Customer Service (and again!)

You may have read a previous post on my experience with Currys - Customer service (here we go again!). Well, I decided to write to Peter Keenan, Currys' Managing Director (he is formally the next port of call, after the customer service centre), putting forth my experience in dealing with customer service in his organisation. I made it clear that the letter was not because of the fault in the product, nor to claim that Currys was wrong and I right. It was for the approach taken by customer service staff when complaints are reported, valid or otherwise. Listing down the issues I thought were handled badly (refer to the previous post), I concluded by saying I hoped that more credibility would be given to customers as a policy in the future. The default assumptions should be that the customer is telling the truth, even if a small minority of customers wilfully try to take advantage of this.

This afternoon I received a phone call from Mr. Keenan's office, appreciating my letter and informing me that they would be having an internal investigation into the matter. They also mentioned that they hoped that I would not be put off shopping with them again. I declined to mention names unless they insisted (they did not) but reassured them that I would indeed be shopping with them again. It was only proper, I think, after the call.


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The Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford has a great collection of terms that outsiders may consider quaint, funny, or outrageous! Here are a few examples:

Battles - termly bills for rent, food, etc.
Blue - sporting accolade won when won when you play in the University first team against Cambridge.
Bod - the Bodleian Library, one of the oldest libraries in Europe and the second largest, after the British Library (more in another post).
Bop - the equivalent of a school disco in fancy dress, a true Oxford event.
Come-up - when you start at Oxford, you 'come up' (also used for returning from holidays). Leaving Oxford is termed as 'going down', and being 'sent down' is when they kick you out. Can't be good.
Cuppers - Intercollegiate competition in sports, dance and drama.
Essay crisis - when you have too much to do and not enough time to do it.
Hilary - spring term (7 January to 14 March) - spring term between January and March???
JCR - the Junior Common Room, the undergraduate student body and the physical room where the undergraduates hang out
Matriculation - the ceremony where one formally becomes a member of the University.
Pidge - the 'pigeonhole': the mail comes here.
Pimms - summer drink, often associated with punting and rowing.
MCR - the graduate student body and their sitting room.
Michaelmas - winter term (1 October to 7 December).
SCR - the Senior Common Room, for the teaching staff and fellows to sit in and be clever.
Sub Fusc - formally, the academic dress - the black gown and cap, dark suit, white shirt and bow tie, with black socks and shoes. Thankfully only worn during the exams.
Strawpeedo - a quick way to drown one's drink using a straw and a friend.
Torpids - a rowing competition held during Trinity terms in which the contestants and spectators both get cold and wet.
Trinity - summer term (14 April to 20 June) - everyone's favourite.
Tute - a tutorial.

Worth contemplating...

'You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.'
- Harry Truman


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To the Parents of Alok Mathur

I was really amused to receive an envelope in the post this morning, addressed to - my parents! As I ripped open the envelope, I was thinking, "Think, think! Have I done something naughty at school?"...ha ha... I am more used to receiving letters addressed to 'The parents of Ayushi Mathur' (my 8 yr old daughter), or 'The parents of Arnav Mathur' (my 20 month old son).

The envelope turned out to be from Mansfield College, my college at Oxford, and this was a Parent Information Pack. Obviously a rather assiduous and efficient administration department at the college sends the parent information pack to the registered address of every student, regardless of age & background (for those who do not know me, or for those new to this blog, I am going to be 36 in a month!). The system is obviously designed for undergraduate students.

Actually parents apart, the fact that I am going back to 'school' does make me feel very young (not that, at 36, I am anything but young). In fact, Varun, my flatmate-to-be at Oxford, has promised to make me a 24 yr old again. Good luck to you, Varun! In any event, I'll surely need the energy of a 24 year old to do justice to the lectures, the studies, the new subjects (especially Finance and Accounting), the exams, the parties, the booze, and the late nights.

Perhaps Mansfield College knows what it's doing by sending out these packs to everyone. Maybe it's just a clever ploy to change one's mental outlook right at the outset.


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Class profile

The class profile of the MBA class of 2007-08 at the Said Business School has been made public. Here are the stats:

• The class consists of students from over 40 countries
• Male:Female ratio is 73:27
• The average GMAT score is 685
• The average age of the class is 29
• The average number of years work experience is 6 years

European b-schools typically have a higher average age (and therefore higher number of years work experience) than b-schools in the USA or in Asia - this class seems to be no different. The average GMAT score is pretty high too, by any standard. In fact I think it is slightly higher than last year's average score, which I think was 680.


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Customer Service (here we go again!)

Some of you may have read a previous post on customer service - 'Cricket and the quality of service'. Here is an experience that is proving to be the exact opposite of that one. I had said, in my previous post, that the experience I had had then could not have been had in India. well, I must say now that the experience I have have had now could not be had in India either.

The Managing Director of Currys, Peter Keenan has this as 'Our promise': "We are committed to providing you with great service both in our stores and once you get your purchase home."

