Shift in satisfaction - Impending revolution

On my flight, I couldn’t help but notice a kid playing on a phone, an easy distraction that gives some peace and quiet to the long-drawn parents! How easily, in such small a period of time, has the luxury become so insignificant a necessity!

This is a precarious circle of ‘WANT’.  When a new service or a product is launched, like the cordless or mobile, just the mere ability to get hold of one, makes the customers ‘ecstatic’. The more the players that jump in the market for the product, the harder it is to maintain ‘ecstatic’ customer experience.

 The ‘WANT’ quickly transitions to a basic ‘expectation’. The features and applications that one provided, over the other, became the new ‘WANT’. That over the time transitioned to the ‘WANT’ for a megapixel camera to reverse camera to Smart app creation tools and so on... The ‘Want for an ecstatic customer’ still eludes all industries.

So, what does this mean for services or product support?  What is customer satisfaction? Is there one yard-stick to measure it? Is this even a constant?

With an exposure to a wide customer base now and prior, I have seen and heard customers applauding at times and fuming at others, for the support they receive, be it product or services support. Efforts to fix the ‘damage’ or keep-up the effort are closely flowed by the management.

While this does work, in the short term, but is this a sustainable satisfaction?

Well, some of the companies could stay afloat with just this, partly due to their first-mover advantage (AWS) or because they are a big shark in the ocean or they are cross-selling their products, which binds their customers.

Where it fails to yield, is for the companies that are emerging or budding, or deal with a service that is too readily available in the market. These measures can not lead to 'sustained' satisfaction. The companies need to create a differentiator for themselves. A differentiator in their support!

IMO, they need to look beyond their everyday operations, their survey responses; and invest in ideas and actions that set them apart from their competitors. This does not mean they should no more care about these measures. It just means customers have grown ‘immune’ to this. This is no more an ‘X-factor’ but has become a minimal expectation which you ought to deliver.

But, how do they create a differentiator? What is that edge that they can provide? And would that be worth the ROI?

This, I believe, is the trickiest call for any service provider now.

So, here’s a little parallel.

There was a grocer around the corner. It had barely been a few months when a popular, established grocery store opened right in its vicinity. The grocer, given his capacity, could not compete with the range and the choices provided by the store.  Since his livelihood depended on his store, he didn’t want to give-up, not just yet. He needed to create this ‘differentiator’ to stay in the market.

So, he reinvented himself. He was a keen observer and very sociable. He knew people had often come looking for things that belonged together, for their recipes or based on their needs.  

So he made a small change –

He sold the same stuff but pre-arranged them in boxes, grouping them by the recipes, by the frequency, by ‘neighbourhood’.  He labelled the recipes and placed the boxes under them. It needed him to look beyond traditional ‘grocery store’ ways, invest more time in and may be investing to hire a help.

Result? People who had no time to look around and gather the items (working folks or senior citizens), loved it. The newbies who had no idea what ingredients go in a given recipe, loved it. He had created a ‘differentiator’ for himself. He gave an incentive for people to choose him, for the same cost!!

What was the most important thing he had, beyond his keen observation and necessity? It was the fact that  ‘He knew what his Customer’s need too well’.

I could not have been a bigger fan of  AI than I am today. There is an abundance of data that companies have, with respect to their customers. There is so much they can do to set themselves apart, so much to play around with when you have eyes beyond the day-to-day operations.

So, there isn’t one yard-stick, as a matter of fact, there isn’t one height to compare. The ‘want’ grows exponentially and the only way to not sink would be to ride the wave, continually. It’s a precarious circle of ‘WANT’!

tu himmat tow kar, desh mere

हाथों को जोड़े बैठें है बाबूजी ,
राजाजी के दरबार मे ...
करने  शिकायत छोटे की जिसने ,
है कलह मचाई घरबार में ...

देखो तुम हो बड़े यहाँ पे,
राजाजी समझाते हैं।
ऐसे छोटी बातों पे क्या,
रिश्ते तोड़े जाते हैं?

