What is Reebok up to?

If you are a subscriber of India Today or any of their publications, or have been kind enough to drop your email address or phone number in some random campaign by the company, chances are that you would have been receiving stunning offers on Reebok from Today Shop. Apparel, shoes, accessories; all are up for grabs at mind boggling prices.

Initially I was all praises for Reebok, how they would generate huge word-of-mouth and expand their customer base manifold by getting a lot of people to try their products at lower than market prices. But that opinion was to change very quickly. I discovered that the market, in both its physical and virtual manifestations was inundated with similar offers. Reebok sunglasses and watches have become the favourite freebie offering of almost half a dozen brands – from magazine subscriptions to mobile phone connections and credit cards. E-shopping websites like Rediff Shopping and others are all offering similar deals. All of this makes me wonder, what is going on at Reebok, why is the brand all over the place? Trying to expand the customer base is a fine idea, but there has to be a limit to which a brand can afford it. I understand that in that sports-wear trio of Nike, Adidas and Reebok; Reebok clearly is the brand for the “masses” of the segment. With the brand trying to add the fashionable attribute to its personality, a discount brand tag is obviously something it can ill-afford to do. Since my first (real) sports shoe was a Reebok, (and like all other guys who love their first sports shoe) I do have a special affinity for the brand. That despite the fact that I have moved on to Nike and Adidas! But with brands like Puma becoming increasingly aggressive, brand love clearly is not going to keep Reebok alive in my heart for a long time. It was probably never an aspirational brand to begin with, but definitely has been the entry level brand for a lot of people of my age-group into the firangi sports-wear segment, a brand I looked up to when I used to buy the Action shoes and other desi brands.

They say a brand is sacrosanct; so isn't it imperative that Reebok takes account of which direction the brand is going; and is it headed towards a discount brand tag?

SpiceJet

Background: SpiceJet is one of India’s leading low cost carriers, promoted by Delhi based Ajay Singh. It operates between 18 destinations in India and has a fleet of aircraft consisting of only Boeing 737-800 and 737-900ER series. It recently celebrated the fourth anniversary of its operations in India.


Location: Flight from Kolkata to Bangalore


Prior Expectations: Prior expectations in this case were built primarily by my experiences with IndiGo Airlines, which I always fly. SpiceJet was expected to (atleast) match the standards set by IndiGo which is undoubtedly India’s best low cost carrier.

1. Lowest price air ticket.
2. Fast and convenient check in.
3. On time performance.
4. Friendly and courteous on-board crew.
5. Well maintained aircraft.


Factual Information: The ticket was available for a price which was the same as that of IndiGo and I chose the airline just to check out the services. The booking and check-in were done online. Depite checking in online, I had to wait at the counter to check-in my baggage. The ground staff and crew were well attired. Airport infrastructure was being shared with IndiGo Airlines.
A large variety of snacks and beverages were available on board.


Pros:

1. SpiceJet as mentioned operates only two kinds of aircraft enabling it to offer standardised services across its entire fleet which enables efficiency and cost advantages.
2. The flight stuck to the timelines and surprisingly managed to deliver on time performance.
3. The cabin crew were extremely warm and welcoming. The on board service was very good.
4. The prices of the beverages available on board were very reasonable. The food was a tad expensive but one had the option of booking the food online before the flight and availing a sizeable discount. Though this option was not publicized well and I did not come to know of its existence until I checked out the menu card on board where it was clearly mentioned.
5. The baggage came out pretty quickly at Bangalore airport.


Cons:

1. Despite checking in online, I still had to wait in a long queue to check in my baggage which really defeated the purpose of online check-in.
2. The coach that carried us from the terminal building to the aircraft was extremely shabby. It was not air conditioned and was stuffed beyond capacity making it very uncomfortable.
3. The aircraft was poorly maintained. I happened to have taken a seat almost over the wing of the aircraft and could hear the constant cluttering noise of the entire plane including the cabin baggage compartments. The rickety plane gave me constant jitters regularly but especially when there was turbulence.
4. The upholstery was poorly maintained. It was tearing off in a lot of places and was extremely dirty.


