel? Really? Which one?

SJ: NDTV Imagine!

RFM: Wow! Cool! Also, have you won anything on radio?

SJ: Yes, my wife won a cellphone a couple of months back?

RFM: Arre Wah! When was this?

SJ: I don’t remember, I was some time back!

RFM: Ok Sahil, your number has been shortlisted! Will call you if your number makes it to the next round! And when I call back the next time, sound excited!

SJ: Sure man!

----

Beep Beep Beep

Then I was waiting and waiting and waiting! No word from the Radio Station!

What kind of twisted person calls you and tell you that you have been shortlisted? You call me if I have won! Don’t call me if I haven’t! It’s so stupid to do something like it. And what’s the deal with telling me to sound excited!? Give me the voucher and see how excited I would be!

Pure dumb!

Objects of (my) desire on 2 wheels

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:16:00 +0000

The Royal Enfield Classic 500 EFI

Royal Enfield is one brand that entices every India biker. This bike is every biker's dream! I also wanted to get one, when i got my first bike when i was 21, but had to settle for the 150cc Hero Honda CBZ, my dad did not allow me to get a 350cc Monster then the Royal Enfield Electra which was available for a difference of only Rs. 7,000.

What attracts to this bike are the looks. Purely. Obviously there have been developments on the engine and technology fronts as the 500 has got the Electronic Fuel Injection technology from Japan. The bike seems to be a tweaked version of the models developed in the 50's - the up-swept exhaust, the saddle seat, the styling of the tank et cetra.

Specifications of Bullet Classic 500 EFi:

Engine: Single Cylinder, 4 stroke, air cooled OHV
Capacity: 499cc
Fuel system: Electronic Fuel Injection
Ignition: Digital Electronic ignition
Starting: Electric start
Maximum power: 20.3KW (27.2bhp) @ 5250rpm
Maximum Torque: 41.3Nm @ 4000rpm
Gear box: constant mesh 5 speed
Brakes (front): disc brake single 280mm disc with 2 piston caliper
Brakes (rear): drum brake (152mm)
Tyre (front): 90×90-18” Tyre (rear): 110×80-18”
Fuel tank capacity: 14.5liters
Weight: 187kgs

The dream still lingers on for me, I know of my friends who have made me jealous by booking it, owning it and flaunting it.

I hope to get mine soon!

Objects of (my) desire! (Personal Media Player)

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:58:00 +0000

I have owned quite a few MP3/Media players in the past. Starting with the Cowon iaudio X5, it gave me all that i needed, a 20GB HDD, Colour screen capable of playing videos, FM Radio and Music. Then i got myself the Sony NW A1200 walkman, it was a basic MP3 player with 8GB memory and music & FM Radio capabilities only. Moved on to the Creative Zen. Pretty Happy with it, 4 GB memory, video payer, FM Radio, Voice Recorder and expandable SC card slot. But like all things that you get bored of, I too got bored of all these and got myself an iPod Touch 8GB simply because of the lack of options!

I wanted to the Microsoft Zune HD but the lack of it's availability or rather exclusive availability in USA and Canda didn't allow me to get it.

But my top choice was the Archos 5

The high price and the limited availability was the reason of not getting it.