अम्मा की बातों को बाबूजी ,
अकसर अनसुनी करजाते हैं।
तुम हो जनता सी भोली बहुत,
ये कह के बहलाते हैं।

राजाजी को हम  हैं प्रिय  बहुत ,
 इसलिए हमको ही समझाएं गे।
वादा  किया है मुझे से
पंचायत मैं ,परमानेंट सीट दिलाएं गे।

पर राजाजी को है परेशानी क्या ,
अमा झीक कर  रह जाती है।
"अपनी बारी मैं उनको ,
क्यों गीता- ज्ञान याद नहीं आती है?

जब छोटे का लड़का   उनकी ,
लड़की को ले भागा था।
छुप बैठा था जाकर ट्विन टावर  में,
 तब कैसा प्रलय जागा था?

राजाजी ने अन्न जल त्याग
भीष्म प्रतिज्ञा ले डाली थी।
जवाला सी बरसी थी   चहूं  और ,
 नगरी मरुस्थल बना डाली थी।

दो दिन मैं ढूंढ निकाले   ,
छोटे के नालायक लड़के थे।
क्षण मैं अलग कर डाले 
सर से उनके  धड़ थे। 
 
पर अब जब बात, हमारी
मरियादा की दावँ पर आयी है।
तो उनको प्रेम शांति  भाई चारे की
 बातें याद सब आयी हैं। .


 चुप्पी के दिन बीतगये ,
कहतें हैं दिन अछे आये हैं।
तुमको हक़  दिलवाने को ,
मुंषी मोदी गाँव में आये हैं।

 श्री राम को भी तीन दिवस तक ,
जब सागर ने न पूछा  था,
जब छोड़ प्रेम प्यार  वो पौरुष पर आये ,
 तब उसको दास बनने का सूझा था। "

अम्मा की बातों को बाबूजी ,
अकसर अनसुनी करजाते हैं।
तुम हो जनता सी भोली बहुत,
ये कह के बहलाते हैं।

 ना जाने किस डर से, बाबूजी घबराते हैं,
राजाजी के  आधे दरबारी  , उनके घर से ही जाते हैं। 

Not just yet..

Gently he holds her hand,
to feel the dying pulse..
with every miss of it
a part of him dies within..

How selfishly she travels away
whilst promising the eternal company..
for he can see no more of the road
without the glowing flame of her heart herewith..

her radiance so unfailed by the cruelty of time,
her smile so deep on the shallowness of life..
She blinks to concede the love he has
for the words fail her to match the longing of his eyes..

How assuredly he had embraced her once,
winning a battle against the dears..
How willing she had led him
to believe she would do, but as he desires..

he desired not for her to quit
and quitting he wouldnt grant her,
for she would do but he desires
was a promise made, away from the prying ears..

He reminds her of the duties
she has yet to fulfill..
the mess of the house, the missing things
the visit of kids that call her granny..

A Sudden panic rises in her spine
a force jolts her wrecking frame,
She breathes a breath deep and strong
is it her revival or her betrayal final.....

Sense and Sensibility -Jane Austen

A read  of Jane Austen ( particularly this book)   seems a bit  over bearing or even verbose to say a little :) . Her ability and desire to put expressions and inferences ,general opinion and belief , inside every single statement that the character makes, tries your patience at times.  With a generation , so short and hastily losing on the virtue of patience, this might not be a so hard-to-put down book.

And for someone fond and carved in ways of Jeffrey Archer, Dan Brown or even John Grisham ( by choice or habit) , picking this book seemed like a mistake . A mistake that I didn't intend to take beyond first chapter.
 I would like my read to be concentrating around the plot and characters and not on the length of a line that runs into a paragraph, Each time!! A line that is pregnant with more expressions than the message it wanted to deliver.

I loved the simplistic representation and effortless story-telling of 'Almost Single', which is not hugely distant from the category of this novel. That is ,I would say, a vacation time novel, to read.

But when you crave for a little more than just good story, read this. 'Sense and Sensibility' ,is more than just the story the novel narrates. Yes, I did pick up the book one more time, against myself though!

With every page I read, I saw the era she wrote about. An era which is difficult to relate to, not only in diction but also  in mannerism. I was more and more willing to give her the liberal benefit, for she was writing of a bygone time. Her words sounded and read differently , She would use chuse ( for choose),  handsome for the appearance of a lady ( I dare say we use that for men with caution too :) ) and handful non-existent usages.  English and society has come a long way since then. Courtesy and chivalry have new-found meanings, the pressing-necessity that she sees for them in a person, Am afraid, isn't easy to justify.

