IUC debate – A Lovers’ tiff or is it ?

IUC debate - A Lover's tiff or is it ?

Reliance Jio has set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons by announcing that they will be passing on the IUC charges to their customer. At 6p per minute this is not insignificant given the fact the customers have gotten used to phrases like Free and Unlimited

For a company that largely owes its explosive growth to a series of regulatory interventions – divine fortuitousness/providence or blatant favoritism (depending on who you ask) crying foul at first hint of unsuitable regulation doesn’t exactly evoke compassion.

When Jio launched in 2016, the incumbent operators were required to provide interconnects to face a tsunami of calls from Jio– then a newcomer and had announced everything free. Even though they would be paid the termination charges, the incumbents resisted but eventually relented when the authorities bared the stick.  In Sept 2017, the 13^th amendment was enforced which took us on a roadmap of zero IUC (bill n keep), and that’s when the incumbents protested heavily again. They opposed the Telecom IUC proposal of Sept 2017 (13^th amendment) and the matter is languishing. The terminating charge was at 20p until Feb 2015, 14p until Oct 2017 and post which it moved to 6p which is prevailing currently. This is proposed to be zero from Jan 1, 2020.) This IUC regime was a dream (almost tailormade) since Jio started as a newcomer who benefited from lowering IUC (the incumbents lost a lot) and the burden of IUC vanishes when Jio itself becomes big – a fairytale indeed.

However, that wasn’t meant to be. The TRAI issued a consultation paper mid-September seeking consultation about ‘What if the Zero IUC proposal was pushed ahead?’. This doesn’t suit Jio, as with over 300Mn customers now, they have the largest base and would be a net loser on the IUC front.

Hence have now started charging 6paise per minute to customers. This is an ill-advised step:

a.They had a promise to the customers that voice will be free ‘forever’ and mind you – the promise was made when the new IUC rates were still at 14p per minute and the changes to 14 – 6 – 0 was not even in the horizon.

b.Customers today in the Number Portability era can’t distinguish between an on-net and an off-net call and hence won’t even know whether they will be charged or not when the call is made.

c.It’s extremely inconvenient for a customer who hitherto does a single recharge for unlimited voice, data and SMS. Now he would be required to load a Rs 10 IUC recharge which is a ‘currency’ balance and also need to keep track of it. A regressive step indeed.

d.The IUC charge in its very spirit is meant to be a settlement between operators and not meant to be line item for the end customer to worry about. It’s supposed to be included in the tariff a customer is charged. Or so it has been thus far.

The carrot of 1GB data for IUC top-up of Rs 10 doesn’t cut ice since data is mostly unlimited in any case and 1GB wouldn’t offer any great value whatsoever.

Surely Jio has been credited for disrupting the market and bringing about the ‘data revolution’ that the world is talking about. From a data consumption of 600MB per user to over 10GB per user is nothing short of extraordinary – a change which has impelled the wider digital ecosystem in the country.

It needs to be said here that the TRAI has not a taken a decision as yet – it’s still at the consultation stage. The pre-emptive action by Jio obviously looks like a pressure building tactic on the regulator and make themselves look like a victim. Given their proximity to the establishment they have never had to ‘fight’ the regulator who has been overtly and (sometimes) brazenly benevolent to the Jio cause. ‘Lover’s tiff’ I say – how cute nah!

The company executive in the video statement calling this a ‘regulatory issue’ said “ .. for as long as IUC charges continue to exist, Jio is compelled to most reluctantly but unavoidably … to transparently pass on this regulatory charge to customer…” a tonality that smacks a little short of street protests …albeit politically correct. There is also an online petition doing the rounds urging the regulator to implement the zero IUC from 1^st Jan 2020 as planned. Twitter and WhatsApp went ablaze with their share of protests and memes with the #boycottJio – quite unfairly so.

The incumbent operators like Airtel and Vodafone-Idea had a choice to make in this. They could have followed suit and passed on the IUC charge to the customer. This would have come as a welcome relief on their bleeding P&L, but they chose to ride the moral High Horse. They reinforced the trust and transparency of which Jio suffers quite a deficit – further accentuated by this move.