Why did I want to get it? Well the Specs speak for themselves

Display characteristics:High resolution screen, 800x480 pixels, 4.8'' TFT LCD, 16 million colors
User interface:Touch screen, ON/OFF, vol+ and vol- buttons, retractable virtual keyboard
Processor(s):Central Unit:Main processor: ARM CortexTM-A8, 32 bit, In-order, dual-issue, superscalar core @ 600 MHz | Additional processor: 32 bit DSP @ 430 MHz
RAM memory:128 MB* (Low-Power Double Data Rate SDRAM)
Mass storage memory: Hard drive, capacity according to the product version
Operating system: Linux
Connectivity: On board WiFi (802.11 b/g), USB 2.0 host with optional accessories
PC accessories: Possible attachment of numerous standard USB PC accessories (keyboard, mouse, memory key, memory cards reader, camera and other future computer accessories)
Video playback: MPEG-42 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution), WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) included WMV protected files,M-JPEG (in QVGA resolution)
With optional software plug-in:HD support: MPEG-4 (ASP 720p) & WMV HD (MP 720p) | MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1) | H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC
Audio playback: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1, WAV (PCM/ADPCM). | AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files (via SPDIF output of DVR Station) | Flac and OGG Vorbis audio files
With optional software plug-in: AAC3 and AAC+ stereo audio files
Photo viewer: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
PDF viewer: Reads PDF documents (may not implement all PDF features)
Video recording: Via the optional DVR Station or DVR Snap-on. Records NTSC/PAL/SECAM in MPEG-4 AVI format with stereo sound, VGA resolution (640 x 480) @ 30 or 25 f/s
Audio recording: Via the optional DVR Station or DVR Snap-on: Stereo line-in, WAV (IMA ADPCM or PCM) format
Email client: Compatible with Email accounts supporting POP3 and IMAP services Import/export of vCard contacts
Connections: WiFi (802.11 b/g) connection. Free Web Browser (Opera® Web browser with Adobe Flash® 9 video support) upon registration
Battery life: Music playback time: up to 22 hours | Video playback time: up to 7 hours

That's not all with a built-in speaker, ability to play games, and widgets it is a true competitor for the iPod touch!

Full Archos 5 review can be read here

Objects of (my) desire! (Communication)

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:31:00 +0000

My object of lust as a communication device has been the HTC Hero for while

The HTC Hero is the first divine looking piece of hardware that runs Android. It's the flagship for HTC and also for Android at the same time. It's the true game changer in it's category and can take on any other phone head on, thanks to its open source heart.

Key Features of the HTC Hero:

* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support

* 3G with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps

* Heavily customized (in both graphics and performance) Android OS v1.5 (Sense UI)

* 3.2" capacitive touchscreen of HVGA resolution

* Qualcomm MSM 7200A 528 MHz CPU, 288 MB RAM

* 5 megapixel autofocus camera with video recording

* Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and GPS receiver

* Trackball navigation

* Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and turn-to-mute

* Digital compass for automatic navigation of maps

* Multi-touch zooming in gallery and web browser

* Standard miniUSB port for charging and data

* Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)

* microSD card slot with support for up to 8GB cards (2GB one included)

* Standard 3.5mm audio jack

* Direct access to the official Android repository

* Web browser comes with full Flash support

* Smart dialing

* Tethering support right out-of-the-box

To take a closer look at the Hero, check out these 4 videos

Meet The HTC Hero

Make it Mine

Stay Close

Discover the Unexpected

These 4 videos will give a peek at the features of the HTC Hero and what the Android platform has to offer. The Hero is flawed, though, in ways that are truly depressing in light of its potential and how much it does get truly right: It's often sluggish, which absolutely destroys the user experience. It's a particularly unfortunate affliction as the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre emphasize speed, making the Hero feel that much slower.

The Hero will need about 6 months according to me for ironing out the Software and Hardware flaws and more importantly for the price to drop.

At Rs. 34,000/- it is not a phone that is by any means easily affordable!

Objects of (my) desire! (Computing)

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:12:00 +0000

Starting with Personal Computing, let me talk about the Acer Ferrari One Netbook.

The netbooks have been termed as game-changers. They have made personal computing more affordable and portable. Many critics believe that the netbook category is still in its nascent stage and there is room for much more than what exists. I thinks that's the case with all forms of technology. The pace at which technology evolves, it's always the case that what you have now is going to be redundant in 6 months time if not less.

Lets Look at the specifications of the Acer Ferrari One:

The Acer Ferrari One FO200-1799 has an 11.6-inch HD widescreen display with a resolution of 1366×768 pixels. It is powered by an 1.20 GHz MD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor L310 and runs Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The notebook measures 11.2 x 8.03 x 0.9/1.2 inches and weighs 3.31 pounds.

The notebook packs ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3200 Graphics for good visual quality, 4GB DDR2 RAM, and 250GB 5400rpm HDD.

The Acer Ferrari One FO200-1799 notebook is equipped with a Ferrari-engraved multi-gesture trackpad and a Crystal Eye webcam.

I guess its perfect for my personal use of writing a blog and surfing the web, my work on my computer doesn't involve any graphic heavy operations or gaming.