Overall, I believe that a lot of the cons mentioned would be inherent to any low cost model of operations. But here competition (mainly IndiGo) was primarily responsible for building up the expectations. Like a lot of other people, I would opt for SpiceJet only if it offers tickets at prices lower than that of IndiGo as the service quality is much better at IndiGo.

For this experience, I would give SpiceJet a 7.5/10

Royal Cruiser

Background: Royal Cruiser is a company held jointly by West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation Limited and Kaushik Logistics Private Limited. Kaushik Logistics Pvt. Ltd. is the foremost player in specialized handling and transportation of large volume as well as containerized ocean-bound cargo meant for Steel, Power, Telecom and Automobile industry. It has a fleet strength of over 200 trailers to move around Kolkata and Haldia ports. Royal Cruiser operates the latest European variants of Volvo Mark III buses. They operate on various routes in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh along with the Dhaka – Kolkata bus service.


Location: My journey from Kolkata to Asansol


Prior Expectations:

1. Should reach on time.
2. The bus should be clean and comfortable.
3. The whole experience was expected to have a premium feel to it.


Factual Information:

1. The driver and helper were well dressed.
2. Two LCD display panels were present for on-board entertainment. They were suitably placed such that everybody could see the panels.
3. Climate control system was present. The temperature inside the bus was well maintained.


Pros:

1. Booking tickets was very easy – booking is done by agents and online. An SMS confirming the booking is sent as soon as the booking is made.
2. Comfortable journey – thanks to the climate control and reclining seats.
3. On-time performance
4. Good on-board entertainment system – choice of movie shown was good, a lot of people were watching with a lot of interest.
5. Snacks were served and bottled water was provided. Again choice of snacks was well made – a combination of local and universal favourites were served.
6. Very cost effective.
7. Travel time was comparable to that of the fastest train available.
8. Convenient pick-up points.


Cons:

1. The only real con was the cleanliness. The curtains were not washed for a very long and the upholstery and the floor were visibly dirty.
2. Maintenance of the buses could be greatly improved.


The expectations were generated as a result of the communications from the brand – both verbal and non-verbal. This actually highlights an important feature in service marketing – how a service firm communicates with its consumers. It is important to identify the gaps in the service offered by the competitors in order to enable effective differentiation. These points then have to be effectively communicated to the customers in order to succeed. In Royal Cruiser’s case, the phrases used such as “99% on time” and “feels like flying” help in differentiating the brand’s offering.

Overall for this experience, I would give Royal Cruiser a 7/10.

Service Marketing – Dressing the Invisible?

This probably is something that should have come up on the blog before all the experiences I started describing. It refers to the very crux of the subject – how to define a service?

A lot of definitions I went through describe the key attribute of a service as intangibility. A plethora of researchers have emphasized time and again on this property of services, to the extent of describing the field or service marketing as “selling the invisible”. In this era (and especially for an economy like India where a large part of the GDP comes from the service sector) a large number of substitutes are available for every service that one seeks to consume. To counter the effect of these, every firm tries to project the key attributes of its offering by the communication that it sends out. This includes both verbal and non-verbal cues used in order to enable the consumer to differentiate the brand from the clutter of other competitors promising similar offerings.

The verbal cues refer to the product promises which are quantised and projected in order to offer a direct comparison with competition. Take the phrase of the phrase “99% on time” used by Royal Cruiser, a transport firm which operates Volvo buses between various cities in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. To put things into perspective, Volvo bus services are viewed as being synonymous with luxury, comfort and speed. The direct competition comes from the other bus services (Volvo and non-Volvo) and the railways. Royal Cruiser employs very meticulously designed communication addressing the very difficulties that users of its competitors face. Whether it is the frequent delays of trains and buses or the huge inconvenience that one has to face in order to catch a train, Royal Cruiser quantifies a large portion of its offering to plug in each of these gaps and to enable easy comparison with competitors. This quantification brings in tangibility into virtually every step of the whole experience of travelling Royal Cruiser, seen in the standardized services on board (snacks and drinking water offered, the movies played on the AV system) and precise timing of the buses with measured on-time performances. In fact the brand proposition – travel comfortably in a Volvo bus gains a high degree of tangibility with Volvo being the key word. One could argue that no physical product is delivered in the process, but what of the physical and quantifiable attributes being added to each step of the whole experience of travelling.