While the regulator is well within its right to review and relook at the IUC regime in a dynamic telecom landscape, release of the consultation paper just months before the proposed date of implementation of zero IUC (bill and keep) also doesn’t augur too well. It just sends a chill down the spines of the telco mandarins. But to be fair, the postponing of bill n keep arrangement is not without merit. When the revised IUC charges came into force in Sept 2017, it was expected that the traffic imbalance (incoming vs outgoing calls) would have got eliminated and a sort of equilibrium would have reached. Also by end 2019 it was expected that most operators would have moved to packet switched technologies (read VOLTE). The cost of terminating the call would be negligible in which case. And while things are moving in the right direction, we are not there yet.

Whether Airtel, Vodafone-Idea & BSNL also start charging and improve their bottom lines or Jio withdraws the additional charge remains to be seen. What is however clear is that a statement has been made and also goes on to prove yet again that there has never been an easy moment in the lives of telecom folks.

Electric Cars. Are They For Me?

Electric Cars. Are They For Me?

This article was carried by the Tech2 Web Magazine

https://www.firstpost.com/tech/auto/electric-car-is-an-expensive-buy-right-now-but-you-surely-wont-regret-buying-it-7806461.html

When the Finance Minister, was making her maiden budget speech it was difficult to miss the focus on electric vehicles. By 2023 all 3 wheelers, by 2025 all 2 wheelers and by 2030 30% of all 4 wheelers plying on our streets would have to be electric. I tried to find out more about electric cars, took test drives, read more about them and evaluated them. 

Currently there are 3 cars in the market - The Hyundai Kona, the Mahindra E-Verito and the Tata Tigor. There is also the Mahindra E2O (a redesigned Reva) but it’s too small to be a family car. MG’s ZS EV is just around the corner. This is in sharp contrast to almost 400 cars and variants available currently with IC engine. But this set to change, more on that later.

Let’s look at my 3 key pillars for evaluating a car – drivability, peace of mind and cost.

Drivability: Electric cars so much fun to drive. The design of an electric car enables manufacturers to place batteries such as to achieve a relatively low center of gravity. This means that the car handles well and is stable at high speeds so you can throw it around the corners and it will stay firmly planted. The motor characteristically offers an almost instantaneous torque response which is linear – unlike ICE cars where peak torque is available only at a specified RPM range. The ‘pick-up’ is superb, acceleration is excellent, no gears to juggle and all this while being cocooned in total silence. Driving bliss!

Peace of Mind:

·     Range is the new dimension that has come into play. Today electric cars have a range of 120 to 400kms on every charge. For city commutes of say 50-100kms odd you should be sorted if you have basic charging infrastructure at home. You use the car during the day and charge at night… just like you would charge your smartphone. You need a dedicated parking place in which you can charge your car. An almost full charge takes between an hour to 15 hours to achieve - depending upon the type of charger. 

·     However you have to carefully plan those one-off weekend road trips to ensure your car doesn’t run out of juice. Today you take a refueling stop at the petrol pump and can be back on the road in minutes.  But even the fastest charging set-up takes about an hour to get to an almost full charge. This means you may have to time the car charging with your own breaks so that you have a relaxed lunch at a restaurant nearby or maybe take a nap while your car is charging up on a long road trip. It may be a tad faster if cars come with modular batteries with someone offering the service of simply replacing your batteries with the fully charged ones (as in Delhi for the e-rickshaws). How this pans out remains to be seen but ‘refueling’ your car may never be the same again.

·     Reliability: The drive train in an ICE car has over 2000 moving parts which includes engine and transmission components - whereas the drive train in an electric car has less than 100. So intuitively, electric cars are significantly more reliable than the ICE cars.

·     Safety:  With electric cars, not having a combustible fuel in the car itself seems like a big relief on safety. However electric cars have an array of large batteries on them and if not well isolated or protected, may have a tendency to explode. The matter of Samsung S6 Li-ON batteries exploding is fresh in our minds. There is also a recent episode of a Hyundai Kona catching fire due to unknown reasons. The electric auto industry has to do much more to quell that fear in the minds of consumers.