It’s basically an upmarket Netbook with an upmarket price, starting at around 450 euros which equates to $656 United States Dollars or a whiff off of £400. These are starting prices though; it’ll cost you more if you want some of the extras.

How Geeks Buy Gadgets [Friday Fun]

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:57:00 +0000

How Geeks Buy Gadgets [Friday Fun]: "
Geeks love gadgets and this flowchart will help our geeky friends decide on their new gadget.

How Geeks Buy Gadgets

[credit]

Spicejet - The airline less preferred!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:34:00 +0000

Well after Travelocity, its time for some Spicejet bashing! I was flying from Mumbai to New on Spicejet flight SG118 departing Mumbai at 9.30 PM!

We made our way to the airport well in time! Proceeded for check-in & then the security check! Everything was fine, then the boarding announcement happened and we proceeded to board the aircraft!

Now 9.30 is typically dinner time for most of the people, hence we decided to eat at the airport or in the aircraft! Now Spicejet being a low cost carrier, you have to buy your food, even though you pay Rs. 4k per head for a stinky low cost carrier, yet you have to buy your food!
The aircraft took off and we were flipping through the page of their in-flight magazine called 'spice route', which also serves as their menu card.

So i turn to the menu card and it reads 'spice it up. Hunger pangs need not torment you on a long flight. Our All-Day Fresh Feast offers both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meal option'. I thought to myself, Hurray! Something to look forward to! The choices were

1. Newly launched All-day Fresh Feast. A wholesome combo, this includes an option of vegetarian or non-vegetarian kathi rolls, delicious walnut brownie and a beverage of your choice. Onboard - Rs. 150 & Online - Rs. 125
2. The special Breakfast Box comprising stuffed croissant, Danish Pastry, yoghurt, fresh fruit compote and a choice of beverage, is available on all flights departing before 9.30am. Onboard - Rs. 150 & Online - Rs. 125
3. Wholesome Sandwich Combo (vegetarian & non-vegetarian) are available throughout the day and include a brownie and a choice of beverage. Onboard - Rs. 150 & Online Rs. 125
4. Mixed nuts available for Rs. 60

Well the choice was obvious. Kathi rolls rule all the way!

So i am seated Row 9. The crew get into the act and start serving the meals from Row 1. And it took them a good 30 mins to reach row 9! All this while i was dreaming of the delicious kathi roll and the brownie! The flight steward comes to me and asks me what i'd like to have, i am by now jumping with joy because finally someone has come to serve me those rolls!

So i quickly ask for a kathi roll and the steward politely declines, saying that the non-veg sandwiches and kathi rolls are over! OVER!!? From row 1 to row 9... OVER! I was very irritated and to rub it in he said we are serving only Tea, Coffee & juices. So my wife asks me to ask them if they have anythung from the breakfast menu! And what do you know? Nada! Nothing! So i proceed to ask for some Mixed Nuts from these nuts, and yes the Nuts are over too! (Row 1 to Row 9 - the food is over)
And the reasoning they gave was that some passengers ordered the meals online at the last minute and we had to serve them! I mean what kind of an excuse is that? Since you had confirmed number for your Kathi rolls you should stack more!

Or better still, why dont you just say that if you want to have a meal onboard then you book it along with your ticket! And nothing will be sold onboard! You want to eat? You book it with you ticket and pay beforehand!

Anyways, I land in Delhi at 11:30 PM and i havent had dinner, i aint getting anything when i get out of the airport either. I have decided never to fly Spicejet again, unless its a matter of life and death!

Travelocity India - The Travel less preferred

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:50:00 +0000

Well, when it comes to Air Travel everyone uses a website as a service partner to book tickets, unless it's an emergency, very rarely do people go to the counter to book their air tickets. Well, we have to then trust the website/ticketing partner for everything going smoothly. This is more like a compulsion than choice.

One such incident has let a bitter taste.

www.travelocity.co.in claim to be 'Your Online Travel Agent'. And like an unsuspecting customer i logged on to find the best travel deals (considering that air travel isn't as cheap as it used to be, so we have to hunt and hunt for the best deal).

