itS mY LiFe !!!!!!...

The UID Experience

2011-10-13T09:11:00.000+05:30

Unique Identification Number or the UID is something that is expected to change the face of the nation.
In the future, it is not going to be not just a card or a 12 digit number but a reflection of your complete identity linking your bank accounts, driving license, PAN card etc. It may well be your permanent phone number of the future.

The drive for registering the citizens of India is on and I was excited to get the 12 digit number for myself and flaunt it on Facebook. But it was not to be.

One such camp has been put up at a Gurudwara near my home and I went there to get myself UID-ed.

It is not a cumbersome process and if you are alone at the center, it would take you around 15 minutes to register for it. Less if the person registering you is faster at typing. Lesser if the whole family is together as you need not type the address again and again.

But the problem with India is the numbers. The major waiting time is to wait in the line.

The basic process is that you fill out a form with details like name, father's name, address, date of birth. Email, phone number are optional. I wrote them but still the guy putting the data on the computer did not enter them. Attach one or more identification documents as DOB and residence proof.

You submit this document at the desk and then wait. I had a home nearby so I submitted and went home, had lunch, rested and came back an hour later.

My form along with two others were allocated to a computer guy. I sat there seeing the computer software work as this guy entered the details of the person before me.

The software was impressive but the hardware was not. The peripherals were but there was the same problem with the laptop as is the case with most laptops I see today (even with mine). While typing the cursor with its own mind goes to any place it wants without any guidance from the trackpad. It goes to the previous line or at some place else in the same line and if you are not looking at the screen while typing you will not come to know and will keep typing rubbish.
Clearly our guy was not very adept at typing and was typing slowly looking at the keyboard and this hardware problem was screwing the software efficacy.

The screen had a form with different tabs. Firstly you scan your finger prints in 3 installments using a special scanner. As the computer records them it beeps. Next you sit down in front of a screen and put a scanner in front of your eyes as the computer records your retina details.

Then the guy starts filling out the details from the form you had earlier filled out. A duplicate screen is in front of you so that you can also see what is being typed and correct him at any point.

As he types in the left column in English, the translated version automatically appears in Hindi in the right column. So after around 10 - 15 minutes of data entry of all kinds, your form is ready to be saved.
The data entry person has to put his finger prints as a record of who has done the entry.

I had thought that at the end of it, a brand new identity for me - the UID would be generated. But it was only a temporary number. Of course some background checks will be carried out before handing me the identity - it will take around 2 months.

The 'early adopters' for getting the UID made were mostly people from the strata of the society who are not economically well-off - mostly from the small villages around Chandigarh. Of course they need it more.
For people like me - we just need it show it off on FB!

Anna and Cricket

2011-08-19T10:08:00.002+05:30

The Anna Hazare movement - a revolution which has caught the imagination of the whole country. A revolution which is going to change the bloody face of the nation. Obviously I was excited to be part of the historical revolution and I duly went to the India Gate to register my protest.

It was a deja vu experience. It was exactly the same at a India-Australia cricket match at PCA Stadium which I went to see a few years ago.

1. In the match people wished that Sachin "Aage Bade" and chakka maare. Here, they goaded Anna with the same: "Aage Badho.. hum tumhare Saath hain" (of course they can not say 'hum tumhare saath hain' to Sachin. One always follows God!)

2. In both cases, people shouted at the top of their voices or displayed interesting banners with the sole purpose that the camera pans on them and they get their few seconds of fame on national television.

3. In the match, the cameras were busy finding beautiful faces in the crowd. Here, cameras focused on kids (preferably with Gandhi Topi).

4. At the stadium, people were shouting "Pakistan Haii haii" (Did not matter than Pakistan was not playing). Here Pakistan was replaced by Kapil Sibal/Sonia Gandhi/Rahul Gandhi etc.

5. In both the cases, there were people who had come drunk, which gave an extra zing to their voices.

6. In the match, there were some female Aussie supporters in the stand. One could see young boys going up to them to have a photo clicked with the 'gori mem'. It was the same case here too. Some foreigners had come to 'experience the changing India' and the Gandhi topis of some young boys were temporarily thrown away for a presentable picture with the gori who perhaps later updated on her facebook with "Participated in India's second freedom struggle".

