PVR Cinemas - Quantity kam, price jyaada!

 

Theatres have long been associated with over-charging customers on the eateries that they serve inside their premises. Soft drinks and popcorn can almost rival the price structure of any super-luxury hotel. But what happens when they promise more and deliver less?

Problem:

Fame Adlabs at Andheri West, Lokhandwala was recently bought over by PVR Cinemas and the Lokhandwala theatre was quickly revamped in PVR style. The new theatre was christened PVR - ECX, with ECX standing for Enhanced Customer Experience. Being my first visit to PVR, I was delighted to see an improvement in almost everything from the miserable Fame Adlabs that previously occupied the same premises.

The problem arose when I was ordering for refreshments with my father during the interval. Not wanting a very large serving of 7up, I settled for their 'regular' size which the menu mentioned as 550ml. After ordering for a popcorn + pepsi combo along with the 'regular' 7up, my father realised that the billing machine punched in a quantity of 450ml whereas the menu explicitly mentioned 550ml. When we asked the cashier why this is happening, he gave a clueless reply and asked his colleague to call for the manager. After waiting for a good 5 minutes for the manager 'Vishal' to appear, my father told the cashier that we did not have time to stand here for the entire interval to wait for 'Vishal' to arrive and that we wanted a change in our order to the large 650ml option. To my utter shock, the cashier rudely snapped back that he had intially told us to go for the large one and that we should have made up our mind then and there. This is what really ticked me off and I lost my cool too. Eventually a lady in a blazer appeared who obviously was not 'Vishal' (10 minutes have now passed since we have asked for him) who gave vague reasons about weekend/weekday changes in price. I pointed out to her that the issue is not the price but the quantity being sold for that price is incorrect as per the menu. Another vague explanation of weekend vs weekday rates was given which clearly reflected that the management was trying to hide the issue by giving lame excuses. At this point, I walked off.

Issue Summary:

1. Rude people serving customers behing the counter who had no obvious training in soft skills

2. Quantity mentioned on the menu was not the same as the quantity served

3. Management was trying to give a vague response to this

Verdict:

PVR has definitely taken their ECX motto to a different level by 'enhancing' my experience with them to another level. The entire flare up of the issue would have never taken place if the Manager had apologised and given me a solution to the problem. The fact that they were trying to provide explanations and covering up reflects that this is a known oversight on their part and as long as no one has taken a strong stance against it, they are continuing to overcharge you.

I tried to take an image of the menu but sadly my phone camera was unable to overcome the shine of the overhead menu. I request anyone who visits the particular theatre or any other PVR cinema should take special care of this matter. In fact, why should the buck stop only at PVR? Each time you shop for something, ensure that you are paying for the product, price and quantity as promised. Please share any such experiences you might have had in the comments section below.

The misuse of a monopoly: Fun Republic Cinema, Andheri West

In economics we always learnt that when a supplier has a monopoly in any service offering, the supplier gets to dictate prices and quality, depending on how essential that product or service is for the consumer. Going to the movie is quite essential for middle class and upper middle class families who make efforts to watch various movies every now and then.

Problem:

Fun Republic Cinemas at Andheri West has been there for quite some time. The specific area of Lokhandwala has 3 multiplexes operating within a short distance and at least 3 more if you don't mind travelling 15-20 mins. However, within Lokhandwala itself, Fame Adlabs recently shut down due to management issues leaving Cinemax and Fun Republic as the only two operators. I have been visiting Fun Republic quite regularly and never found any reason to complain, however, the recent visits have given me ugly experiences which would now probably force me to look elsewhere the next time I want to go watch a movie.

On the 14th of December, I decided to go watch The Hobbit, especially since I am an LOTR fan. A late morning 3D show at Fun was relatively inexpensive and I decided to book it. The very first disappointment were the 3D glasses that were being offered to the audience. The glasses were horribly dirty and it seems no one has taken any care to clean them or shown any concern for hygiene. There were finger prints and dirt all over the glass and when I tried wiping it clean, i unfortunately stained my t-shirt due to all the dirt. Usually, theatres give out disposable glasses or at least take the efforts to properly wrap them and clean it, but it seems Fun couldn't be bothered too much.

When The Hobbit finally did start what puzzled me even more was the fact that the print hardly seemed to be even 3D to begin with! The entire picture was fuzzy and blurred with a very slight visible difference between having the glasses on and the glasses off. Thinking that my glasses might be faulty, I asked my friends who had accompanied me and they all gave me the same feedback. The Hobbit is not a low budget movie and coming from the stable of internationally known production houses, I doubt that the films original print is to blame. What we thus concluded was that either the glasses were not compatible with the movie print and the theatre decided to simply go ahead with what they had or the theatres projector was malfunctioning. Whatever be the problem, the experience was horrible and if the 3D effect of the movie is not right, then the movie can never be enjoyable.

