Keeping 'Human Quotient' in your brand.

Customer service is something which can either make or destroy brands.In today's market where 'customer is the king' you need to make your customer happy so much so that they simply love your brand.I know this is not something great I am talking about, everyone knows that and working on it, but the problem is in spite of all the efforts and investment, companies fail to do that especially when it comes to 'service industry' and when I talk about service industry and customer satisfaction, the first thing that comes to my mind is the telecom sector.You rarely find any customers happy with their service provider may it be the telecom giant Airtel or BSNL or any other service provider, people are not happy with the 'service' and therefore the MNP option has changed the statistics of all the players.Airtel caught hold of the nerves of the customer and with their better services have occupied a great share in the market and had almost beaten BSNL at its launching period and of course maintained it thereafter but today with a lot of new entrants the focus is shifted toward 'cost', the one paisa concept has really changed the scenario but till when? and how long? today's customer is ready to pay a price for better service and convenience.This is the reason why some players are able to make a position in the market though the customer base is low and the brands which used to enjoy the greatest market share are shrinking. They loose customers largely because they are not able to see 'who is killing their brand?'Now to do that is really difficult as you may come with fantastic products and services but all those who are delivering them should be under the scanner.

Before I move on further I would share an experience of mine with Vodafone which has superbly performed and has made a place for itself not because of the zoo zoo advertisement or the innovative products( as almost all the other operators have some or the other innovative product/service) but because of the 'customer service and satisfaction'. About a month ago I needed a GSM connection as mine was a CDMA technology and doesn't have advance features. Though the MNP option was available but I thought of changing the number as my department in the organization had also changed, it sounds better to me to keep two numbers so as to segregate myself from the previous one.And the change in technology was an important requirement to my new position in terms of sending daily reports, being online and connecting to key people through BBM et al.So I decided to take a Vodafone post paid connection which my elder brothers uses and were quite happy with that. I find an outlet on the way to my office at Platinum plaza and was happy to have the outlet at a commercial place where it ought to be located at, the main store was at MP Nagar again, a commercial and the appropriate one. Now as it was convenient for me to go as the other one was quite far, I approached the outlet and demanded a post paid connection with a BBM plan. The outlet was almost unfurnished with a seating capacity of two and a couple of desks. There was only one attendant and was not able to provide me a list of numbers to choose from, she said, 'madam is not here,she has the numbers with her,plz. wait for sometime once she returns I will give you the numbers". After a day long job you cannot wait for choosing the numbers for a connection, I told her to text me the numbers and told her the documents required are ready once she give me the list of numbers I will send someone with the money and the documents and requested her to do it as early as possible as I needed the connection urgently.The next day I didn't receive any text, I went again to the outlet while going back home, there was some other attendant and said that he doesn't have the numbers right now, he will provide by tomorrow as the attendant that you met yesterday is on leave, on my complaint of having lost already one day, he gave me the form and a blank sim card and asked me to fill the form and deposit an ID proof and the amount tomorrow, thankfully after a wait of an hour or so I got some good numbers and chose one, he assured me that he has booked that number and said that he will call himself and activate it all I need to do is to put the blank sim card and promised to do it by afternoon. The next day, I called up again on the number he gave(as it was already evening and I did not receive any call), the man replied that he was on the field and gave me a number of the office, I called up on the number and to my surprise it was switched off.

Again, on the way back home, I stopped at the outlet to finally take the connection with the amount and a photo copy of my driving license with me, met another attendant..... different from the other two, introduced himself as the 'store manager'. I told him the whole story, having given due attention to the whole episode, he replied, though he was unaware of all this, will do it now, he asked about the ID proof and I gave him the copy of driving license which I had already kept with me, the man refused to acknowledge that photo copy saying it is photo copied only from one side, the seal at the back must have been photo copied as well.I asked him about the facility of photo copy at the store, he refused to have it, asked him to get it done from somewhere, the payment to be done from my side, I got a sweet reply of 'no' there's no place nearby to do so. I kept my patience intact, as I was so tired to go home that I cannot wait for anything else. Requested him to take the photo copy and promised to submit another by tomorrow but the reply was a ''no maam, we are bound by the rules, will activate only once we receive your ID and the verification team verifies it", I said that I need the connection anyhow by tommorrow afternoon as I need to send the reports by evening, can I drop the photo copy by morning while going to office, by what time the store is opened ?, by 11 a.m he replied, I said, "my office starts at 9 a.m. and I cannot come back by 11, plz have some alternate arrangement" and was shocked to hear a 'no' from him.

