When everyone is king.
TweetNot so long ago, the Indian customer was at the mercy of product and service providers. Options were few and waiting for purchases to actually translate into ownership was normal. A two wheeler would arrive years after booking, so would the telephone connection, LPG connectivity, water supply etc. Bills were paid after spending hours in a queue, banking was a pain. The local kirana guy decided the prices for all commodities and eating out in a place that provided the right mix of ambience, food and service was a luxury.
All that has changed drastically, no more long waiting periods, transactions can be done from the ease of home, efficient service is provided almost everywhere you go. The customer has been raised to the position of King. This of course has its own side effects.
Expectations are sky high, after years of oppression the sudden sense of power has made the Indian customer extremely demanding, impatient and sometimes even inconsiderate.
No matter how great the service, product or scheme a minute flaw is enough to tick the customer. The only time good service is noticed is when it goes wrong. Great ambience, variety of choice, valet parking .. all that is fine but I am paying for it, they are not doing me a favor seems to be the general attitude.
The shopping malls provide near perfect ambience; every need of the customer is taken care of – sofas for those accompanying the shopper, eating options close by, membership privileges, clean washrooms free goodies and polite considerate treatment – and yet we cannot get over the delay in billing.
Interestingly these accusations are directed to those who really are trying to be perfect, nobody complains about slow service in a local restaurant, nor do we complain about delayed letter delivery from the government post office. We do however, go out at the four star restaurant when the dessert is five minutes late, we crib if the telephone billing service is slow -after all we all had to wait for a good ten minutes till they got the server up and running. An otherwise prompt courier service receives bad reviews if the letter arrives a day late.
The side effects of making customer the king are many, good and ugly. It could have turned the otherwise overtly tolerant Indian consumer into a critic looking out for the smallest of flaws.
I feel that understanding, patience and a genuine appreciation are required from both involved – the consumer and the provider.