My next visit to Fun Republic was on 25th December to watch the movie Life of Pi. Once again a 3D movie, I decided to give Fun Republic a second chance. The first unhappy experience was at the ticket counter itself with the attendant being very rude and making numerous blunders while giving people change. At least 4 people came back to him (including me) because he gave the wrong sum of money. Instead of apologising for the repeated error, he seemed to be ignorant and snapped back at customers. 

Once in the theatre, my scepticism about the quality of the 3D print was eradicated and the crystal clear clarity was awesome, yet the glasses were still very dirty and my mum who accompanied me was the first to complain about it. With the credits being displayed at the start of the movie, it was very clear that the print was going out of the screen with names of the cast crew getting cut by a huge margin.There was no obvious way to know if that was rectified as the movie went along, but I seriously doubt it.

The second instance that caused inconvenience was the interval. Hollywood movies do not typically have a provision for an interval in their print but since the Indian audience needs it, theatres abruptly cut the film mid-way an announce a 10-15 minute break. The problem is not the interval itself but the duration of the interval and what happened soon after. A long, extended and annoying interval later the cameraman seemed to have lost exactly where the print had stopped and a good 5 minutes were wasted with audience shouting at the person to go back and forth and arrive at exactly where it had stopped.

Issue Summary:

1. Horrible 3D print during The Hobbit

2. Dirty 3D glasses with stains all over them. This was experienced in both the visits and has been present in the past also

3. Print was going out of the screen during Life of Pi

4. The interval was for beyond the promised 15 minutes

5. The projector operator forgot where to resume the movie from after the interval

Verdict:

With their consistent filthy 3D glasses, I would now be tempted to go elsewhere for a movie if the price difference is not very big. The screen clarity and going off the screen can be attributed to one time problems but the theatre management still needs to put in some effort to ensure that this does not happen. Staff seems to be careless and laid back but I cant actually blame Fun Republic for it, this attitude seems to remain consistent across the industry. The theatre should not exploit customers with shoddy service and if repeated unhygienic 3D glasses are continued to be distributed, Fun may find itself in a tight spot.

Share any of your cinemas and theatre experiences in the comments section below.

Dial 'www.twitter.com' for Customer Care

The average Indian is worse than Mt. Krakatoa. Beaten, bruised, let-down and cheated by all, he trusts no one and in return isn't faithful to anyone for the very same reason. The government lets him down by pocketing his hard earned money to buy their children that expensive little toy (read BMW) with which he could feed his family of four and maybe get a roof on his head. 

When the public sector doesn't come out to help you often enough, you turn to someone of your own kind, the private players. Almost 20 years ago when the massive Indian economy opened its pearly gates to let anyone and everyone in, people heaved a sigh of relief that the western world was here to save the day. Better infrastructure, job security, improved quality of living and a better life, in general, was perceived to be not too far from Indian shores. This dream was not entirely fulfilled because most players exploited a gaping loophole in the Indian law and order system. Well, its not really a loophole its simply the mere absence of law and order in the country that was taken for granted. American brands, which had to take astronomical efforts in order to make sure their customers were happy, were let loose to do almost anything they wished. Products without adequate security labelling, sub-standard and at times toxic materials used for baby products, chemically induced food products and life threatening transportation options maybe a norm amongst their lives. The sole reason why the party went on far beyond the deadline is because the night guard was fast asleep and the watch dog was simply never there.

Birds have often been used in mythology and ancient history as a mode of fast communication or fast transportation. We have all heard of pigeons as messaging systems, mythical demons that can fly and modern planes as the fastest mode of transportation in today's era. Flight was associated with speed, quick dispatch, strength and something very hard to catch and pull down. No surprise that it was lone blue bird that came to the rescue, not just for our country but for the entire world.

Social media is one such tool that started off as a mere way of interacting and connecting with people with brands soon jumping onto the social media bandwagon. Where the people at, we go. In earlier days, in fact even today, when we cal a customer care number, our grievance remains confined to the one-on-one conversation with the executive on the other end. The brands solution to the problem is mostly confined to the same corridor of communication and nobody outside it is familiar unless one makes the effort of spreading it. Social media, and the brands presence on it, has allowed customers to publicly voice their satisfaction or dissatisfaction about a brand to everyone who is listening to hear it. Now, the very same dissatisfied customer can tell thousands of others of their problem and hence negatively influence the purchasing decision of other customers. The advantage for the brand, however, is if the problem is tackled smartly and efficiently, consumers would be proud and they might just gain some followers because even the average buyer understands that everyone can make a mistake every now and then.