A lot of such examples can be seen in the environment around us where tangibility in services is increasing all the while and the invisible is being draped in fancy clothing making the whole entity visible. So is it time to relook how we define a service and drop tangibility from being the core idea of a service?

Barbeque Nation

Background:

A brand owned by Mumbai based Sayaji Group, Barbeque Nation is the latest entrant in the food chain business. The restaurant brings to India, for the first time, the concept of a live grill on every table allowing clients to grill their dishes the way they like them. A novel idea in the field of hospitality, it combines the idea of unlimited snacks (originally introduced by The Kabab Factory at the Radisson Hotel in New Delhi) along with concept dining (brought to the forefront by initiatives like Oh! Calcutta and the likes) and offers it at an (almost) affordable price.
The first Barbeque Nation outlet was opened in Mumbai in March 2006. With the first restaurant proving to be quite a hit among its clients, the chain expanded base to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata, etc and now runs about 15 outlets across India.


Location: BIPL Building Omega, Sec V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata


Prior Expectations:

Disclaimer: I have to admit, my expectations from Barbeque Nation had actually gone out of the roof after I heard about the concept from my siblings and friends (some of whom are really good at exaggeration) who had the opportunity of dining there before me.
1. Great ambience – suitable for catching up with someone over food.
2. Huge variety of options in the three courses offered.
3. Excellent food quality and taste.
4. Professionally run by well trained, polished and courteous employees.
5. No hidden charges apart from the cover charges.


Factual Description:

1. The restaurant decor was modelled after a very Mediterranean theme, with lots of wood and exposed bricks. The look and feel of the restaurant was pretty neat and scored well on the first impression.
2. The service staff was well attired. The waiters wore aprons and a separate group – the ones who took the orders wore formal suits.
3. The tables had a slot in the centre where a barbeque was placed. A flag was present on the table which when raised indicated to the staff to serve the first course - the snacks (or starters). When the table was through the snacks, the flag was bent down.
4. Three seasonings were present on the table which could be brushed onto the snacks when they were being barbequed on the table. Alongside various chutneys were also present.
5. The first course was served by the waiters and the main course and the desserts were self service buffets.
6. The fixed menu consisted of 5 vegetarian and 5 non-vegetarian starters; 1 vegetarian and 1 non-vegetarian soup; 4 non-vegetarian and 6 vegetarian dishes in main course with roti & naan; 3 non-vegetarian and 5 vegetarian salads; and 7 desserts. The menu was changed daily and came with a complementary drink with option of picking beer or a soft drink. An additional package could be added on which would include live cooked sea food.


Pros:

1. The decor was very different from what we’ve become used to seeing. It was a very welcome change from the bland and tasteless interiors that have become the virtual norm these days. A soft music was playing and the ambience had a rich feel to it.
2. Once seated on our table, we were warmly greeted and welcomed by a waiter. He patiently explained the whole concept of Barbeque Nation and how we would be ‘proceeding’ with our lunch.
3. Once the order was taken, the barbeque with burning charcoal was placed in the slot and snacks started flowing. We were specifically asked if there either of us were pure vegetarians. Almost cooked preparations were placed on the barbeque on our table. The table never ran out of snacks and the service staff kept refilling till the flag was raised.
4. The kitchen had a glass wall and one could see the chefs at work. The kitchen was (expectedly) absolutely clean and projected a very high hygiene factor.
5. The main course was a mixture of well selected dishes, with a mix of Indian and exotic cuisines. A huge variety of salads were present at the salad bar.
6. The price of the whole package was very reasonable. There were no hidden charges and the whole pricing was very transparent.