So i started out on 16th December (Morning), logged on the site and behold, i came across an offer from ICICI bank that said, i could an additional Rs. 300 off if i have an ICICI Credit or Debit card, which i can use to generate an eVoucher.

So i thought to myself, Hey! why not? I generated an eVoucer and proceeded to make my bookings. And then drama. At the first try, i got an error saying that the booking did not go through, so i said yeah could an erratic data package that my ISP sent out, so i proceeded again, and then another error, this time it was about the eVoucher (which has expired, thanks to my previous try)! Life for getting a little irritating! So i thought that i would give it one more try and if it doesn't work, i will go somewhere else.

Try number 3 was a little to much to take. Error message yet again! And this very time, my phone beeped with an SMS, and what do you know, the account has been debited! No ticket has been issued! I picked up the phone on the 'Customer Care' department and told them of my problem! They promised to call me back with the relevant details.

The day just went by without any revert, so i called them back and they told me, that they cannot do anything, i would have to speak with my Bank and then get the amount reversed as the transaction was tried using a debit card! So, I promptly called my bank and they said that it will take 7 working days for the refund to happen! In the meanwhile the customer care representative (travelocity chooses to call them Travel Advisors) informed me that there is a problem with the website and it will be sorted in about and hour and your previous eVoucher still holds good!

I let the say pass and in the evening got to booking my ticket yet again! Same story repeated - Try#1: Error | Try#2: Error (expired evoucher) | I generated another eVoucher and thought of giving it another try and at that time Travelocity was the cheapest website for booking tickets. So Try#3 was a surprise, the transaction when through successfully! My joy know no bounds! A New-Delhi to Mumbai ticket for Rs. 2460 was a definite steal!

December 17 2009: Email from travelocity

Dear Travelocity Customer,

Greetings from travelocity.co.in

This email is regard to your recent booking under the Trip Id: 99966441

We find you have used more than one ICICI VISA promotional eVoucher in this
booking. We had outlined upfront at the time of eVoucher generation, and in
the terms and condition of the promotion that usage of more than one
eVoucher in a single transaction would result in your booking being
cancelled without further notice.

As you did not fulfill the required criteria, wherein you were supposed to
redeem only one eVoucher, we have cancelled your booking. Please find below
the break up of the cancellation charges:

Airline cancellation fee : INR 750.00 per person
Travelocity Administration fee: INR 250.00 per person

Total refundable amount : INR 1430.00 per person

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us.

Calling from within India:
Tel: 1800 180 1222 or 0124 239 8222
Fax: 0124 239 8233
Calling from outside India:
Tel: +91 124 239 8222

Kind regards,

Sahrish Naseem | Sales & Customer Care | Travelocity India |
www.travelocity.co.in

I was shocked beyond my wit! Rs. 1000 down the drain! So i decided to take it up with them. After a call with their 'Travel Advisor' i was told that i had f***ed up and i am to blame and i used to 2 eVoucher when i could use only one!

So while this battle is on, i still need to travel from New Delhi to Mumbai in Jan! I Scouted the web for a cheap deal and everything went back to travelocity! I gulped my pride and ego and said maybe they have ironed out the issues, so lets try again! Another eVoucher was generated and proceeded for booking!

Try#1 - ERROR! No Ticket! Account debited again! Damn!

Spoke with them again! They promised me that they would refund the amount in 48 hours!

I have been left with a few questions:

a. Who monitors these websites for errors?

b. If only 1 eVoucher can be used for the booking, why wasn't i prompted at the time of the booking that i already have an active eVoucher?

c. If they can charge me an admin fee for cancellation of a ticket (for no fault of mine), can i not charge them some harassment fee?

d. Customer Care? Who coined this term? When all Customer Care departments of all products and services are only trying to tell you how its your fault and they cannot do anything about it. Where is the care?

e. Is there an organization/association that can be approached or any website that can help with grievances like these?

Do share this will all the people you know! Maybe this story can be helpful to get people to be cautious!

Will post the followup to this when i receive a response from travelocity!

Until then - Happy booking! Happy Flying!

Hangover

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:32:00 +0000

Hangover:

After the annual office party blow-out, Colin woke up with a pounding headache, cotton-mouthed, and utterly unable to recall the events of the preceding evening.