Cost of ownership:

·     Running Costs: This is where electric cars score truly over the regular ICE cars. At the current rate/ unit of electricity every KM of running an electric car is less than a rupee, whereas even the most fuel-efficient diesel car costs at least 4 times more. 

·     Maintenance: While new generation IC engines and transmission are extremely reliable, it gets even better with electric cars. The motor is largely maintenance-free with no messy oil & filter regimen. We still have Brakes, suspension, air conditioner, tires and everything to be maintained albeit at a much lower cost.

·     Resale Value: In India where even decades old vehicles prance about on the streets resale value is an important metric in evaluating the cost of ownership. While little is known of the resale value of electric cars (given they are relatively new on the scene), this parameter is not likely to bode well in their favor. The more reliable batteries last for 8 years odd before they lose their capacity or the ability to hold ‘power’ before needing replacement. And since batteries constitute a large part of the cost of the car, resale value will get calibrated accordingly. But keep in mind that if India pushes ahead with its stated agenda of moving to electric cars in a big way, your current car won’t have any takers either.

Overall cost: Currently the electric cars are clearly an expensive option for initial outlay. However, if you were to take a loan on the initial cost of the car, the EMIs you would pay + the running cost I suspect could be in the same range as an ICE car. The higher upfront cost (depending upon the car) may get evened out by the significantly lower running cost.

EVs are Green after all: But if you are one of those for whom, concern for the environment outweighs normal objective propositions, then the arguments of cost etc. are superfluous. There are 2 things however you need to know: 

·       Over 70% of the power generated in India is through thermal sources – coal, diesel, gas etc. Only around 30% is through clean & renewable sources like hydro, nuclear, solar, wind or bio-gas etc. So with EVs, we are just shifting the emissions from the cities to the power stations. (This is a not such a bad proposition, since the polluted air doesn’t get dissipated in dense concrete urban clusters when compared to power stations which are located in remote areas). We will increasingly get more energy from clean sources but till that happens electric cars are not necessarily as green as they are made out to be.

·       Each car has about half a ton of batteries (mainly LiON or NiMH) which are hardly recycled currently. These batteries are a serious challenge to dispose and upon damage give off toxic gases. Even the core ingredients of batteries - Nickel and Cobalt are finite resources and if not extracted responsibly can lead to reckless depletion and water pollution amongst other environmental consequences

With all the good and the not so good things EVs are here to say. There is clearly a shift towards EVs world over and manufacturers’ are doing their bit by dedicating a lot of research in improving safety, cost, battery capacities and convenience. India wants to be the ‘Detroit of electric vehicles’ and almost all the automakers are said to be bringing their EVs to India. Prominent amongst them being the Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe, MG Motors eZS, Tata Altroz, E versions of Wagon R, KUV100 and XUV300 and even Audi Etron at the luxury end. Amongst Indian companies, Mahindra has taken big bets on electric mobility and are a company to watch out for. It won’t be surprising to see Mahindra taking over the mantle of an electric car leader, something that Maruti was when cars became mainstream in the 1980s. 

With reduction in GST, direct subsidy to buyers, free parking, free Toll, free registration, tax breaks, incentives for setting up charging infrastructure and several similar initiatives from the Central and state governments it’s only a matter of time before our traffic landscape changes.

And now the moot question. Should I buy an electric car now? 

You should, if you are environmentally conscious, want to be seen driving a Green number plate as a badge of honor and are not as concerned about the initial cost. For the rest: Just wait for some more time for the ecosystem to evolve  and for more options to be available or just have it as your second car. You won’t have to wait long anyways - but whenever you do take the plunge… you won’t regret one bit and that’s a promise!

Multiplexes are here to stay with glory !

Multiplexes are here to stay with glory !

