Though the economic success of a product or a service may be decided by supply and demand, but long-term success is decided by hard to earn good will and customer satisfaction. After having lived in three continents for a decade, I see both India and Europe having an identical approach to customer service.
3-years ago a fortnight after I moved into an furnished apartment in Paris the washing machine broke down. I immediately reported to the rental agency, who cooly asked me to endure the month of August without one. Should I start washing my clothes with my hands?
The agency told me that summer vacations are taken seriously and there is not a single soul around to come in and take a look. Instead they advised me to find a laundromat or an electrician/plumber to get the machine fixed. Should I be surprised to hear this kind of a response in a nation where customer service should be at the forefront of every business?
Summers can be equally challenging in India from scorching temperature, finding a cool vacation spot and getting a train ticket to travel. Though I managed to find an accommodation on the Queen of Hills, I couldn't get a train ticket and instead settled in for a sleeper bus to get there.
Having travelled on KPN Travels many times before, I didn't look else where for a ticket. Moreover, they had recently lunched a mobile application to provide customers with a swift and seamless experience. But did that swiftness and customer friendly experience show up at their facility, and during the travel?
A journey that was expected to be uneventful suddenly turned dangerous. 24 of us were woken up by a loud noise and a rude surprise at 2.20 am. It took a few minutes for the driver to realise what had happened. Quickly a co-passenger came around evacuating the bus. We didn't have time to question if it is a fire in the bus, a tire explosion or did the bus driver run over somebody? I jumped off my berth with my phone and wallet and disembarked the bus leaving my luggage behind.
NH45 was pitch dark and we didn't have a clue on our location. Women who had taken refuge in front of the bus that was lit by the powerful headlights and were comforting their wailing kids, while men folk were busy surveying the rear of the bus. A lorry smashed into the rear end of the bus smashing the glass windows leaving two elderly passengers covered with fine glass from head to toe.
It took a few minutes for the driver to fathom what had transpired and assess the damage. Bus driver confirmed the location; the nearest town was 30 kms away and none of the buses and cars that passed by were prepared to stop and ask if we needed help. Since the two elderly had minor bruises it was managed with the safety kit onboard the bus and there was no need for us to call the ambulance. Moreover, having no faith in our police, and collusion between bus owners and politicians we felt calling their head office in Salem to report the incident and asking them for an alternate transport was the best way out.
3-years ago a fortnight after I moved into an furnished apartment in Paris the washing machine broke down. I immediately reported to the rental agency, who cooly asked me to endure the month of August without one. Should I start washing my clothes with my hands?
The agency told me that summer vacations are taken seriously and there is not a single soul around to come in and take a look. Instead they advised me to find a laundromat or an electrician/plumber to get the machine fixed. Should I be surprised to hear this kind of a response in a nation where customer service should be at the forefront of every business?
Summers can be equally challenging in India from scorching temperature, finding a cool vacation spot and getting a train ticket to travel. Though I managed to find an accommodation on the Queen of Hills, I couldn't get a train ticket and instead settled in for a sleeper bus to get there.
Having travelled on KPN Travels many times before, I didn't look else where for a ticket. Moreover, they had recently lunched a mobile application to provide customers with a swift and seamless experience. But did that swiftness and customer friendly experience show up at their facility, and during the travel?
A journey that was expected to be uneventful suddenly turned dangerous. 24 of us were woken up by a loud noise and a rude surprise at 2.20 am. It took a few minutes for the driver to realise what had happened. Quickly a co-passenger came around evacuating the bus. We didn't have time to question if it is a fire in the bus, a tire explosion or did the bus driver run over somebody? I jumped off my berth with my phone and wallet and disembarked the bus leaving my luggage behind.
NH45 was pitch dark and we didn't have a clue on our location. Women who had taken refuge in front of the bus that was lit by the powerful headlights and were comforting their wailing kids, while men folk were busy surveying the rear of the bus. A lorry smashed into the rear end of the bus smashing the glass windows leaving two elderly passengers covered with fine glass from head to toe.
It took a few minutes for the driver to fathom what had transpired and assess the damage. Bus driver confirmed the location; the nearest town was 30 kms away and none of the buses and cars that passed by were prepared to stop and ask if we needed help. Since the two elderly had minor bruises it was managed with the safety kit onboard the bus and there was no need for us to call the ambulance. Moreover, having no faith in our police, and collusion between bus owners and politicians we felt calling their head office in Salem to report the incident and asking them for an alternate transport was the best way out.
Finally, it took seven phone calls to get someone to answer us, but did that guarantee a solution?
One of us narrated the incident and the phone was passed on to the driver who hung up in a few minutes. Not sure what had transpired, anxious passengers grilled the driver 30-minutes turned into an hour and we didn't receive any call back from the head office.We tried calling back their headquarters, but weren't given a solution. With no solution in hand, we asked the driver to get us to the nearest town for us to find an alternative solution.
Finally, after a delay of 3 hours we reached Trichy at 6.15 am. The bus reached KPN office and the drivers were promptly swapped. We were asked to get off the bus, but don't hope they had an alternate transport in place.The bus cleaner was asked to clean up the glass pieces and we were put on the shoddily cleaned bus to our destination 5 hours away.
None of us were in a mood to protest for a few reasons. One, we were tired from a sleepless night. Two, we wanted leave Trichy at the earliest as it is a cauldron in summer. Lastly, all 24 of us wanted to reach our destination and enjoy our remaining time on the Queen of Hills, Kodaikanal.
3 hours after we had departed from Trichy, while still enroute to Kodaikanal, we all received a SMS from KPN. Could it be an apology or were they giving us a full-refund or a free-ride voucher? How about none of the above? An automated message with a google link to a feedback form was shared with us. We still hadn't reached our destination and our plead for an alternate bus had been dismissed and no apology was tendered by their staffs, yet they had audacity to send us a link to feedback form.
As much as France would like to preach Egalite, Liberte, Fraternite and India would like to brag about 'Athithi Devo Bhava" (treat guest with respect and love) and Incredible India slogan we Indians have no value for life and respect for customers.
Though automated, at least a feedback form was shared with us, while the real estate agency in France never asked me for a feedback on their services. In this time and age, customer is no more the King in both these nations.
As much as economics talks about price fixing and overcharging from shortage of supply and excess demand, today I realised poor customer service never gets discussed or explained. Anyway, what would you have rated both countries for their rudeness, insensitivity, unapologetic behavior and poor customer service?
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