After a trip to the bathroom he was able to make his way downstairs, where his wife put some coffee in front of him.

'Louise,' he moaned, 'Tell me what went on last night. Was it as bad as I think?'

'Even worse,' she assured him, voice dripping with scorn. 'You made a complete ass of yourself, succeeded in antagonizing the entire senior management and insulted the Regional Director General to his face.'

'He's an asshole. I should have pissed on him.'

'You did,' Louise informed him. 'And he fired you.'

'Well, screw him!' yelled Colin.

'I did. You're back at work on Monday.'

These Pictures Will Melt Your Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:13:00 +0000

These Pictures Will Melt Your Mind: "

[Via Reddit | Flickr 1

Wedding catastrophe!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:11:00 +0000

Nokia did a contest which was called "Offline as it happens"! It's all about the catastrophe that happens if you aren't online.

Things get complicated when you're offline as it happens.

See more films and create the next "Offline as it happens" story and you might win a Nokia N900

Source -Youtube

Häagen-Dazs - Ice Creams of Discrimination (Follow Up)

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:57:00 +0000

Haagen-Dazs probably did not realise that a sign that was meant to tempt the Capital’s crème de la crème to its premium ‘international-quality’ ice-creams would instead land it in hot water. A day before the US brand opened its first outlet in a south Delhi mall, it put up signboards around the area for a “preview for international travellers” with the telling rider, ‘Entry restricted only to holders of international passports’.

An Indian who saw the sign and was turned away from the store — only because of lack of space due to weekend rush, according to Haagen-Dazs — took a photograph. He e-mailed it to a Times of India blogger; within minutes it had gone around the globe ( Sorry, Indians not allowed ), inciting a hail of protests that left the company red-faced. “An error was made in the creative execution,” Anindo Mukherji, MD of General Mills India, which markets the brand here, told ET, adding more precisely: “It was a wrong choice of words, and we regret the error.”

As there are no such things as ‘national’ passports — they are after all used only for international travel — it was apparent that ‘international’ was used as another word for ‘foreign’. And since the booklet’s only use, once the holder clears an airport immigration counter, is as a proof of nationality, the clear implication was that only foreigners would be allowed for the ‘preview’. It was not, however, intended to be a case of reworking the old British sign, ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’.

“No one was turned away because of nationality,” insisted Arindam Haldar, director, Haagen-Dazs. “I was present on all days. If people were refused entry momentarily, it was only due to overcrowding as there was a rush.” Obviously, Haagen-Dazs is here to tap the Indian market, not keep it out, but the words of the teaser campaign left the company vulnerable to the charge of apartheid. And it was compounded by the very poor choice of words by TBWA, the agency that did the teaser campaign.

Upon sustained queries to company officials about the intention of the campaign, it emerged that what Haagen-Dazs really wanted to convey was ‘Now get a taste of abroad right here in India’. But by preferring several long words — that are liable to be misinterpreted — instead of short, clear ones, they ended up generating a lot of heat: something that ice-cream brands, in particular, should steer clear of, if they don’t want their market to melt away, thanks to offended sensibilities. Especially, since it plans to open 30 to 40 outlets in the next few years.

Source - Reshmi R Dasgupta, ET Bureau

Häagen-Dazs - Ice Creams of Discrimination

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:37:00 +0000

Discrimination

My friend Ramit (name changed on request) called me late Friday night. He sounded quite agitated. “You know, Haagen Dazs has opened its Delhi outlet”. I reacted with a joke. “Good, now you can spend a lot more on an ice cream than you normally would. But why are you agitated?”

“Because I am not allowed to enter”, he said. Now, Ramit is not like one of the politician’s son or into drugs, the sort who are often in news in India’s capital for all the wrong reasons, nor is he the kind who will shoot someone down because she refused to serve him a cone of ice cream.

He did not waste much time and said he has taken a picture and is mailing me the reason. I switched on my mail, and clicked on the attachment. I couldn’t believe what I saw. Was I in India, 62 years after gaining independence, and years after South Africa officially ended apartheid?

The banners outside the outlet said: Exclusive Preview for International Travellers. And under that, in an even finer print, the real bombshell: Access restricted only to holders of international passports.