Her style of writing grows on you ,as you progress the story. And you would be amazed, without much exaggeration, to see yourself, under the influence of such usage, as shocking as it may seem to those familiar to you.( That was my attempt to her style :) but far shorter from her lengths)

There is an interesting amount of details on the locations, the setting are described in a delightful way ,it almost instantly creates a visual effect on the reader ,as if you were living the age and society of that time. The pace is almost stagnant at times, but there is no undertone she uses in depicting the mindset of society where the matter of money forces a change in matter of hearts and one finds no shame in accepting it. The characters like Miss  Jennings and Miss Lucy,  more or less sum up the expectations and priorities that society had for women back then. The Dashwood sisters ,though play a similar society, have a more relate-able this-day like sensibility.

 The story line is sweet and happily ever-after take away, but the something that I would keep from the novel is its depiction of the lost-world (almost ), when you want to cut out from the modern ways of world for some time, and  its beautiful expressions..like

"There is something so amiable in the prejudices of a young mind, that one is sorry to see them give way to the reception of more general opinions."

Its so very true ..

Sense and Sensibility -Jane Austen

A read  of Jane Austen ( particularly this book)   seems a bit  over bearing or even verbose to say a little :) . Her ability and desire to put expressions and inferences ,general opinion and belief , inside every single statement that the character makes, tries your patience at times.  With a generation , so short and hastily losing on the virtue of patience, this might not be a so hard-to-put down book.

And for someone fond and carved in ways of Jeffrey Archer, Dan Brown or even John Grisham ( by choice or habit) , picking this book seemed like a mistake . A mistake that I didn't intend to take beyond first chapter.
 I would like my read to be concentrating around the plot and characters and not on the length of a line that runs into a paragraph, Each time!! A line that is pregnant with more expressions than the message it wanted to deliver.

I loved the simplistic representation and effortless story-telling of 'Almost Single', which is not hugely distant from the category of this novel. That is ,I would say, a vacation time novel, to read.

But when you crave for a little more than just good story, read this. 'Sense and Sensibility' ,is more than just the story the novel narrates. Yes, I did pick up the book one more time, against myself though!

With every page I read, I saw the era she wrote about. An era which is difficult to relate to, not only in diction but also  in mannerism. I was more and more willing to give her the liberal benefit, for she was writing of a bygone time. Her words sounded and read differently , She would use chuse ( for choose),  handsome for the appearance of a lady ( I dare say we use that for men with caution too :) ) and handful non-existent usages.  English and society has come a long way since then. Courtesy and chivalry have new-found meanings, the pressing-necessity that she sees for them in a person, Am afraid, isn't easy to justify.

Her style of writing grows on you ,as you progress the story. And you would be amazed, without much exaggeration, to see yourself, under the influence of such usage, as shocking as it may seem to those familiar to you.( That was my attempt to her style :) but far shorter from her lengths)

There is an interesting amount of details on the locations, the setting are described in a delightful way ,it almost instantly creates a visual effect on the reader ,as if you were living the age and society of that time. The pace is almost stagnant at times, but there is no undertone she uses in depicting the mindset of society where the matter of money forces a change in matter of hearts and one finds no shame in accepting it. The characters like Miss  Jennings and Miss Lucy,  more or less sum up the expectations and priorities that society had for women back then. The Dashwood sisters ,though play a similar society, have a more relate-able this-day like sensibility.

 The story line is sweet and happily ever-after take away, but the something that I would keep from the novel is its depiction of the lost-world (almost ), when you want to cut out from the modern ways of world for some time, and  its beautiful expressions..like

"There is something so amiable in the prejudices of a young mind, that one is sorry to see them give way to the reception of more general opinions."

Its so very true ..

2B or !2B ...to be or not to be..

Charter my way
fix my path
mark the road that leads to it,
but to follow or not..leave it to me


I wander or falter
fail or flourish
I may rise not like phoenix
but to make the choice..leave it to me


Tiny little wings of mine
that are barely to size
wish them ,teach them inspire them to fly
but fly to where...... leave it to me


beautiful are the strands
of the golden gate
that promises pleasure to one who resides,
but to 2B or !2B ... leave it to me...