Laundry Service ...

The other day, I went down to the laundry room by the mess to get a couple of trousers and formal shirts pressed. As I fiddled with my wallet to find change to pay, I was asked: "Do you have a monthly account with us?". When I inquired about what that entailed, I was told that all I had to do was pay a sum of Rs. 300/- per month, and they would then be taking care of all the washing and ironing needs for me.
Being the lazy person that I am, I agreed to the offer after slight deliberation (notwithstanding the fact that we actually have a couple of washing machines in our hostel). In fact, a similar situation had occurred to me to me in the 1st year also, when I had agreed to a similar offer from the dhobi for a sum of 250 per month.
Later, I had started to regret my decision, blaming myself for being over-indulgent at a time when I am not earning a pence. However, today I got back my back the clothes from the first load of wash from the laundry room, and I have to agree that it looks much better than what my clothes used to look when it came back from the dhobi of my first year - no soiled collars, no dirt on the sleeves, no wrinkles inside the folds. Today, I can gladly say that for once I am happy with my decision to take up the bulk laundry service offer.

SERVICE RATINGS:

a> Reliability - 5 (Although I have given clothes to the laundry only once each for press and washing, on both occasions the delivery has been to my room and before the due date, which incidentally is two days post receipt )

b> Assurance - 4 (Since the laundry room is located just below our hostel, there is always that assurance that our clothes will not be lost, unlike in case of the other dhobis; further, with the delivery of the first load of clothes, I've started believing in their value proposition of 'impeccably clean clothes in two days' too)

c> Tangibles - 2 (Since they use the laundry room for drying purposes too, it does lead to a certain degree of 'visual pollution', with moist garments of all sorts hanging overhead causing distress in particular to taller people)

d> Empathy - 3

e> Responsiveness - 5 (Till date I have never had to face problems with the responsiveness of this service)


[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]

Over the phone

I was supposed to get a recharge today. Around 1-30, I decided on going down to the grocery store outside college and getting my phone recharged. I was unsure of the time till when the shop was open. So I decided to call the owner of the shop and ask him when he was planning on shutting shop. Upon calling, he told me that he was just in the process of shutting his shop. I told him that I urgently needed to get the recharge and that I couldn't do without it. I had been a regular customer to his shop so he knew who I was. The moment I mentioned my problem, he promptly asked me for my number and the amount of the recharge. I was pleasantly surprised and gave him the details instantly. The next minute I got a confirmation of the phone recharge. I was delighted by the whole experience so I asked him about when I could pay up. Hearing that, all he said was, "Kya bhaiya? Yeh sab toh chalta rehta hai. Aapaaj nahi aayenge toh kal aayenge". [This is part of business, sir. If you don't come today, you will come tomorrow".]

SERVICE RATINGS

a) Reliability: 5 ( Every single time that I have gone to that store, I have been able to get my phone recharged )

b) Assurance: 5 (The shopkeeper was able to successfully assure me that there was nothing to worry about)

c) Tangibles: 4 (He didn't make me wait on the line and responded immediately. Also, he was capable of recharging my phone immediately)

d) Responsiveness: 5 (He offered to recharge my phone over the phone even before I mentioned the thought)

e) Empathy: 5 (He was quick to realise that I was in distress and offered to help immediately)

[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]

You can bank on us!

Yesterday I went to the SBI XLRI Branch which is just down the road. I had an outstation cheque for Rs. 2000 which needed to be deposited into my bank account. This was not the first time that I had gone there to deposit a cheque so I basically knew how things worked there. Collect the pay-in slip. Fill it up in its entirety. Go to the teller. Get the pay-in slip stamped. Hand over the cheque. It was a rather simple process, not too taxing on the customer. The only variable in the whole system was the service time. The branch has only two tellers who are in charge of deposits and withdrawals. On a typical workday, the queue at any of these counters does not exceed 3. But yesterday, for some reason, both the counters had more than 10 people in queue. After filling out the pay-in slip, I went and stood in the line that was visibly shorter. And then the wait began. I was the 8th person in that queue and in the next 20 odd minutes, the teller was able to process the requests of 5 customers. He took another 20 minutes to process the next two customers because of a rather generous tea break that the teller treated himself to. Finally, after around 45 minutes spent inside the bank, my time had come. I handed over the slip and cheque to the teller. The teller looked at the cheque, read it carefully and gave it back to me. I was puzzled as to why he did what he did. I asked him what had happened and he said something that left me literally fuming. He told me that all outstation cheques needed to be deposited in a little blue box at the corner of the room. I didn't know how to react. Here I was, standing in a queue for 45 minutes, waiting for my turn. And finally when it was my turn, I was told that the last 45 minutes had been a waste. I told the teller that considering the fact that this branch existed to serve the students of XLRI and that a large proportion of the cheques would be outstation, it would make sense for the bank to put up a notice indicating the procedure. I told him how it would our time and effort and how it would improve the efficiency of the entire process. By the time I was done with my discourse, the teller had sadly moved onto the next customer.