Now was just not able to control my anger, I gave a very aggressive reply, " do you think you are the only service provider? what do you think to yourself? In today's competetive environmrnt when every single customer is important, you are trying all means to loose a customer, you don't have a sense to judge a customer, I am not a Rs. 10 pre-paid customer, a person demanding a post paid connection with a BBM plan, writing the designstion as a manager in a reputed organization, go to hell, will take another connection" That idiot said 'ok maam without an apology and I left the store throwing away the blank sim card I got and went straight to Airtel's office next door, the executives not only get the ID photo copied but also asked to take the form and fill it as per my convenience and will send an executive to collect it either from home or office wherever I feel comfortable, was very happy with the customer service and came back home to get the Airtel connection.Got so late in the process, came late, my brother asked the reason of getting late, I told him the whole story, he just asked me to relax and insisted on taking a Vodafone connection only as he and his business group use the same and were very happy with the network and service as well. In the afternoon, went out for some official work to MP Nagar and saw the Vodafone outlet, thought of getting the connection as liked the number very much, in the meantime got a call form Airtel executive, liked the number so much and was very close to the store, I refused the executive and went to the Vodafone store, thinking that the number has already been booked on my name so why to waste it? Went to the store and asked about the number, you will surely laugh on hearing the reply, that the number has been taken up by someone, it was not booked in my name. Now, two days were already past and if I choose another option it will take one more day, having left with no choice I asked the lady to give me some numbers to choose from and finalized one, paid the charges, again the photo copy was needed to get done from my side, thankfully there was a photo copy shop nearby, completed all the formalities and requested the lady to get my number functional by tomorrow afternoon, but the reply was, 'no', it will take 24 hours, I could do nothing but wait, next day by evening the number was not operational, called her up many times but of no use, got busy with my office work and forgot. The next afternoon came and the number was not functional, I didn't call up for two days as it was Diwali- the festive season and then Sunday. Finally I called up on Monday, this time it was this lady's turn to be 'on leave', hearing that I lost my control and shouted on her like anything, she gave me the number of some senior official.I called him up and told him the whole story, the officer wtih all the apologies said, he himself will come to my place and hand over a functional sim to me in an hour. Several hours passed and I kept ringing as I had to leave for some urgent meeting, I made the last call and yelled at the person 'to hell with the connection and sim, ask your senior to be where he was and never come to my place and keep the amount I paid for the connection with him, I don't want to take a brand with a pathetic service" and went off.Got engaged in the meeting, 10-15 missed calls from them but not replied any, finally, got a call from my brother and picked up, he told me that the officer and his team was waiting for me for about half an hour, I asked my brother to shoo them away and keep their connection with them. Again, my brother insisted that they are feeling sorry about what happened and not read to go unless you meet them, I was so pissed off and left it on my brother whether to take their sim or not. My brother, a brand loyal of Vodafone, took the sim and entertained that team.

This is how I got the Vodafone connection........

Was just using it, though the plan, the network is good, but the experience was bitter, so never praised it. Keep getting those 'privildged customer' messages but was never happy, few days back got a message, 'Happy Birthday from Vodafone, along with the wishes some free messages and all. On receiving that message and the service message after every enquiry and call has really made me feel good and made me realize some observation about the brand as to how they want to give a human touch to their brand, the service messages after the interaction with a tele customer executive to give your feedback, is really an effective way to know how each and every interaction with a customer is valued, various VAS et al.

