Week-2, Experience-3 by Angshu: “Reliance or Un-Reliance?”
Date: 03-July-2009
Time: 1-00 to 2-00 PM
Location: Reliance Web World, Bistupur
Background
Reliance - the undisputed leader of corporate India! But then why do they have so many unresolved disputes from customers? Let me give you an example of an unsatisfied (or rather disgusted!) and disloyal customer who ceases to leave a service offering – yes, I’m the person! But not only me – you can find many such examples if you could get to talk with some among the millions of Reliance Mobile customers. You ask: “Everything is fine but then why don’t you leave the service?”. On behalf of millions of such Reliance Mobiles customers: “Economic rationality is still the most important parameter for choosing a product or service in India and not the satisfaction; forget about management clichés like customer delight or experience”. You got it right – the low lifetime prepaid charges and the low STD rates are the sole reasons why I’m one of the disloyal more-than-a-year-loyal customers of Reliance. But recently it started becoming an intolerable nuisance. With the advent of these customer-friendly-value-added-services I started getting more than 20 SMS daily; each one testing the limit of my patience. And, it was not the end – with their customer focused relationship marketing agenda and customized service paradigm – I started getting calls from Reliance to opt for their almost-free value-added services. In spite of my repeated refusals their care for me showed no sign of reduction. I doubt if even parents can show the kind of attention and care to their beloved children that marketers of today reserve for their valuable customers!
Prior Expectation
Understanding that I’ve to set aside my laziness and make some efforts to ensure my future peace I decided to go to the Reliance Web World at Bistupur. I expected the customer service personnel there would listen to me, understand my problems and take prompt steps to resolve the issues.
Actual Experience
I reached the Reliance store at 1 PM and asked the receptionist whom to contact for my issues. She informed the customer care executive has left for lunch and will come back by half-an-hour if I’m lucky enough. So, I went to Chapan Bhog to make my wait little-less-irritating. Went to the store again at 1-30 PM and as expected the executive is still to come. Understandable – if the customer care executives don’t have long and good lunch – how can they serve so-demanding-customers-like-me. Anyways, after another 10 minutes of long-wait the executive finally came. I could not make out if because of the lunch or by nature she had such a big volume – I hoped there is a big heart inside as well! I informed about the issues – regarding the nuisance calls and SMS and asked her to do something to stop the service. First she tried to explain the benefits of such great services but stopped once I lost control on my patience and my dissatisfaction became overt. Ultimately she told that to stop all these – I have to send a particular SMS to a particular number; she gave me the details. I sent the SMS then and there. But the response SMS was simply amazing: “Your request has been registered with our database and it will be activated within 45 days”. “What the hell?*%$^#@!” – I said. The executive in her suave and empathic voice informed me that they are huge company and they get so many such requests from their numerous customers everyday – so it is natural that processing it should take time. Being an ambassador of one of the most reputed institute in the state – I could not express my actual feeling eloquently. Disgusted and dismayed I came out of the store but could not leave expressing my grudge in a silent manner – don’t ask how?!
Service Trinity Model
| Core Service |
| o Mobile Communication o Value added services |
| Funding Mechanism |
| o Customer Pays o Self-service – customer makes efforts for getting new connection and refill o Company pays by giving discounts and extra talk-time sometimes |
| Customer Management System |
| o Reliance Web World Stores o Customer Service Executives o Automated Voice Response |
| Employee Management System |
| o Rigorous Selection Process o Training and development programs o Performance based incentives |
SERVQUAL Ratings
| Dimension | Rating | Remarks |
| Tangibles | 5 | Physical facility of the store, communication and employees are quite good |
| Reliability | 3 | The mobile calls – the basic service is OK |
| Responsiveness | 1 | Extra irritating services and not-so-prompt in stopping them |
| Assurance | 2 | Employees are well-manners but cannot inspire trust and confidence |
| Empathy | 1 | I wish they did not give me this caring individual attention! |
[Rating is given on a scale of 1-5; 1=Very Bad, 2=Bad, 3=Neutral, 4=Good and 5=Very Good]
Critical Analysis & Suggestions
· Providing something extra is not always good! May be they can inform customer once about the new services and then if customer is not interested stop bugging him/her.
· For customers like me who do not want those value added service – they should never irritate by calling or sending SMS. The do-not-call-registry should help resolve the issue but should never take 45 days to get activated.
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