e-Nagar

This movie is a flashback of a famous dacoit giving an interview to a press reporter. Based on a true story, the dacoit recollects his days of being a world famous athlete (who held the national record in Steeple Chase – 3,200m hurdle race) and led a quiet, peaceful life which everybody dreams off.
Family dispute over ancestral property and indifference of the governmental agencies forced this person to become an outlaw and avenge himself.
Acting is superb. We can see the main actor graduate from being a naïve fresh army recruit to a dacoit with a large team who is audacious enough to cross 3 states in order to kidnap a politician on the eve of the elections. Paan Singh shows that life of an Dacoit is far from glamorous. One is separated from the family, law enforcement agencies are always chasing you, sleep on the floor, eat whatever one can gather from the forest, sleep on the floor. Money might be good, but even your kins and friends constantly conspire against you.
It also sends out a strong underlying message: 1/3 of the country is dominated by one Naxal or the other. These people are just like who and me. It’s just the bad governance that destroyed all their dreams, hopes of living a respectable family life.

It’s never too late to make amends.
The movie starts with a busy successful lawyer who discovers that his wife sustained fatal injuries in an accident and is under life-support. It then gives a peep into his glamorous but dysfunctional life in which the elder of his 2 estranged daughters is a drug addict (and dating a complete moron) and the other is a spoilt brat who grew up. He also discovers that his wife was cheating on him.
Great directions and story-line make this movie perfect for one lazy afternoon.

One of the first learning of Business is that “Customer is king”. “Delight your customers to attract repeat business”, “In service industry, the only product you offer is Customer delight”, “A satisfied customer brings 5 more new clients” etc. etc. but these days I have begun to doubt that.

1. Kingfisher airline: Anybody who has flown on Kingfisher (before the crisis) would agree that this airline was a class apart when it came to customer service. However the airline was unable to charge a premium to cover the cost of the service and the airline has gone broke.
2. Ever walked into Big Bazaar, well how can one possibly walk in there? The aisles are so cramped and crowded that even a dash from entrance to exit takes 15 minutes. The constant noise of public announcements will make your ears bleed and the queue in front of the billing counter never seems to end. Yet it is the most successful (and talked about) super market chain in the country.
3. Almost any good club in India takes pride in imposing very stringent entry barriers for its customers. The clubs that screens it clientele (based on looks, perception of being loaded, hefty entry charge, cover charges etc.) are always overbooked. While the club next door that even offers “happy hours (50% off on drinks) and other discounts is always half empty.
4. I guess it’s not only the youth in the country, who is masochist. Most pricy fine dining restaurants will have long waiting queues. I swore there was a restaurant in Park Street who made me wait for 15 minutes even when the establishment was half empty.
5. Audit firms that are customer centric are only inviting trouble. Sometimes it’s good to be cold and professional in all your dealings.
6. My undergraduate school and my post-graduate school treated me like shit and spared no occasion to remind the entire batch (not just me) that how they are a disgrace to the prestige of the institute. Yet they continue to receive 1000 applications for every seat they have to offer. Employers flock around these campuses because the bruised (crushed) ego makes them ideal employees.
7. I know so many people who continue to curse the PSU banks for their ancient infrastructure, short operating hours, and the attitude towards customers in general. Yet they continue to bank with them.
8. One of the reasons for the decline to mature companies is that they are so much focused in serving the existing clients that they miss out on the new business opportunities.
9. Almost all the cloth stores in India have a sign that says that the store does not have any return policy, guarantee that the garments will not shrink after wash or that the colors will not bleed. Yet we have not stopped purchasing from them.
10. Walk into any big firm and you would see that PR (Public Relations) department focusing not on improving the public relations but limiting the damage that the company’s policies and statements have on its finances.

“Low cost” businesses ignore the clients because it reinforces their image of being able to provide the best price, no frills service for its customers. ‘Premium/Luxury’ businesses ignore their customers as part of their well thought off strategy to maintain exclusivity. It’s only the mediocre that are stuck with no plan or strategy that end up providing excellent service to their clients because they have nothing better to do.
Good guys always finish last.
So show a little spine and get rid of customers that make no economic sense to serve. Customer service is just one of the components of the Value proposition. Well positioned, quality offering which meets the clients requirements is the key to success.

Further reading: http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2012/03/how-deal-muppets

If a threesome is sex with three people, and a twosome is sex with two people, I guess you can just call me “handsome.”

If you use the coupon code
samuhik.com
while registering your domain/webservices in bigrock.com, then you can get upto 25% discount.
I myself have registered a website and am trying to create a website which would help people sort out their personal finances. (any suggestions/comments/brickbats welcome)

BTW http://www.indiagetonline.in/ (a google/hostgator initiative) allows you to register a *.in domain and host it for one year for free. However your PAN card is required for the registration (most other domain registration website don’t require your PAN number.

I recently purchased this Dokra artifact from the website http://www.craftsvilla.com/discover-by-craft/dokra-art-craft/couple-on-bed-dokra-anwesha-tribal-arts-crafts.html and I must admit they did a fantastic job.

The product was reasonably priced, promptly delivered and matched the description and quality that I had anticipated. However what made the real difference is the presentation.
1. It was a beautiful carton and the packaging was not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional.
2. It came with a handwritten note (from one of the co-founder) along with a lovely envelope thanking me for the purchase and wishing me the best.
3. It came with a small handcrafted scented wax-terracotta lamp.

I have always emphasized that when Indians shop online, they seek value for money. Discounts and coupons are an easy way to satisfy this need of the customers, but it is not a sustainable one. What makes you really stand out is the way the e-commerce store handles the order. This handwritten note and diya would not cost much, but they definitely add this personal touch which any online biz lacks.

One should remember that Indian middle class is quite mobile and online stores are a great way to ensure that the family traditions on those special occasions are maintained. (and yes if you add birthdays and festivals, we have something or the other every second week). I wish I could gift my parents/in-laws a product that i bought in a clearance sale at a throw-away price. However I would be much more comfortable gifting them something that was nicely packaged, parceled and delivered without any hassle.

BTW Indian handicrafts make a perfect gift for all occasion (esp. if you want to gift it someone from a different culture) and my friend Shivam has agreed to post a video of dokra casting being sculptured live along with a note of various indian tribal cultures and their unique handicrafts. I would also insist that him to order something from the website and learn from the experience.