Cons:

1. No adequate arrangement was made for people who were waiting for a table. We were just told to wait outside the restaurant till the time a table became available. A better arrangement is expected when one comes for a concept dining experience.
2. The service quality was not up to my expectations. The waiters were very mechanical and always in a hurry. But still my order for a naan, took almost 10-12 minutes.
3. Some starters served were half cooked and cold.
4. It took 10 minutes for the waiters to replenish the ice-cream on the dessert counter.
5. The washrooms were not clean and smelt bad!


A lot of the issues I faced could be attributed to the fact that the concept is not meant to handle hordes of people, which is why the service levels dropped drastically. Things like the waiters running around, replenishment taking time, ill-maintained washrooms were probably all a result of the huge crowd. But then the restaurant should be geared up to run at full capacity so to speak. Just goes to show that it is difficult to maintain a standard level of service in such an industry.

As for the starters which I had to barbeque on my table, I would say it could have added to the whole experience of the barbeque on the table if we had the time.

Overall I would give Barbeque Nation a 7.5/10 for this particular experience.

Titan Eye+

Background:

Titan Eye+, the newest (well... almost!) baby of Titan Industries Limited was launched in March 2007. This is the third major vertical that the company has ventured into after watches and jewellery. Quoting from Eye+'s website - "The move was an initiative to re-define the industry and straddle the marketplace with exacting quality standards, unparalleled in India’s eyewear industry."
Eye+ aims to offer a eyewear buying experience which is unparalled in the industry, by offering a plethora of brands under one roof. Backed by the image of the Tata group, which in itself is a symbol of quality and trust, the latest venture aims to bring about standardization and consolidation in an otherwise extremely fragmented industry.


Store Location: Mani Square mall, Kolkata


Prior Expectations:

1. Large variety (w.r.t. brands, designs and price range) of frames to choose from.
2. Good eye testing facility with a qualified optometrist.
3. Great store ambience.
4. Skilled staff to help me choose the frame which looks best on me.


Factual Description:

1. On entering the store, it becomes very clear that Titan has brought all its expertise in visual merchandising from the other verticals into Eye+. The stores were well designed with contemporary steel and wood furniture.
2. Two sets of tables and chairs were present where store employees were attending to new customers, seated opposite them on the table.
3. Gadgets used for determining the location of the centre of the eye lens for perfect configuration of the lenses were present on the table.
4. Various international designer brands – Versace, Dior, Gucci, Esprit, Armani; along with the other premium brands like Levi’s and in-house brands Titan, Eye+ and Dash were present with the brand labels clearly displayed.
5. A separate section was present which housed the eye testing clinic.
6. A computer system with a camera was present which helped me to click my photograph wearing various frames and compare the looks.


Pros:

1. The security on the door politely greeted every customer and welcomed him into the store.
2. The large displays with loads of frames from a number of international luxury and premium brands along with the in-house brands could be seen. It became amply clear that a customer would be spoilt for choice in this store.
3. The eye testing clinic seemed to be up-to-date with the best equipment I have ever come across. Manual intervention was reduced to minimal to prevent any errors from creeping in.
4. The optometrist had undergone a 45 days training and was certified by Shankar Nethralaya, one of the biggest names in eye care in India. A certificate for the same was prominently displayed.
5. The store was laid out in a browse, select and buy format with customers having access to all the frames present in the store.
6. Only branded lenses from Kodak, Essilor and Titan were present with built in UV and glare reduction and scratch resistance.
7. The proprietary software developed for helping customers choose frames was very impressive and proved to be helpful.
8. A one year warranty on the frame and a six month warranty on the lenses was offered.
9. The store staff was very friendly, patient and warm. The customer felt very special.


Cons:

1. The store boasted of a ‘style consultant’ who would help in choosing the best frame. But no one person was designated as the consultant and all the employees had undergone a general style training. Thus no real help came from their end, though it was promised as one of the differentiating features of the format.
2. The lenses started at Rs. 1350 for a Titan branded lens, a company having no previous credentials in manufacture of eyewear lenses. I feel pricing for the same needs review. Other branded lenses started at Rs. 1500. This made the planned budgets go haywire.
3. The store staff was not able to deal with a large number of customers in the store at one point in time and service levels went down drastically.
4. High priced premium brands were kept in the same segment as the in-house brands and the whole buying experience became a little prohibitive with the constant ‘fear’ of ending up liking something exorbitantly priced.


