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.
In Nature's Arms
When existence becomes boring, painful and demanding. When drudgeries of life begin to overtake you, it’s time to immerse yourself in nature’s arms. I have always loved being one amongst nature and as a member of the honourable Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), I could not have left the chance of exploring the deeper jungles of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park go unnoticed. So here I was on a Sunday morning in my trekking gear (without carrying the most important kit of all – water), joining a group of nature enthusiasts at the entrance of the park and of course my dear friend Hemant who was giving me company with his Nikon D40 and the works.
A Blast from the Past
This weekend was surely a memorable one for me. It presented a great chance to catch up with my past life and relive those fine moments of childhood fun and pranks. The mad scramble for career and lifestyle had detached me practically from strengthening my friendships. It was great to meet up with the likes of Tikoo, Amish, the Dixit brothers Samir and Hiren after a long long time. These are men who were boys sometime ago and grew up with me. We played together, fought over “wrong” umpiring decisions and even stopped communicating with each other for a while but that did not dent the spirit of our relationship at all. The place where I live had a good amount of females which also gave us an opportunity to play outdoor games which today’s youth might find hard to compete. The common issues that plague our apartment ensures that we forget our miseries and unite in the favor of a solution. In such circumstances, nothing else matters to us than the protection of our “motherland”.
Love To All
It’s unusual that I am writing this on valentine’s day for some reasons. Firstly, a handful fundamentalists in the region believe this occasion to be ‘commercial exploitation’ and it’s celebration as an insult to their religion. I mostly agree with them and certainly feel that the capitalists make a lot of profit from these festivities. Secondly, the event and the ethos has lost it’s meaning somewhere between the college and my profession for a stark personal reason. But I would like to support any such activity which promotes cultural harmony and peace in the current unruly environment in which we’re breathing. So here’s my small tribute on this official day of love and care for your mate.
MTV Roadies 5: It's Back to the Asylum
The new season of MTV Hero Honda Roadies 5 is back and the auditions began airing on the channel for some weeks now. It’s Nikhil Chinappa and Raghu Ram who are back as judges distressing the poor kids into submission in the Torture Cell as it’s famously called. To give you an example from a recent episode, a candidate was asked to act like a monkey and the guy took the word so seriously, the next thing the judges knew he was pouncing on their table, discarding the sheets of paper and dropping the objects all around. Phew! he sure came closer to being sent to an asylum or a zoo at that point. On the other hand, you can bet that the anti-censorship lobby of the media would love to watch this show. No matter how many cuss words are beeped out by the channel (which is meant for the family), one can still make out the language being used from the lip movements (which need to be blurred on screen as well). It’s evident how hypocritical our censorship rules are which are so starkly displayed on television every week, it would put even the sleazy film directors and dialogue writers of Bollywood to shame.