Mukesh Ambani’s announcement last month on Jio’s plans to showcase the movies on the day of release has been creating waves. Customers have been predictably raving and multiplex owners are rattled or so is believed. The announcement did its job – created excitement for RILs Jio Fiber and RIL stock hit a high. But the multiplex stocks– PVR and INOX got beaten up riding on the fears. 

Speculations and sentiments aside, this is not the first time that obituaries of cinemas have been pre-maturely written. Nay sayers predicted curtains for cinemas when movies were available on VHS tapes, VCDs or DVDs and finally Blu-Rays. The quality of video and audio was significantly better each time and hence movie buffs would love the convenience of watching a movie at home, it was presumed. We also remember the cable operator offering ‘movie channels’ during the late 80’s on which latest pirated movies were shown. Then there were exclusive Movie based channels on Television – the likes of ZEE Cinema, Star Movies, HBO etc. Doomsday shrill got louder even then. This was sure to kill the habit of the movie going public to a cinema it was said.

And now with the advent of low cost internet, movies were available on-demand. At home – on demand… what else can movie lovers ask? This was thought of as the final nail in the proverbial coffin of cinemas. But no, cinemas have carved a space for themselves and continue to be patronized.

Even in the US, number of Netflix paid memberships grew from 38Mn million in 2014 to 58 million in 2018. However, despite this phenomenal growth of Netflix (and others too), the US added over 1500 screens in this period (taking the total to 41000) and the number of movie admissions didn’t drop. So people were watching more movies than before… but didn’t really move ‘away’ from their dose of cinema outings.

Anyone who surmises that movie going habits will die with the movie itself coming into homes is missing one key behavioral trait –visiting a cinema addresses a social need and is a very social activity. 

It’s an experience in itself – the outing, the mall which houses the cinema, the shopping, the popcorn, the company of friends, family, spouse, girlfriend (or boyfriend) and yes, sometimes the movie itself. The movie is not central to the experience – though it is important nevertheless. Haven’t we gone sometimes for a movie outing, knowing very well that the movie is not so great? We went for just ‘time pass’! 

And when the movie is known to be good, then of course the reasons get further amplified. You get to watch the movie undisturbed and without homely disruptions, in a dark ambience, in the company of lot of other people (a group of people laughing at jokes or holding their breath together during the climax scene is a feeling like no other) on a large embracing screen and immersed in loud hi-fidelity sound - divine. We have been to a cinema to watch the same movie more than once or sometimes after having watched it at our home TV. Why? ‘This movie is meant to be enjoyed in a cinema’ we tell ourselves. Sounds familiar? 

The Multiplex owners are realizing this and are moving from just exhibiting the movies to exhibiting and hospitality. The premium format screens like Insignia, Gold Class and similar offer high definition projection like 4K, Onyx etc., premium lounges, leather recliners and gourmet food with butler on call. This experience can’t be replicated on a large TV screen at home. Why else would one pay upto Rs 1800 sometimes for a movie outing.

Hence despite the plethora of options of watching a movie at home, cinema screens are thriving. Currently India has just about 10000 screens (~3000 Multiplex Screens and ~7000 Single screen cinemas) and growing. New International players like Cinepolis are entering the screens business in India and large domestic players are expanding fast. PVR itself has displayed optimism through its acquisition of SPI cinemas last year (which has presence in Southern India). 

But RJio is no pushover, they have delivered what they promised, almost always. This is where India’s status as movie production powerhouse comes into play. India is amongst the largest producer of movies in the world. We produce almost 2000 movies annually across languages and genres. This includes a lot of regional movies and special interest/ niche cinema. Some of these may not find a screen for a theatrical release as they would just be squeezed out of the theatres by big banners. These movies are very good in their own right and have niche audiences. Such movies can then get released on digital OTT platforms. This is a recent phenomenon and movies like Lipsstick Under My Burqa, Love Per Square Foot, Brij Mohan Amar Rahe, Rajma Chawal etc have regaled movie lovers without ever being released in theatres. For the ‘First Day First Show promise’ RJio is likely to procure select movies – both Bollywood and Regional for showcasing on their digital screen – Jio Cinema. This in itself is a great proposition. They might occasionally bring in movies from big banners or with popular star cast to create some buzz and preference for RJio.  It’s however unlikely that most of big budget mainstream popular cinema will find its way to RJios ‘First Day First Show’ promise. 

