After-sales service in India, unlike the West, is a harrowing experience. The customer is left pleading and even threatening to get his rightful due, leaving him wrung-out
By Anamika Viswanathan
Though India is a burgeoning economy, customer care and after-sales service are woefully inadequate. The sweetest ploys are used to sell items and then the customer is left in the lurch. Unlike the West, there is no policy of returning items that don’t suit you. The best you can get is exchanging it for another of the same worth. But all this does little to instill trust or a long-lasting relationship with that company.
Take two harrowing experiences I had after relocating to India. One was buying a geyser. In the West, people get used to hot water on demand and there are no electricity or water supply issues to contend with. So my knowledge of the prerequisites of a good geyser was limited. After ordering and installing a new-age, smart-looking Ferroli, I discovered that even though the capacity was 25 liters, it took ages to heat the next lot.
So I called up the retailer and requested for an exchange. That wasn’t met with any great regard. I was asked to call the company and officially register a complaint. After going through the call center and booking a technician’s visit, I waited for D-day.
The technician came and announced that all was well with the heating element. That still did not address my need of getting hot water fast and so I asked the retailer for another brand. He was very annoyed by this and I had to literally plead my case. However, uninstalling Ferroli, packing it and taking it back to the retailer was my headache. Then came the waiting game for another brand. After a patient 10-day wait, a Racold geyser was sent but it was the wrong model. That meant more waiting, inconvenience, extra costs and cold showers.
The second instance was when I bought some Gitanjali diamond jewelry for my parents from a swanky store with all the guarantee cards and assurances that it would be exchanged for its full value in three years time or 90 percent value before that. In a couple of years, I wanted to trade this jewelry for my parents’ retirement home. But when I went knocking at three stores, I was shocked by the plethora of excuses. “Gold and diamond prices have come down drastically”, “White gold does not sell in South India”, “We are just franchisees of this company amongst others” and “Gitanjali is closing down and you will have to contact the regional manager”. Of course, the regional manager’s phone was perennially switched off. I managed to get the phone numbers of the company chairman, Mehul Choksi. One of the numbers was picked up by the PA who asked me who I was. I said I was a customer. That was the end of the conversation and no person ever answered that number again.
This is so unlike the West, where after-sales service is taken seriously. So if you have bought something and changed your mind about it, you are entitled to a full refund within the stipulated time. No questions are asked other than perhaps what was the reason for doing so. I have seen worn pieces of clothing with make-up stains being returned. Barring undergarments and worn shoes, the return policy is very easy. Electrical items are taken back irrespective of whether they are working well or are faulty.
There is a separate counter for customer care and the staff is polite and courteous. They do not scan you from head to toe with searchlights as to why you are returning the items. They don’t ask awkward questions or make you fill forms as punishment to ensure you never queue back there again. Returning is as simple as buying, with no stigma attached. The same goes for factory outlets or seconds’ stores. Returning an item is a graceful process even though you tried bagging more bargains than you ever needed in one greedy go.
Sale items are returnable for their sale value. There is no demarcation that items on reduced prices will not be returned. If you pay by card, the money goes back into your card straightaway. If you pay by cash, you will get your cash back. As simple as that.
In the UK and the US, companies like Amazon pride themselves on customer care and returns policy is kept easy. While there is often an overflow of mails from them, most products arrive as per schedule and are up to the mark. And you can always return the product if you find the same thing cheaper elsewhere.
In India, e-commerce sites are still a bit unreliable due to technical glitches. The frequent text messages are a bit of a nuisance and they are not in sync with the promised delivery time. Also, buying clothes here is mainly experiential. And if that experience is tainted, then very few would actually venture there again.
Mumbai-based Revathi Shivakumar had a bad experience at app-based shopping company Koovs. Her order did not arrive and she waited for four months for a refund. Then, there was Raymond which prides itself as a haute couture for well-dressed men. Its range is premium-priced and its showrooms impeccable with well-turned-out staff. But when I invested in a made-to-fit suit for my son from a Bangalore showroom, the promised fine tailoring evaporated quickly after the sale.
When I went back to the showroom, I was told: “Our tailors have gone on leave.” After waiting for several days, we received a poorly finished suit, that too for a princely sum of Rs 30,000. The sewing was shoddy and came off.
In India, after a sale is done and money paid, the customer can go to hell as far as the company is concerned. However, at the same time, a good sales experience can leave a lasting impression. One rarity in India was by Mysore Silk Udyog, Commercial Street, Bangalore, which floored Samit Singh and his wife with new standards in customer care. Clotheslines in the UK too are very careful about enhancing the shopping pleasure. I once ordered from Deben-hams and gave specific instructions about when to have the order delivered. It did not arrive by then but I was refunded the entire amount. Not just that, the order arrived three days later and it was all mine to keep. Supermarket chains like Sainsbury’s also are prompt with their refunds. They give you a choice of either a refund voucher or money back. On a couple of occasions when I have received a box of 12 eggs with two cracked ones, the deliveryman refunded the entire amount and left the eggs with me.
However, food chains in India still have to get their act together when it comes to professionalism. Dr Mani Padma had a horrible experience with Nature Basket in Delhi. “A gift basket I had ordered during Diwali was delivered near Christmas and that too, after pestering them for days,” she said. Other established shops show little signs of wooing the shopper. Pune-based Sharon Fernandes finds shopping at Chitale Bandhu a downer. “They shut shop strictly between 1 pm and 4 pm daily. The shutter is half-way down by 12.45 pm and if you arrive then, you are not allowed into the store. It is as if they are doing you a favor by allowing you to shop.”
The story with help centers is no different. Uma Thangaraj from Mumbai called up MTNL broadband from her mobile as her landline was down. They refused to register her complaint as she had not called from a non-working landline! Reliance is known to put customers on hold for a long time on their customer care line. And the language proficiency of their operatives leaves a lot to be desired.
Even Apple’s helpline was found wanting in this regard. When Rajashree Menon called the line, her complaint was registered and she was promised that they would call back to trouble-shoot. Of course that didn’t happen despite three reminders.
This is precisely the gap that start-ups like ZipZapWheels, an online Bangalore company selling new cars and bikes, are leveraging. I had a zero-headache experience while buying a car from them. They took my brief and budget details, arranged test drives and ensured that the paper work and buying process was smooth.
At the same time, as labor is cheap in India, there are several add-ons which can’t be ignored. For example, every time I pull up at a gas station, I thank my stars that an attendant is there to fill up the gas and that I can make payment from the comfort of my car. No stepping out into the cold, filling gas and queuing up to pay as in the West.
I am also extremely grateful when a valet comes and parks my car outside a restaurant so that I can hit the banquet straight. Or when the housekeeping staff at a hotel ensures that the pillows are fluffed up for the night and fresh flowers are arranged in the room every day.
These are small pleasures of an economy that is burgeoning with a young and able task force. With the right training, customer care in India too can be world-class.
—The author is a communications expert and business psychologist
(The article features in India Legal – March 15 issue)