7. The voices heard around during the match were same as at the protest - Ignorant. Some of them had for the first time noticed that bowlers change ends after each over and were thoroughly confused about why it was happening. One of them then said, "tu match dekh na..technicality mein kyu fasta hai"

Then I overheard the following at the protest march.
First guy: "Yaar vaise ye PM ko Lokpal mein laane, na laane se farak kya padega?"
Second Guy: "Tu Naare laga na... Technicality mein kyu fassta hai"

The only thing missing (thankfully) in the protest march was a customary fight (at least at PCA, Mohali) between two groups - most probably over a girl.

If you feel I am ridiculing a movement of national importance, consider an example.
If tomorrow you are returning from a party and have had a peg or two more than permitted by law for driving a vehicle. A police-wallah stops you and there is a good chance that you could be jailed for the offense.(Take any other example where you know its your fault and the punishment would be harsh).
Now would you prefer spending the night in jail or greasing some palms which can prevent it?
If your answer is the latter, kindly don't bull shit yourself by supporting this movement.
Of course you are welcome to go to the protest to have some fun and to vent out some frustration.

Follow Rules or Common sense?

2011-04-24T17:59:00.000+05:30

It was an interesting trip early morning from Gurgaon on Meru cab. The expressway is meant to be fast and driving below 60 - 70 kmph specially in the morning when there is no vehicle rush is quite foolish. In this case, the cab's driver too, promptly accelerated. Soon, a computer aunty started telling us loudly that the vehicle was over the speed limit and the driver should slow down. Common sense said that we should not slow down - the road was wide and open, the traffic was sparse with some trucks to give us company at that time. So the driver, with his left hand covered the speaker and continued driving with the muted but still loud voice of the computer telling us to go slow.
So now the driver was driving at quite a high speed with only one hand on the steering.
A system designed to increase safety of the passengers not only failed but in turn increased the risk.
What would you do if you were Meru? Give a switch so that the driver, on his discretion can turn the warning off or avoid driving at high speed on roads where it is an insult to the excellent infrastructure by driving slow?

Auto wallahs and the Bias

2011-04-15T18:40:00.001+05:30

Amit and I were looking for an auto. I saw one standing empty on a corner.
"Vo raha", I announced.
"Nahi yaar. Sardar hai. Lootega", Amit replied.

Unfortunately I couldn't agree with him more. A north Indian going to Chennai or Bangalore is always warned about the scrupulous auto wallahs there who always over charge you. I had never imagined it would happen but the same notoriety is now applicable to the Sikh Auto wallahs of Delhi.

I have had many encounters with them and not a single one has been on the positive end of the expectation spectrum. Take for example one instance where early in the morning while coming to office, I went to one who was standing on the side of the road. He agreed, I sat and he put the meter on. For the next few minutes he kept on sitting there and I wondering what the hell he was up to. After some time he called a passerby, asked him where he was going and asked him to sit in the auto as well. It was the final nail in the proverbial coffin I guess.

Now, it has come to a point that the bias has taken deep roots and it is better not to ask than a rise in the frustration level when he quotes an absurd price or does something to the same effect.
So people coming to Delhi and hiring a taxi/auto. Beware!

No Idea

2011-03-23T20:51:00.000+05:30

I must admit that I find the recent Idea ads unwatchable. Some like the one where the girl in the parking lot is wondering why her billing is so high is simply illogical and I feel giving a tight one to her. Add to it a hollow attitude/arrogance that Abhishek Bachchan shows. He seems to have come straight out of the Shahrukh Khan School of Overacting.

But the paradox is that the tagline is catchy. In normal life there are actually times when you say 'no idea' or something to that effect. And that 'something' is now being increasingly
replaced by 'No Idea' which prompts a reply 'Get idea' by the other person.

There is no doubt that the advertisements have created a strong connect and recall value by the use of a simple, everyday phrase. Just that I still have No Idea why the 'Sir ji' is such full of himself.

Playing with the mind

2011-02-04T09:16:00.000+05:30

I have been a regular visitor to KFC for sometime. Recently, I discovered that if you order a Chicken Zinger Meal (which I do 99% of the time), they ask you, "Sir, would have Medium or Large Cold Drink".(Zinger meal is a combo of a burger, 1 chicken piece and a cold drink).
A health conscious person that I am, I always used to say 'medium' - choosing the lesser of the two evils.