SERVICE RATINGS

a) Reliableness: 3

b) Assurance: 3

c) Tangibles: 2

d) Responsiveness: 2

e) Empathy: 3

[1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very good, 5 = Excellent]

Like. No other.

It is a well-known fact that people have scant respect for showrooms in Jamshedpur - be it apparels, footwear, consumer durables or the like. Further, it is not an uncommon sight to find students returning from Kolkata or Delhi or even Ranchi loaded with items one would consider to find in any decent city. I had always wondered why. I got my answer to this question yesterday.

My room mate from last year had during his internship managed to finally exterminate his computer beyond repair. While borrowing from friends (including me) and the occasional visit to the Computer Centre had sufficed till now, with the workload barometer rising, the need for a new system has become palpable.

However, my roomie's a stickler for details when it comes to the purchase of electronic goods (shares an inverse relationship with his care for them), and after a decent amount of information search (which I was not privy to), he decided to buy the Sony Vaio CS27 - in white. (Great Expectations?? We were soon to find out)

There is to our knowledge a single showroom of Sony in the city, housed in Barucha Mansion, adjacent to Novelty restaurant in our dear old Bistupur - and we headed for the same.

While asking for a specific model in a particular colour may be asking for a bit too much in even some of the showrooms in the metros, it was surprising to find that this shop had only two models in the CS-series, CS27 of course not being one of them.

What was even more irritating was that when we inquired about the model of our choice, the agent blatantly lied saying that production for the CS27 model had been stopped by the company. It was only when we affirmed that we had come to the showroom after considerable search on the internet did he accept the fact that the model was out of stock and would need to be sourced from Ranchi.

When asked about the time that such a transaction would take, his reply was: "Minimum ten days". As for the maximum, he said that it was impossible to give any assurance, as that was dependent on the company production. Further, he added, it would not be possible to order any specific colour for the model, and we would have to remain content with whatever was available. For a moment, I was perplexed as to whether we were the customers, or whether we were being obliged by being granted a computer for charity.

We tried to explain the gravity of our need saying that we are students of XLRI, as it generally does the trick, especially in Jamshedpur - but this man was unmoved. Finally, since my friend was persistent about getting a Sony CS27 and nothing else, we asked the person to kindly take down the specifications, so that the order could be placed.

The sheer lacklustre way in which the specs were taken down speaks volumes (with a negative connotation) about the services offered by the shop. A crumpled piece of paper is what came out from the dealer's pocket, on which he grudgingly took down the details. Since by now we had got a hang of the absolute unprofessionalism in their dealings, we asked him for the contact number of the shop - which he scribbled on the catalog itself and handed over to us.

Also, we asked him whether there was a chance of the model being sourced from Kolkata - to which the reply was that the jhanjhat (trouble) can be undertaken only for bulk orders, not for a one-off case.

We were told that they would contact us before nightfall with the status of our order, but not contrary to our expectations, a full day has passed without any such occurence. My friend is also finally convinced that it would probably be better to go for an e-order for a Dell laptop.

However, the entire episode just makes me wonder, if such is the sorry state of an authorized showroom of one of the world leaders in this sphere in a developed city, how much are the corporates losing out every day this way? Not only did Sony lose a prospective customer to a competitor, but also losses in terms of intangibles in every such service encounter need to be factored in. Maybe, its time for Sony to change its tagline for Tier-II cities from "Like. No Other." to " Like no other than what is available"!!!

SERVICE RATINGS

a> Reliability - 1

b> Assurance - 1 (Completely absent)

c> Tangibles - 4 (The get-up of the showroom is not much different from those in the metros, with LCD panels lining the walls et al, all of the exteriors turned out to be a mirage at the end though)

d> Empathy - 1 (If there was a '0' on this scale, this encounter would have attained it)

e> Responsiveness - 1 (No response from the showroom regarding the order till date)

[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]

A 'cut' above the rest? Well, not really ...

I had been toying with the idea of keeping long hair for quite some time, not for the first time in my life. As always, as the hair started growing wiry, I started to grow wary - and finally came to the acceptance stage that it just doesn't suit my gaunt frame.

So, the other day, I finally headed to Bistupur to get a hair-cut done. Hair-cutting has never been a luxury for me per se, and I have not shied away from experimenting with experiences as far-fetched as the "Italian" saloons of Kolkata -roadside pavement saloons, with only a brick (eent in Hindi) to sit upon, leading to its moniker.