We will find out soon enough. But till then, can we watch Akshay Kumar’s ‘Mission Mangal’ over the weekend? Recliner seats please.

Cycling for Urban Clusters

Cycling for Urban Clusters

Recent spate of accidents amongst our cyclist friends were flashing in our whats app groups and a pall of gloom descended upon all the members of the group. Some of the victims were lucky to escape with minor injuries, some of them nursed their injuries for a long time and some didn’t live to ride with us again.

These episodes left a very deep impact on my mind and set me thinking. It’s also just a coincidence that recently I was training my twin daughters Surbhi & Suhani to ride the bicycle. A happy moment for me, I also took a video seeing them ride all by themselves after a few days of attempting.

A cyclist or a pedestrian hardly gets acknowledged on the road. And that’s what makes things very unsafe for us cyclists. Most motorists don’t even carry the guilt of causing hurt to a cyclist. A cyclist is looked down upon as a ‘painful accessory’ on the roads who should not have been there in the first place. Snide remarks from motorists saying ‘marna hai kya?’ is something that we are used to. One of my friends on a cycle was once ‘nudged aside’ by a motorcyclist on purpose, because he was ‘blocking the way’. He had a nasty fall and spent the next couple of months recuperating from the injury while the motorcyclist didn’t even look back to check.

This brings me to the other question. Does it have to be like this?

Most people use the cycle for fitness or recreation here.  There are very few instances of people using the bicycle for actually travelling from point A to point B. We even see parents taking their cars to drop off their kids to school in a car less than a km away. Can the kids not walk or use a bicycle? Of course, she can – but the argument would be - it’s not safe. And that’s probably true.

Owning a car for most people is still a symbol of having ‘arrived’. Car is still aspirational asset for a lot of people in our country. This mindset has to change. India has ~22 cars per 1000 people while most of Europe or US has over 500. Given the economically diverse population, urban density and the nature of urbanization, this is not the metric we need to let ourselves get swayed by.

In a country of 1.3bn people, mobility can't achieved through car ownership. The solution lies in low cost personal mobility options – walking, cycling or motorcycling and good quality public transportation - buses, local trains, monorails or metro railways etc. A car occupies far too much space to justify in our crowded urban landscape. It runs for less than 10% of the time and even after that it occupies huge spaces in parking lots, roads or even residential areas making it one of the most inefficient uses of precious land in our urban clusters. In most residential societies children’s play areas are ‘lost’to residents’ cars. Footpaths face a constant issue of encroachment and there are many instances of foot paths being shrunk to expand the roads. Increasing the width of roads in our cities is mostly a futile exercise as we may never be able to keep pace with the burgeoning population of cars. This is like extending the belt to tackle obesity. A good city is not one which discourages cars, but the public transport infrastructure is so good that it’s not worthwhile using cars. Its popularly said ‘A developed country is not where the poor own cars, its where the rich use public transport’. Even in other large cities like London or Singapore or New York, despite the high car ownership, people use public transport for intra-city commute. Its frequent, well connected and comfortable. And they walk-up or cycle to the nearest bus stop or metro station.

Short distances of upto 2 kms are best covered on foot and distances upto say 15kms are appropriate for a bicycle. This is not just healthy, its efficient and green. If a demarcated cycle lane is provided, there is no reason why people will not cycle to work or for errands. Cycling and walking infrastructure however cannot be a one-off action, it needs to be a concerted effort by the city mandarins. Many cities, most notably Dutch cities like Amsterdam and Utretch have reclaimed the spaces lost to car parking lots and roads and have redesigned their urban spaces to make it more friendly towards pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrian plazas, walking only streets and exclusive bicycle ways are now the order of the day. I have taken bicycles on hire in many cities in the world and can vouch for the infrastructure they have and the respect a cyclist commands. Similarly, in our urban areas, we need to recalibrate our priorities and invest accordingly. 