The reason of starting this blog was to publicly voice satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards a brand and in almost all the cases, the result has been astounding. Brands who failed to take any kind of action when multiple calls to the customer call centre was made now suddenly sprung into action the moment someone tweets about their product. Try it; the next time a major brand upsets you, put a simple tweet and if you can, tag the brands twitter handle on the message. I can assure you that 7 out of 10 times the brand would respond back and speed up the solution to your problem far more efficiently than they would if you had called a toll free number.

Its sad to see that people need a rap on their knuckles to straighten things up but on the flip side, at least we have brands now give two hoots about their customers bad experiences. I urge readers to use social media to bring out that good/bad brand message which would not only tell your friends and family of what is good and bad but also make sure brands don't take the consumer for granted and in the long-run, improve their service and product quality.

Please feel free to post any thoughts you have upon this or share any other similar experiences that you might have had with regards to brand experiences and social media.

Matrix Cellular: Unauthorised contract extension

Problem:

Matrix cellular became popular for its international sim card services where travellers from India could purchase sim cards with an international number from India itself and thus promising to ease the cellphone dilemma whenever one travels abroad.

I recently undertook a year long stay in the UK and decided to avail the services of Matrix. The sales representative promptly arrived, led me through the formalities and I had a working sim card in my hands withing a few hours' time. I had signed a one year contract that was slated to end on Sept, 2011 which I assumed that Matrix would self-terminate upon the completion of the contractual date.

I received a pleasant surprise when Matrix generated a bill for the entire month of September and October and expected me to pay it. A call to their call centre revealed that until and unless I ask for a termination of contract, the bills would continue to be generated and in order to terminate the same, I must send an email to the concerned department requesting for it. Although a bit flustered at their cheek in extending the contract without intimation, I sent an email as told to me and included the clause that I would be unwilling to pay any amounts due after the official completion of the contract date and a fresh bill with these amendments be sent to me at the earliest. A confirmation of the same was received by Matrix and I assumed the chapter to be closed.

To my horror, a subsequent bill for the month of November was raised. At this point I decided to ignore any communication from Matrix. I had done my part in informing them for termination which they have sadly failed to execute. Constant telephone calls were received by my father from Matrix, demanding he pay the outstanding bill amount. After explaining to every possible person who made the calls, the bills continue to float in, till this day.

The comments section would prove that Matrix attempted to get in touch with me to resolve the issue. They claim that the contract contains a clause where the connection 'rolls over' to a monthly basis after the contract term expires, which I found hugely absurd. After agreeing to pay off their outstanding, Matrix amazingly screwed once more by generating an incorrect amount and attempted to claim payment for bills already paid. The issue is finally resolved with Matrix waving off any outstanding amount.

Issue Summary:

1. Non-termination of services after expiry of contract

2. Non-termination of services after requesting for the same

3. Continued harassment for bill payments

Verdict:

To begin with, Matrix isn't very cheap unlike the way they advertise themselves. Their charges are ridiculously expensive and far cheaper services in UK like Lebara, Lyca, Vonage etc. sell for 1/20th price that Matrix charges. Their back-end services are ridiculous and it is above me on how the company could continue to raise bills even after the expiry of the contract date. I would strongly advise all travellers to refrain using Matrix services and rather purchase sim cards from their destination country itself.

It is disheartening to see such large organisations blunder in such a manner, not once but multiple times. Issues such as bill payments are sensitive to the consumer especially if the commodity is expensive. Although Matrix did waive off the outstanding as an act of good faith, the scar still remains.

If you have any similar concerns about Matrix or any telecom operator, feel free to mention it in the comments section below.

British Airways vs Jet Airways vs Kingfisher Airlines - Mumbai to London

I have been a regular flyer on the Mumbai-London air route for about a year now and it has so happened that i have experienced travelling with various airline companies to come to a conclusion on who is the best operator in this segment.

The Contenders:

The contenders in this comparison are major airline companies that operate directly between Mumbai and London, all but save Air India. British Airways (BA) is the old player here and never faced any heat in the direct segment until recently when Jet Airways (Jet) and Kingfisher Airlines (KF) decided to start international operations.