I immediately called Ramit. “You are an international traveler, and you have a passport, so you can go in”, I said. Ramit’s response was instant: I tried to enter but they said you are not allowed for you don’t have an international passport.

I am normally not given to immediate emotional reactions, but I couldn’t resist this time. I was, to be honest, upset. How can they do this to an Indian, in India? Do a story on TOI or NBT? Do it for print or Online? Call other media friends and colleagues? I simply didn’t know how to react. Print would have a better impact, but should I wait that long?

Then I felt, why not use the power of the social media? Next thing I knew was that I had put up a few pictures on facebook, added a caption and also sent out a tweet with a request it be retweeted. In a few hours, it had turned into a viral and I started getting messages from angry Indians all over. Why just Indians, even friends in international media wrote to say “this is the stupidest thing they have seen in a long time”.

I didn’t stop at that. I ended up calling a few MPs I knew I could speak to bluntly and told them about it, taunting them about it.

I don’t know what finally worked, but it seems word did get around to the outlet’s franchisee and they started claiming there never was any restriction on anybody entering the outlet.

While this may be considered a victory for people power, I am still unable to figure out who in his right senses would have advised the dessert company to do something so stupid. Was it a way to generate controversy for free publicity? Did they think it will work subliminally on Indians mind that now that it has been ‘certified’ by international travelers it would be good for them too?

Whatever it is, it is idiotic. I checked later and found that the franchisee is an Indian company based in Delhi and the man incharge is also an Indian.

I have often maintained that we ourselves are our biggest enemies. Our mentality is that of slaves and we think anything is good only if its approved by foreigners, or the “holders of international passport”.

Perhaps the Indian franchisee had this in mind. And a comment on the picture I put up on the facebook by an Indian who migrated to Australia decades ago sums it up: Most international travellers don't want HD in India when they can get it in their own backyard. Its a commodity not a special thing for them. They would also see this as pure cashing in and thinking they are idiots - 'India taking them for a ride.' Have to remember not every international traveler is American; makes an average salary of squillion dollars; can often be allergic to dairy (yes); is in India to have an 'authentic Indian' experience and by golly even enjoy kulfi, falooda, lassi, dosa! This is all about how India and Indians see themselves. Foreigners have nothing to do with it.

Source - Times of India Blogs

What have we come to? Indian's sitting on the back of Indian's and taking them for a ride? An Indian Franchise with an Indian owner, does let an Indian enter?

I guess they should be told to go back to where they came from. They aren't needed here anyways!

Flyovers

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:27:00 +0000

निम्नलिखित लेख उस छात्र की कॉपी से लिया गया है, जिसे निबंध लेखन प्रतियोगितामें पहला पुरस्कार मिला है।निबध का विषय था - फ्लाईओवर।

फ्लाईओवर का जीवन में बहुत महत्व है, खास तौर पर इंजीनियरों और ठेकेदारों के जीवन में तो घणा ही महत्व है। एकफ्लाईओवर से न जाने कितनी कोठियां निकल आती हैं। पश्चिम जगत के इंजीनियर भले ही इसेन समझें कि भारत में यहकमाल होता है कि पुल से कोठियां निकल आती हैं और फ्लाईओवर से फार्महाउस।

खैर, फ्लाईओवर से हमें जीवन के कई पाठ मिलते हैं, जैसे बंदा कई बार घुमावदार फ्लाईओवर पर चले, तोपता चलता है किजहां से शुरुआत की थी, वहीं पर पहुंच गए हैं। उदाहरण के लिए ऑल इंडिया इंस्टिट्यूट ऑफमेडिकल साइंसेज के पास केफ्लाईओवर में बंदा कई बार जहां से शुरू करे, वहीं पहुंच जाता है। वैसे, यह लाइफका सत्य है, कई बार बरसों चलते -चलते यहपता चलता है कि कहीं पहुंचे ही नहीं।

