How Can Personalization Add Value To Your Customer Service?

Recently I had two very different experiences even though I was delivered the same incentive for using the same service at the same business.

Scenario-1

The car rental company that I use gave me a loyalty card that would be punched every time I rent with them. Once I had taken five rentals, it was promised that the sixth one would be free. Since I rent quite often the D-day presented itself pretty soon enough. So I happily presented my card in anticipation of my free rental. The customer care representative Mr. A looked surprised at first, as if I was the only one ever to have achieved that feat but he was polite enough to say that the company would honor the offer and they would take care of it once I return the car.

I went ahead with my business and on the day of return, I handed the contract papers to another representative, she quickly made some entries on her computer and said your bill is ‘x’ dollars. I had to remind her that it was my sixth rental at their location and Mr. A had assured me, it’s free and will be taken care of at return. She appeared clueless and then informed that Mr. A was not in the office that day so she would check with him and take care of it as required.

Discussion: Do Indian IT companies need to be more innovative to remain successful in future?

This started as generic discussion on a recent article published in The Economic Times regarding relevance of Bangalore as the IT Hub in the future but very soon we were discussing relevance of innovation for Indian IT companies.

Me: Here is something that you might find interesting :)

Has Bangalore lost track of its success curve?  

@Varun: I beg to disagree partially with Mr. Debashish Roy.. I believe he is misled by what he has been watching on television in last 3-4months, and if I am not mistaken he would have been one of the first few to sell Infy shares after last quarter results were declared.. :) But everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.. So no further comments on his blog!! :)

Me: I don't agree with the entire piece either but I do agree with concentrating on Product versus the services part :)

What the Skype deal means for Microsoft?

Microsoft snapped an 8.5 billion USD deal to acquire Skype. The deal sure has raised a lot of eyebrows - what is Microsoft up to? How and where are they planning to use Skype? Is it a game-changer or is Skype doomed forever? I have a couple of observations regarding the deal but first the casual conversation that triggered the thought process.

Mansi: Microsoft paid 8.5 Billion USD for Skype? Did someone not tell them that they can download it from the website for free???

me:  Actually they want to put it on their website for everyone to download after shelling out some bucks instead of just free ;)

Mansi:  lol  I’ll be amazed if they get 50 bucks back out of 8.5 billion USD.

me:  yes, the deal has surprised everyone ..let's see what Microsoft has planned

Mansi:  yeah..Skype walo ki to nikal padi (Skype people hit upon a lottery though). Offices mein champagne chhalak rahi hogi (They must be enjoying they Champagne in their offices)

Man vs Machine

As the Bahrain GP stands cancelled and the Formula 1 season is postponed for the first time in 21st century, I hear that the Bahrain economy would have to absorb a loss of estimated $100mn due to this decision and it might spurt equally severe repercussions for the Formula 1 teams and committees alike. But even with such alarming figures/discussions circumventing the sports world, I can’t stop but notice the awe-inspiring similarities between a human being and a formula 1 race car.

Both need proper fuel (weight and type) to propel properly
We all know that F1 racing cars can’t run on kerosene, they need a special high octane gas to make them fly on the race track. A follower of F1 would also tell you how it’s important to not fill tank till the brink and why it’s important to in F1 to leave a little in fuel tanks (in order to lower the car weight). In the same fashion the human body can’t just carry-on on a low fat, high fiber diet forever. And being over-weight or under-weight can cause problems.

Communication and roles

Another one received as an email forward. Communication is an essential ingredient of any Business Analysis process. Here is an excellent example of how it changes as we move up the Org hierarchy. A good scenario & role based communication example. Interesting read!



Engineer to Team Leader:
"We can't do this proposed project. It will involve a major design change and no one in our team knows the design of this system. And above that, no body in our company knows the formulation in which this application has been written. So even if somebody wants to work on it, they can't. If you ask my personal opinion, the company should never take these types of projects."


Team Leader to Project Manager:
"This project will involve a design change. Currently, we don't have any staff that has experience in this type of work. Also, the language is unfamiliar to us, so we will have to arrange for some training if we take this project. In my personal opinion, we are not ready to take on a project of this nature."

Project Manager to General Manager:
"This project involves a design change in the system and we don't have much experience in that area. Also, not many people in our company are appropriately trained for it. In my personal opinion, we might be able to do the project but we would need more time than usual to complete it."


General Manager to Vice President:
"This project involves design re-engineering. We have some people who have worked in this area and others who know the implementation language. So they can train other people. In my personal opinion we should take this project, but with caution."