Aircraft:

Jet and BA are known to be Boeing loyal and hence use the Boeing 737-300ER. Although both airlines use the exact same make and model, Jet seemed to be slightly more modern and well-maintained in comparison to BA. The 'mood lighting' in Jet is a feature where the cabin lights colour change every now and then, there are common screens in the cabin that constantly display flight information and smart furnishing are all lacking in BA. KF, on the other hand, is an Airbus shopper and currently uses the Airbus A330 until their order of A380's finally arrives. The cabin is more or less similar to Jet except for the unique 'mood lighting' which simply makes the flight experience more relaxed and uplifting compared to the otherwise staid ambiance. An Internet search revealed BA also uses 747's to fly to India, but for the flight that I was in, the smaller sibling was utilised.

Food and Drinks:

Food on long haul flights is probably the most essential aspect especially since you have no second option if you don't enjoy the meal that is served to you. KF is probably the only airline (out of all the various ones that I have travelled on) that offers a menu of their offerings even in Economy class. Surprisingly, the menu is not simply to make the process more elaborate and flamboyant but because the airline does offer a third meal option apart from the usual veg and non-veg meals. Their are also options for various cocktails on offer which might be offered by rivals but are never explicitly mentioned anywhere. It simply makes the task to request for food and drinks much easier for the passenger as well as the flight attendants who don't have to verbally spell out everything they carry to each passenger. Food quality on all three airlines are more or less at par with each other. If one must find fault, it would probably be the plastic cutlery offered by BA which pails in comparison to the shiny stainless steel forks and spoons that KF and Jet give out. Jet offers complimentary fresh limes before take off, KF puts a bottle of water on your seat and BA gives nothing.

In-flight Entertainment:

For those who don't fancy sleeping on board the flight, the in-flight entertainment system is the only path away from boredom and for people like me, who love movies and watch almost 4 on a flight one way, it is something I can never do without. BA offered one of the worst entertainment systems ever and reminded me of the systems that used to be available roughly 8-10 years ago. There is no entertainment navigation system where one can select movies of choice but an 8-channel system, much like a TV at home, where each channel plays 2 movies back to back. There is no way to pause the movie, select another movie of choice or have any kind of control whatsoever. The screen size is probably 8 inches wide which is tiny compared to rivals which also started more than one hour later after flight departure. Usually KF an Jet have it up and running during boarding but BA decided to start it after one whole hour, force you to watch the news on BBC, show some adverts and unnecessary flight information videos before finally starting the system, a good two hours into the flight. KF and Jet offer great systems with a wide array of movies from various languages to chose from along with TV shows, music, games, flight information etc. When it comes to headsets, KF probably rank the lowest with poor sound quality and volume levels with the headphones clip digging into your ears which pains after a while. Jet is slightly better but fit loosely on the head which leads to a lot of sound leakage. BA has amazing headphones which are a boon to use especially to listen to music. Sadly, the weak entertainment software does not supplement the otherwise fabulous headset. BA also offers the standard 3.5mm audio jack which means that you could plug in your own headsets in case the ones that BA offers are not to your liking. I always wondered why Jet insists on using the two-pin jack and why wont they allow passengers to use their own headsets if the need be.

Service:

Flight attendant service on Jet and KF were at par with each other and BA has some serious work cut out for them. Staff was rude and at times snobbish, breakfast was served hurried and late with essentials such as tea and coffee missing. It appeared as if they never would have liked to be on this flight to begin with and made faces when requests were made. Jet and KF are, on the other hand, helpful and caring without a fuss and indeed go out of the way to make the journey comfortable.

Price:
Pricing is a sensitive issue and depends on a vast number of factors. However, I have, of all the times I have scouted the Internet for prices, seen that Jet is invariably the cheapest, followed closely by KF and BA being the more expensive pick of the lot. This has also been confirmed by a lot of my friends and colleagues too opting for Jet since it turns out to be the cheapest of the available options.

Verdict:
Not considering price, Jet and KF seem to come out on top as the more preferred airline. One can argue that flight time plays a very vital role but in this case, all direct flight operators (including Air India) operate within the same 1 hour window with the exact same flight frequency. Jet, with its more inviting and uplifting cabin feel, gets an upper hand and emerges as the clear winner. KF follows close behind and its tough to find any fault with it in comparison to Jet. BA has been the clear loser with a sub-standard experience. The fact that you need to shell out a lot more money for the ticket too does not help its case. BA being the oldest operator has suddenly lost the monopoly in the sector and have failed to improve in face of competition. I am quite sure that an Air India flight would probably give a similar experience at a far lower cost which might just make it comparable to Jet and KF. The aspect to realise here is that neither Jet nor KF, or any other airline for that matter, has a major advantage over its competition on any grounds. Hence it makes the game quite easy for any one airline to overtake competition by simply daring to be different, even if it means altering to a new flight schedule. If flyer's enjoy a certain advantage that a carrier starts to offer, it might change the game in this sector heavily and can be beneficial to both airline and passenger.