Actually, the normal size of the cold drink which comes along with the zinger meal is 'small'. When you are posed with the choice of medium or large, you simply chose one of them. One thinks that it is covered in the price of the meal so 'what the hell'. But the actual thing i.e. small never occurs in the choice list. So is it unfair or a good sales maneuver?
After all, ideally they have displayed the details of the meal and the customer ought to know that they will be paying more if they chose medium or large option of the cold drink.

Prayer

2011-02-03T09:04:00.002+05:30

Every morning a Pandit ji comes to our office and does a little Pooja. And it is very interesting to listen to it. Some day there are yawns while he is reciting his mantras. Another day, his mobile phone rang. And the days when he is disinterested he rushes through the mantras eating some words, mincing others and of course yawning through the remaining. In all probability he is not even thinking about any of the God that he is naming.
Hence, I fail to understand the purpose of it all.
I don't think any Gods, if at all they exist, are getting appeased by this half hearted, emotionless, soulless rant every morning. It is said that prayer often has a calming effect on those saying it and also on ones listening. In this case, seeing the hurry the Pandit is in, it definitely does not calm him and for the listeners, everyone wants it to be done before the office starts! In the end it is nothing more than a superstitious ritual and a mere job for the Pandit.

News Channels

2010-11-17T23:10:00.000+05:30

As I switched channels between NDTV and CNN-IBN a few days back, I couldn't help laughing. Both the channels were claiming that they were the ones who broke the story of the Adarsh Society scandal. But that was not what amused me. With hundreds of channels, this has become a common affair. What was really ludicrous was both these channels were showing exactly same clipping of a politician praising the channel for 'exclusively' breaking the story. The politician, coming out of parliament was in all probability praising the media on a whole.
The way the news channels have marketed themselves has become quite common now. They are on the same lines:

We are the first ones to break this story.

We had the highest TRPs. (the real story lies in the fine print)

Our story had such and such impact.

It has been the same along with some marketable faces of the channels.

Most of the times these self-congratulatory claims make me cringe, specially considering that all the 'impactful' stories surround only 'popular' people.

Can news channels have some different message which they can communicate in their marketing?

Aaj Tak's Sabse Tez was one such message which had made it stand apart at that time. It focussed on the value of getting close to the news the fastest. Of course the competition then was not like what it is today but it did create a mind space and still has a good recall value. An example from the print business is the magazine - Open. It has been able to differentiate itself from the traditional weekly current affairs magazines like India Today, Outlook etc with their positioning as a weekly for the young mind. Of course it has a strong product to back its claim up.

May be it is time that news channels do something different to stand out. Presently they are all focussed on themselves, loudly and unnecessarily beating their chests.
Going forward, they can offer something that is of some significant value to the customer or at least has that perception.

Outsourcing Selling

2010-10-30T16:30:00.000+05:30

An interesting sight took me back to the desktop years of my life. It was a kiosk in front of a computer shop where you could mix and match components of your choice for an assembled computer. It instantly gave you a consolidated price without any involvement by the retail outlet manager. The manager had outsourced some of his job to technology.

For us buying an assembled desktop computer used to be a more interesting experience. And since all the friends bought computers roughly at the same time, trips to the computer shops had become quite common. The process was time-consuming and most of the times finding limits to your decision-making. Even if you clearly had in mind what configuration you want, still the shopkeeper would come up with offers which resulted in greed for more capacity splitting the mind.

Typically, he used to take out a big pad with names of most of the parts that went into making a computer written on it. Then you would discuss each component. He would tell you the price; you would oscillate, trying to balance the price and capacity with offers and counter offers.

The challenge for the shopkeeper was first that of the complexity of multiple customers with highly customized demand. Secondly, he was sitting and spending time with only a 'potential' customer. The buyer would take similar quotes from multiple shops before making the final decision. Afterall it is in our buying culture, specially of expensive items.

But a seller was more successful if he was more involved. One who educated the customer and helped resolve the conflicts. Giving the pros and cons of the components and many times not hesitating to tell that a certain part was expensive and not necessary for the needs of say a college goer. There were other sellers too, who just mechanically jotted down what you demanded and told you the total cost. They thought of you only as potential customer who is here to get one of the quotes among many from across the town. 'Why spend time on him? We will focus more when he comes to actually buy'. But the buying was done from the person who had 'helped' take us some decisions.