Technically the efforts are successful, but they failed to do it on the grass root level, the customer executive on call is being monitored but the executives as the ground staff is not at all being monitored. Some very important lessons has to be learnt from the above story, deliberately shared it so that every one knows that there's some one who is killing the brand, it's not the bad experience at some point makes the entire journey a bad one. Has my brother not being a brand loyal forced me, they would have lost a 'privileged customer'

'Keeping it human' is the key, you must be empathetic to the customer(the store manager might have understood the situation and have gone an extra mile to come to the office early to collect the photo copy)

You must value the customer's time( the lady must have made sure that it is going to be a holiday, I must send the form by evening to the head office)

You must give feel good factor to the customer(the senior officer no matter how busy he was must have taken the case on a priority bases as it was already delayed)

Just give a 'humane' approach to your customers and see things through the eye of the customer.

Once you give this 'human touch' ( wishing birthday) and the you will have enough 'brand loyals'.

NCRB survey for country's most crime-prone state-Will there be a survey of Human Quotient?

Was going through the article of Times of India-'Kerala is country’s most crime-prone state, NCRB statistics show'. To my surprise, found a shocking fact on which my research is going on (Plz refer the previous blog-'Who has more Human Quotient-a literate or an illiterate?). Kerela, a state with the highest literacy rate is country's most crime-prone state and the state which falls under one of the lowest literacy rates is the second in the list. I know the definition of a 'literate' but strongly believe that once you learn to read and write you move into a broader horizon, it is not only about knowing how to read and write but about a better understanding of yourself and the world around.

As the article states number of crimes committed per 1 lakh population — gives a more realistic and comparative picture of law and order than a total of offences registered in a state or city. A state with a larger population can report a higher number of offences as compared to a small state. But it is the crime rate that is an index of law and order. Again, in order to have a better understanding of Law and Order, one must know about it and being a literate facilitates it. Now the question arises is 'knowing' sufficient? If more number of people are literate(i.e higher literacy rate) do they create an atmosphere of positivity i.e less crimes? Is that counts for a deduction in violent crimes(murder, attempt to murder, rape, kidnapping and dowry death)? and on the other hand if there are more illiterates and don't have any access to 'knowing' Law and Order, will there be less crimes? or say less violent crimes? Can you justify the crimes committed on account of being poor, neglected or mentally ill?( as in the Hindi movies, a poor man becomes a thief as someone has denied him food) What leads to the criminal behaviour? Can we say the rich economies where ample facilities are available to people, living of standard is high are not prone to crimes?

Some examples are really a teaser like off late, I see this news quite often in the newspapers about committing a murder on the dispute of 'water'(areas where there's a limited supply of water, people stand in queue to fill water and situation becomes critical), a son stabbed his mother to death so as to have the entire property of father or a father raped his daughter, how can you judge the degree of crimes?

Can we take it as a shock that Kerela is the most crime prone state or compare it with Delhi and Bihar and satisfy ourselves with the indexes? or shall we put all the blame on the government machinery? I read the term 'violent crimes' in the article and the crimes mentioned above in brackets and fail to understand this concept, will definitely undertake more research on 'violent' or 'non-violent' crimes. But one thing I am sure if there's a demarcation has to be made,it should be on the basis of the reason of an offence for example the property disputes or dowry deaths and the deaths due to a dacoity, or a terrorist attack.

There's a mutiny in mind which compels me to raise these questions.......,
still in search of answers for all these............

Baharon mera jeewan bhi sanwaro...........बहारों, मेरा जीवन भी संवारो................

