Coke may not satisfy thirst but it sure promises to make happy times happier. A miniature burger does not satisfy hunger, but it does seem like the perfect “happy” meal.

Or does it?

It is interesting – this craving to be happy. Consumers are stocking up on things that seem to make them happy. A dream that is kept alive by the tremendous media effort put together by the marketers.

Once the illusion of happiness is taken away, there really isn’t much that customers perceive as worth buying.

In short if you are the seller, keep the illusion of good times up, and if you are the buyer it’s about time that you did a reality check of what you want and what you really need before you make that next purchase.

The people who are the ‘inspiration’ for this post have the link to the site and I really hope they see this post.

Usually when there are hygiene related issues with women, the girlfriends are quick to notice and come to the rescue. So if there are things my friend needs to know but is blissfully unaware of we women are always there to tell before any embarrassment is caused.

I wonder if it works the same way for men. There are several instances when a colleague could have just taken his friend for a walk and told him to wear better fitting trousers and not the ones that are about 2 inches high, when the gentlemen could have been told that he reeks of pee and needs to wash up, that he should stop fiddling around and maybe go visit a dermatologist.

So , Mr. Scratcher and Mr. Pee I hope you read this, because no one else seems to have told you.

I hesitated because the brand was too good and although I would probably never buy enough from them to keep their income flowing I still wanted exclusivity to the extent I could control it.

It made me think about the theory of word of mouth and how some great products get almost all their publicity by word of mouth.

Sometimes even the most deserving products do not get their share of recommendation. There are many instances when word fails to get around:

1. When the product is comparable to that offered by the competitor but fails because of bad choices – bad choice of location for example.
Case: Last weekend I went for a movie to Adlabs (Hyderabad), the theater offers everything comparable to its competitor, except the really narrow roads that lead to it, less parking space and a mall in the third floor whose target audience clashes with those that Adlabs targets. I will never suggest this place to anyone, enough though the three hour movie watching experience was close to what other multiplexes offered.

2. When the product is so exclusive that you do not want people to know.
Case:There is a great gift shop in Pune called gift-a-way. Tucked away in a cozy corner in a busy street, finding it is an adventure and choosing from the delicious racks of handmade marvels is even more exciting. The place has the same set of loyal customers. Although the owner wants the customers to talk, they rarely ever do.

3. When the product is great, but tells people more about you than you want them to know.
Case: Parachute Therapie hair oil – Now I have tried it and at least six other people I know have tried it, but then it is everyone’s little secret. No one wants the world to know you are having hair issues.

4. When the product was great, but you are not sure if it was the best
Case: An all day pamper yourself massage at a spa. You know it was great, but who are you to say if you have been to the spa twice in your whole life. What if the others have tried all the other spas as well and the one you are raving about is the worst??

Word of mouth is meant to be about the product, but it rarely is. It is more like a secret that you tell your best friend, and only when the whole experience cuts the mark.

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.

Perfect.

It no surprise that when a news channal airs a piece on hectares of land getting washed away , the immediate concern is not how to prevent further calamities and provide shelter to the victims, rather discussing the disappearance of 150 crores is a far greater issue.

After all in a world where we are all so organised financial statistics are important – they are measurable ( compared to human or animal apathy), look professional, gives the political parties another topic to render irrelevant and more importantly how else do I get my TRP’s? The plight of the victims may catch the initial eyeballs but a banter between parties and the meaningless exchange of blame is far more entertaining. Breaking news material indeed.

Despite the principles of customer delight that govern the operations of the brand, big names in the service industry are losing money, customer confidence and loyalty to their competitors.

Some of the reasons for this – Poor point of sale service, inability of the front end employees to grasp the real meaning of the brands guidelines and their underestimation of the competitor’s .. well .. competitiveness.

Employees higher up may be working towards wealth creation, while cases of fortune lost through the bottom of the organisation pyramid go unnoticed. Where then, is the difference in the customers experience while shopping at the countries leading retail chain or at a local kirana store?

The cases of this happening may be few and far, but thats no reason to stop its occurance entirely.

I am not traditionalist with my views about gender treatment in a restaurant. 

What makes me uncomfortable though is the fact that more often than not, opinion about the food/service is sought first from the gentleman and then, if at all, from the lady - most often as a cursory afterthought.

Look around and you notice that food and the bills are brought to the gentleman first. Although, not the case in all restaurants this phenomenon is widely prevalent.It can be blamed on the lack of staff training or simply on the customs deeply ingrained in the Indian society about serving the men first.

My take: Restaurants should either warm up to growing women diners and train their staff for ensuring a more ‘with the times’ service or follow the proper restaurant custom of giving the lady special treatment.

Equality or proper customs – you choose. Just don’t neglect half (and growing) of your customer base.

Almost every eating joint/restaurant/fast food centre has a “bad table” – too close to the washrooms, tucked in a stuffy corner, bad lighting. No customer would want to be seated here.

So why have this table?

Why not replace it with some of restaurants own property - like a pantry corner, cell-phone charging zone, ‘collect your coupons’ station.

Another solution: make the table desirable – complimentary food, a visit by the manager/chef, flowers for the lady, discount for the kid at the table.

The point being it doesn’t matter what your constraints are, if you cannot avoid having a ‘bad table’.. guarantee a good experience despite that .

“She worked by day and toiled by night, She gave up play and some delight, Dry books she read, new things to learn, and forged ahead success to earn, she plodded with faith and pluck and when she won, men called it luck.”

Think about it .. when was the last time you thought you were really lucky? When was the last time things just fell into place? Chances are it was the time that you desperately needed things to work. The winning was not a consequence of sheer chance it was the detail and determination in your approach that made things happen.

The next time you write off success to luck, think about all the ‘lucky’ days that went by you. 

Sometime last year I gave one of my friends the book “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance” as a birthday present.No question of money, just something I thought she would enjoy.

What did everyone flip to see in the book? No, it was not the prologue or the reviews or ‘about the author’ section .. none of that .. they looked at the price tag!!

Just something that was bothering me.