A kiosk is definitely less hassle for the outlet, specially considering that a consumer today is far more knowledgable and knows what he wants. But it is definitely an opportunity lost for up-selling, cross selling and most importantly making a relationship which can help in completing the sale. A recent article in McKinsey says:

Many retailers assume that customers walk into stores for purely transactional purposes: they know what they want and just need to buy it. Yet McKinsey research indicates that as many as 40 percent of customers remain open to persuasion once they enter a store, despite undertaking extensive product research, reading online reviews, and comparing prices on their own.

Commentators and Salesmen

2010-10-17T20:16:00.000+05:30

CWG was a great marketing platform for a variety of sports. People saw athletes in action, winning medals and in the process making the sport popular. With that a hope arises that youngsters will follow them and in the process make India reach out to the world. More than that, make the sport reach out to Indians, making it as popular as Cricket. The process may be on and the change happening but can they reach Cricket's level of popularity and more importantly sustain that popularity? Tough. Very tough. Yes, there are many variables like more exposure, more games, more facilities etc etc. But one thing that I believe has played a pivotal role in marketing cricket is the commentary!

The difference between the cricket's commentators and the ones of the other sports was evident in the recently concluded CWG coverage. In cricket, since childhood we have been fed on the nitty gritty of the game. It has been helped by Gavaskers, Shastris, Bhogles who know the intricacies of the game and articulate it very well.
Why do We know that if there is grass on the pitch, it will be good for the fast bowlers and if it is a dry pitch having cracks, spinners are going to rule the roost? Not because we know the science behind it. But because it was drilled into us again and again, match after match in the extensive pitch reports. Keys were pushed in the pitch, the cracks were shown clearly, the grass or absence of it was clearly pointed out along with the implications. The 8 odd hours was literally a cricket classroom if you had the patience to sit and watch the whole match. And I am sure there are plenty of atleast my generation who have sat there listening intensly for 100 overs and more.

The knowledge of all the nuances of the game makes it interesting. You get more involved because you understand. And when you understand, you can talk and debate. And when something gets people talking, then it is.. well, popular!!
An understanding of why the sports person is doing something in a certain way enhances the experience of watching the game. I saw sports like Boxing, Wrestling and couldn't understand when and why they were being awarded points. What are the strategies employed? We saw boxers leading comfortably but still going for aggression in the final round rather than saving energy in defense. What were the reasons?

One can learn from observations. Yes. But commentary enhances the observation. Whenever a team needs two runs in say 3 balls, all the fielders are brought closer to the batsman. We can know that by observation. But commentary adds a reason to it and supplements our understanding . For a youngster it is a terrific learning experience which they can simulate while playing on the ground.

There may be an argument that cricket is long and not very fast (like Hockey), giving plenty of time for a good commentary. It will be tougher in games like boxing, wrestling which last for 15 - 20 minutes. Yes, it may be difficult but the time can be utilized better. e.g. in Hockey, most of the time the commentary consists of who has the possession of the ball and to whom it is being passed. It is as if they are stuck in the radio mode describing the action in detail which is actually not required.

Organisations have Brand Ambassadors as well as Salesmen. A Shahrukh Khan will make you aware of a new Hyundai car in town but for actual selling, a Sales man is needed to tell you the features and benefits of the car and to overcome your doubts. In sports, we have the brand ambassadors in form of these medal winning and awe-inspiring athletes but what we lack is a Sales team in the form of commentators who need to do the actual connect, giving a good experience to the audience.

Why don’t music co.s provide free music?

2010-10-14T21:44:00.000+05:30

I know nothing about the technology involved in digital music. But what I know is that we are easily able to download pirated songs for free from various websites. These songs are then played on the computers and easily transferred to mobile phones, iPods etc.
Now the first thing that you notice when you open a site like apunkabollywood dot com for a 'pirated' music download is the number of advertisements flashing all around - supposedly their primary source of revenue.
So if they can do it, why not the record labels themselves? Open a website, put up ads on it and let the users download the songs for free. (Presently, the websites have the songs and they are available at a very low price of Rs 10. But still I have to pay that Rs 10 which takes considerable time. )

Apart from the ad revenues, you can gather a lot of data on what people are searching, consuming, their preferences, patterns, trends. They can be segmented geographically, demographically and so on. All this can also go as an input while creating music. And the information can even be sold off to other interested marketers from different fields.