Like in many cities in the world, a lot of companies now offer bike sharing options in India. There’s Pedl, Hexi, Yuluand probably others. These are popular services at a very low cost. We ought to support the bike sharing model and make it main-stream before they wind up for the lack of adequate business. Eg: In Navi Mumbai Yulucycles have bike stations at almost every mile and the results are showing. A lot of people are opting for this and a cycling culture seems to be evolving. Give it a fillip by carving bike-only lanes and see the difference.

Civic infrastructure is only the starting point. Civic sensehas to be instilled in drivers to recognize the rights of pedestrians and cyclists. Power that a motorist wields through multi-ton vehicle leads him to ignore pedestrians and cyclists. It is one’s duty to not just acknowledge but protect the most vulnerable road users. This courtesy is sadly missing in India. 

But till such a thing happens, the father in me asks, if I did the right thing by teaching my twins to ride a bicycle. I surely believe so – it’s an essential life skill, low cost mobility and also the best way to see a new city. Will I allow them to ride alone, certainly NOT? We have a lot to do about civic infrastructure and civic sense. The eternal optimist in me tells me that things will change for the better. 

But till then cyclists are not safe. And we have to act before one of us becomes the next victim. Will we do it?

Sandeep Bangia

INNOVATION FOR THE DIGITAL ERA - Digital Innovation (Over) Simplified

INNOVATION FOR THE DIGITAL ERA

-Digital innovation (over)simplified

This article was carried by The Hindu Business Line dt 5th Sept 2019.

https://bloncampus.thehindubusinessline.com/b-learn/paths-to-innovation-in-the-digital-era/article29342727.ece

A lot has been written and talked about on the subject of innovation. How it affects organizations and what are the benefits of a culture of innovation. The case study of how 3M was at the pinnacle of innovation in product development has been a part of the corporate lore and was much studied when I was at B-School. Innovations until the 70s & 80s were very manufacturing or assembly line centric. And then the internet took over - redefining the meaning of innovation for good. 

Here are a few pointers to look out for, when embarking on an innovation journey in the tech or digital era: 

INNOVATION IS ALL PERVADING: Innovations can be in the domain of products, processes, distribution, communications or anything else. Think of Applenot so much as a product innovator but as a case study in supply chain innovation and you get the drift. Also for innovations, there need not be ‘specific’ problems to solve, there are just ‘broad areas’ to sniff and delve into for improvements & transformation.

INNOVATION IS TRANSFORMATIONAL: Innovations in today’s times are transformational and not incremental. One could spend a lifetime innovating on products incrementally only to realize that the entire industry has been disrupted. Ask Kodakor Nokiaand they’ll nod in despair. Internet companies top the listing of most valued companies globally when just a decade ago the list was dominated by oil majors and manufacturing giants. The Digital Era has given rise to a lot of new business models.

·       The Multi-platform model: The platform serves as a convergence point between service providers on one side and customers on the other. Matching customer to service provider, offering convenience, facilitating payments & transactions etc is enabled by technology. A few popular examples are - Asset Sharing: Uber, AirBnB, Oyo rooms and the likes. Service: Zomato, Urban Clap, Blabla Car, TripAdvisor etc, Product: Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Communication: Whats App, WeChat and so on. Here, the demand and supply side feed off each other such that growth on one side leads to growth on the other.

·       Platform/ Software as a service: Most software today run as a service and not as a product which one can buy off the shelf. Microsoft, Autodesk, Adobe and others no longer offer a one-time purchase product. They offer the service as a periodic ‘license’ replete with all upgrades et al. Riding on good connectivity and cloud infrastructure, capital spends are almost done away with. This helps the client as also the service provider since it assures him of constant revenue streams.

