THE CONSUMER IS NOT KING

I did not think I would say “I do” more than once in my life. But that was in pre liberalized India when we were all naïve and life seemed simpler if not so comfortable.

Since then things have changed a lot as anyone knows. I for instance say these sacred words several times a day. And it’s become so easy now that I say it easily to perfect strangers, often on the telephone and without blinking an eyelid.

“Do I use post paid service?” “Yes I do.” “Do I pay my phone bill on the due date?” “Yes I do.” “Do I eat cookies.” “I do.”: “Do I wear perfume?” “I do.” “Do I….?” “I do”

Some years back corporations wanted us journalists to sing paeans of their improving and increasingly focused consumer service. How lucky the Indian consumer was to get now that everyone wanted to please him. I remember wondering if anyone was asking the consumer just when he may like to be left alone.
Today too much service is making the consumer in me beg for mercy. Try walking down the ground floor aisle of any mall today. It feels like walking down a top-end red light area, or a correctional facility as shown in popular films, the way you get solicited by the perfume counters. I don’t want to offend them and say that I came in today to just buy a book.
I step out to go to my favourite coffee shop. Well favourite till some time back before it started bringing merchandize to my table and asking me to buy it. Now my coffee order which simply went “One cappuccino please” goes appended. “One cappuccino please but thanks no flavours and no, I don’t want to buy cookies or mugs or anything else”.
Brand owners must notice that if the consumer has many more interfaces with their merchandize he has as many opportunities to evaluate the service. I don’t think a coffee drinker will mind not being able to buy coffee cups from the café but it would surely be nice if the cups were cleaned of stains, the coffee was hot and not luke-warm and the pretty leafy design on the foam didn’t smudge for lack of practice. Also, I notice the lack of standardization. For instance the coffee is more watery in some outlets than others. I don’t recall any visitor buying the merchandize at his table. The staff however had spent much time hawking it. This could have been utilized in wiping the crockery better.

Ditto for the perfume brands. Instead of the perfume “mandi” at the mall may be the companies could offer more pack sizes. Currently a trial costs you over Rs 1500, a considerable amount for an average Indian pocket. The multi-brand packs that you get at duty free shops costs about Rs 300 to 400 per brand trial. Sure enough, I yet get my supply from family members traveling abroad.
Perfume marketers I am sure know that no one can choose a perfume confidently by just that fly paper stuck at his nose by an over eager salesgirl. I am sure it would be tough for even them to be able to choose a perfume if they had to smell ten at the same time, with or without coffee beans to neutralize the previous smell.

No consumer satisfaction survey is going that deep yet but it may be interesting to study if too much attention makes the consumer too self conscious to consume a brand. I remember going to the café counter earlier, looking at the stuff leisurely and buying what I liked. I don’t do that any more because I feel watched and obliged to buy.
Then there’s the phone company. I want to use this opportunity to thank it for reminding me of my payment due date. But I wish I wasn’t asked for three days after that if I have paid up. I recently spoke up to the poor girl from the service centre who dared to ask me this. Her reply was telling. Apparently even when I make the payment on time it doesn’t reflect on the company’s system for 72 hours. So I, the customer who gets useless promotional messages all day have to answer these calls because the company cannot upgrade its payment tracking system. Instead of this “service” why not look at my good payment record and not bother me until I really slip up? Now that would be what a consumer would call service. And besides, remember I have to split my time talking to the credit card company as well!

After 15 years of liberalization marketers should understand that the consumer absorbs the service quality subtly without reading about it in newspapers. He doesn’t need to be spoken to all the time. Leave him alone for some time and let that service penetrate his senses like the perfume in the mall air.