This can also be used in other dealings by the music labels. You instantly get an accurate update on what songs are popular and differential pricing can be used to benefit more from licensing to radio and TV channels, to mobile companies for caller tunes, to concerts where it can be sung by artists etc. Every marketer wants to pull customers . And here are people from a variety of backgrounds who will automatically get pulled for the sake of free music.

The point is that the labels are crying that piracy is killing their revenues. So why not change the revenue source which they are blocking. Those who want it for free are already getting it for free and giving nothing in return to the music company. By this, at least gets some data, some information. And today, information is not cheap. Google has become a behemoth simply by gathering data and using the information.

Speaking of Google, it is taking music to another level itself - to the Cloud. Buy music online and Store it on an online library. Then listen it anywhere on any device. The basic requirement - a very fast internet connectivity, which India lacks. But who knows, with 3G round the corner, we make take a long jump!!

Re-Marketing

2010-09-29T16:12:00.000+05:30

If you have been to Palika Bazaar in Delhi, you know that only one “kitne ka hai” about something is enough for them to get behind you like anything. They call you, cajole you, follow you till a distance – their voice does even if they physically don't. Heavy discounts are offered and more often than not they close the deal. After coming out, many times we look down upon the cheap methods by which the sale was done – even if the shopping bags are full.

Well, now even sellers who term the Palika Bazar's methods as 'low market' can also benefit from the same technique. The euphemism that Google has used is 'Re-marketing' or 'Interest Based Advertising'.

The 'advertising innovation' is around 6 months old but came to know about it when Ankit was trying to book air tickets online. Though he did not go through with the transaction, for the next few days, he kept on getting related ads by airlines/travel portals flashed on various websites he visited. It was then we realized that he was being re-marketed.

The concept is simple. Suppose you are on the web to buy let's say an airline ticket for a leisure trip to Singapore. You visit a website which has employed re-marketing and browse around. In other words you have asked a Palika Bazaar dukaanwala(shopkeeper) the price of some thing.

The information gets stored in the cache. The dukanwala has locked on to a potential buyer.

If you leave the website without a purchase, then website uses the cache information to display related advertisements wherever you go on the web. If you leave the dukaan without a buy, the dukaanwala follows you, shouting “Aao to sahi. Kitna doge”.

The ads being popped up offer various discounts on the exact route you had searched for. The same is done by the dukaanwala.

I wonder if Palika Bazaar actually had something to do with Google Re-marketing.

Ulta Pulta

2010-09-17T01:28:00.000+05:30

I think it has been in place for some time now but pray my poor observation skills, I observed it yesterday only.

In cricket matches, two ad spots which have perhaps the highest visibility are the ones just behind the starting point of a fast bowler's run up. Shoaib Akhtar used to start from those banners on the ground.

That batsman and the banner behind the bowler used to face the same direction. Once the bowler started the run

up and camera zoomed on the pitch, the advertisement went out of sight. Or in case of spinners, it hardly was visible. One could only see it behind the batsman but it was facing the other way.

Now, yesterday I observed the banner behind the batsman was facing the camera or in the same direction as batsman. So now when the camera zooms on the pitch, you can see the advertisement or in fact read the name of the advertiser as it ought to be read.

Does it make any difference?

On the face of it - may be not because generally it is a popular brand with a known logo or name. You know that it is Airtel or KFC even if you see the name reversed.

But may be at some psychological level, it makes an impact as legible words are in your face.

In any case, it makes sense to have the banner in the direction where it is going to get the maximum footage. No one had thought about it for many years. Now someone, somewhere has shown some creativity and challenged the status quo!

This one is from a game where when the spinner is bowling, the logo in the background is reverse, thus making less impact. Now-a-days it faces the camera.

Images from here and here

Anti – Social

2010-09-16T03:28:00.000+05:30

Main aur Meri Tanhai....

Aksar yeh baatein karti hain...

The case of an actual robbery happening due to facebook updates

Voice of Youngistan!!

