kashtam

after spending a considerable time in this city, i have realized there are two things that annoy me a lot. actually the level of annoyance has gone down as i am now used to these two things and have accepted the fact that these two can never ever change - chennai traffic and the 'no importance to a customer' by service providers. and i have ample examples for the latter.

let me share the latest incidents - of today:

an agent of a well known and oldest brokerage firm in India called up from the local chennai office yesterday. this was in response to my online request for registration. this person was supposed to call back today to confirm whether or not i could meet him this coming weekend. no call.

at 5pm i called up another brokerage house to check for details of their membership etc. the person did provide the info and as he was about to keep the phone down, i asked him if he thought it a good idea to take down my details so that an agent can come over and help me complete the formalities. with no apologies for his absent mindedness, or ignorance, he took my address and did not bother to repeat and confirm. i am sure it will be a no show tomorrow!

at a popular book store in adyar, i am moving from one section to the other carrying some 6 odd books in my hand. there in a corner i can see the staff boys standing and chatting but not bothered to understand a customer's need for help - just handing over a bag to carry the book.

yesterday i visited the outlet of some online shopping center in tidel. checked with the person about few camera models. those were not available so he asked me to jot down the details with a promise that he would get back to me. no calls. what also seemed funny was that he did not try to sell me or tell me about the other umpteen models displayed there. i wondered for a moment if it was a sarkari outlet where sales have no direct relation with an employees salary!

waiters in chennai seems to be an unhappy lot - all of them. haven't seen even a single one having any faint resemblance of a smile. very few ask if anything else is required. order, eat, pay, and go. "whether or not you want to eat here again is something you have to decide, I will not do anything to promote my services or the hotel's reputation. warmth - what does that mean - does a tip generates warmth? i don't think so! pora!"

chemist, barber, shopkeepers, everyone seems to have this attitude - 'we have the services, if you need you can come'. 'what, you are not happy with our service? as if we care!'

while staying in a hotel in pondy, ordered for a drink at 9pm which was to be delivered in 10 minutes. i added a buffer of another 10 mins, but even 10:15pm the shot had not arrived. called up to check with the bar why there was a delay. the attendant did mention that he remembered taking my order, but forgot what was it that i ordered. that was enough for me to blast him and cancel the order. it was not delhi or any other city in the north so did not expect an apology on phone or a knock at the door!

in another hotel last year in kumbakonam, ordered lunch at around 1 and till 2 it was no where in sight. blasted the manager. in 5 mins he called and informed me that the kitchen was ready with the order but as i had told them that i was due to move to another room, they were waiting for me to call and give them the new room number! i just asked the manager if i could change rooms all by myself with he having no clue about it. still the lunch was not served...