बहारों, मेरा जीवन भी संवारो ...............
सत्तर के दशक का यह गीत एक बहुत ही मधुर संगीत का नमूना है ! केवल स्वर ही नहीं बोल भी अपना महत्त्व रखते हैं!यह किसी भी motivational गीत से कम नहीं ! 'बहारों मेरा जीवन भी सवारो' अपने आप मैं एक बहुत ही सकारात्मक सोच है, जहाँ कवि  बहारों से कह रहा है की जैसे  तुम खुशहाली का सूचक हो वेसे ही अपनी सुन्दरता को केवल अपने तक सीमित न रखो बल्कि मेरे जीवन को भी सुन्दर कर दो! normally हम बहार को देख कर खुश होते हैं, मन को शांति और आँखों को सुकून मिलता है जब बहार की ऋतु  में  हर चीज़ अपने सौंदर्य के चरम पर होती है !रंगों के जितने shades आपने अपने सारे जीवन में  नहीं देखे होते वो आप बहार के मौसम में  देखते हैं ! अगर हम गीत की इस पंक्ति को अपने जीवन में  उतारें तो पाएंगे कि  शायद हमने बहार से कभी कुछ माँगा ही नहीं , केवल प्राकर्तिक सौंदर्य का आनंद  उठाया है या फिर अपनी दुआओं में  माँगा है कि  हे इश्वर मेरे जीवन में भी बहार ला दे !जो बहारें हमारे सामने हैं उनसे कभी कुछ लिया ही नहीं चाहे व्यक्तिगत जीवन हो या व्यवसायिक , बहारें हमेशा ही हमारे सामने रही हैं किन्तु हम उनसे शायद मांगते ही नहीं यदि हम व्यक्तिगत जीवन की बात करें तो बहरें हमारे सामने उन सफल व्यक्तियों क रूप में  होती हैं जो अपने जीवन मैं एक लक्ष्य ले कर चले  हैं और कामयाब हुए हैं ! यहाँ सफल व्यक्ति से मतलब  धनवान व्यक्ति बिलकुल भी नहीं है ! सफल  व्यक्ति वह  है जो अपनी जीवन मैं खुश है चाहे वह परिवार के बुज़ुर्ग दादाजी क्यों न हों जो आज अपने नाती-पोतों के साथ ख़ुशी से जीवन बिता रहे हों जिन्होंने ज़िन्दगी के हर पड़ाव  को भरपूर जिया हो  जवानी मैं कमाया, अपने बच्चों  को सही मार्ग दिखाया और आज  धन-दौलत की चिंता किये बिना अपने परिवार को एकजुट देख कर खुश हैं या फिर एक विधवा माँ जिसने अपनी बेटियों को अपने पैरों पे खड़ा किया और आज उनकी प्रतिष्ठा और मान से गौरान्वित होती है! इन बहारों से हमें सीखना चाहिए, इनसे कहना चाहिए कि मेरा जीवन भी संवारो, अपने experiences share  कर के! जीवन के वो कठिन रास्ते जो आपने  सहज ही गुज़ार दिए, हर छोटी-बड़ी कठिनाई का सामना कर, हमें भी बताओ, हमें प्रेरणा दो कि जीवन केसे खुशहाल बनाते हैं, कभी क्रोध को पीकर तो कभी एक बड़े झगडे को एक मुस्कराहट से सुलझा कर !