·    Subscription model: Netflix, Spotify, Magzter and the multitude of such services have displaced the ubiquitous CDs/DVDs, magazines. Why just entertainment, you could even ‘subscribe’ to gaming portals or even Lunch meals or bicycles. I am waiting for Cab services to offer it - Weekday subscriptions for Home-office-home or Weekend packs and such. Ola, Uber are you listening?

·       Others: Additionally, there are ad-funded, limited period free trial and Freemium business models where you fill the funnel with the lure of free and then convert to paid by endearing the product to the customer through high level of personalization or sharp contextual upselling.

All these business models (and more like crowdsourcing etc) ride on the internet and are big ideas – innovations which don’t necessarily require a lot of capital but transform the way of doing business in the process, adding a lot of value.

INNOVATION IS NOT A ONE-OFF SPARK, ITS A CULTURAL CHANGE: A truly innovation centric organization requires a DNA shift. They continuously look for newer ideas, sift through & discuss these ideas – however small or insignificant they may seem, evaluate the business impact, assess risks and be willing to rewire themselves. The ideas themselves can come from the business environment or even from a potential customer.

Innovation demands leadership that is optimistic, welcoming to changes, open to criticism and most importantly don’t fear failure. They don’t hold on to their ideas but are willing to accept that brilliant minds are all over, irrespective of the hierarchy– waiting to be unshackled.

INNOVATION HAS TO TAKE THE BUSINESS GOALS FORWARD: Innovation is not an end in itself, there has to be a clear business objective on the journey to innovation. There are businesses which think of themselves as innovative once they launch a smartphone app. when they are no more than digital brochures. Similarly, adoption of newer technology is not innovation by itself, it’s at best an enabler. Innovative businesses take a stock of things that worked and the value they added to the organization as also of things that have NOT worked. 

INNOVATION IS ABOUT PEOPLE & PARTNERSHIPS. Innovative businesses are made by innovative people. The leadership has to facilitate the process by suitably re-skilling the key people. The process of re-skilling, learning – unlearning and refreshing is applicable in the digital era more than any time in the past. Providing exposure to wider business environment, forming a world-view, shared learnings as also inculcating an atmosphere where people are free to make suggestions without being judged is a key part of the innovation journey. 

Given the diverse environment we are operating in, all the skill sets are not always available within the organization. Hence there is a need to forge partnerships to succeed. Partnerships of diverse perspectives but shared values acts as a force multiplier and churns out new dimensions. Eg: Vodafone’sglobal partnerships with Insurers, fleet operators, automobile manufacturers for IOT (Internet of Things) unleashes huge potential to transform these businesses.

The above are just a few things to remember when one takes the path of being consciously innovative. While history is replete with examples of success stories coming from ‘one-off innovative spark’ it’s unlikely now. The spate of changes and disruptions in the digital era demand agility and near real time actions – all the time.

What internet caused in the last two decades could be induced by Blockchain in the times to come. Blockchain- which is a technology or a philosophy depending on how you look at it - is likely to trigger off a wide range of innovations in all spheres of our life – Banking & finance, Healthcare, e-governance and virtually everything. Similar for other enabling technologies – Artificial Intelligence, Connected devices, Additive manufacturing and such. 

Resources for the next round of innovations to kick in, riding on the core pillars of Big Data, high quality connectivity and access to superlative computing power and available now. And these innovations could hit you anytime, anywhere, any industrywhatsoever.

The stage is set.  Are you ready?

SANDEEP BANGIA

How to Complain Effectively ?

After saying that we should complain for deficiency in service, heres a piece on 

"How to Complain Effectively ?" This was published by DNA on 14th January 2011

My personal experience is that most organisations are indeed serious about customer issues and are eager to resolve the matter if it is raised timely and suitably. While there are no set rules to this subject, a few tips can make the experience smoother and mutually rewarding - for both - the complainant and the merchant. 

Let’s start with - What should you expect from a complaint process? 

This is a big one. I’ve seen people ‘fighting’ with the organisation only to be dumb-founded when asked “ So, what do you want, Sir ?” 

You were angry and you complained or even started throwing tantrums, but what do you expect the other person to do to pacify you. Do you expect a replacement of the product? Do you want a different service level? A refund ? A refund and compensation or do you seek a simple apology? 