However, back home, I had finally zeroed in upon a particular value-for-money saloon which charges a total of Rs. 17/- for a hair-cut plus shaving. Out there, I also had a fixed barber, who was well apprised of my needs, and did not bother me with the numerous queries which others always manage to come up with.

I still remember how difficult it had been in the 1st year to locate a saloon in Jamshedpur in the first place. Saloons out here religiously follow agglomeration, and once one of us had managed to find one, we had found four for ourselves, all clustered around each other. Among these, "Plaza" was the one which was recommended by one and all, and post the Pigeon saloon (kabootar) incident, I did not dare take a chance with the others! Since then therefore, Plaza has been my staple hair-cutting destination.

Coming to the experience itself, last Friday I found myself needing certain items from Bistupur as well as a friend also requiring a hair-cut - two prerequisites for visiting the saloon, which comes considerably lower in priority order. The place has not changed much in the past year. (Except for the barbers of course as I never seem to recall any of them from previous visits)

To describe the saloon, it is air-conditioned (one aspect that I love about the place and hence accord first-mention) with two floors of cramped-up seating arrangement. I guess the saloon has the capacity to seat 20 customers at one go, and is sufficiently staffed for the same. What I really admire about the management of the place is in their capacity planning. Every time I have visited Plaza, the saloon has been full to near capacity, and yet, till date I have never been made to wait - something that amazes me (Unless its sheer coincidence!)

One of the things that I particularly dislike about the place though is the very low ceiling in their efforts to accommodate two floors to the place - a cause for considerable discomfiture to the vertically challenged as me (I guess I have bumped my head on the ceiling on more than a couple of occasions already). However, I appreciate that there are no cheap Bollywood posters 'adorning' the walls, nor indiscernible music glaring from dilapidated old FM radios as we are wont to hear from the aam saloons of the country. In fact the space jam has ensured that there is no place for either to make their presence felt - and so we have a reasonably priced saloon which for a welcome change is non-"barbaric" in ambiance.

The moment we entered the saloon, my friend was led to a seat on the ground floor itself, while I was escorted to the first floor. The chairs are reasonably comfortable at this place, and the neck-cloth was also spotless white (real sources of reassurance). As expected, the ubiquitous initial question cropped up : "How do you want it to be?", to which I replied with my standard answer "Short, but not very short, keep it medium". (Even I do not know what that is supposed to mean, but that's the best problem description I can come up with)

The hair-cut experience was relatively peaceful, although I cannot say the same about the shaving. (However, I do not blame the service of the saloon for that) What affected me was the rather hygienic way in which they go about things, be it from using antiseptics, to changing of the razor blades without being asked to do so - to me these small details matter a lot. Once done with the cutting and shaving operations, my barber offered to render additional services - such as dyeing my hair, or doing a face massage and what not! (I guess the scourge of the recent surge in metro-sexuality) I, for one, belong to the category of customers looking for the very basic product from a saloon, with a certain penchant for cleanliness and hygiene and thereby replied to all his offers in the negative.
The cost of hair-cutting came to Rs 30/- with an additional Rs. 20/- for shaving. Reasonable, one must say, considering a place where you are charged Rs. 30/- by auto from XLRI to Bistupur.

However, the sting was at the tail. As I got up to take leave, I glanced at the mirror to set the remains of my hair ... and lo and behold ... what was I staring at? Well, my friends have described it (read me) in, should I say technicolor? Let me keep my suffering short and simple by saying that it was one of the worst hair-cuts since I obtained the ability to comprehend and reason. Period.

SERVICE RATINGS

a> Reliability - 1 (I guess the last paragraph of my account sums it up)

b> Assurance - 3 (The hygiene and cleanliness factors helped the scores)

c> Tangibles - 2 (Again described in detail in the passage)

d> Empathy - 3 (While the comfort level with the barber comes nowhere close to the one I enjoy with the one in Kolkata, he did make an effort, an example being our conversation about my grey(ing) scalp)

e>Responsive - 3

[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]

Hang 'em Up!

I had a rather intriguing service experience with our college carpenter. What makes this experience all-the-more intriguing was the fact that I did not pay for the service. This was not because I was dissatisfied with the service or anything but simply because this service was already paid for. The carpenter is employed by the college to tend to the carpenting needs of the students. But inspite of the fact that there was no "tangible" cost of the service, I still had certain minimum expectations from it.