और व्यवसायिक जीवन तथा प्रबंधन के क्षेत्र में देखें  तो यह पंक्तियाँ एकदम सटीक बैठती हैं कयोंकि  एक क्षेत्र का विकास पूरे देश के विकास को गति दे सकता है ! हमारे देश में  ऐसे कई उदाहरण हैं जहाँ एक व्यवसाय विशेष या क्षेत्र विशेष ने पूरी अर्थ व्यवस्था का उद्धार  किया है चाहे वो भिलाई का steel plant हो, गुजरात की industries या फिर south का IT सेक्टर; इन बहारों से इन क्षेत्रों ने वाकई अपना जीवन भी सुधारने  का अनुरोध किया होगा! आज भी हम सुनते हैं कि  इस गाँव में  पक्की सड़क बनने  के कारण  बहुत  विकास हुए हैं! स्कूल , सहकारी बैंक , दवाखाना इत्यादि सभी कुछ बन गया जबसे सड़क बनी है !पर खेद की बात है की जिन बहारों ने जिस जगह जीवन संवारा ऐसे उदाहरण  होते हुए भी विकास कम है! पिछले कुछ दशकों से स्तिथि  सुधरी हैं वरना  सिर्फ उपयोग किया  गया  हैं उद्धार नहीं! जैसे भारत वर्ष के इतिहास में  कई शासक जो विध्वंस बन के आये वह  बहार बन के  भी आ सकते थे  और भारत को संवार  सकते थे किन्तु सँवारने से ज्यादा भारत को लूटा गया! अंग्रेजी शासन भी एक बहुत बड़ी बहार साबित हो सकता था यदि वो अपनी technology, अपने inventions, अपनी तरक्की से हमारी तरक्की को जोड़ता पर शायद भारत इस संधर्भ में  कल भी unlucky था और आज भी है! दुनिया के सबसे अमीर व्यक्तियों की सूची मैं भारत के कई नागरिकों  का  नाम   है किन्तु दुनिया के सबसे  best brands में  भारतीय  brands  नहीं आते! भारत का GDP दुनिया के best GDPs earning nations में  नहीं आता !
ऐसा नहीं है कि  कुछ भी नहीं हुआ है या Corporate Social Responsibility नाम मात्र को ही है! कई नामी कम्पनियाँ और उद्योगों ने  भारत की तस्वीर बदलने में  महत्त्वपूर्ण योगदान दिया है पर आज भी ज़रुरत है कि हम इन बहारों से हक़ से मांगे कि  हमारा जीवन भी संवारो  , तुम अगर prosper कर रहे हो  तो हमें भी prosper करो यदि एक team leader की तरक्की होती है तो वह पूरी टीम की तरक्की करवाए , यदि एक राज्य में  खुशहाली है तो वह दुसरे राज्य में  खुशहाली लाने  का प्रयास करे तभी हम एक self sustained ecosystem rather economic system बना पाएंगे!
 इसलिये किसी पे बहार आने पर जलन या द्वेष मत लाये बल्कि हक़ से उस बहार से कहिये कि  मेरा जीवन भी सवारों!

सूफ़िया  कुरैशी
copyright@sufia

ON WHAT PARAMETERS DO YOU MEASURE HUMAN QUOTIENT? IS IT A LITERATE OR AN ILLITERATE? WHO HAS A GREATER HUMAN QUOTIENT?

Crime Patrol, jurm ki dastak is gaining popularity among the audience nowadays. The program is based on the real life cases of loot, murder and other crimes. Every episode gives a message about an issue like child abuse, domestic violence, kidnapping or love affairs as the basis of crime.

In a recent episode, a case of Bhopal army cantonment, Bairagarh has been aired.

A senior army official shot an adolescent (a boy of 11 yrs of age) to punish him for stealing almonds that fall from a tree which was in the army campus. An educated and respected figure in the society, a personnel of the country’s highly responsible and revered wing-the army, acted   in such an irresponsible rather horrible manner. When you hear the word; 'an army officer', suddenly a feeling of respect, a sense of dependency comes to your mind. Someone whom we consider as our ‘life guard’ but what happens when a life guard takes away a life of an innocent young boy who had the least idea of picking up the fallen almonds is stealing, crossing the boundary is indiscipline and a crime for which there is no complaint, no warrant, no judge......just the punishment, the punishment to lose life.

Switch to another case where an illiterate auto driver brutally stabbed his wife and a three year old daughter to death just because he was angry that the food that his wife prepared was not of his choice.

Both the cases show an extreme level of inhumanity, taking someone’s life for granted, but again the question that arises is do we associate human quotient with literacy? Who scores high on HQ, a literate or an illiterate, a civilized and highly respected citizen or a slum dweller without an identity of his own?  Is it a natural instinct? or an instant reaction? Can you say that the army official had a low HQ for his entire life or was it just an instant reaction? Should we forget all the good deeds that he did throughout his life which includes saving the life of others or should we remember the only cruel act of killing an innocent boy? Or should we consider the regret, the guilt he had after this act?

