The Great Indian Customer Experience Mythology

I have a strong belief in the term customer experience. It matters to me since being a usability professional, it deals with the user’s satisfaction levels. Personally my priorities for purchasing a product ranges from brand loyalty to my expectations out of using the merchandise but if the after sales service is not provided, the product remains underutilized sitting on the investment which I made. Almost any time I decide buy something here, I shudder to think if the company would remember me as their proud customer and provide timely help when I need it. My experience suggests that never happens to be true. I went one of India’s biggest shopping extravaganza, to buy a wallet of my favourite brand. Having finished the deal, I set about dumping my old pouch and started transferring the cash and cards when I realise that the INR 895 (about USD 23) container did not have a pocket to collect the coins. This excuse was enough to promptly ask for an exchange within 10 minutes of purchasing the wallet.

It’s not so easy if you want to exchange your good at this place. (Sorry if you had a change of heart. That’s not the vendor’s mistake) There are certain internal processes to follow. I go to the Exchange department, give them a reason for the change of heart and get a credit note prepared which says no money will be refunded and the credit slip is valid for 6 months and some other company policies. Now I go, select another wallet of INR 795 (about USD 20) which HAS a provision for storing all my coins, marking the stark irony that the earlier product of a higher denomination wasn’t having this feature but the lower one did. I reach the cash counter fully assured that the 100 bucks difference would be refunded in cash. The cashier instead asks me to go and shop again for the difference amount since company policies do not allow money transactions for any goods exchanged. His suggestion was to buy some handkerchiefs and socks. Ridiculous suggestion, firstly (a) I did not want to buy hankys and socks because I did not need them at this point and (b) they could just end my trauma by handing over the 100 rupee note which was the practical solution to have. The service manager enters the scene and looks more adamant than the cashier to spoil my day. Meanwhile the queue behind was getting impatient, at the same time they were getting some demented fun from the altercation, I presumed. My logic was simple. I go shopping for goods that I want and I pay the printed MRP (Maximum Retail Price) for whatever that I purchase. If I am not happy with A particular product, I pick up another one and pay extra if the MRP exceeds my previous amount. Going by this logic, if the price is less, I expect the company to pay me the difference. Instead, the customer (myself in this case) is asked to replenish the difference himself by buying more despite purchasing a product earlier which was unsatisfactory in all respects! Since I was totally upset with this argument, I asked the service manager to consider keeping the entire amount and the product as well and promised never to come back here for business — shockingly he agrees to my point of view shaking his head! Soon after there was some light at the end of the tunnel. The manager asked for my bill and realised that I had purchased the product on the day itself and I was entitled for not only the difference but also the product exchange and refunds. He felt sorry – although not as graciously as I’d expect employees of a customer service organization. His apology was barely audible — almost like a foot note. Nevertheless, I suggested that his cashiers should have been alert for damage control that would have saved time and energy for all.

My previous experiences with Indian customer service cells have been miserable. Excluding the authorised Maruti service centre where I receive good response, all have been suitably contemptible. Maruti ensures that its customers provide their experience feedback through figurative rating process which is monitored on a frequent basis by Maruti Udyog Limited itself. Here are some highlights and my struggles:

1) I see a think black line running on the left screen of my brand new 29″ television which is in its warranty period. The technician checks the fault and replies he’s unable to fix it since the problem existed with the batch of TVs that shipped during the time. I am not convinced and start a battle. After no movement from the company, I ring up the vice-president sales who assures me of action. The same evening 4 top technicians from the company arrive and resolve the issue to my satisfaction.

2) I purchase a DELL Inspiron and feel  happy until I discover that the DVD/RW ROM is region locked and can ONLY play Region 3 DVDs. I cannot watch movies and it seems like DELL has decided to control what I can see or not on MY OWN PC. I am shocked on this account of  discovery because the sales executive never revealed it in the quote estimation he had sent me — as similar to the various component specifications that were forwarded in a list. In the process, the customer executive loses his patience over his inability for seeking resolutions and  forgets his politeness over the phone. I threaten to contact the India Geography Sales Vice-President but the sales rep asks for a time frame to work on this issue. After 9 months of starting the struggle, the issue continues to simmer as brightly as before with no resolution in sight on the horizon.

3) I renew my Internet broadband account despite my past experiences with this company. When my account is up for renewal, they just disconnect me without any notification leaving my with no choice but to suffocate myself. So I opt for the 512 kbps prepaid account and despite paying the entire amount up front, I get surfing speeds that would make a dial-up connection feel like broadband. Tickets are raised and forgotten, matters are discussed with nonchalant customer executives and replies are sought without any direction to when they would get resolved. Finally, almost a month later, some sanity seems to have come to the Internet connectivity although I say this with a pinch of TATA Salt.