2010-08-22T21:43:00.000+05:30

Main aur Meri Tanhai...... Aksar yeh baatein karti hain..

*These ramblings by the anchor are real life - on a show called Wuzzup - The voice of Youngistan on MTV

** Stick figures concept inspired from thevigilidiot (though not very well copied)

*** More MMTs here

What is IBU?

2010-08-17T18:12:00.000+05:30

Infosys Technologies is one of my favorite companies - largely because of the inspiring leadership and also because I started off my proffessional life here.

Soon after I joined in 2004, the company was re-organised into different industry verticals. Almost every Infoscion today is a part of one of this vertical known as IBUs.

I used to forget the full form of IBU initially when they were formed. And gradually I had drilled it into my mind. But recently that information betrayed me. The full form which I knew for so long - "Independent Business Unit", was wrong.

So I decided to ask my friends and ex-colleagues if they knew what IBU meant. The results were interesting.

The question was posed to 20 people - including ex-infoscions, present infoscions who joined along with me, some seniors and some young people with less than 3 years of experience.

3 answers formed the majority - 25% each for "Independent", "Industry" and "Dont know". (that was the I of the IBU. Everyone knew that BU stood for Business Unit).

The correct answer according to the intranet @ Infy is "Industry Business Unit".

Yes, 20 people out of more than a lakh is a totally illogical sample size for a survey to provide any kind of conclusion or evidence. But it may be a fodder for thought for some intervention by HR @ Infosys.

P.S: A special thanks to my friend V at Infosys for quickly getting the responses from people around him.

P.P.S: I have a strong feeling that it used to "Independent" earlier. Even a very senior manager who now has left Infy replied "Independent"

Update: Amit just pointed towards this Client Presentation (Slide 7) where IBU is Independent Business Unit... and this presentaion where it is "Industrial". In Business World the definition is "Integrated". Seems like no one knows!!!

Responses of 20 people who were asked the full form of IBU

Lava

2010-08-17T17:04:00.000+05:30

Saw the latest advertisement from Lava Mobiles. First could not understand what was so special about the keypad and why were they focussing on a Qwerty Keypad while every tom, dick and harry is having one. But then it dawned that it is not a Qwerty Keypad. It is a ABCDE Keypad - called Alpha Keypad. Instead of copying a computer keyboard, they have done it differently.

The first reaction, however is "Silly". The argument being that everyone today has a computer and is accustomed to typing on a Qwerty keyboard, so ideally the mobile should also have that.

But it may not be that silly actually. Many people do have computers but everyone may not be an expert in typing on high speeds on that. Even if one is quite adept at it, doing it on a mobile is a different ball game, specially if you are shifting from a normal mobile keypad where you have to press the same button 3 times to go to a "C" and where the alphabets are not jumbled up but in order.

I myself took sometime to adapt to a qwerty keypad on mobile despite using a computer for 6 hours almost everyday for the past 10 years.

Only the keypad may not be the reason for the success or failure of the model but it would be interesting to follow the user comments on this experiment.

P.S: Lava has two research labs so good thought must have gone behind the move. Also read recently that the new rupee symbol has also been incorporated on the kepypad.

Hyundai Traffic Squad

2010-08-13T04:25:00.000+05:30

It was taking a long time for the traffic to move at one of the prominent intersection. On moving closer it was observed that the traffic lights had conked off.. Well..Not surprising at all. Reasons for major traffic jams are the traffic lights going blind followed by us trying to make the 'best' use of the situation.

But what was surprising was a couple of guys handling the traffic. They were managing the flow to their best of abilities - bravely stopping us from entering the gates of hell. Without them the minor jam could have easily turned into a major headache. I was impressed with the work of these good samaritans.

But on moving further closer I saw not two but eight people there. All similarly dressed and Hyundai written boldly on their T shirts.

So it was a plain marketing gimmick. In all probability the traffic lights were deliberately turned off and these people were managing the traffic and gaining eyeballs. I would not be surprised that in their annual report, under the CSR Activities there is something like "formation of traffic squad to assist traffic Delhi police during peak traffic hours".

It may be the case that they were actually helping, the lights had actually gone off and it is actually a positive CSR activity. But still some questions did surface.

How much they must have paid to the Traffic Police/Delhi Govt for this activity? Do they have the right to do this? How much extra fuel must have been burnt due to this activity by a company which is attempting to project a 'Green Image'?