In case of that laborer should we blame the poverty?, the frustration of living a miserable life to be root cause of low human quotient?, or should we say that the importance of life for him has never been so important as he doesn’t had a normal life of going to school, getting employed and loved? Or should we blame the society where there is distinction between the life of a rich and a poor, where rich have an access to every happiness and poor try too hard to make both the ends meet and that man became so frustrated not to have a proper meal for which he worked hard for the whole day?

ON WHAT PARAMETERS DO YOU MEASURE HUMAN QUOTIENT?.................

something is missing....I don't know why?

I wrote this poem when I was in 10th std.

In the midst of July,
when there is brightness in the sky
the trees are swinging, the flowers are laughing...
and leaves are talking to every passerby.....


something is missing....I don't know why?


The vehicles are moving, faces are grooming
when hawkers are singing, pakodas are ready to fry....


something is missing....I don't know why?

sometimes I thought.........

I wrote this poem when I was in std. 8th.

Oh! God,

Sometimes I thought, what I've got is enough or not,

and sometimes I thought, that what I've got is just a part...... of a filled pot

and have the desire to get a lot,

but as a matter of fact, what I got is enough.... and a bit more from the rest part, and a lesson is learnt.....

to be greedy not.

God is great.., He has given some or the other thing in everybody's plate

it's you have to decide, how to Take and make its Best...

ROADIES' AUDITION AND THE YOUTH OF TODAY-Learn to be YOURSELF

MTV Roadies is the most popular show among the India youth today. Though I have not followed all the episodes of any season but I never miss the auditions as I find so many astonishing facts about the youth of today. The way Raghu and friendz make them zero in on what they actually are is worth noticing. This is more of a concern rather than entertainment. It is pathetic to learn that the future of India lacks a vision, a goal to attain and are running blindly to have name and fame. For them 'easy money' is all that they want, when they are being asked 'what is the quality that you have to become the winner?' they stammer, say anything, boast of their physique and beauty, want to prove themselves but don't know  their own 'self', what is that they want to prove is again a blind reply, something that they failed to prove in some part of life, may be a compartment in some subject at High school or a fail in Secondary results, a feeling of not having enough power to hit back a classmate or senior or last but not the least to prove the parents that 'I am worth something'........... an endless list.The shows of this sort fascinate them the most as you become a rock star overnight, you are being watched at TV no matter what you do whether you bring shame to your family by using the abusive language at its extreme or being proved a cheater or a good for nothing fellow, and you have ample opportunities to make money....easy money in a short time(with no offense to the tasks that are really tough and some of the  very creative ones)

Exactly the same situation is faced by them when they face an interviewer, they write something in the resume and speak out a different thing.They write they 'want to work in an organization where I get maximum chance to learn' but at the back of mind goes 'where I get maximum chance to earn'. The same goes in my counseling sessions when I ask 'why do you want to do MBA?, the answer comes, 'I want a good job?' , 'what kind of job is good for you?' no answer, 'what is the profile that you are looking for?' 'don't know', where do you see yourself after 5 years?', 'not sure', 'I want to do MBA to become a good businessman', what business do you have in your  mind?', 'any'.......

This gap of 'what you want' and 'what you say you want' is an alarming situation for a country which has a phenomenal population of youth.The skill gap, employability everything else revolves around this. Though such shows are a source of entertainment but  some useful lessons that you can draw form these auditions are:

• Know Yourself
• Be clear about your thoughts
• Be yourself
• Be focused
• Have your goals set and put a deadline on them.
• Don't ever try to pose yourself as what you want to be but accept what you are.
• Acknowledge your weaknesses.
• Don't assume, prove by doing not by saying.

The feedback and comments are welcomed at suphia.q@gmail.com