फ्लाईओवर जब नए-नए बनते हैं, तो एकाध महीने ट्रैफिक स्मूद रहता है, फिर वही हाल हो लेता है। जैसेआश्रम में अबफ्लाईओवर पर जाम लगता है, यानी अब फ्लाईओवर पर फ्लाईओवर की जरूरत है। फिर उसफ्लाईओवर के फ्लाईओवर केफ्लाईओवर पर भी फ्लाईओवर चाहिए होगा। हो सकता है कि कुछ समय बादफ्लाईओवर अथॉरिटी ऑफ इंडिया ही बन जाए।इसमें कुछ और अफसरों की पोस्टिंग का जुगाड़ हो जाएगा। तबहम कह सकेंगे कि फ्लाईओवरों का अफसरों के जीवन में भीघणा महत्व है।

दिल्ली में इन दिनों फ्लाईओवरों की धूम है। इधर से फ्लाईओवर, उधर से फ्लाईओवर। फ्लाईओवर बनने केचक्कर में विकटजाम हो रहे हैं। दिल्ली गाजियाबाद अप्सरा बॉर्डर के जाम में फंसकर धैर्य और संयम जैसे गुणोंका विकास हो जाता है,ऑटोमैटिक। व्यग्र और उग्र लोगों का एक ट्रीटमेंट यह है कि उन्हें अप्सरा बॉर्डर के जाममें छोड़ दिया जाए।

फ्लाईओवर बनने से पहले जाम फ्लाईओवर के नीचे लगते हैं, फिर फ्लाईओवर बनने के बाद जाम ऊपर लगनेशुरू हो जाते हैं।इससे हमें भौतिकी के उस नियम का पता चलता है कि कहीं कुछ नहीं बदलता, फ्लाईओवर काउद्देश्य इतना भर रहता है किवह जाम को नीचे से ऊपर की ओर ले आता है, ताकि नीचे वाले जाम के लिएरास्ता प्रशस्त किया जा सके।

फ्लाईओवरों का भविष्य उज्जवल है। कुछ समय बाद यह सीन होगा कि जैसे डबल डेकर बस होती है, वैसेडबल डेकरफ्लाईओवर भी होंगे। डबल ही क्यों, ट्रिपल, फाइव डेकर फ्लाईओवर भी हो सकते हैं। दिल्ली वालेतब अपना एड्रेस यूं बताएंगे -आश्रम के पांचवें लेवल के फ्लाईओवर के ठीक सामने जो फ्लैट पड़ता है, वो मेराहै। कभी जाम में फंस जाएं, तो कॉल कर देना,डोरी में टांग कर चाय लटका दूंगा। संवाद कुछ इस तरह के होंगे -अबे कहां रहता है आजकल रोज अपने फ्लैट से पांचवें लेवलका जाम देखता हूं, तेरी कार नहीं दिखती। सामनेवाला बताएगा - आजकल मैं चौथे लेवल के फ्लाईओवर में फंसता हूं। अबेपांचवें लेवल के जाम में फंसा कर, वहांहवा अच्छी लगती है। अबे, ले मैं तेरे ऊपर ही था, पांचवें वाले लेवल पर और तू चौथेलेवल पर, कॉल कर देता,तो झांककर बात कर लेता।

Source - A forwarded email!!!

via - umennet

Heroics of Taj Hotel’s Staff in Mumbai

noreply@blogger.com (Sahil Jatana) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:13:00 +0000

I just received this email... It's worth a read!

Meeting with H N Srinivas – Senior Executive Vice President, Taj Group of Hotels

Last evening, I had a dinner meeting with HNS in Goa (I was there for a National Institute of Personnel Management conference – as a speaker).

He narrated the 26th November 2008 terror attack on Taj Mumbai and there were some important points.

A. Terrorist entry

They entered from the Leopold Colaba hotel entrance and also from the northern entrance – spraying indiscriminate bullets on the Taj security personnel and guests in general.
Though Taj had a reasonable security – they were surely not equipped to deal with terrorists who were spraying 6 bullets per trigger.
The strategy of the terrorists was to throw chunks of RDX in an open area that will explode and burn – creating chaos so that the guests and staff run helter skelter so that the terrorists could kill them. The idea was to create maximum casualties.
There were several critical gatherings and functions happening in the hotel on that day – a Bohra wedding, global meet of Unilever CEOs and Board members and 2 other corporate meetings were being held in the hotel – besides the usual crowd.
The firing and chaos began at about 8.30 p.m. and the staff including employees on casual and contract basis displayed exemplary presence of mind, courage and sacrifice to protect the guests who were in various halls and conference rooms.