Tikona: Sales team harrasment

Problem:

The search for an alternative broadband Internet service provider began. The local cable operator was unprofessional, lacked any service commitment and never really cared. A quick Google search and some common knowledge made me visit a handful of known and reputed companies that provide the service. The companies being Airtel, MTS, Sify, Reliance, Tikona and a few more whose names I really cant remember right now. A few companies were shortlisted on the basis of the information provided on the website and a sales request was put in. To my major surprise, the bigger players like Airtel never reverted to my request on the website and to my utter disgust the only person who reverted was Tikona, and how!

I get a call the next day from a Tikona sales person and an appointment is fixed. Within the due course of the day another 4-5 sales persons keep calling me trying to get an appointment to come home. What ired me the most was a particular sales representative who has taken up the words 'never give up' a little too literally and constantly kept calling, refusing to hand up the phone in spite of me losing my temper. So much so, he intended to come home unannounced and went as far as to threaten or blackmail me (whichever way you put it) citing that he is the sole after-sales and technical support person within my area and suggested that he would not co-operate with me if the sales lead was given to someone else. Disgusted, I cancelled all my intentions of taking a connection with Tikona and the change of service provider has been shelved indefinitely.

Issue Summary:

1. Companies not responding to Internet inquiries

2. Tikona 'selling' personal details to freelance sales persons who are capable to walk right up to your doorstep unannounced

3. A particular sales person who constantly harasses and blackmails customers

Verdict:

No formal complaint with Tikona was launched after this situation. The only outcome was that I got irritated and decided to continue with my current service provider for the time being until I manage to get the mental energy to search for another one. And yes, I would prefer to stay as far away as possible from Tikona!

Share your experiences with Tikona or any other Internet service provider below.

Easy Cabs: Cancellation without notice

This is a slightly old issue which has already been resolved.

Problem:

I never had the need to book a radio taxi in Mumbai with either my own vehicle or the regular kalli-pilli (black and yellow) taxi's/rickshaws being available. On two occasions friends from outside of Mumbai asked me to book a cab on their behalf and its only then that I realised that one 'should not rely on them'.

After spending a year in the UK, I got used to the very convenient, prompt and relatively cheap radio taxi service and was a bit shocked with the service in Mumbai. Meru, Easy Cabs and Mega Cabs are companies that are the most popular in this arena. I was a little taken aback at the difficulty of getting through to their call centres, the honey-voiced lady asking me to press numbers on my keypad and the atrocious music one has to tolerate before you finally get through to an attendant. I was more used to the bored Indian/Pakistani picking up the phone in 2 rings and telling me '10 minutes' before hanging up. What also surprised me is that all three companies turned down my request citing unavailability of cabs.

With this incident behind me, I had to once more book a taxi for a another friend. Meru once again turned me down saying they are full (do they seriously get so much business?) but Easy Cabs took up the job and confirmed the booking. My friend had instructed me to give them a call half an hour before the scheduled time of arrival to double check on their status. With my UK experience still fresh, I doubted that it would be necessary and was confident that the cab would arrive on time. I yet put the call through, reminding myself 'this is India' and was utterly disgusted to know that the company had conveniently cancelled my booking, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival. The executive also mentioned that a communication for the same had been given, which I have not seemed to receive. When I argued the executive maintained fort that communication was sent and nothing could be done.

The good old kalli-piili's once more came to my rescue but this incident pinched me. I decided to blast them over over Twitter but was not expecting any kind of outcome. Surprisingly, @EasyCabsIn replied back asking me for my booking identification number which was provided for. A lady later called me back and spoke 5 lines faster than a Rajdhani on adrenaline. The only words I captured was 'sorry' ' communicated' 'you' 'wont happen'. Although I cant be very sure, I suspect that the lady was holding ground that the communication was sent but she is still sorry.

Issue summary:

1. Long waiting to get through call centres

2. Always 'full'

3. Cancellation without notice

Verdict:

Although the cancellation was uncalled for, Easy Cabs managed the crisis well, took the efforts to acknowledge the mistake and apologised. In future if I do ever need a radio taxi again, Easy Cabs would still be my first choice as against Meru who never seem to be available.

Share any of your Radio Taxi experiences, good or bad, in the comments section below.