The good samaritan brand image sadly failed to make a favorable imapact on atleast one of their audience.

Anniversary

2010-08-10T03:33:00.000+05:30

9th August will always be an significant day - no matter it is forgotten or remembered..

The graphical representation inspired by NM-Indexed (and originally by Indexed). Just thought to try it again - not satisfactorily though.

A Slice of Delay...

2010-08-08T16:43:00.000+05:30

It was my first experience of ordering from Slice of Itlay. And possibly it will rarely happen again. There was an important lesson which we learnt during MBA and yesterday's experience was a good example of it - Product is not everything. The accompanying services are much more important.

The trigger for ordering from Slice of Itlay(SoI) was their beautiful pamphlet which came along the newspaper with a wide variety of delicacies and "Express Delivery" prominently displayed on it. SoI had made an impact on this first moment of truth. But sadly, it went downhill thereafter.

In the evening, a phone call was made. When I told them that I wanted to order for a home delivery, the response was "1 second". There was fumbling noise and this guy asked another person to take the order. The second guy came along and asked me my contact number and name. On being told, there was no response for a long time apart from "Sir, 1 Second" - marring the very definition of a Second! Then he let me know that there was some problem with the computer.

May be the SoI people can henceforth update their training program with the suggestion that the customer is not at all concerned with what your internal problems are - be it computer or an untrained guy picking up the phone. I just want to order! The simplest alternative in case of technical issues is to take down the order on a paper and update it later. But No. Probably the guy was working according to a script and didn't know what to do when such a problem arose. It took me a full five minutes to order one pizza and one garlic bread. And believe me 5 minutes is a lot of time in the context of ordering on phone. Try calling the next door resturant. It hardly takes a minute. May be lack of technology can be a boon sometimes.

Next failure came at the time of delivery. In a business where competitors have a delivery time of less than 30 minutes, these people took One hour and 10 minutes including a reminder call to them after 50 minutes.

A very basic step while getting an address is to ask a landmark - which I believe in this case would have reduced the time significantly. But there was a failure on this part too.

The product though was good - a crispy and fresh pizza. But no matter how I like the product, it is the service that will lead me to think twice before dialing their number again!

Blackberry or BlackCherry??

2010-07-19T22:59:00.000+05:30

A girl is sad that her Boyfriend is leaving for another town. But he assures that they will be in constant

touch. How? Through the Blackberry Messenger!!

This is the theme of the advertisement which Blackberry is broadcasting on radio these days.

My first reaction was that of a shock!

My first thought was that it must be BlackCHERRY - one of the numerous duplicates that Times of India proudly

advertises everyday. But No. This was the same business smartphone which last known had a significant

aspiration value linked to it. No doubt new models have been introduced, the prices have dropped making it much

more affordable. But still, if you draw the mindmap of the brand, the strongest link still is a "business

phone". An advertisment involving teenagers with the Blackberry Messenger being projected as the USP is totally

unexpected.

Is this a strategy to target an altogether new segment by blackberry(RIM) or is it just a random short term

tactic to meet some sales targets? Are there more 'cool' phones coming in from the RIM stable to accompany the

'smart' ones. Or is it that the choice of the generation today is more smart than cool.

There seems to be a trend of having connectivity on the go with everyone wanting to share their minds on FB,

Twitter there and then rather than waiting to get to a laptop.(which also augments the need for a qwerty

keypad)

It may well be an attempt to build a loyal base of customers who start off with BBs in college and then go onto

better models as they rise in their professions later on - something which I feel Nokia has done successfully.

It basically ends up in a throw up between exclusivity and volumes. With their exclusivity of services like

Push mail already in doldrums with n number of mobile devices having the similar features, guess the way to go

for BB is to drive up the volumes.

One challenge that they will face with this segment is the price of data services - which are still steep.

Making "All" Users Happy

2010-07-17T16:20:00.000+05:30

Apple - one of the best marketing company is experiencing one of their worst marketing challenges ever.

iPhone4 has been in news for all the wrong reasons. The problem has been accentuated by the negative word of mouth it is receiving on social media. It would be interesting to see how the problem is solved by the guru of marketing. May be it will be a part of the case studies in near future as well.