Overall, I believe that though the stores were launched in March 2007, they have just come out of the pilot phase and thus some operational issues would be present. But because the stores hail from the house of Titan, I would expect these issues to be sorted out very quickly. Other players like Himalaya, Dayal Opticians, Zeiss and Lawrence and Mayo have also spotted the opportunity presented by consolidation in the segment and are quickly expanding. For Eye+ to have the same effect on the industry as Titan did with watches, it has to deliver on all promises and keep reinventing itself in order to establish itself as the leader in this segment as well.

For this experience, I would give Titan Eye+ an 8.5/10

www.irctc.co.in

Background:

The IRCTC or Indian Railway Catering and Ticketing Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian Railways. It is in charge of catering services on trains and on railway stations, but is better known for the radical change it bought about in the booking of railway tickets in India. An initiative of the Indian railways, which did not (and still does not) have any direct competition; it bought a huge relief to millions of people who earlier had to queue up for hours to get a reservation. Other services like holiday packages, hotel and rent-a-car were added to its ambit in various phases. It would be an understatement to say that it been quite a success story, with estimated gross sales of Rs. 3400 crores for FY 2008-9, with approximately 2000 registered users being added every day.
I had logged onto the portal to book a ticket for my younger brother using my credit card.



Prior Expectations:

1. Convenience of booking tickets online without waiting in long queues.

2. Safe and secure transactions.

3. Fast response of the online portal.

4. Ease of use/navigation on the website.

5. Information relating to availability of options for my travel.

6. Swift availability of help in case of any problem.


Portal (factual) description:


1. Logos of Verisign, Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode displayed clearly on the first page. Gave me confidence about the security of the transaction.

2. 24x7 customer care numbers displayed on the first page, acted as an assurance that help if needed would be just a call away.

3. Website rates very high on ease of navigation.

4. News updates like fare revision, ID card requirement clearly runs as a scroller on the first page.



Experience on the website:


1. The website refused to open initially. It opened in the 6th or the 7th attempt. A similar problem was faced during logging in and information fetching. The portal was very slow to respond. Every process, right from logging in to ticket reservation took loads of time. Became very irritating at times.

2. The website uses station codes for origin and destination. A menu used to pop up as soon as the first few letters of the city were entered making it easier has no codes had to be remembered or cross referenced from any index.

3. IRCTC had relaxed the rule of punching in the ID card number of the passenger during reservation. It became easier for me to book the ticket as no specific information was needed.

4. While making the payment, the portal got stuck. This caused the reservation fares to be deducted from my credit but the reservation was not made. I tried calling up the 24x7 customer care numbers but they were true to the ‘sarkari’ reputation and nobody answered my call. In the meanwhile I received an email assuring me that since the transaction got stuck in between, my money would be refunded in 4 working days.

5. Finally on my second attempt at reservation and making the payment, the transaction went through and my ticked was booked.


The website is a huge improvement from the queues at the reservation counters. But despite the fact that a service fee is charged from the users, the website is not as smooth and streamlined as it should be. In fact, a bank report and success rate statistics file available on the portal shows success rate of transactions ranging from a dismal 37% to a highest of 80% with an average of 75%. Though a large part of this might be due to issues at the bank’s or the payment gateway’s end, it is a major area where improvement is needed as a customer is not concerned as to whether the problem lies with IRCTC of the bank/payment gateway.


The slow and sometimes non-responsive nature of the site makes life difficult for people who’re banking on it for making their bookings. Smooth running needs to be insured by improving by the IT infrastructure in use for the portal to ensure seamless transactions.
But since, the railways do not have any competition, it is a commendable step voluntarily taken by the railways to increase customer convenience.


Overall, for this particular experience, I would give the portal a 7/10.