All of these are valid expectations. Just that you need to be sure where you belong. Once you have done that, just remember these golden rules when seeking any resolution: 

Knock the right door: If you are seeking a resolution, ensure that you are dealing with the correct person(s). Carefully consider things like - location (eg: branch office or HO), hierarchy, ability to resolve etc and decide if the resolution you are seeking is in the ambit of the person in front of you. When in doubt. Ask and seek to be routed to the right person. In large format retail stores or at service outfits, approach the frontline staff and if you see that they are not able to resolve your matter or guide you to resolution, go right to the top. Don’t waste time transcending the layers in between. If they have not empowered the front-line to resolve issues, chances are they don’t have a decent complaint resolution process in place. Normally, writing to faceless e-mail ids such as feedback@xyz.com or complaints@xyz.com usually gets you a stereotypical automatic response which is no good if you are seeking a resolution. If there is no name, it means that there is no one willing to stick his neck out and take responsibility for the complaint resolution. I am however, not saying, that you don’t try this. By all means do. But, don’t wait infinitely. If you don’t see signs of it (say in one working day) in the form of a specific response - not the usual form letter, then go all the way. And though its normally very tough to get to the top it’s not impossible. And even if this top person re-assigns your case to someone and says “Take care of this complaint” trust me, you’ll get taken care of.

Be Clear, calm and concise: State the problem clearly and un- ambiguously so that it is understood and appreciated by the person on the other side. Being loud just does not help. Stay calm but assertive. You have to have that modicum of anger to be taken seriously while ensuring that you don’t go over the top. 

Keep a record of people and events: Write an e-mail or letter so there’s a trail and somebody has to do something about it. You make a phone call, they hang up and its over. There’s no record of the fact that you called. Take down the details of the person who you are speaking to - whether on phone or in person. Usually, just this mall act makes them realise that you are serious. 

Know your rights: Be reasonable and demand reasonably. Knowing your rights helps. Eg: Reading about the Montreal Convention 1999 or the Warsaw Convention would help you to know the extent of compensation you can claim for your baggage loss by an Airline. 

Go for litigation if you must: In some instances anything you do may fail to evoke a satisfactory response. In these cases, you may have to resort to litigation. Here in India there is a well structured framework for resolution of Consumer disputes and a host of well meaning meaning NGOs willing to take up cudgels on your behalf. You don't need lawyers to fight your case- you can do so yourself or take guidance from any NGO. These are a good last resort to get cheap, speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes. A quasi-judicial machinery is set up at each District, State and National levels called District Forums, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission respectively to handle disputes of varying kind and magnitude. ‘Pre-warning’ of your intention to take your dispute to consumer forum may sometimes lead the erring organisation to sit up and take notice of your complaint and is hence a good idea and saves you the trouble of litigation. 

Compensation for collateral damage: Evaluate your case and if you think you have a genuine reason to seek compensation then by all means go for it. Most organisations would not take kindly to your persistence for compensation and they would shy away from taking responsibility for collateral damage. They would at the most view your case sympathetically and offer you freebies as a ‘token’ of their understanding. 

It may be noted that in most good companies you may not need to resort to any of the above measures - just letting your discomfort known would spur them into action. A friend fondly recalls an instance of an airline giving her and all co-passengers a complimentary Mumbai-London return ticket as a ‘token of our apology’ for an un- usual delay in take-off. So, while most good companies would more than compensate you for the inconvenience caused to you, do not think of it as your right. You have to pick your battles. You have to decide how far you are willing to go and what you’re going to do if you don’t get what you want. Finally remember, when a complaint is closed to your satisfaction, do spare a minute to thank the service provider. A thank you e-mail or a letter or a phone call post resolution will not only tremendously encourage the erring party to look at a complaint in the future much more but also close a possibly bitter interaction with a smile. After all it is not normally about the particular person that you complained but about the particular interaction or particular product that you picked up that caused you trouble. 

So complain and make a difference.