As of now, Apple has admitted that there was a mistake and is trying hard to rectify the problem as soon as possible. Admitting the mistake is an important step considering the trust in the quality of the product that Apple enjoys - both from its users & non users.

Secondly, they are giving away free cases till Sept 30 which will help solve the problem temporarily. Giving something free is important for customer delight in cases such as these. In fact, we as customers expect it. The question is that will there be a free replacement of the handsets if and when the problem is solved?

If the customer focus of Apple in the past is anything to go by, I will not be surprised if there will be something on that lines. This was emphasized on by Jobs in the press conference as well.

"We want to make all our users happy. If you don’t know that, you don’t know Apple."

After this and knowing that there is a true intent behind the statement, who wouldn't want to buy an Apple product?

Mobile Payments

2010-07-15T00:14:00.000+05:30

Year 2007 - first trimester of MBA and a presentation in the area of Information Technology.

Inspired from a Swaminomics article in Economic Times, I had chosen the topic of Mobile Payments. Mobile payments have already been implemented in other emerging economies like Brazil and South Africa. For India, it looked a bit futuristic at that time but the simplicity of it was what attracted me. India had the highest potential keeping in mind the mobile penetration which is in fact still going on on a scorching pace.

The problem with credit cards is that you need a swiping machine, telephone connection et al. This limits its scope. You still need to carry cash if you are travelling by auto, buying groceries from a mandi or paying to your next door mom-and-pop store.

M-payments change things significantly. Both the parties just need a mobile, where in I can transfer the money to your number. Just like a pre-paid connection holds money, this becomes your virtual bank. In any case, if you need cash, you just go to your nearest shop, transfer the m-money and get hard cash from him. Anyone would be willing to do it, making everyone around with some cash as a bank.

And considering the recent focus of telecom companies to target semi-urban and rural areas, it becomes a boon for a city dweller who needs to transfer money to his family back home in a far-away village.

It may have looked futuristic at the time of presentation but within 3 years its time has come . Yes Bank has recently launched mobile money services in Chandigarh (where else ;))

The shot has been fired, the race started. Right now it may be a hurdle race - technology issues, regulatory issues, legal issues. But I am sure in no time this hurdle race is going to become a cross country one - reaching each and every corner.

Football Craze

2010-06-19T20:14:00.000+05:30

Read an interesting Faking news and it prompted me to write this.

I could totally relate to the Fake guy Nitin. Wherever I turn, I can see people super excited, ranting off strange, and tough to remember names.

Recently I posted something on Facebook asking who Messi was and it evoked a whole lot of emotional responses - quite similar to what would happen if you happen to ask "Who is Sachin" to someone in India. (Btw I knew about Messi. was just being cynical)

I also realised that Football (or Soccer.. whatever) has striking similarities to our Hindu Mythology. There are multiple Gods. In cricket it is quite the opposite. Hardly months ago there was one and only one chant - Sachinnnn Sachin.. He was the only God that was there.

Despite everyone saying that football is a better game than cricket (duration + full of action), I could never watch a complete match without dozing off or changing channels.

Hence, unfortunately I am never able to comprehend that why there are so many Gods, some hardly 22 year old.

I used to play football but never got interested in it. It was only for recreation and keeping fit (no doubt it is a great exercise).

Often I wonder, if like the Faking News item, many of us are just trying to fall in line with others - a mere peer pressure to follow the game. I, myself have tried it in the past - just to see what is it that the whole world is mad about. But alas, despite several attempts, I still prefer watching Sachin or even Federer than Messi.

And ya, I too (like the FN article) came to know of the funda of football's off side when I was 20 while cricket's off side - I think I knew it when I was born!

Valuable Forgeries

2010-06-07T20:00:00.000+05:30

Came across an interesting line while reading City of Djinns by William Dalrymple.
"Forgeries exist because real gold is so valuable"

The case is not only with gold. Forgeries are there everywhere around us.
Take duplicate books for example. Selling duplicate books for half the price on streets seems like a profitable business these days with so many vendors out there. But you will always find only the best sellers down there. It may be a worrisome development but the book is being 'forged' means it has become valuable.
Similar is the case with many products, specially in FMCG segment.

May be publishers, companies and marketers can look at alternative ways of extracting this value.

How? I am also thinking!!