Ever since I came back to college, I wanted to put up a set of 9 pictures on my wall. Being an avid photographer, I thought of this as the perfect opportunity to not only showcase my talent but also to liven up my room. So as I said, I wanted the carpenter to come down to my room and hammer in 9 nails in the form of a grid. I made a total of 4 visits to the carpenter's room near Dadu's but sadly I could never find him there. I was beginning to get very restless and impatient and even contemplated buying the nails and a hammer to finish the work myself. In a bout of restlessness, I went to the extent of marking 9 dots on my wall to represent the points where the carpenter was expected to hammer in the nails. Everything was in place. All I needed was the carpenter.

Finally, on my 5th visit to the carpenter's room, I was finally able to find him there.

Me: Bhaiya 232 mein keelay lagani hain. (I need some nails to be put up in 232)

Carpenter: Senior hostel mein? (In the senior hostel?)

Me: Haan (Yes)

Carpenter: Aaj nahi hoga (Not today)

Me: Arrey kyun bhaiya? Main ek hafte se yahaan ke chakkar laga raha hoon! (Why not? I have been trying to look for you for a week now!)

Carpenter: Aaj nahi hoga. Time nahin hain! (Not today. I don't have the time!)

Me: Theek hain. Mujhe aap phir 9 keel aur hathoda de dijiye. Main khud hi kaam kar loonga. (Fine. Give me 9 nails and a hammer and I won't bother you)

Carpenter: 10 minute se zyaada nahi de sakta. (I can't give more than 10 minutes)

Me: Arrey theek hain. Aap chalo to sahi! (Fine! Just come along with me now!)

I then escorted the carpenter back to my room. He seemed visibly fidgety as if he had some other work on his mind. I explained to him what I was looking for. I showed him the 9 dots and asked him to hammer the nails right where the holes were. The first few nails he put in properly but after about the 4th nail he started bickering about how this was going to take more than 10 minutes. I reasoned with him that now that he was here, he was better off finishing off the work at hand. I don't know whether it was to prove a point or to show that he was getting tired or something, but he completely messed up the job after that. The last 4 nails he hammered in were pitifully out of place and messed up the entire arrangement. I was livid by the time he was done and didn't know how to react. I felt the carpenter was accountable for the terrible service experience I had to endure. Or was he?

SERVICE RATING

Reliability: 1

Assurance: 1

Tangibles: 2

Responsiveness: 1

Empathy: 1

[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]

Hair today, gone tomorrow!

When I woke up this morning, I told myself that it was high time I got a haircut. After being victim to a rather forgetful hair cutting experience during my internship at Thailand, I decided it was high time I got a "real" hair cut and literally make all ends meet. So in the afternoon, I hailed an auto and went to Habib's. This is a franchise of the popular Habib's hair salon chain which is typically the go-to place in most metros. Being part of that chain, this outlet charges a hefty premium for a normal hair-cut. While most other "low-end" hair salons charge not more than Rs. 50 for a hair cut, a typical hair cut at Habib's sets you back by Rs. 250. Here, being an XLer helps because all XLers automatically get a 20% discount. Including the service charges, the cost of a hair-cut works out to Rs. 225.

This was not the first time I was going to the salon. In fact, this is the only place in Jamshedpur where I have been going for a hair cut in the last year or so. I usually get my hair cut by the same stylist who has by now figured out exactly what I look for in a haircut. Even today, I was lucky to have found the same stylist again. After the rather traumatic experience in Thailand, I was actually a little paranoid and wanted to ensure that I got exactly what I wanted. After the initial shampooing was over, I started explaining to him how exactly I wanted him to cut my hair. In the process, we started discussing the ordeal I had to go through in Thailand. He immediately realised how paranoid I was and he set out to calm me down. He looked at my hair and tried to explain to me where the barber had gone wrong. He explained to me the common mistakes barbers make and the horrendous repurcussions that those mistakes entail. By the end of it, I was visibly calmer. After he was done with the haircut, he gave me a complimentary head message as well. By the time he was done, I felt that every rupee that I spent there was completely worth it. Even though I could have technically gotten a haircut for 150 rupees less, I don't think I would have had the same service experience. I walked out of the salon as a happy and satisfied customer.

SERVICE RATING

a) Reliable: This was not the first time I had visited the salon. Every single time, the stylist manages to cut my hair exactly the way I want it cut.

b) Assurance: The Habib's brand name gives the customers an assurance about the expected quality of the service experience.

c) Tangibles: The salon was immaculately clean and well organised. All the equipment were in working order. All the stylists and staff members wore proper uniforms.

d) Empathy: The stylist showed a great deal of empathy towards me. He made an effort to find out about my state of mind and tailored the service experience accordingly.

e) Responsive: I felt the entire experience was extremely responsive.