Now consider this: Just under one year ago we'd bought a microwave oven from Currys. Now, we tend to buy a lot from Currys (major purchases from them include a personal computer, a laptop computer, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a Satnav unit, a Sky TV connection, a mobile phone, and the microwave in question; we have also bought numerous smaller items, from webcams and batteries to photo paper), because I always believed that we would get peace of mind. And so far I have had no reason to think otherwise.

The microwave oven developed an intermittent fault. The details relating to the fault are not important, but far from adopting the adage that the customer is always right, the store and service centre staff unfortunately displayed a lack of empathy and a complete disregard for a customer’s word.

· They claimed there was no fault present in spite of my best efforts to explain that the problem was intermittent and may reappear in a few minutes or a few days (by when the warranty would have expired). I naturally objected and suggested that the fault was intermittent and just because the fault was not apparent at the time it did not mean that it did not exist. Delivered aggressively it was an insinuation that I was lying about the fault.

· It was actually repeated a number of times that as far as they are concerned I may be lying because many customers do so. This was also repeated a number of times by the member of the customer service helpline when I called them the next day, as an explanation for his inability to help me. The apparent courtesy displayed on phone (which was sadly missing at the store) did not mean much if the gentleman kept calling me a liar, even if he did it very politely.

· When I asked if Currys was happy to lose a loyal customer rather than make a constructive effort at solving the problem, I was told that every second customer who calls threatens to never shop with Currys again. This was either an insinuation that I was making an empty threat and that regardless of the outcome I would shop with them again, or a suggestion that they did not care whether or not I shopped with them again. Either way, this is not something I would say to any customer of mine.

· The gentleman on the phone, to his credit, checked with a superior, but said that the superior had said that they could not help me with my problem just on my say-so, and that his superior’s word was ‘law’. I thought this was a suggestion that I was wasting my time talking to them. Unfortunate, coming from a ‘service’ centre.

· It was suggested, both at the store and on the phone, that since no conclusion was being reached and because other customers may be waiting, they must close the conversation. This was done aggressively at the store, where I was practically asked to take the product away because there was nothing wrong with it, and a little sensitively on the phone. I respect the need to cater to other customers, but not at the expense of a customer who is already on the line and whose problems are yet unresolved. And I would certainly not say so to a customer, even after we have been on the line for a fair while!

· By the time the member of the service helpline offered a constructive suggestion that I take the product back to the store for more extensive testing there was a more fundamental issue at hand – I certainly did not want to deal any further with people who had no respect for me, gave absolutely no credence to my statements, and kept repeating that I may be lying. I was much happier to write off the product as a loss.

Will I ever shop with Currys again? Take wild a guess...


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Why MBA?

A couple of days ago I had a discussion with someone I met for the first time, and got round to discussing why I am investing in an MBA at this stage of my life and career. I guess an MBA means different things to different people, depending on their background, ambitions, career-stage, industry, and family status. (Read my concerns on the subject, which I had briefly touched on, when I started writing this blog.)

Well, as much for my sanity and satisfaction as for anyone else curious enough to know, here's why. I will be happy to add to the list in time or if a suggestion is made.

In no particular order:

• The MBA tag
• The exposure to, and the opportunity to network with, some of the best in business - industry leaders, academic stalwarts, etc.
• The opportunity to network with Oxford and Said Business School alumni, developing business contacts and making friends for life
• The opportunity to change career streams (which is otherwise difficult at this stage of a career)
• To diversify my business knowledge; to learn the basics of all major areas of business, especially in the areas of finance, accounting, business development and strategy.
  
• Enhanced career opportunities
• Increased credibility
• To take a break and become a student after all these years
• To have a great time
• To be able to earn a bigger paycheck
  

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A humorous and a serious look at outsourcing

This is hilarious, as is the recently released 'The Simpsons movie'.



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Four weeks to go...

There are still nearly 4 weeks to go before I formally join the MBA programme at Oxford, but the already frenetic pace of activity is a sure indication of what things are going to be like for the rest of the year.

Now that some of the major activities with regard to first, securing a place at the school, and then organising the move to Oxford have been taken care of, I'd though I would be able to relax a bit until the 24th of the month, when I intend to make a move towards Oxford.

I'd thought wrong.

The school intranet and the incoming student portal is already red hot with activity. My diary for the week before I formally join already has a number of entries: a talk on emerging markets on the 24th, student induction programmes at the University on the 26th and 27th; a lecture by George David, CEO and Chairman of United Technologies Corporation on the 28th; The Oxford Pursuit, an exercise to familiarise us with Oxford and with our classmates, on the 29th; and a family event on the 30th. Between all this, I move into my flat on the 28th and resolve related paperwork; buy essentials for the flat; meet my prospective flatmates, classmates and school staff; meet with Barclays personnel to complete my loan application paperwork, open an account and make the final fee payment to the school; formally register with Mansfield college and collect my university and library cards, meet up with people in the MCR...you get the idea.

Evenings, hopefully, will be more relaxed (post the couple of lectures) and will be spent spending time with future classmates and establishing relationships over food and drink.

Meanwhile we have already been given a pre-course exercise on Financial Reporting, an exercise it has been suggested we do at least 5 times! Given my non-financial background I guess it will be very much needed.

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