B. Stories of Staff Heroics

A young lady guest relation executive with the HLL gathering stopped any of the members going out and volunteered 3 times to go out and get stuff such as ice cubes for whiskey of the guests when the situation outside the hall was very explosives and she could have been easily the target of the bullets
Thomas George a captain escorted 54 guests from a backdoor staircase and when he was going down last he was shot by the terrorists
There were 500 emails from various guests narrating heroics of the staff and thanking them for saving their lives
In a subsequent function, Ratan Tata broke down in full public view and sobbed saying – “the company belongs to these people”. The wife of Thomas George who laid his life saving others said, she and the kids were proud of the man and that she did not know that for 25 years she lived with a man who was so courageous and brave
The episode happened on 26th November, a significant part of the hotel was burnt down and destroyed – the hotel was re-opened on 21st December and all the employees of the hotel were paraded in front of the guests
It was clearly a saga of extra-ordinary heroics by ordinary people for their organisation and in a way for their country. The sense of duty and service was unprecedented
The young lady who protected and looked after the HLL guests was a management trainee and we often speak of juniority and seniority in the organisation. She had no instructions from any supervisor to do what she did

She took just 3 minutes to rescue the entire team through the kitchen
Cars were organised outside the hotel as per seniority of the members
In the peak of the crisis, she stepped out and got the right wine glass for the guest

People who exhibited courage included janitors, waiters, directors, artisans and captains – all level of people

C. The Tata Gesture

All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed
Relief and assistance to all those who were injured and killed
The relief and assistance was extended to all those who died at the railway station, surroundings including the “Pav-Bhaji” vendor and the pan shop owners
During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent my money order
A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help
The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind was constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided
Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility
Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required
Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected.
The dependents of the employees were flown from outside Mumbai to Mumbai and taken care off in terms of ensuring mental assurance and peace. They were all accommodated in Hotel President for 3 weeks
Ratan Tata himself asked the families and dependents – as to what they wanted him to do.
In a record time of 20 days, a new trust was created by the Tatas for the purpose of relief of employees.
What is unique is that even the other people, the railway employees, the police staff, the pedestrians who had nothing to do with Tatas were covered by compensation. Each one of them was provided subsistence allowance of Rs. 10K per month for all these people for 6 months.
A 4 year old granddaughter of a vendor got 4 bullets in her and only one was removed in the Government hospital. She was taken to Bombay hospital and several lacs were spent by the Tatas on her to fully recover her
New hand carts were provided to several vendors who lost their carts
Tata will take responsibility of life education of 46 children of the victims of the terror
This was the most trying period in the life of the organisation. Senior managers including Ratan Tata were visiting funeral to funeral over the 3 days that were most horrible
The settlement for every deceased member ranged from Rs. 36 to 85 lacs in addition to the following benefits:

Full last salary for life for the family and dependents
Complete responsibility of education of children and dependents – anywhere in the world
Full Medical facility for the whole family and dependents for rest of their life
All loans and advances were waived off – irrespective of the amount
Counselor for life for each person

D. Epilogue

How was such passion created among the employees? How and why did they behave the way they did?
The organisation is clear that it is not something that someone can take credit for. It is not some training and development that created such behaviour. If someone suggests that – everyone laughs
It has to do with the DNA of the organisation, with the way Tata culture exists and above all with the situation that prevailed that time. The organisation has always been telling that customers and guests are #1 priority
The hotel business was started by Jamshedji Tata when he was insulted in one of the British hotels and not allowed to stay there.
He created several institutions which later became icons of progress, culture and modernity. IISc is one such institute. He was told by the rulers that time that he can acquire land for IISc to the extent he could fence the same. He could afford fencing only 400 acres.
When the HR function hesitatingly made a very rich proposal to Ratan – he said – do you think we are doing enough?
The whole approach was that the organisation would spend several hundred crore in re-building the property – why not spend equally on the employees who gave their life?

Minuted by Dileep Ranjekar