CustomerDark

Phrases like 'Consumerisation', 'Rising Economy", "Buyers' Market', "Customer Service' and 'Competitive Space' get thrown around in dark teakwood boardrooms and hushed corporate corridors.

MBAs from august institutions bring these back with strong traces of international accents bandying them around hoping to impress those who have even stronger traces of international accents.

Consulting firms write tomes on them, charging exponential amounts for newer and better coined phrases meaning the same thing and telling you what you already knew.

But the fact remains: here in India... we have not moved much towards a consumer economy. Here we still remain a 'Take it or Leave it' market, a place where the buyer is actually a harasses soul, and the seller in his utimate kindness usually deigns to sell a few products and services to the hungry soul.

While the world is moving on to Customer EXPERIENCE Management, we've not even moved to an  acceptable level of customer service.

Each of us have examples of where one feels highly cheated after making a purchase, or after choosing to opt for a service.

Are we even important to the seller?

We've all experience bad after-sales service, havent we also experience poor pre sales?

Do the ad agencies that make the mega campaigns shot in remote locations know how the generated demand is followed through by the client?

Do those marketing and sales heads who spend billions on prime time commericals and huge budgets on travel itineraries even know what happens on the dealer's floor?

Does the sales guy who goes knocking on doors in the afternoon heat get backed up by similar sweat-pouring follow up on closing of the sale?

This space is for us hungry cheated souls - a place to shed light on what goes on in a Sellers' Market and why consumerism has still not touched the shores of India. A place where the Customer is no longer in the Dark...

Although moderated, your experiences are welcome.

Watch this space for more...