Vice President to CEO:
"This project will demonstrate to the industry our capabilities in re-modelling the design of a complete legacy system. We have all the necessary skills and people to execute this project successfully. Some people have already given in house training in this area to other staff members. In my personal opinion, we should not let this project slip by us under any circumstances."


CEO to Client:
"This is the type of project in which our company specializes. We have executed many projects of the same nature for many large clients. Trust me when I say that we are the most competent firm in the industry for doing this kind of work. It is my personal opinion that we can execute this project successfully and well within the given time frame.

Bangalored ... oops.. Bengaluru'ed yet again..

..Life is so full of surprises; you can never say you have seen enough or are done with something. I thought of never visiting Bangalore again and here I was.. back in Bangalore…oops…Bengaluru yet again, after almost three years. A lot has changed about the city and a lot hasn't. During my short stay of 3 weeks here are a few changes that were noticeable:

1. The condition of roads is much better now. A lot of new fly overs, underpasses have been built, the roads have been widened, and the Hosur road elevated roadlink is now complete. A lot has been done in the span of less than 3 years to the credit of the administration. But it still didn't seem good enough, the traffic situation seems a tad better but probably roads have been stretched to their limits and maybe it's time for alternate means of transport.

2. Heard that a new metro (Namma Metro) is coming up soon. They recently had a test run on one of the routes. The sooner it comes, the better it would be for Bengaluru. The good news is that the bus fleet seems to have been replaced and you can see some shiny new buses on the roads. The highlight being the Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) service, the buses are beautiful, comfortable, the staff polite and the fares seem to be reasonable for the distance and service. But since the roads are already bursting at their seams I believe Bangaluru seriously needs a well connected metro/light rail system dearly.

3. Visited the new Bangalore International Airport for the first time – it’s much better than before but nothing great. But one good thing that it has done to the city is that it has given it more space to expand between the main city and airport. You can see a lot construction going on both sides of the road enroute the airport.

A Signage in Koramangla for Taco Bell.

4. Tens of new malls and cineplexes have cropped up all over the city but irrespective of which one I visited, each one was crowded to the limit with hardly any space to lay your foot on as if bearing a testimony to the booming economy that India is. Many US brands like Staples, Ikea, Taco Bell have opened shop in the city recently. There might be many more but these are the ones I came across.

5. A lot of new eating places have opened now. Most of them are chains with multiple branches throughout the city. They are a little expensive and the quality is not uniform. Paying Rs.125 for a thali (full serving) is common place and considered nominal but the size and the number of dishes is not uniform. One place though which surprised and delighted me was Khandani Rajdhani, they have several branches serving Rajasthani food with thalis ranging from Rs 125-325. But the service is very good although you may have to wait for up to an hour at most branches (they are immensely popular). It's unlimited all you can eat food with good service from smiling servers that is the USP of the place. Thanks Prady for introducing me to this Gem :)

6. Another good thing I noticed is the presence of lot of mobile services (not the cell phone) including mobile saloons, mobile car services, mobile pet care. In a city where getting out is tough and time consuming because of the traffic, these services will reach you at your place and provide the service you need. And people are being innovative; a certain city mall drops you home via a shuttle service if you shop with them :). These are smart moves by people who understand that customers are willing to pay a little extra in case you save them time and travel.

These are some of the things that I found interesting, positive and that caught my eye. A lot of things are still unchanged but I decided to concentrate at the brighter side :). And I am never saying never for visiting Bangalore again as I am sure it will call me again to continue the love-hate relationship I have with the city, but I hope it is long enough before I do that.

Marketing Concepts Made Simple

Got this as an email forward and found it interesting enough to be shared with you all. As with all the forwards not sure where this originated but it's a good read.


A Professor at one of the MBA colleges was explaining marketing concepts to the Students:

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. "Marry me!"
- That's Direct Marketing

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: "He's very rich. Marry him."
-That's Advertising

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day, you call and say: "Hi, I'm very rich. "Marry me"
- That's Telemarketing


You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the car)for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say: "By the way, I'm rich. Will you "Marry Me?"
- That's Public Relations

You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says: "You are very rich!
Can you marry me?"
- That's Brand Recognition

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.
- That's Customer Feedback

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband.
- That's demand and supply gap

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person come and tell her: "I'm rich. Will you marry me?" and she goes with him -
-That's competition eating into your market share

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say: "I'm rich, Marry me!" your wife arrives.
- That's restriction for entering new markets